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NCAA Football 2003 for Xbox Videos >>
Rating Reviewed By MatthewFrom Denver, Co Review Date 02/02/2003 Overall Rating  5 of 5 Visitors rate this review 5.00 of 5, 2 votes Rate this review? Summary This game for the most part is amazing. There are so many cool things in this game to keep you invovled for hours and hours on end. So many cool things in the game like a trophy room, where your team can collect its trophies to show its pride, and a campus challenge where you complete challenges (i.e. make a 20 yard run), and gain pennants for cheats, new teams, and new mascot teams. You can even create your own school. When creating your own school, you can design your own stadium, to every extent. You can decide where the seats are, where the scoreboard is, the broadcast booth, and what surface it is. Create a player is just the same as its always been in every game. This game is awsome.Sound Sound is pretty good. Nothing to complain about. If you have a Big game you'll get the 3-man booth, but if your game is just average you'll get the local radio anouncer. Kinda neat. The crowd will boo, and cheer, sounds almost right. The menue fight music will get very boring, and repetative after any long term playing. Overall its good, I never expect the sound to be anything special, I always just listen to the radio.Gameplay Gameplay is great. I love having the option involved in the game, expecially against Nebraska, it makes for a real challenge. The game did tend to be a little un-lifelike, where I played my first year of dinasty with Penn State, and played Central Florida, and barely won by the skin of my teeth(they were 0-2), and the Nebraska came to town 3-0 and I beat them easily, they couldn't do anything against my Defense. But the Dinasty mode is spectacular, where you play seasons to win championships, and then in the off-season you rucriut players, the farther away they are, the harder it is to recruit them, that is so cool. Another cool feature, a little wierd is the mascot gaem. You can play with your favorite team's mascots. A bunch of Cornhuskers against a bunch of Yellow Jackets, its kinda kidsy but its a neat addition. Your pass-defense is always bad, no matter who you play with and against. The AI will make amazing cathes making you wonder.Would you like to Comment? Join VideoGameReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member. Summary In my mind, there are a couple of things that can make a game legendary. This game has at least two of them; first it becomes integrated into non-game conversation, and second, like wine, it gets better with time. First, there are only a few games worth having multiple conversations about when not playing. NCAA 2003 will come up in conversation enough where your non sports-loving friends will throw things at you. Because, like all sports games, it is better to play with friends. Strategy is important; how to set up draw plays, whether to recruit speed or power, when to redshirt the fish, how in the world to return our beloved Houston Cougars to national prominence (3 seasons, if done right). The greatest thing about the game is the seemingly unlimited intangibles found season after season. It is one of those games that is great when you buy it and legendary when your girlfriend breaks up with you. Priorities, right? Utilizing the power of the X-Box, the game has something like 120 teams with current rosters and fight songs, plus the create modes to add more. DID I MENTION THE FIGHT SONGS? The game gets progressively better the more you play. Besides the "normal" stuff, the dynasty mode opens up more things than any one game should have. I can't start rambling about all of options and intricacies, but imagine seeing something on your seventh season you've never seen before. Or heard before. That is the definition of deep. Imagine your stadium growing season after season of pigskin dominance- and I mean growing to where the beautiful view of downtown is now replaced by inebriated students who couldn't get good tickets. The heart of the college football game lies within the college, and this game does a great job of capturing the college feel, as cheesy as that sounds. Oh yeah, it plays well, too.Sound The sound is good. Like I said, all the fight songs you could ever want, and then a lot more. The play-by-play is top notch, which is surprising considering the three commentators did not record it together. It seems so natural. It can get a little repetitive, but they will still surprise you sometimes. And it seems as though different teams get different commentary because of different styles. The background noise, like the crowd and PA, is decent, but playing sound really does not make or break a game. Overall, if you like sports and college, this is the best game on the market and will be, until NCAA 2004.Gameplay The game play is very good. EA focused on making a more realistic-yet-fun running game, and did an excellent job. The passing is fine, comparable to Madden. The D is fun, although sacks seem to be few and far in between. One thing specific to college that makes D fun is that you can choose to face teams that historically run a lot (think Rice Nerd Owls). There is nothing more satisfying than destroying the option. Another specific college trait are the play books. Just try playing with Florida and then with Nebraska – the plays on O are almost dichotomously different. D play seem to be pretty set, although there are enough to not complain. Overall, it is a pretty balanced game in terms of passing vs running and offense vs defense, so you can really dictate the way to play. One default controller problem I had is that while L-Trigger set to juke (the best move in any sports game), R-Trigger is pitch. After a lot of fumbles and cursing, I changed the defaults, but this is minor. The game can be played by all manner of gamers, whether they are more into high-scoring fun or sim. The game is very rewarding to the intelligent gamer, and actually knowing football pays off in the harder modes. It has increased my football knowledge ten-fold, which to start off was pretty much “I like to hit people and run with a fast guy.” It is pretty cool to be watching Monday