I have to admit, my expectations of FIFA 2003 weren't very high. To me it seems like every time a new installment of the FIFA series is released, the game turns out only slightly more polished than the previous one. Fortunately, EA have worked really hard to make this one a very well balanced soccer experience that, certainly, left me surprised and impressed.

At first, the most remarkable improvement is the incredible attention to detail. I have never ever seen player faces look so realistic in a sports game. It is scary, really. Every player has a number of different facial expressions, so, for example, when a player misses a penalty kick you can actually see a sense of annoyance and disappointment in his eyes. These emotional expressions are just one of the many neat little touches that characterize the new FIFA.

Furthermore, the pace of the game has been increased considerably and passing is now almost as fluid as the one found in the brilliant International Superstar Soccer. There are a lot of new running, tackling and shooting animations as well. An EA representative said that there are going to be over 1000 player animations in the final version of the game.

Another cool thing is the use of a dynamic camera that automatically zooms in and out depending on where the ball is. This gives you a great overview of the pitch, making it easier to find an open player. Once again, this is not a huge, groundbreaking improvement, but it adds to the overall experience.

Not everything is perfect, though. There are still a few things that need to be taken care of before the game is released. First of all, there is the occasional slowdown when shooting or making a very long pass. Also, the crowds look rather boring since they are made up of simple 2D sprites that are not even moving. Hopefully, EA will have time to fix this. They are definitely well on their way to creating a brilliant soccer game that not only looks fantastic but plays wonderfully as well. Great job, EA!