When Sega announced that they were going to go multi-platform last year, football players were skeptical how their splendid football game would do on the PlayStation 2. Even with a shortened development cycle, Visual Concepts did a great job with NFL 2K2, even though it had a few minor problems. This time they had a full development cycle and the addition of ESPN style presentation added to the mix; which they worked in wonderfully to give PlayStation 2 owners another wonderful football game to play on Sony's Black Box.

To further compete with Madden, Visual Concepts has acquired the ESPN license, so now they have a whole new presentation. This license has not been fully exploited in the hands of previous developers, but Sega has managed to change all of that. Anywhere players look in the game they will see the license being used and used to help corresponding with the game to make gamers get a fuller football experience. All the menu screens, replays, and loading screens have been done to something you would expect to see during an ESPN game. Visual Concepts did not only overhaul the presentation while plastering the ESPN logo everywhere; they understood what the license was all about, so they also incorporated the attitude that ESPN is known for. Everything from the commentary to the instant replays has been done with this networks style and brings the game much closer to the real thing.

NFL 2K3 has a plethora of modes that gamers will enjoy, they are: Quick Game/Exhibition, Franchise, Situation, Season, Playoffs, Practice, Tournament, Challenge Mode, and Online. The Quick Game/ Exhibition is a preseason match with any two professional teams. It is just a mode for instant football gratification. Practice is where gamers can practice several different plays until they fully understand the mechanics of them, and perfect them to use while in a game. Tournament mode lets players take up to sixteen teams and play a king of the hill to see who will be the top NFL team.

Season mode is where gamers can take a team through a football season, and if the team turns out to be good, they can take them into the playoffs. In this mode players will have a lot of coach related options, such as firing players, trading them, and optimizing the roster. If players wish, they can take the Playoff mode and jump immediately into any playoff game that they desire.

Situation mode is a remarkable mode; players will have the ability to edit everything, from the time, amount of points, quarter, and anything else. An example is this: It is the fourth quarter, with twenty seconds remaining on the clock, and the team you want to play as, is on the 50 yard line, and down by six points. With this powerful option players will be able to create any tense situation their hearts can dream of!

In Sega Sports Challenge mode, players play games with the default rules and options. At the end of each game that they play, players will receive a password. Write down that password and go to www.segasports.com  and input it in the appropriate field, and see how you rank against other people in the country. Online mode is where you can play against people across the country.

The real meat behind the game is the franchise mode. In this mode players will be able to tweak, micromanage, and do anything else to their hearts content. In NFL 2K3, it is not perfect, but it is as close to the real thing as you can find out on the market currently. Players will be able to scout for key players, draft them, manage the salary cap, and than make sure that you have enough players for every single position. Once the season starts, gamers will need to pick up free agents, fire the poor performing players, and do all the normal things any coach does. This mode has been totally revamped from last years and includes 3D menus and numerous little additions to make players feel like they are the coach of a certain team. It will make gamers feel a sense of accomplishment taking a meager team and turning them into a powerhouse!

The loading screens have to be one of one of the neatest features in the game. People reading this might be wondering why the loading screens are so good, and is this reviewer crazy. The reason for this is that each time players go into a game, the loading screen shows the stats of the two teams, as well as other info. This really distracts players from noticing how long the loading screens are. This little feature shows that Visual Concepts cares about the faithful following of this franchise, by providing them with minor distractions, such as waiting for the game to load, and provide them with something useful, and interesting.

NFL 2K3 is rated E for Everyone. It requires up to 2 MB on your memory card, can play up to 1-8 players (via multitap), and also has online play.

Gameplay: 9.2
When developing for the PlayStation 2, the developers must have realized that they have the perfect controller for sports games. Every button that is used feels like an extension of the player's body. The game is that fluid. The game also uses the PS2 pressure sensitivity, for the harder you press on a certain button, such as sprinting, the faster the player will go.

The game is really balanced in offense and defense. One thing that has had a major update is the running plays; they are much smoother and easier to control. The players have a larger variety of moves that they can do now. Say a defensive line is toppled over; you can now jump over them, instead of looking for an alternate path. The attention to details that Visual Concept programmed in is truly amazing and makes the game feel realistic like you are truly watching it on the television!

Graphics: 9.6 
The game is so close to realism that it will scare you. One time while playing a game, my brother came in and almost thought that there was actually a game playing at the time. Visual Concepts has done an awesome job of squeezing every ounce of power that the PlayStation 2 has to offer while developing this game. The player's faces look like their real life counter parts, and everything is smoothly animated. There are a few jaggies here and there, but gamers will be so drawn into the game, that it appears that they aren't even there.

Sound: 9.0
The sound used in the game is nothing short of phenomenal! The stadium noises give you the feeling that you are right there on the field playing. The commentary is really well done and does not get repetitive. The only thing that does get stale is when you break from a huddle they all said "Cowboys" (or whatever team you are playing as). It is not a huge deal, but does get a little agitating after a while.

Difficulty: Medium
The computer AI can be relentless while playing the game. It can guess your plays with accuracy, and rookie players can be intimidated by it. Thankfully, the learning curve is not very steep, and players can and will come to grips with the game within a couple of hours.

Concept: 9.3
This year Sega has added ESPN style presentation to the entire game, which has made it more authentic, and seem more like a live television broadcast. Also new to this years version is online play, which is welcome with open arms since previous versions on the Dreamcast had it. The franchise mode underwent a complete overhaul, and was made better than ever!

Multiplayer: 9.4
One of the best things about this game is that it has the option to play online verses other football fanatics across the country. At the time of the review I did not have a Network Adapter to try this out.

Visual Concepts did a great job for multiplayer when playing with your friends, there is hardly any noticeable slow down. If you don't have a network adapter to play online you can still trash talk to your friends sitting next to you.

Overall: 9.3
I firmly believe that Sega's NFL 2K3 is on par if not better than Madden 2003. Sega has fixed some of the little annoyances that plagued last year's version. With an in-depth franchise mode, advanced AI, ESPN style presentation, and online play, you can't find a better deal for $50.00. If you need to fulfill your football needs look no further than NFL 2K3!