The NFL Blitz series has never been one that I have really gotten into. However, I have played the games just for fun. If you don't know what these games are about, just think of playing an arcade version of football at your local arcade. You put in your 50 cents, play a quick game, beat that crap out of your opponent and move go to the next game. There are no rules and the game basically is designed for big hits, cheating in terms of football, and just having fun. Midway is well known for there arcade style of gameplay with the NBA Jam, NHL Blitz, and this series for quite a few years now. This new "pro" version they attempted to make the series more realistic and try to blend the arcade and simulation game into one. They made a valiant effort but, with the popularity they already had keeping the total arcade feeling to their games they should have left it a lone. "If it's not broke, don't fix it".



Gameplay:
This time around, there is actually 11 players on both sides of the field and each of these players have more in-depth stats. This is also the first game in the series that has a 10 yard set of downs. However, these style of games have always been known for its fast and furious gameplay. They have still kept that to some point as the plays run really fast and you don't have a lot of time to think. Madden games have a that nice even pace that, while playing a quarterback, you have time to look down the field and see who is open. This game still has a pretty fast paced style and you need to get the ball off quick but just hitting the receiver button you want to pass to. Usual, this just means, I hope they are open or make some outstanding catch which happens a lot. You never really have time to look down the field, watch your receivers run their routs, and hit them while they are open. The pass plays you run play out very fast and there is quite of bit of luck involved. This is really not a bad thing as it is what you should expect playing an arcade style of game. The running plays do feel to play out slower and you have time to get your backs out to the sidelines and break tackles. If you run up the middle, it is pretty frantic. This is pretty much the same on defense. Depending what player you are controlling, you need to do what is expected of them by covering a certain receiver, blitz, or play a zone. If you don't, the play happens so fast that you won't really make a deference in the play if you do something else. You may get lucky and be in the right area at the right time but, you will need quick reflexes to do something about it. Still, with the fast paced game as this one is, it still seems slower than previous versions. The game tries to rely on more of your players individual stats than just if they are fast, can break tackles well, catch good, or tackle good. This results in more realistic amount of interceptions and fumbles as the previous games had many of these each game. They really tried to play with a fine line and get the arcade and simulation aspects into one game and it just didn't feel quite right.

The A.I. in the game has had a an overhaul which I felt was to the worse. All though the game plays harder at times because there is more realistic gameplay the computer is very predictable and not very smart. The players will drop more passes on poorly thrown balls and the running game is harder to break those big runs. They did make this part of turning this into more of a simulation game better. However. on offense, some of the play calling is very surprising as the A.I. goes for it way to often on fourth down and some unrealistic play calling on 3rd downs. They also fake punt and field goal and surprising times. Their defense playing calling can be predictable as well which opens up to a lot of easy audibles that you can call for big gains. This is a won/lose situation as what they improved on in some areas, they got much worse in others balancing it out just being still be average.

There is a franchise-mode (and season) but, it really isn't worth spending to much time there. It does keep yearly and career stats for your players but, not always accurate. If you play every game then the stats are kept well but, if you simulate some of your games, then they will be way off. I simulated a few games just to speed things a long and I later noticed that one of my defensive lineman ran the ball quite a bit and as well as my #1 running back. I'm sure the simulated games used my running back and those were his stats but, just under another name for some reason. So your star players will never be accurate unless you play ever single game in this mode. You can play from year to year and draft rookies, trade players, and players will retire for different reasons (even young ones at an alarming rate) so you do need to build your team. However, why? There just really isn't much to it to make the effort. There is no salary cap or anything and the only use of money is that you get $250,000 to $300,000 grand every time you win. The only use for this money is either train your players stats or buy free agents. There salary is a one time thing depending how good they are. Improving your players stats little by little is not a bad idea but, that is really the only thing that this mode has to offer. Just win games, take your favorite player and make them better (hoping they don't retire). If you want the in-depth of a franchise-mode then get a game like Madden. This is more of an arcade game for a reason and is really evident in the different game modes.

