Red Card 2003 has clean graphics that are smooth and detailed. Just falling short to those of the great FIFA series, the stadiums, players, and special effects (yes, I said special effects) are more than enough to satisfy any soccer hungry fan. The major drawback, though, is the lack of a replay option. When I work the ball all the way up the field, and have my efforts end in a beautiful bicycle kick from my best striker, I want to be able to watch it over and over from every angle possible. Here this just isn't an option.

Decent commentary and solid sound effects help drive this game in the right direction. Two professional football announcers from England help out the flow of the game, as they repeat the action play by play. The variety of comments is wide, reducing the horrible redundancy heard in other sports titles. Along with plenty of bone crushing, head splitting, shin shattering sound effects and a couple of adequate musical tracks, the audio experience is more than acceptable.

Don't play Red Card 2003 expecting to experience great soccer. This is a wild tangent on the sport that focuses more on crippling your opponent than putting the ball in the net. The game of soccer you once knew so well has been turned into an all-out brawl, complete with flying kicks and punches to the back of the head.

The main objective is still to outscore your opponent, but RC 2003 offers you a slightly different method of doing that. Now you can perform martial arts - like moves on your players, with a very small fear of ever being called for it. Oh, your conventional passes and defensive moves are still there, but the level of play has been kicked up one hell of a violent notch. With a new power bar at your disposal, you can add an extra punch to your tackles and even your shots. The latter is the more rewarding, as the game will slow down and zoom in on your shooting player as he kicks a flaming ball towards the goal.

Even the playing options reflect the nature of the game, with a World Conquest mode amongst them. In it, you take a team and play a long series of games against most of the rest of the world. So instead of waging a huge war on the battlefield, you wage a smaller one on the soccer field. Either way, there is sure to be a trail of blood behind you.

The other modes are more conventional, which include an Arcade, Finals, and Tournament mode. Also present is a Customize Team mode, where you can either edit an existing team, or create your own. This feature just goes to show that this isn't just some beat 'em up soccer spin off. Midway is trying to compete with the big boys with this one.

You don't have to relearn the game of soccer to be able to play this title. The ease at which you learn to use the new attacks is surprisingly easy, and at the same time a little scary. It feels as if this method of play is hard coded into all of us, making it second nature to implement it in RC 2003. Apart from the new style, the game is well rounded with a wide variety of skilled teams and customizable options. This is a good title to pick up if you want to start playing right away, but also want a good challenge.

All of the controls are laid out nicely on the controller, except for one. Aiming your shot is done with the right analog stick. I won't argue that it doesn't work, but it is exceptionally hard to use this feature with your left hand on the left stick and your right hand on the shoot button. Flicking the stick quickly with your right thumb just before you shoot is about the best you can do, but that still takes too much unnecessary work.

With only a couple of gaping holes in an otherwise perfect exterior, Red Card 2003 is quite capable of competing with top of the line soccer titles. They're not there yet, but if Midway can smooth out the rough edges for a sequel (hint, hint), it will definitely be a game to be reckoned with.