Just brought Madden '03 home...

[Guest kkktookmybabyaway]

Wow.

 

That's all I have to say.

 

One thing that has me scared is all the injuries that take place. I was playing one game where 4 players on the other team got broken fingers. And I just simulated a franchise season just to get introduced to the new offseason features. I scanned the injured list and 5 players had career-ending boo-boos. I'm wondering if someone will flat-out DIE while playing a game.

 

Other things that stand out right from the get-go...

 

* Love the ability to see your defensive schemes while on the field.

 

* Can't wait to start editing my playbook -- goodbye playaction, hello something useful

 

* WTF is with some Madden cards?!?! You have to BUY other EA games to unlock them?!?! !@#$

 

* The new music is great, and the commentary isn't too bad.

 

That's all, for now.

[Guest redbaron51]

sounds good...what system is it though?

 

* Can't wait to start editing my playbook -- goodbye playaction, hello something useful

 

Playactions rule

[Guest the pinjockey]

* WTF is with some Madden cards?!?! You have to BUY other EA games to unlock them?!?! !@#$

Um..That sucks.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

I really hate cheap shit like that. You already bought their fucking game! Why do you have to buy another one to play the one that you want?!

[Guest kkktookmybabyaway]

"Playactions rule"

 

Every time I use a PA pass, my QB gets sacked when faking the handoff. I finally said enough is enough and just stopped using it...

 

And from my quick glance into the "locked" Madden cards, it looks like you have to get NCAA Football (or whatever it's called) and (I think) the NASCAR game. I could be wrong though...

[Guest redbaron51]

college football would be cool to have as well...but NASCAR?

 

god...

[Guest kkktookmybabyaway]

Yeah, another thing I noticed was when I earned cards in mini-camp, all the ones I got featured a picture of some NFL gear.

 

Jesus! Stop the !@$% shilling already. I just completed the pocket passing challenge and then I get some article of clothing shoved in my face as a reward!

[Guest cdstunner66]

How does it compare to NCAA 2003? I'm halfway through my third season in dynasty mode with Penn State on that.

[Guest NaturalBornThriller4:20]

Nobody-can-beat-me-in-Madden-2003.

I'm-the-ruler-of-this-Shit-and-I-just-brought

it.

[Guest jimmy no nose]

I have it right here, unopened. Just got back from buying it about 15 minutes ago. Is it really as good as I hoped? I hear NFL 2K3 rocks too.

[Guest KANE]

I'm waiting to hear if there's a significant improvment on 2002, because in the SNES days, they used to rope me in on consecutive years with the same game.

[Agent_Bond34 0]

I'm waiting to hear if there's a significant improvment on 2002, because in the SNES days, they used to rope me in on consecutive years with the same game.

They did that to a lot of people in the SNES days.

 

Is it me or did some of the Sega Genesis versions of Madden suck ass? Like Madden 96 for example..

 

As far as Madden 2003 being a significant improvement over 2002? I sure as hell hope so, I wasn't all that impressed with 2002, I hope 2003 is an improvement.

[Guest The Voices In Your Head]

Oh, believe me, this game is worth the cash. The mini camp mode was pretty addicting, and I like how you use what you did in the drills in a real game situation. [for example, after the rushing drill, there's an in game scenario where you try to run the clock out by running the ball] I just beat St. Louis in overtime with Denver in a hell of a game. I have a LOT of work to do in the pass coverage area. Tomorrow I'll probably go through Franchise mode, but I'm in the middle of checking out NFL 2K3 right now [which is definitely worth the cash]

[Guest kkktookmybabyaway]

"Is it me or did some of the Sega Genesis versions of Madden suck ass? Like Madden 96 for example.."

 

For me the Madden franchise ended on my Genesis after I bought my '93 championship edition. Once I got a PS2 though, my interest was revived...

 

"I just beat St. Louis in overtime with Denver in a hell of a game. I have a LOT of work to do in the pass coverage area."

 

Me too. So far my exhibition record is 4-7, not including some games I quit midway through because I was trying out some new features. Funny thing is most of my losses have been by 6 points or less, so they're ACTUAL games.

[Agent_Bond34 0]

For me the Madden franchise ended on my Genesis after I bought my '93 championship edition. Once I got a PS2 though, my interest was revived...

I see where you're coming from there. I didn't buy all that many Madden games on SNES and Genesis, maybe about three or four.

 

I did get Madden 99 on N64 as a Chrismas present in 1998 and enjoyed it, it was a pretty good game for an N64 football game, at least in my opinion that is.

 

Madden's best stuff, IMO, is still to come now that they've made the jump to systems like the PS2, XBox, etc.

[Guest MarvinisaLunatic]

I got M2k2 for the Gamecube and its fun, but for me, even on the easier setting, its hard.

 

That and the memory card is full just from saving a season. I don't normally buy consecutive years sports games (oddly I have 2k2 for the computer and Gamecube)

[Guest Jobber of the Week]

NFL2K3, by all indications, will be blowing Madden away. At least on non-PS2 systems anyway. If you have a PS2, Madden is the way if you want to go online.

 

I can't wait to see what Sega does with the ESPN license.

