FIFA Football 2003

Written by Tom Clare in PSOne Game Reviews, Sunday 20 June, 2004

Fun.If.Flawed.Action

EA's FIFA football franchise began life on the 16-bit machines (Mega-Drive and SNES) way back in 1994, and has since expanded to become one of the highest-selling series in gaming history.

So, it's Christmas 2002 and regular as clockwork, the annual FIFA game arrives in the shops. Tempting, but to my horror I discover that publishers have collectively decided to bump up the price of PSOne software to £24.99 for the festive season, and so it wasn't until a couple of weeks ago upon spotting it for a tenner, that I purchased it.

We remaining PSOne gamers (all eight of us) have had a rough time of late when it comes to updates and sequels - whilst the next-generation versions of FIFA 2003 will doubtless have all manner of new features, graphical touches and gameplay enhancements, I got the feeling this version of 'the beautiful game' would deliver little more than new kits and squad updates from 2002; a hand-me-down, if you like.

Much of FIFA Football 2003 does seem a little rushed and lazy, and neither does it attempt to revolutionise console football nor does it prove much of a step forward for the series, but if you are easily pleased and after an up-to-date PSOne footie game, then you should find plenty to like here.

I'll start with the positive - FIFA Football 2003 is as well-presented as I've ever seen the series; after being treated to a slick video clip showcasing the talents of Ryan Giggs, Edgar Davids and Roberto Carlos, you are lead to a very stylish title screen, where all the games modes are available to choose from.

As usual, you can decide to play a one-off friendly, with the luxury of over 300 teams from across the globe to choose from. Or for something with a little more substance, you can attempt a full-blown championship season complete with European and Domestic cup competitions. If these don't take your fancy, then there is always the 'customise your own tournament' option. One new mode is available to try (die-hard FIFA fans breathe a sigh of relief) for this year, and it's the rather nifty Club Championship.

The Club Championship basically takes 20 of the best teams from around Europe and sticks them in a league together; it's competitive, challenging stuff - footballing giants Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester United face off to each other regularly, and there is rarely an uneventful match on show here.

On the gameplay front; it's your basic football simulation - 2 teams, 22 players and a realistic amount of abuse directed at the T.V when your defenders don't make that crucial tackle...The basic mechanics remain largely unchanged from FIFA Football 2002, except for the sprint feature and free-kicks. Generally speaking, free-kicks have been a bit naff in recent FIFA's, but have thankfully been given a complete overhaul for the 2003 season. Rather than lining up free-kicks/corners with a stupid pointy arrow, you use a small football icon to determine exactly where you wish to strike the ball - meaning you can hoof it high, blast it along the ground and apply ridiculous amounts of curve with ease. The sprint feature has been moved from the triangle button to R1 (Mimicking the successful control method used in Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer), which basically means you can gallop along whilst simultaneously passing or shooting - a definite improvement.

There isn't a great deal wrong playability-wise; the artificial intelligence has in recent times been improved beyond recognition, and so there will be no ridiculous 15-0 thrashings here. Unfortunately, the referee's are still completely unpredictable though - you can get away with literally crippling a player with a brutal tackle from behind without so much as conceding a free-kick, but then get sent off for little more than a clip at the shins. Oh well, some things never change I guess...

Like pretty much every sports game ever created, FIFA gets frustrating on the higher difficulty settings, mainly due to the weak defence set-up (something Electronic Arts have had trouble with in many of their franchises for years now), but with a bit of practice, you'll soon be involved in some close ties with a well-judged computer opponent.

Keeping with tradition, FIFA 2003 delivers a handful of nice touches that have been tweaked to perfection. The commentary is possibly the best I've come across in a footie game, with legendary pundit John Motson covering the action accurately and authentically. The game really shows its brains with Ally McCoist however, who talks pre-match about your team's recent form, suspensions, injuries and opposition - superb stuff.

The graphics are mostly very good, but not without their flaws. Players still have completely gormless facial expressions throughout and, oddly, no hands! There is the odd moment here and there when the frame-rate will get a little jerky because of heavy on-screen activity, but on the whole the action runs admirably smoothly for a PSOne game. Stadiums are lavish and slick, as are the wonderful mini-animations of the players; amusing and satisfying goal celebrations, begging the referee to be lenient after a rash challenge, and doing a lap of honour after winning a trophy - it's all good. Worryingly however, the graphics don't seem to have been updated at all in three or four years, which isn't very fair considering the amount of money they wanted us to cough up for this on release.

Featured in the game are tunes from Kosheen, Miss Dynamite, Idlewild and a selection of other acts. Songs play throughout the presentation screens, and it's nice to see EA forking out to get some recognisable, predictable music to hum along to as opposed to the usual 'internally created' stuff.

The value and lifespan of FIFA Football 2003 depends on whether you bought last year's version really. If not, then there is the potential for weeks of play here thanks to the plethora of tournaments and gigantic selection of real teams to experiment with. Be aware though, that things rarely change much in a year for this series, and the changes are only very small. If you are simply looking for squad updates, then this will cater for your needs and is not a bad buy for a tenner.

In terms of its competition, it's still behind the supreme Pro Evolution Soccer 2 (Also a tenner now, I believe), but is closing the gap rapidly. With the new FIFA Football 2004 coming out for the PSOne at the end of the month, but no more Pro Evolution Soccer titles planned, EA may just have the market to itself.

So to conclude, FIFA Football 2003 is a solid title; good in all departments, without ever truly shining. It isn't the best football game on the console though for the most up-to-date, realistic footie available, fans need look no further.

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