Very few things in life are certain. Soggy summers, late trains and the inability of the England football team to even come close to winning the World Cup are a few exceptions. And, along with death and taxes, you can bet your granny's teeth that at least one FIFA game will appear every year without fail.

In the past, gamers have accused developer EA of not striving to deliver an authentic 'game of football', instead concentrating on the look and feel of everything on and off the park, nearly all of it licensed.

Konami upped the ante with the Pro Evolution Soccer series, critically acclaimed titles that focussed on gameplay. Football fans loved them, and EA quickly realised two things - that it had a genuine competitor, and that it would have to raise its own game in response.

And raise its game it has. For the first time in a long while, the year's new FIFA title makes you feel like you're actually playing a game of football. No, honestly, it does.

The secret to this breakthrough? Passing, now a key gameplay gem that goes a long way to faithfully reproducing the essence of the beautiful game. No more taking a defender past ten opponents with a ball strapped permanently to his foot. The ball is now an entity in its own right and demands to be treated as such.

As a result, the ball can be booted, passed or stroked wherever you please - into space where team-mates can run on to it, or a yard ahead of a player as he bombs down the line to deliver a cross. Glue foot, the curse of previous FIFA games, is finally a thing of the past.

Add to that the fact that the game now also has defenders who can run faster than the player in possession, and the result is a more rewarding and compelling footy experience.

Great ball physics is only one of a number of improvements. The Al of both players and goalies is much improved and, graphically, FIFA 2003 shines. All the big name football stars are instantly recognisable and well animated.

There's a particularly faithful reproduction of David Beckham's hair, although by the time you read this he'll probably be sporting a natty set of dreads or something.

As we previously reported in Exclusive Access free kicks and corners have also been re-worked. The giant, child-like red arrow of previous versions that was both inaccurate and intrusive has been replaced by a subtle and more skilful method.

Now, in a free kick situation, the Left thumbstick moves the target cursor to where you want to shoot, while the Right thumbstick is used to place a small target on the ball so that you can add spin or bend.

This method works very well and makes free kicks an actual scoring opportunity, something lacking even in the Pro Evolution series. Think of any snooker or pool game you've played and you'll get the picture.

The controls have also changed, and the cheesy, arcade-style effects evident in 2002 FIFA World Cup (like the ball swooshing like a DHL parcel whenever a shot was struck) have been relegated to the reserves.

Most noticeably, your players now sprint when you hold the Right trigger, instead of repeatedly pressing the Y button in the style of an old-school Track and Field event. Pressing the Y button now performs a through ball, which encourages defence-splitting passes and adds a tactical edge.

The only downside of the new control method is the use of the Right thumbstick for 'freestyle' tricks such as feints and stepovers. This was previously used to perform rapid one-twos and perhaps should have stayed like that because the new trick method is hit-and-miss.

It activates only in close proximity to an opposing player and results in random tricks, thus diminishing the feeling of control.

Another minor black mark is the default speed setting (lightning quick, much faster than 2002 FIFA World Cup) which leads to players skating around the pitch in Torvill and Dean fashion. But this can be overcome by switching the speed to Slow.

The FIFA series has been taken by the scruff of the neck and given a damn good seeing-to. There is improvement over old versions and the attention to detail (see the Bonus Info, right) is superb.

As a footy experience, this is accurate, playable and as authentic as ever. The game has flaws, most notably in the controls, but FIFA 2003 is a Premiership-quality title and currently the best football game on Xbox.

1. The most football-like FIFA ever
2. Looks better than Footballers' Wives
3. Detailtastic, even down to kit sponsorship

1. Speed/Control probs
2. Typical commentary

Power
Detailed players and mightily good replays. Xbox is flexing its muscles here. Cardboard crowd, though.

Style
This is licence-heavy, and everything is more polished than Mr. Sheen's mantelpiece!

Immersion
Many tournaments and leagues. Buying star players for underling teams never gets boring.

Lifespan
If you like football, this is just the ticket. You're only limited by your - and your mates' - skill and patience.

Summary
A highly polished sports game, and a great improvement over previous FIFAs. This is the best footy game you can get on Xbox.