Metacritic Games

Madden NFL 2003 (GameCube)

Sounds Of The Game: Up-to-the-minute stat commentary, on-field player banter, and improved crowd reactions keep the audio realistic and fresh from game to game. Audio Dream Team: Dynamic play-by-play and analysis by Madden and Michaels. All-New Mini-camp: Hop on John Madden's Cruiser Tour Bus and travel to all NFL cities to complete skilled tasks. Create-A-Playbook: Customize receiver routes, player formations and more. Deepest Franchise Mode Ever: Play 30 years of Franchise mode and draft players each season with tips from your scouts.[EA Sports]

EA Sports
Sports, Football
Players: 4
E (Everyone)
Developer: Electronic Arts - Tiburon
Released August 13, 2002

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

92 / 100

Critic Reviews

100	GamePro Even beyond the football gameplay, you have to appreciate the wealth of extras and activities that make Madden NFL 2003 such an entertaining and complete package.
100	Nintendojo Marshall Faulk is the perfect cover spokesperson for this instalment as he embodies what 2003 is for Madden: steady, reliable, accurate, excellent, abnormally good… need I go on?
100	Play Magazine Above all, a better feeling and playing game, boosted by subtleties that you may not even recognize until you've made it to the playoffs.[Sept 2002, p.72]
100	GameNow The most well-rounded, option-rich football game in history. [A+: Sept 2002, p.51]
93	Game Informer The GameCube version seems to hamper players a little bit just because of the odd configuration of the controller, but everything else is smooth and silky. [Sept 2002, p.85]
91	XenGamers Armchair quarterbacks will find plenty to like here, from the extremely deep, almost sim-like gameplay to the ability to develop a custom playbook, to the new mini-camp, which lets you unlock hidden features and teams as you play.
91	Armchair Empire I’m going to assign Madden 2003 the same score that I gave "Madden 2002." The changes are nice, but none of them mark a truly great leap over last year’s game.
90	Nintendophiles It’s franchise mode is deeper than ever, and gameplay more solid than ever. Once again, EA and Tiburon have topped themselves in all categories.
90	Gamers' Temple A lot of gameplay modes and some pretty darn good football to boot; you can't go wrong with Madden NFL 2003.
88	IGN A can't miss because it accurately simulates NFL gameplay, NFL commentary, NFL uniforms, NFL stadiums and NFL players and that's what football gamers are looking for.
86	GameSpot There's a lot to like about Madden 2003...the few small problems its gameplay does have really prevent from it being the top football game on the GameCube.
84	Nintendo Power The Madden games are closing in on perfection. [Sept 2002, p.161]
80	Gamestyle The blend of presentation, visuals, sound, animation and commentary combines to create a believable and hugely enjoyable experience.