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With all the high quality football games on the market, there's really only one final determining factor for your purchase: personal preference. If you're a Madden fan, you'll probably buy Madden. Same with the 2K series or Blitz or whatever else floats your boat. I happen to be a Fever fan, so when Fever 2003 came out, it didn't take me long to decide which one I was going to buy.
For those of you in the "undecided" bracket, let me plead the case. Fever is a great game. To me, it is somewhere in the middle of 2k3's great graphics and Maddens realistic play. I think it's the most well rounded of the football games. There are lots of plays, and they're easy to understand. The Dynasty mode is by far the best in any game, in my opinion, and the play editor is easy to use. The big reason for X-box owners to get Fever is that it will be a marquee game on the new X-Box Live platform.
For those of you who've already played 2002, there are only a few subtle changes to 2003. Probably only die-hard fans will notice anything past the roster changes. The graphics are only slightly improved over 2002, and it looks like the exact same engine. I guess they figured if it aint broke, don't fix it. The tackles and runs are far more animated than in 2002 which showed the same tackles over and over. While the engine is pretty much the same, the shading and lighting has improved, and the weather features look a little more realistic, especially field damage.
Once you get past the superficial aspects of the game, you can tell there have been other needed changes.
1. Defense: the secondary is much more of a threat than in 2002. The computer still passes 99% of the time (unfortunately) and instead of confronting the key issue and making the comp stay on the ground more, the secondary is better at blocking passes and breaking up plays. The A.I. is much imroved. If you throw all the time like the comp does, the secondary will adapt and become more aggressive. If you try to run every play, the same thing will occur. It becomes more obvious when playing the computer, but it's also a major factor when playing against friends.
2. Officiating. Anyone who played 2002 knows there were only about 2 calls the refs ever gave unless you accidentally encroached or made a false start on your own. One was holding, the other was pass interference. The officiating seems a lot tighter in 2003, and there's a lot mroe going on with the A.I controlled characters. I've already heard one too many "holding" calls, but I guess you can't eliminate it completely.
3. Dynasty mode. Not much has changed here, but one major difference is the way players improve. First, they improve far more slowly and less dramatic than in 2002. Having a stellar game in the box score does not guarantee improvement. In fact, I'm not sure what does. On them same side of that coin, it's also difficult to get worse. One cool feature is, after every game, they show you exactly who did or didn't improve. It saves you the trouble of having to go to management after every game.
4. Gameplay: Overall, the teams are a lot more balanced than in 2002. I think they've obviously tried to represent the salary caps this way. There are dominant teams, but they're not as dominanat as in 2002 where the margins were often huge. Teams and players now average somewhere in the 80's, and there are a lot fewer players with overall ratigns higher than 90. Far fewer than last year. I think they're trying to avoid players with unrealistic ratings that can achieve the superhuman (Cory Dillan on 2002 for example). This is probably the most dramatic change, and the one that is bound to have a big impact on people used to dominating on 2002. I used to play on the veteran or all-pro setting, but I'm getting my a$$ waxed at anything higher than novice right now.
Bottom line: if you liked Fever before, you'll still like it. They've done a lot to make the game more realisitc, without becoming tediously realistic. If you didn't like Fever, you probably still won't. Stick with what you like and stop hating. To each their own.
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First off, I'm a huge EA Sports Fan, and have been playing Madden since way back in the day. I just bought my X-Box, and wanted the best football game to start things off. Trust me, I don't buy with haste, and these past few weeks, I've been collecting material on all three of the biggie football titles on X-Box (Fever, Madden, NFL2K), and trying to decide...Well, I just played my first full game, of Fever 2003, and I really had nothing to complain about. The graphics are very crisp, and clear, and there is a very good amount of detail, although the players faces do tend to be generic looking.
The sound (I have surround dolby 5.1) was realistic to the sport, and it was fun to hear slightly muted sounds of the opposing team yelling out taunts to you. The announcers worked well, and I was pleased with the commentary, although at some points it does get repetative.
The gameplay, which is the biggie, worked well. There was good responce from the controller, and the timing is right on. If you have played Fever 2002, it is very similar, with a few minor upgrades...all in all, It's a fun time, and if you're not into the very technical Madden, this is a fun game to own.
At this time, Madden 2003 is yet to be released...I'm going to rent it, and if it's better, you better believe I'm returning Fever for it...on a side note, NCAA 2003 is a fab football game too, if you dig the college scene.
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