Midway's not wasting any time when it comes to Blitz: The League II. After announcing it at a press event a few months ago, all remained quiet until last week, when Brad and I took a trip into the big city to see a playable version of the game. With around a month of development left to go, the game already looks like it's pretty much done, and Midway's over-the-top sports series has undergone some enhancements that should make it an even crazier game of football than it was last year.
The way injuries are shown and handled in the game has also been revamped. Dirty hits lead to more injuries, and now you're able to quickly select which body part you want to injure when you're delivering a crushing tackle. This then shifts into an injury animation, which shows an X-ray view of tendons being ripped, spines being contused, and testicles being ruptured. We didn't get to see that last one, which is fine by me.
In the previous game, if you had an injured player, all you were able to do was choose to wait out the injury or juice the player up, which got him back in the game faster but was ultimately more risky. Now, juicing the players up comes with a minigame, where you might have to line up the needle and inject at just the right spot, or snap dislocated bones back into place. The game also has late hits, which let you do some damage to a downed player, but these can be countered with a well-timed button press. Really, the whole game feels like it's been revamped with a greater focus on risk vs. reward.
Chicago-based rapper GLC will be providing the voice of the main character, who is immediately nicknamed Franchise at the start of the story mode. His agent will be voiced by Jay Mohr, and color commentary during the game will be provided by Frank TV's own Frank Caliendo. He basically does his totally ridiculous Madden impersonation throughout, which seems like it could be really funny in the game.
Will all this stuff add up to a game that the typical football fan can get excited about? Heck, I don't know. But it definitely seems like a more approachable game than your average football sim, so maybe the folks out there who are totally disillusioned by Madden will find a home in Blitz: The League II. We'll find out for sure when the game comes out on PS3 and 360 this fall.
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