NFL Blitz

NFL Blitz released in January this year, and developed by EA Sports is an ok remake of the original NFL Blitz with addicting online play.

NFL Blitz on the Nintendo 64 and in the arcades was something that I played a lot of growing up, and this re-make captures that nostalgia while updating it to the modern era, but the game just doesn’t compare to the original. The meat and potatoes of this release are the ability to play that old school feeling blitz online. The online modes are great and have plenty of options. The player can play ranked solo matches, or create a team of friends and play ranked team games. Each of these ways to play comes with a unique promotion based leaderboard system that is addicting and keeps you playing online. There are also co-op online modes that do not involve the blitz teams, and they have a more casual feel. There is also an online only ultimate team mode called elite league. This mode is similar to previous EA Sports Ultimate Team's where you purchase

trading cards and build your team. The goal here is to get all of the best players (Gold and Silver), and play games with your team online. The mode however feels like a waste, as getting a complete collection of players is way too easy, and you really don't get anything for playing games with your team, just blitz bucks. Blitz Bucks are the in-game currency that can be used to buy said card packs, but blitz bucks are also used in the blitz store to unlock cheats, artwork, and fantasy characters. The Player gains blitz bucks by playing any online modes, and after a few hours of playing ranked games you will have all of the money needed to complete your elite league collection. Unlocking everything from the blitz store will take many hours of playing online games. There is also a small single player component to blitz, which involves facing a ladder of teams, and beating bosses. The boss games are against the fantasy characters, and by beating them you unlock them without spending bucks. There really isn’t that much solo play here, the game is really almost an online only title. The fantasy characters include zombies, ninjas, pirates, and hot dogs. There is a ton to unlock. The computer AI is also very easy to beat even on the hardest, and even with the ridiculous rubber banding.

For those that don't know how blitz is played, it is basically football without any penalties. The game is very much an arcade game. The game focuses on bone crushing hits, and 90 yard hail marry’s. Instead of the typical 10 yards for a first down, in blitz 30 yards is needed for a first down. The game is very simplistic with a turbo button, a button to spin and juke, and a button to throw. Wide receivers are targeted by aiming in their general direction, but the passing in this remake is not nearly as good and fluid as in the original blitz. Often times the passes will go to wide receivers that you didn’t want to throw too, and will often times result in interceptions and turnovers. To counter act that, there is icon passing, like a typical football game, which can be unlocked with a code and turned on in the menus. The icon passing is really the only way to play well, which is sad. The game also plays a lot slower than the old school blitz, and it almost feels like a hybrid of blitz and madden. Player animations take way to long for a blitz game, and often quarterbacks will be sacked when you pressed the button to pass 3 seconds ago because of the long animations. Receivers who also dive for balls will take what seems like 10 seconds to get off the ground and start running again.

The graphics in blitz are alright. They really aren’t anything special. Overall they are bland, and even the animations aren’t that great. The graphics are acceptable. The soundtrack however, is very good. The music is a mix of dubstep/electronica, and metal. The announcers in the game spit off these cheesy one liners, which actually fit the game well and they can be funny at times.

Overall NFL Blitz is a blast to play online, and mostly retains the old school blitz feel. The single player is nothing special. If you plan on playing the game online a lot buy it for its $15 price tag, but if you don’t want to play online much the game is probably a no go.

4 stars (8.0)