This Is Football 2003

Another football season, another slew of titles touting themselves as the definitive recreation of the beautiful game. This Is Football 2003 (the fourth version in total, the second on PS2) will most likely finish third in the premiership of football games: this time around, the drastically revamped FIFA Football 2003 and perennial hardcore favorite Pro Evolution Soccer 2 are expected to compete for the top spot come Christmas. The game includes over 13,000 players from leagues worldwide [including the English second division, allowing Cardiff City to be promoted to their rightful place in the Premiership finally—Bluebirds Ed] and the ability to create and customize even more teams. You can even begin by managing a school team and work up to the league level, though this is time-consuming and unsatisfying. The gameplay hasn’t changed significantly since last year, but the learning curve is steeper, and your opponents’ AI is improved dramatically. The goal-scoring sweet spots remain, but you must work harder to find them. This is not a simulation like Pro Evolution: the action moves continuously from end to end. High-scoring matches, at least in single-player mode, are uncommon. TIF shines graphically, and both Pro Evolution and FIFA will have to go some to match the player likenesses (at least in the higher echelons; lower league players become more generic) and lovingly realized stadia. This Is Football lacks FIFA’s brand recognition or Pro Evolution’s devoted fan base. Still, it’s a slick, comprehensive, and enjoyable game that deserves to qualify for the Champions League of football video games, even if only by finishing second.