NBrid

Ah yes, the baseball strike was barely averted. Who cares, it's football season! And as such every sports game developer is trotting out their latest versions of videogame football. Out of all sports games, football games are by far the most popular. So there is an intense war brewing to win your dollars. This year's top contenders include: Madden 2003, NFL2K3, NFL Blitz, NFL GameDay, and NFL Fever. Which one is the one for YOU?!

Let's get the garbage out of the way. Sony's 989 Studio GameDay (PS2), don't bother. Same for Microsoft Xbox's Fever (I didn't get a chance to try this year's version, but reports say it's basically the same as lasts). Unless for some reason you have an attachment to these games, take a pass. If you played last year's version, there isn't much new either. The games are just as bad as last. Maybe they arn't that bad, but when you have MUCH better choices, why waste your time and money.

Next up we have Midway's NFL Blitz (PS2/GC/XB, I tested the GC version). This game is quite different then the others. It's an arcade football game rather then a sim. For a quick game with a friend, it can't be beat. But it does wear thin, and fast. Getting in 20 late hits after every play is fun, at first. Plus the commentary did have some hilarious one-liners here and there (like the blame for a bad play wasn't the QB's, but rather the moron holding the controller). I have no clue why the player you throw to (or run with) changes to "you" (with your name and number on back). I thought I was throwing to Henderson all the time (who is number 33). It took me awhile to catch on. I'm not a fan of this thin game. It really doesn't seem any different then when I played it 3 years ago. They did add a cool feature where before every play using the c-stick you can pick what you want your "special" player to do. Like on defense have them blitz or on offense have them go deep. Still, this game is more for non-football and non-sports fans.

Now come the two big boys: EA's Madden and Sega Sport's NFL2k3. Thankfully these are also the two on every platform so no one loses out.

Both of these games have so much going for them that it's hard to figure out where to begin. So I'll start at the top. Let me mention I played the GameCube's version of NFL2K3 and for Madden I've played both the PS2 and GC versions, but most of this follows suit for all the platforms with one exception (which I'll get to).

Graphics: Tough call here. Both are well detailed with excellent, fluid animations. I think Madden's graphics look crisper then NFL2K3's, but the graphics of each were more just different from each other then one looking much better then the other.

Sound: This one isn't very close. As has been the case since NFL2K began, it excels in the sound department. Madden falls way short here. NFL2K3's commentary is so much better, and even the sound effects are better. Madden for some reason seems like it's not even trying to compete with NFL2K3 in this area, so it almost ignores it altogether. The only difference is Madden's partner this time is Al Michaels (since Madden has moved to MNF). Madden did try and do one new thing this year in sound. Taking a page from extreme sports titles, Madden has a licensed soundtrack with tracks from the likes of Nappy Roots, Quarashi (who oddly also does the theme song for NFL Blitz this year), and others. One randomly plays on the title screen and in-game over the stadium's PA system for a nice effect.

Presentation: Wow! This one isn't close at all. NFL2K3 destroys Madden here. Right from the start in Madden you see a random player say, "Madden 2003. It's in the game." Compare that to NFL2K3 which starts off with ESPN SportsCenter complete with Dan Patrick. Gone is the stale circle of buttons menu system. Instead everything is fashioned after the graphics on ESPN. Very well done. Madden's menu system and overlays look stale and flat, and when you compare them to NFL2K3's, it's not even in the same league. Picking plays is even much better in NFL2K3. I still don't like using the analog stick to pick a button in a circle around the neutral position (they dropped that for the menus this year, next they should drop that for the play selection), but seeing the play outlined on the field is much better then the sometimes hard to read plays of Madden. Once you learn the plays this is less of an issue though. And for 2-players, it's easier to hide your plays since there are three on the screen at once in Madden (but you can bluff your play call in NFL2K3 to hide your selection).

