• ID = PS0754
• STYLE = Football
• DEV. = Visual Concepts
• PUB. = Sega of America, Inc.
• R-DATE = Aug-02-2002
• ESRB = E / For Everyone
• PLAYERS = 1-2 players
• LIST PRICE = $19.99
  

NFL 2K3 features ESPN broadcast presentation, with player introductions, game highlights, replays, and scores displayed in the famous ESPN style. The all-new franchise mode lets you track comprehensive player stats and make shrewd trades as you build your franchise and develop your current team. An intuitive visual presentation makes it easier than ever to be a general manager. And the audible system lets you call plays just before the snap to catch your opponent off guard.

NFL 2K3 eliminates the complexity of previous versions, making it simple to call a blitz or take advantage of a defensive mismatch. Computer opponents now use more smarts when calling plays, including making tough defensive stands when you're attacking in the red zone. And gamers now have the ability to draft senior college players from NCAA College Football 2K3 and have them play in the next season on NFL 2K3. Players look genuine and lifelike, with more facial models and expressions that let you recognize your favorite NFL stars. Every NFL stadium is here, authentically reproduced in 3-D. From the cheap seats to sidelines crowded with players, coaches, and camera crews, no detail is overlooked.

Description 2:
Sega’s hard-hitting football series is ready for the 2002-03 season. Are you? Step out onto the gridiron for the most realistic football imaginable, enjoying full NFL rosters, detailed stadiums, and more. Using its new ESPN endorsement, the game presents its action in full television style, complete with spinning graphics, awesome slow-motion replays, stats, analysis, and the rest of the fixings. With better player models and more focused physics, NFL 2K3 takes on the feel of the pros, and new motion-capture animations further articulate the game-day action; one-handed tips, animated coaches, hurried throws, and other brilliant minutia are at play throughout the games, and team AI has been honed to perfection. Franchise mode puts you in the role of GM, challenging you to make good draft decisions and smart trades all from within the strict confines of a salary cap. Of course, you can always play a single game or enjoy a full season as well, and there are plenty of other goodies for pigskin fans, too.

• Full rosters.
• Real stadiums.
• A Franchise mode.
• High AI (Artificial Intelligents).
• Multiplayer action.

Amazon.com Review
Look no further than Sega Sports’ NFL 2K3 if you're seeking a more than worthy alternative to the established Madden football franchise. The game’s superb graphics alone are enough to draw in any fan, but its in-depth gameplay realism and ESPN broadcast presentation easily rank this as the finest football game Sega has released to date.

Thanks to its smarter-than-average artificial intelligence, NFL 2K3 sports a somewhat steep learning curve that requires sound football simulation instincts. Knowing your team’s strengths and weaknesses will ultimately be a big help if you hope to win at the game’s advanced levels. Be prepared to mix up your play calling and make adjustments instead of thinking the same old reliable plays will get the job done. Of course, practice mode is always there if you need to work the kinks out of your game plan and master the multitude of offensive and defensive sets at your disposal.

Graphically, sports games don’t come much better looking than NFL 2K3. Among the highlights: player animations are amazingly realistic and lifelike, and a wide array of facial emotions appear that are relative to game scenarios; stadiums are painstakingly re-created to take on almost postcardlike feel; and replays access a wide variety of angles to put you right on the field or in the stands.

One area in which NFL 2K3 easily aces Madden is its game commentary. As part of the game’s ESPN broadcast presentation, announcers Dan Stevens and Peter O’Keefe call every bit of the action in varied detail. Their comments are far removed from stale Maddenisms, offering worthwhile play breakdowns, player assessments, and quips that don’t make you wince in disgust (at least not too often). Stevens and O’Keefe, along with the crowd, will let you hear about it when you bite it on the field. --Larry White

Pros:
Superb graphics in most areas.
Commentators sound realistic and rarely repeat themselves.
Challenging AI forces you to adapt your game plan.

Cons:
Receivers can't be put in motion.
Slow, lofting quality of the passes.
No ability to challenge plays.
Often unrealistic player animations.