The controls of the game are good. They respond well and you have your certain moves you can perform at a touch of a button. Such as spin moves, stiff arms, dives, lower head and plow through your opponent, jump, and speed burst that only lasts so long. You also can control any player you want on either side of the ball. You can even adjust your impact player for that certain play and tell them what you want them to do. Such as, block in a certain direction, go deep, or even read a blitz. On defense you can have them stay home, blitz, play mad-to-man, or play zone. This does give you much more of a hands-on feel for the game and lets you get into the action a little more. Each drive players on both sides can catch fire depending on their performance like previous installments. If they have 2-3 good plays in that drive they start to smoke that then eventually catch fire. This is another way the game has gone into a more simulation direction as the players on fire don't quite have the same impact as they have in the past. They will play a little better by running faster, catching, or tackling but, not nearly as noticeable as before. If you have played games in the NBA Jam series then you know that catching fire pretty much means your unstoppable until you miss. That is not the case and I'm not sure if I liked this change or not. If it's an arcade style game then let be that. Still, the controls work fine and respond well. Play calling is quick and easy and your players perform quickly to whatever command you give them on the field.

There are some unlock-ables you can get from playing non-franchise games. That is where I have a probably with that. You have to play the game in other modes to earn these points. That makes no sense to me. But, some of the modes you can unlock are fun. For example, there is an "all-or-nothing" mode where you get four downs to score no matter what, "Invisible man" mode where your opponents are invisible, and a "butter-fingerz" mode where ever hit results in a fumble. These are fun just to play a few times but, can't really see many coming back and playing them again unless your playing two players or more. There are teams to unlock as well.


Graphics:
The visuals look pretty much like previous installments in this series. That is not really a good thing as these graphics are looking pretty old now. Playing the game from a distance the player models are all right and the game moves so fast you don't even really get a good look at anything anyway, However, the game has a lot of cut scenes in-between plays featuring player and coach reactions. This is where the game really shows it's age. The player models are very choppy and block looking and not even close to being what they could be. Their faces look like they are all 72yr old men out there playing football. The field and stadiums do look nice and they took time into making the different stadiums throughout the league look realistic. Also, the player animations are not bad at all and run very smoothly. I never had any trouble with the game running slow or any hiccups in the frame rate. I'm sure this is largely due to the older looking graphics which keeps the game running and a fast pace. They just needed to work on the player models and get them up with the times.


Sound:
The sound effects throughout the game are nothing special but, get the job done. Since this game is all about the big hits, all of your tackles are amped up with thundering hits, grunts, groans, and a little trash talk. That is really all you here in the game as the crowd is just off in the background and you really don't even notice them as you play. The music scores are fine while your moving around the menu screens, all through you won't be doing that to often. It's all about playing the game. The commentary is surprisingly rather fun as "Gator" Jones is who stands out. As you load each game, Gator and the one commentator (can't remember his name) "jaw" back and forth with each each other about something usually not related to football. Then in-game commentary is good with quick tidbits and some joking going on back and forth. However, these will become repetitive fairly quick. Still, the game offers some good sound, music, and commentary that keeps the game feeling like that arcade style.


Conclusion:
This is pretty much just another game in a long running series. however, the game serves it's purpose just fine. If you have played other games in this series than you will like this one as well. Having the full football game (11 on 11) is a nice change and the game stays pretty true to it's roots. Or, if you would just like an arcade style of football that you can just put in, play fast games with a friend, and beat the crap out of it other then you will also like this game. However, if you are more into football than that, and like games that are more in-depth in their different game modes, this is a waste of time. An average game that delivers what it was intended for.


Thank you for reading.


My Ratings:
Story: N/A
Game play: 3/5
Controls 4/5
Graphics: 3/5
Music/Sound: 4/5
Learning Curve: 15min
Replay Value: 3.5/5
Overall Rating: 3/5

Publisher: Midway Home Entertainment
Genre: Sports
ESRB: Teen

Game Specs
Players: 1 - 4
Sound: Basic
Online: No
Video: Basic

Recommended: No