Modes: NFL2K3 is vastly improved in this area over previous versions. It now has a very well done franchise mode to compete with Madden's. Both have the standard season, fantasy, and situation modes. They also have create-a-player and create-a-play features. Madden still has the edge here with more options for each, and it just has the details of each of these modes done better. That said, I didn't spend too much time playing anything but single games so far.

Extras: Again Madden wins this category. It continues with its cool Madden Card system of last year where you can unlock new teams, stadiums, and tricks by earning cards during gameplay (like you might get one for rushing 100 yards). It also has a surprisingly fun "mini-camp" mode where you work-out to earn awards. You might have to throw the ball through rings or break tackles to grab a flag all to improve your skills. Madden also has a TON of retro teams. Each team in fact has numerous old-school teams (some of which need to be unlocked) and an all-time team. Plus there are NFL Europe teams to boot. NFL2K3 did have a seemingly cool feature where you can import your NCAA2K3 game, but I wasn't able to try it.

Gameplay: Ah the KEY area. In short, both are very well done, just different. Personally I still like Madden's play more then NFL2K's. It's what I'm used to and it works so well. But not everyone will feel this way and might prefer NFL2K3's system. I did have a problem with Madden on GC since it uses the awful Z-button for a few moves like stiff-arm, but that's usual these days on GC. I like NFL2K3's Maximum Passing where you can use the analog stick to adjust your throw (like to overthrow or underthrow it). Madden instead has "pass route" throwing where you pass where the man will be along his route rather then where he seems to be when you throw it normally. I think this difference highlights the key difference in gameplay: Madden is still much more of a sim then NFL2K3 which has a slight arcade touch. When you can underthrow the ball and then fight for it, it loses the sim feel but it can also be more fun. Madden just feels 'deeper'. It can take longer to learn, but a hardcore football player might appreciate more. If you want more action oriented play, then NFL2K3 is the ticket. But if you want more of a hardcore sim, Madden has this down pat with its years of experience fine tuning the game. Something new to NFL2K3's play selection I want to mention is after you pick your formation, you pick what your linemen will do. Should they hit the left gap or take on their man? It adds another factor in trying to get to the illusive QB.

In the end if you are looking for a football game you can't go wrong with either Madden or NFL2K3. Both are excellent games. It really comes down to personal choice. Long time fans of Madden have no real reason to switch. If you are new to football games you might what to give NFL2K3 a try. It also depends on what you want it for. If you want it to play a game with a friend, then NFL2K3 gets the nod with it's arcade feel (it's no Blitz, it's still a sim, but not in the same way as Madden). If however you are looking for a deep sim to play 1-player, a game with a great franchise mode and extras to earn like the Madden cards, then well Madden is your probable choice. I also should note that NFL2K3 is the much more improved game over the previous year's version. I thought Madden was the much better game last year, but with the improvements in NFL2K3 compared to the refinements of Madden, it's a very close race. SO many if you already have Madden 2002, you might want to try NFL2K3 afterall just to mix it up a year. Sorry if I can't narrow it down between these two, but it just can't be done by anyone but you.

Lastly I must mention online gaming. Obviously the GC versions are not online (though NFL2K3 has this lame online ranking system where you get a code you can enter into their website to see how you stand). If online football is important to you, then it might affect whether you get Madden or NFL2K3 (Madden is online on PS2, NFL2K3 is online on both PS2 and Xbox). One might play better online then the other. Seeing as how this is Madden's first year online, NFL2K3 might be the safer choice. Plus since it plays overall better with a friend offline, the same might be true online. Then again, Madden's more sim feel might work better with the lag present online. I myself never could get into online sports back on the Dreamcast so this has no bearing what-so-ever on my final pick, but you might want otherwise.

Again let me say you can't go wrong with either Madden of NFL2K3. This is one sport that two top games are neck-and-neck (unlike say basketball where NBA2K is currently the clear leader). But if you must know, I went with......(text unreadable)

Scores:

NFL2K3: 9.0/10
Madden 2003: 9.0/10
NFL Blitz: 7.0/10
NFL GameDay: N/A
NFL Fever: N/A