Madden 2003 or NFL 2k3? Any reviews? (1 Viewer)

[Damien]

1.gamerankings.com to keep track of the reviews
2. madden 2003 will be bought on day 1 by me. the most features as well, and john madden and al michels should be cool
3. i'll rent 2K3, because i had 2K2 and i think it sucks, so i'm not going to jump out and buy the next installment it had severe ai and playability problems that i don't think can be corrected i a year
4. I'm not touching Fever, the reviewers were generous to give it 7's

 

[Calvin Watts III]

I'll probably go with NFL2K3...
But...

My best friend & I were playing Madden 2002 on my Xbox yesterday, & he pointed out that it would be really cool if you could play a football game via system link .

Anyone know if that will be in any of the major football games?

Thanks,
Calvin

 

[Mike Pattee]

Fever has system link.
Madden does not have system link.
2k3 is rumored to have it but not likely.

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

From the Editorial Comments of IGN's 2K3 review:

. As for the other scores, I personally would have placed 2K2 firmly in the 8.4 range, and last year's Madden slightly higher at 8.6. By those standards, 9.2 is not only a great achievement for SEGA and VC, but a pretty darn good score. End of discussion.

Franchise Mode. Online play. National user stat tracking. Challenging and realistic AI. There is so much going on in NFL 2K3 that it will keep you busy until the next one (which I expect to make similar improvements) arrives next summer. If you take your football seriously, you owe yourself this game. It's now the deepest football game on the market, and is poised to remain good for many years. [italics are mine]

It's interesting that the author gives a comparison to how he rated the game last year, illustrating how much he thinks it has improved. I think it's a bit premature, however, for him to proclaim 2k3 the "deepest football game on the market" when he admits that he hasn't played Madden yet.

 

[Andrew Grall]

I have heard that NFL2k3 will have system link capability.

 

[Chris Rock]

One doesn't necessarily need to have played Madden to say that NFL2K3 is the deepest game on the market. Looking at the advertised features for each game could bring him to that conclusion.

As for me, it's 2K3 over Madden on the XBox, the main reason being Online play.

It would be the other way around for the PS2 version.

You can't go wrong with either game, though.

 

[Carlo_M]

I'll be picking up Madden on the XBox for one simple reason:
Where else are my seniors from NCAA 2003 going to go after graduation?

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

Chris,

When I hear "deep", I don't think of the feature list. To me, a deep game is one where the gameplay has many layers of refinement. In my opinion, you can't proclaim one game the deepest if you haven't played the others.

 

[Rob Varto]

To me, you know what you're going to get with Madden. Damn good gameplay, pretty graphics, nice franchise mode and a team that wins the superbowl year after year. For all the great things Madden offers, it continues to have problems with the defensive backs AI, the draft is a joke as most players progress to or play like studs right out of the box and you can virtually trade a guy off waivers for a first or second round pick.

Now I haven't played either game but I've read reviews on both and it seems that Madden is again going to be more of the same - save a few more new animations. NFL 2K3 is the great unknown, we may get a game also plagued with some strange bugs or bad AI, but it sounds exciting from the reviews so far. The franchise mode sounds DEEP - meaning that there needs to be some research done before you just opt for the "best rated" guy or the fastest guy.

Me, Im getting both. It wouldn't be fair to Madden 2004 or NFL 2K4 without trying them both this year.

 

[Chris Rock]

When I hear "deep", I don't think of the feature list. To me, a deep game is one where the gameplay has many layers of refinement. In my opinion, you can't proclaim one game the deepest if you haven't played the others.

I see your point. However, to play the devil's advocate here for the reviewer, I'm guessing he was comparing the advertised features for NFL2K3 with those of Madden 2003 - and drawing his conclusion from that - rather than from his experience of playing both. I happen to lean more toward his definition of "deep". But I can see where you'd come up with your definition.

The bottom line is this: Both games will rock this year.

(I hope this doesn't turn into a "DTS Vs. Dolby Digital" -ish thread like they've got going in the HT Software forum. I'll stick up for the merits of both of these fine games. You can't really go wrong with either.)

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

It's a tough, tough choice. I like both games though because Sega's effort is different than Madden's solid but well-tread style, it stands out more to me. However, all of my friends are getting Madden so if I want to play against people I know, I have to lean towards Madden. The fact that both games are rated so similarly and highly that choosing is especially difficult. I agree, they are both great games done differently.

