Review

NFL Fever 2003

By Bro Buzz
August 13, 2002 17:15 PM PST
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Microsoft's first-party football title returns for another year. Can NFL Fever 2003 run to daylight?

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NFL Fever 2003 continues the franchise?s impressive assault on Madden NFL 2003 and NFL 2K3. This game dances down the sideline between football sim and football arcade game, and it scores. Make no mistake; Fever has all the trappings of NFL football. All the current pro teams and a good number of all-time teams for every franchise are suited up. Stadiums are re-created in decent detail.

In fact, the ambient stadium sounds and crowd noises are just two of the game?s audio highlights. They bolster the sounds, and they?re joined by good playcalling by the two guys in the booth, who unfortunately sound a mite dry and lack big-game electricity.

Visually, Fever runs pretty well. This game generally moves fast, and purists should enjoy scouting out the fine details in the player movements, like stumbling running backs fighting for balance or defenders reaching out to stop a runner. However, player models look slightly beefy and generic, and for all the subtleties, there?s some robotic-looking movement, too.

Fever shifts into gear with its gameplay. Like last year?s version, the game often feels fluid and furious. You can squeeze serious thrills out of the running game, and the controls are nicely tuned for the ground attack. At the snap, you can see plays developing and quickly cut into an open lane...nice!

The passing attack, on the other hand, has a sort of split personality: It?s sometimes explosive and sometimes laid-back. For plays that call for receivers to make sharp cuts on out patterns or quick slants, you can fire bullets. But for anything long and deep, the gameplay noticeably downshifts as the ball takes a relaxed, scenic route to receivers.

On defense, you can make some great individual moves. The swim move works more effectively than in any other game. But defensive demons are going to feel hamstrung when they find they can?t quickly shift the line or the linebackers.

NFL Fever is sure to recruit a following, and it has some nice upsides. The online action via Xbox Live, for example, worked perfectly under laboratory conditions, and time will tell how well it withstands real-world strains. This is definitely not a football sim, but it brings its own brand of fun to football.