Night Football thinking “Cover 2 D, slow LB – hit the end” and watch it happen.Would you like to Comment? Join VideoGameReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member. Summary Wow. That was my reaction the first time I laced up the cleats, strapped on the pads, and took a headfirst dive into the ultrarealistic experience known as NCAA Football 2003. If you are a football fan of any type, then it is required that you have this game. This is college football like you've never seen it before. Other than on TV, of course.Sound Although listening to Lee Corso question your playcalling all the time can get a bit irritaing, the team of Brad Nessler, Lee and Kirk Herbstreit still does an excellent job. It is one of the first games in which the commentators will react to what is happening on the field, rather than repeating generic phrases over and over again. Believe me, if you make a questionable decision, they'll let you hear about it. They'll also update you on milestones, such as 200 yards passing or 100 yards running. On the field, audibles and fake snaps sound great. And oh by the way, the game features over 200 real fight songs.Gameplay First of all, let me just say that if 144 division 1-A and 1-AA schools are not enough for you, you can stop reading right now. The gameplay is so intergrated, you might as well be coaching a real football team. From cover 2 defenses and all-out blitzes to knowing exactly when to throw a screen pass or play-action, you will use every bit of football knowledge you have. Throw in a superb dynasty mode, in which you take complete control over your team, hoping not to get snubbed by the B(c)S after a season of hard work culminating with your teams' annual rivalry game, and you have a football game for the ages. Other options include practice mode, and my favorite, mascot game, where you send 11 of you teams' mascots on the field to take on another mascot team. There are so many gameplay options, you will never be bored. Oh yeah, did I mention that you can create you own school, complete with jerseys, fight song, stadium and name? Didn't think so.Would you like to Comment? Join VideoGameReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member. Summary Absolutely the best football game for any console. This game not only brings out the best of college football, the gameplay play is outstanding and is as fun as video football can get. Deep dyansty modes, awesome graphics and the best play-by-play on any football game, this game is a must have and will stay in my video game library until NCAA 2004 hits the stores. I have played this game since it came out in July and will continue to play until next summer. The ultimate sign of an excellent game. Even though the college season is over, if you don't have this game, BUY IT!!! You won't be sorry.Sound Most games with play-by-play can get repetitive. Just one of those things that happens. However, with the three-man booth of Nessler, Corso and Herbstreit, I found the repetitiveness minimized. Their calls are right on the money and play specific. This is play-by-play at its best. The guys in the NFL 2K series are one of my favorites but the three-man booth get the nod. Their voices get excited on a big play, which adds to the fun factor. Another area in which the sound is superb is with the bands. The fight songs are done well and the team specific chants are awesome. The FSU band playing the chop to Florida's band playing that annoying tune, it's all here.Gameplay NCAA Football 2003 has multiple game modes (exhibition, season, dynasty, etc.) The gameplay is similar to Madden but different at the same time. The controls are tighter and the playbooks have the college feel (wishbone, triple option, etc.). The best addition is the trophy case. Now you can save all trophys earned in your profile so no more remembering what bowls you have won and who you beat. The trophy case shows off the hardware, which you can rotate and get a good look at, and it displays the score of the game. Not only are the bowl trophys up for grabs but also some of the more famous trophys from some the of the country's best rivalries. The golden hat (OU vs. Texas) to the Little Brown Jug (Michigan vs. Minnesota)can be won and displayed in your trophy case. This is an awesome addition to an already deep game. Another item that I found very appealing is the option of changing your schedule. Part of your schedule (depending on the team) is locked in but you can switch some of your non-conference games to help bolster your schedule. For those that experienced the schedule debacle on NCAA 1999 you won't see the same issues. Now, when you change your schedule, it won't alter other schedules of all the other teams. Very well done. In regards to the controls, basic EA style with minimal momentum. The options are done almost perfect and each team will run the offense that they are accustomed to. You play against Florida, expect pass on top of pass. West Virginia runs the spread offense well, mixing in draws and options. This game is as about as real as it can get. Another item that is excellent is the polls. Very realistic and all the bowl games are represented.Would you like to Comment? Join VideoGameReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member. Summary Overall it's the best college football game on the market. There are so many ways to have fun in this game with the rivalry games, mascot games and the incredible Dynasty mode. It's nice to have a game where you can hear fight songs for Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, etc. (unlike Sega's effort).Sound Awesome! Tons of fight songs and great commentary by the ESPN guys. I love the different fight songs for first downs, scores, etc. EA is far ahead of Sega in this area.Gameplay Gameplay isn't as realistic as Sega's NCAA 2K3. In this game receivers that are double- and triple-covered make catches. The option play also works better in Sega's game.The Dynasty mode is incredible however and is the highlight of the game. The rankings are much more realistic than the competitor's game. Would you like to Comment? Join VideoGameReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.
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