Introduction
EA Sports has always held a monopoly on the sports video game market. The NCAA series has been a fan favorite for years, and even Mutant League Football was better than most 16-bit pigskin games. Back in the old days, EA had very limited competition. Today, that isn’t the case. SEGA and Visual Concepts have created a worthy competitor for Madden in the NFL2K series, which has grown better in each of its first 3 years. This new competition is a good thing, since a rival usually brings out the best in everyone. EA has evolved the Madden series so that no other football simulation can even come close to its greatness. Madden NFL 2003 is head and shoulders above any other football game, mainly because of the new Online mode and improvements to an already awesome game engine.

Gameplay
As far as the graphics go, Madden football has never looked better. Stadiums are highly detailed, with every little nuance included. The crowds could use a bit of work, but if you pay attention to the crowd animations while playing this game, you should find something else to play. The player models look very realistic. Kickers look like scrawny nerds, defensive tackles have huge beer bellies, and wiry receivers (I’m looking at you, Todd Pinkston) have skinny arms and legs. Visually, I think Madden 2003 should please everyone. Animations are extremely realistic, and you won’t see the same tackle animations twenty times in one game.


Story
Madden NFL 2003 is packed with modes, options, and features that will keep hardcore football fans busy for a long time. The newest addition, the Mini Camp mode, kept me playing well after I had dominated the Franchise mode. If you aren’t familiar with the Mini Camp mode, I’ll fill you in on what it’s all about. Basically, Mini Camp mode is a collection of football drills, which will increase your skills in various areas of the game. You earn Madden Challenge cards for completing each of these drills. Madden Challenge cards come in a number of varieties, like player cards that increase attributes, game cheats, classic players, and hidden teams and stadiums. Mini Camp mode is a lot of fun, and really drops the learning curve down so that even retarded people can master Madden! The new Online mode is great if you have a broadband connection. The game keeps track of your wins, losses, disconnects, and you’re passing and running stats. These stats help you find the perfect online opponent. You can see if the chump you are about to play disconnects all the time, or if they always pass or run. Roster updates are available online, and EA has done a great job of supplying you with plenty of updates. Franchise mode is improved over last years, especially in the area of the NFL Draft. This year, you get to scout your potential draft picks (which you can import from NCAA Football 2003), to see how they perform in the draft combine. Do you need an offensive tackle that can bench-press a ton, but also has a good vertical jump? Well, with the new scouting features, you can see just how high fatty can leap. Sweet. Madden 2003 also has the new Football 101 feature, where John Madden himself breaks down offensive plays, and shows you how they should be executed. You get Madden Challenge points if you perform the way Big John expects you to. The Season, Tournament and Two Minute Drill features are back, and are all very good. But, this is Madden football, did you expect anything less?

Graphics
Madden games have always had solid controls, and the 2003 version of Madden is no different. Pulling the ball down as the QB and running couldn’t be easier, juking a safety out of his jock is a breeze to pull off (although, the better safeties will knock your block off), and using a swim move to blow by a slow offensive tackle is easy to perform. You can do 5 different things as a runner (Turbo, Spin, Hurdle, Stiff Arm and Juke), and they are all just a button press. What I am trying to say is, Madden 2003’s controls are awesome. You won’t screw up a play on the field because you didn’t press L2+Triangle+D Pad just to pump fake.


Sound
Madden might be a little rough on the ears when it comes to play-by-play, which isn’t a surprise for this series. Actually, the commentary has gotten worse. Madden doesn’t have any “interesting” stories about players! Al Michaels replaces Pat Summerall’s robotic commentary, but still sounds like he is reading off a piece of paper, and not actually in the booth. One good thing about the audio is the realism of the sound effects. Everything short of a “AHHH, MY KNEE!” is heard in the game.