 

[Andrew_Sch]

Anbody know if you can use created players in Franchise mode in 2K3? This has always been my biggest gripe with the series, and I'd love to see it fixed.

 

[Todd Schnell]

I just surfed briefly through this thread & sorry if I missed it, but the XBox & GCN review for Sega's NFL 3K3 are up at Gamespot.
They gave it a 9.1 on both systems.
XBOX here
http://gamespot.com/gamespot/filters...560965,00.html
GCN here
http://gamespot.com/gamespot/filters...548164,00.html
Todd

 

[Damien]

checking out gc madden 2003 review, the playbook editor is a lot bigger in scope than i first thought. You can make the formations from scratch, so you can do anything you want as long as its nfl legal. that freaking rules, just making sure CAP and CAT's are present this year in madden right?

 

[Evan S]

Andrew, you can use created players in franchise mode for World Series Baseball 2K3, so I bet you can now do it in NFL 2K3 as well.

 

[GaryP]

Guys,
Though I suppose there could be hardware issues with my PS2 causing my woes, there are still massive slowdown issues within the latest incarnation of Madden. It actually appears to be more prevalent in this years version than last years (I played very little of 2002, so I could be wrong). Madden 2003 is not a bad game, but the slowdown is inexcusable and makes it almost un-playable. Overall, it's little college based brother seems to be the more polished of the two.

I was completely satisfied with NCAA 2003, but picked up Madden for it's online capabilities to hold me over until Segas version is up and running on the 'BOX. I guess I'll hang on to it (Madden) so I can give the online capabilities a shot, but to say I'm disappointed with this effort is and understatement.

Gary

 

[ChristopherS]

Gary,

Are you sure there is nothing wrong with your PS2? I have followed all the reviews concerning Madden, NFL 2K3, and NFL Fever and no one has mentioned massive slow down on the PS2 (or any console). There have been some good hands on reviews on the Operation Sports forums and no one has talked about any massive slow down in Madden.

By the way I am not personally going to buy Madden. I have a XBOX and have no interest in buying a game I cannot play online. I am adding this so you do not think I am a die-hard Madden supporter.

Chris

 

[Dean DeMass]

Some quick comments on NFL2K3
So far I have played 3 games in NFL2K3 on the PS2 and I am very satisfied. The A.I. is really improved. Running the ball is tough, but passing seems to be easier this year. This can be fixed in the options though because SEGA finally added sliders for all of the different aspects of the game.
The playbooks are really sweet (the Rams' is huge) and I like the addition of Hot Routes for the O and D. The new animations are real nice, especially the tackles (Charlie Garner is a slippery mofo). I threw a pass to McCardell and he tipped it twice before finally hauling it in on the run (very cool). I haven't tried season mode or franchise yet since I am still re-learning the game. It seems like SEGA really went all out for their latest football game. I have yet to play Madden 2003, but I can honestly say EA has some real competition this year.
I am undecided if I am going to trade in the PS2 version to get the X-box version. I really like the PS2 controller for this game, but I want to play online in the HTF league we have set up. I'll probably just buy one of those adapters or really practice with the X-box controller. I feel that the PS2 controller is more suited for this game, but I guess I'll see when I play the X-box version.
-Dean-

 

[Mike Miskulin]

...and the same reviewer that gave NFL2k3 9.1s on GCN and XBOX, gives the PS2 version a 9.6!
http://gamespot.com/gamespot/filters...560964,00.html
mike.

 

[GaryP]

Dean,
My man, you have to get the XBOX version, no ifs, ands, or buts about it . Has been far too long since the good ol' 2K1 days, no? Glad to hear you're enjoying it though.
Chris, as I said, I definitely won't rule out hardware issues, though I may have narrowed down the cause. While playing multi-player with a 5 wide-out set (with all relevant player names showing on screen) during the QB's drop-back, it slows down to a snails pace for about 2-3 seconds. I can get this to happen repeatedly. I've noticed no slowdown during single player games so far. Has anyone else experienced said problem? I'm going to set up another 2 player game and turn off the name tags and see if that might help. I might be grasping at staws at this point though.
Thanks,
Gary