Before FIFA 13: The Evolution Of Football's Biggest Gaming Franchise

2002 - FIFA Football 2003 FIFA 2003, the tenth in the series, saw a revamp of the DirectX 7 graphics used in 2001 and 2002. This meant more detailed stadiums, players and kit. One of the big features was Club Championship Mode, which allowed the player to compete against 17 of Europe's elite clubs in their own stadiums, with the crowd chanting club-specific songs. This game saw the implementation of the highlight reel at half time and full time, recapping the action as it were a televised event. This feature is still in the series today. EA Sports Freestyle Control allowed the player to flick the ball on and lay off team mates for more rapid and fluent passing moves. Star players such as Ronaldinho were also given special attention in the graphics department, so that they'd stand out from the crowd. EA Trax also made its debut in this game, allowing gamers to switch between songs from the home menu and block tracks they didn't want to listen to.

Contributor
Contributor

Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.