[Guest Lethargic]

I've been playing it since Tuesday and it's basically the exact same game as last year. Sure it's got the mini-camp, which is fun for about 5 minutes then gets old, but everything else is last year's game with new rosters, Al Michaels and some new menu music. Maybe some slight changes here and there that doesn't effect anything but for the most part it's just 2002 again. The graphics don't really look any better than last year's either.

 

And I've looked all over and up and down the menus and the instruction book and there's nothing on here anywhere about online play which sucks.

[Guest converge241]

just wait til' Aug 28th and play that sucker online!!

[Guest kkktookmybabyaway]

"I didn't buy all that many Madden games on SNES and Genesis, maybe about three or four."

 

What I liked about the first three madden games (Madden, '92, '93), and also the early NHL games (’92 and ’94) was that it was easy to control the players. It also had a cartoon-ish feel to that made playing it fun. After that it just wasn't fun anymore.

 

BTW: When Madden '92 came out it had a new feature called "Teammates," which meant that two people could play on the same team. The next year, in the Madden '93 instruction book, all of the "Teammates" information was the same -- most franchise games just copy and paste the instructions if the controls are the same from year to year. However, this paragraph was added at the end...

 

"When one player is dissatisfied or upset with the play of his teammate, there is no need to argue. For example, if the player controlling the quarterback and the play-calling is making a lot of unwise decision, both players should discuss the problem and come to an agreement -- perhaps pause the game and decide together which play to run next. It's okay to be angry, but don't let your anger get the best of you, and never resort to violence."

 

Of course this was probably put in because some stupid parent caught little Johnny and Billy fighting because one of them wasn't giving the ball to the other one...

[Guest Will Scarlet]

I bought the game today, and I am mixed on it so far. I mainly buy these games for the Franchise mode, as I mainly enjoy simulating most of the games and trying to build my team up through the draft and free agency. I play a few games though just to get acquainted with my players so I know who I like and do not like on my team.

 

I like the changes made to Franchise mode. For instance, the draft is VERY inexact, so I could draft a guy who is total bust or a guy who is a total surprise as you do not know their exact stats beforehand, you just know some vague stuff and what your scouts tell you, provided you scout the player. The main dowside to this is that after the draft you know how good your players are, so you will also see a plethora of undrafted players who could fit into your team, as they are usually quite good, which kind of cheapens the purpose of a draft.

 

Another nice touch about the mode was player salaries, like, in a few cases, when I resigned a player who made $3.95 million before, he only wanted like $2.95 million for his new contract, helping me re-sign a good player, and gain $1 million on my salary cap. I like little things like that.

 

I hate the music in the game though. The problem is that they have to remind you what song is playing whenever a new one comes up, thus obstructing my view at times. I usually play the game on mute, and just listen to my own music, so the fact that they kept putting the song title up annoyed the hell out of me.

 

So far, I like the game though. I hope to get a chance to play it more often. It seems fun, and a game I can really into playing.

[Guest Eagan469]

NFL 2K3 is gonna run circles around Madden this year.

[Guest El Satanico]

The main reason why i buy Madden every year is just to get the updated rosters. If the game itself has been improved or somewhat changed then it's just an added bonus to me.

 

I don't get the whole claiming that one football game is much better then another. Unless a company totally fucked a game up every football game will basically be the same.

 

As long as Madden never turn into NFL Blitz i'll be happy. I fucking hate NFL Blitz. Dumb ass cartoony football shit that tries to resemble a real football game. If it was sold as a cartoony football game it would be alright, but they push it as a serious football game.

[Guest MrRant]

I buy what plays the best and generally that is Madden. I have 2k2 already and I am thinking about NCAA 2003 but is that build on the Madden 2K3 engine or 2K2?

[Agent_Bond34 0]

I buy what plays the best and generally that is Madden.  I have 2k2 already and I am thinking about NCAA 2003 but is that build on the Madden 2K3 engine or 2K2?

NCAA Football 2003 is built on the Madden engine, and College Football 2K3 is built on the 2K3 engine, at least on PS2 that is.

 

I've already played NCAA Football 2003 and College Football 2K3 on PS2 and I have a good idea on how the game engines on Madden and NFL 2K3 will be like.

[Guest Angle is Wrestling]

NFL 2K3 is shit.. the gameplay is still weird and fucked up and the CPU teams make stupid trades during franchise..(for example, after I finished a franchise season, Moss was on the Jags, Corey Dillon was on the Cowboys, Champ Bailey was on the Raiders..even though they still had Charles Woodson and Phillip Buchannon..and Marshall Faulk was on the Dolphins.. even though they still had Ricky Williams)

[Guest converge241]

i dont like the NFL 2k graphics, players have weird modeled bodies

[Guest Just call me Dan]

Well most of you seem to be favoring games like Madden and MFL2k series, but what about XBox's fever? I absolutely love that game and can't wait for 2003, any thoughts on that series?

[Guest redbaron51]

I bought Madden today for my X-Box and already a week in aka Pre-Season I lose Garcia with an ACL tear and lose Owens for 12 weeks with a dislocated shoulder.

 

I still won 19-17