spankyj

Which would you recommend to buy? I'm borrowing a friend's copy of 2003 - and I'm not all too impressed. Previously I had played the 2k series on the Dreamcast - so the gameplay is disappointing thus far to me. My understanding is that the season/dynasty is much better with 2003 - but I haven't messed with it just yet. Most full reviews are behind lock & key, so I'm wondering what all of your input is on the games. If you had to go with one - which and why?

darkside

EA's 2003 is much better than Sega's game IMO. However, if you prefer the way Sega's football games handle then go with Sega. I thought the Sega offering for College football was pretty weak though.

Static Cling

Well, you know better what you like, so if you like the 2k series, then go for that. However, I love NCAA Football 2003. What is it about the game that doesn't impress you?

spankyj

Well - I had the 2k2 college football game for the dreamcast along with the NFL games. How those compare now on the PS2 is my question, vs the EA college offering of course. My initial reactions to the NCAA 2003 game are that it has great extras - dynasty/create a team/mascot game, etc. - but the actual gameplay isn't as good. I expect the 2k3 game to have better gameplay, but less "goodies". Gameplay is of great importance to me, but so are the recruiting/customization aspects of the game. I'd be willing to sacrifice some of 2k3's gameplay if 2003 greatly surpasses the other features of 2k3.
Is there anyway to speed up the pace of the game? Not that watching the cheerleaders after every great play doesn't peak my interest - but I'm trying to play football, not get laid. I know that 2k2 had a feature to reduce time between plays and keep the game quickly moving.

Kellehair

2003 is awesome. I never played 2k3 but it got soundly beat by 2003 in all the reviews I saw.

mr.snowmizer

2003 easily over 2k3 for college football.

spankyj

Well - it looks like the overwhelming majority goes with EA over the 2k3. I'll probably follow all of your advice then. For those of you who've played both - what makes the 2003 better for you?

Quake1028

NCAA Football 2003 is the best football game ever made, just beating out NFL 2K3.

Static Cling

Best. Football. Game. Evar? Bold words. Where does Madden 2003 rank?

AgtFox

Many say that NCAA 2003 is the best football game ever, even eclipsing Madden 2003 and any before it. NCAA 2003 probably gets the nod because you have a more robust system in the dynasty mode (team prestige, coach prestige, trying to get awards and All-American standings, recruiting, red-shirting, etc.) than you get in the franchise mode (draft, money caps, etc.) in Madden 2003. Many people like college football above pro football every day of the week and twice on Sundays (figure of speech).

I love both of the games and NFL2k3 (mostly because you can play this on-line). EA definitely brought its A game against Sega this year in both the pro and college ranks. Only place Sega might win would be Baseball...although it's sounding like MVP Baseball is going to make a thunderous appearance against World Series Baseball.

fujishig

Why not just wait until next year? Or until price drops? I mean, I'm hooked on my Gamecube NCAA 2003, and that's without even utilizing the franchise mode since I don't have enough memory card space. But that's because USC had such a great year in football, and it was only 20 bucks. If the college games are still 40 to 50 for PS2, I'd wait a little. I mean, the season's been over for quite some time, so it's not that hard, right?

Static Cling

Gotcha. I have NCAA 2003 (NCAA 2002 is why I bought a PS2), and I love it... I was just curious as to how Madden stacked up. I'm intrigued by the Madden 2003 mini-games/drills, but I don't think I want to deal with all the money issues in the Madden franchise mode. I love the recruiting mode in NCAA... it's so great to recruit freshman and watch them rise through the ranks.

AgtFox

Don't get me wrong...Madden 2003 is a great game (I own both). The mini-camp thing is pretty cool until you start getting into the more difficult levels...then you begin to want to throw your controller at the TV. To be honest with you have yet to go through a whole year in Franchise mode (I've done 3 years in NCAA), so I do not know if there are any money issues. I would guess there is because it is supposed to be a more robust Franchise mode than last years. To have true simulation you would have to worry about re-signing players, salary caps, etc.

SpacemanSpiff

i like ncaa 2003 for ps2
i dont like madden 2003

spankyj

I've decided to go with the NCAA 2003. Thanks for all your input everyone.

In my initial quest to take a not-so-good team to the Championship - I'm 2-0 with the South Carolina Gamecocks. With tough games coming up against Georgia, Florida and Tennessee - it's anyones guess where I'll end up. I'll keep you posted.

edytwinky

Congrats NCAA 2003 is going to kick some @$$. My brother bought it recently and i'm glad he finally made a good decision.

Face/Off

NCAA 2003 is a wonderful game. Plus some guy out there spent a lot of time putting in player names for everyone on ncaarosters.com