bapenguin
11-07-2005, 06:33 AM
Blitz: The League Review
Reviewed Platform: XBox
by: Nicholas "bapenguin" Puleo, Editor-in-Chief
What do you get when you cross video game football with the brutal hits from the movie The Longest Yard and a splash of classic Mutant League from the Genesis days? You get Blitz: The League from Midway. Let’s get this out of the way right now, if you are looking for a game that replaces the void left by NFL2k5, this game will not fill it. This game is completely 100% arcade football, but it is arcade football at its very finest.
Game play:
Blitz the League is the easiest football game to pickup and play to date. Controls are tight and responsive as well as simple with no complicated combination of buttons to use to execute crazy on field maneuvers. Not only does the game have easy control, but it doesn’t require an in-depth knowledge of NFL football.
The game is a bit different than NFL football. First off, to get a first down you need 30 yards. Quarters by default are set to 2 minutes in length. You are limited to 8 men on the field instead of the usual 11. Even with those 3 limiting factors, it's very easy to rack up 35 or 45 points a game. It's incredibly easy to run the ball back to the 40 or 50 yard line on every kick off. Passing the ball requires little finesse, and running the ball doesn’t require quick jukes all the time.
As you gain yardage on offence and complete “dirty hits” on defense you gain Clash. Clash is like a boost meter. When you hold the left trigger you will enter Clash mode. In clash mode, everything slows down ala Matrix style so you can execute some big plays. Say you enter Clash mode as your quarterback, it's very easy to then to dodge any incoming sacks with a flick of the thumbstick. As a running back you can easily break tackles, unleash stiff arms and spin around blocks. Clash is limited though, and can't be used rapidly in succession.
After obtaining enough Clash you enter an Unleash mode. Unleash mode is like Clash on crack. Basically you are unstoppable from the time you enter Unleash mode until you complete your play. On offense, you are capable of huge long bombs with your receiver outrunning the defense, or having your running back break multiple tackles bowling defenders over running down the field. If you are on defense and make a tackle in Unleash mode, chances are you will injure the player and cause them to fumble the football. Injuries in the game are brutal. When an injury occurs, there will be small x-ray style cutscene where you’ll watch a part of the player's anatomy break, snap, or crack. If one of your players is inured you will have the choice to treat them, this will place them out for a set time period but is the safest measure. Or you can juice them, which mean giving them some kind of injection on the sideline. Juicing them will set them out for a much shorter time period but they have the possibility to be severely injured.
The core of Blitz is the campaign mode. After your team loses a game and gets knocked down to the lowest division in The League, the owner decides to fire everyone and rebuild from scratch. You then pick your city, team name and logo. You’ll get to design your uniforms and then pick some players. You'll then choose 2 players, a Rookie and a Veteran, to build your team around. The rookie and the veteran each have their own storyline that will play out before, during and after games. There is also an ongoing storyline of the owner of the team and the mayor of the city who have a bet that your team will win the Division I league championship by years end.
Your 2 key players receive emails from other players in the league which are challenges. By completing the challenges you can gain extra cash after a game. After a game completes, you are awarded cash for certain milestones. The better you do the more cash you earn. You can also gamble on your own games to earn extra cash. Cash in the game can be used to buy player upgrades, either in the form of physical training, equipment or drugs (both legal and illegal). The campaign mode spans 3 “seasons” of 10 games each. Each group of 10 games is for one of the 3 divisions. Each respective division increases in difficulty.
The game also sports online play, and one unique feature is the ability to take your custom team that you created in campaign mode online against other teams. The only stipulation to this is you must be logged into Live while playing Campaign mode.
Graphics:
Blitz: The League sports some impressive visuals. Animations are smooth, textures are crisp. The hits, which are the core of the game, are brutal and imaginative. You'll see everything from clotheslines, flying elbow drops to power bombs. The game seems to take some inspiration from The Longest Yard or the Water Boy. The player models are very well done, and are exaggerated in all the right areas. Even the cheerleader models, supplied by FHM, are exaggerated in all the right areas. A quick aside, you can actually unlock and build your own cheering squad with the girls you like to see on the field. The cheerleaders are quite prominent and are showed quite often gyrating and dancing in a very “adult” manner.
The game also has some nice special effects. For instance, when playing in the Las Vegas area, there is a heat haze effect over the field. The stadiums all have a unique look and you can usually tell where in the country you are playing by the look of the stadium. The crowd in the game could use some improvement, but the game rarely focus's on the crowd anyway.
Sound:
Blitz the League is rated M for a reason. There are swear words on almost every play. Hell, even your offensive/defensive coordinator in the upstairs box swears while you are picking plays. Players swear, coaches swear, about the only person that doesn’t swear is the referee, because there is none. The hits themselves sound brutal. The in game sound of helmets colliding, and of bones breaking are frighteningly realistic. The music in the menus are mostly rap, but fit the setting well. The music in game is really well done. It's a mixture of rap and “situational” music. On some key plays, it was amazing how well the music fit into what was going on in the game.
Conclusion:
The game play is just down right fun. I constantly find myself either laughing or cringing at what's happening on the screen. The game is frustrating at times, while either being overly easy or overly hard with little middle ground. Midway has done an excellent job without the NFL license, and takes a chance in numerous spots to poke fun at its competition. If you are looking for a fun football title, and don’t mind the complete disregard for realism, Blitz: The League is for you.
The Good:
Incredibly fun football game
A storyline is a fresh thing in sports gaming
Good graphics
Ability to take your custom team online
The Bad:
Too easy or too hard
It's not a NFL2k replacement
The Ugly:
The games themselves take <15 minutes to play, so the campaign mode is kind of short.
Score:
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e4.jpg
4 out of 5 EvilEyes
Reviewed Platform: XBox
by: Nicholas "bapenguin" Puleo, Editor-in-Chief
What do you get when you cross video game football with the brutal hits from the movie The Longest Yard and a splash of classic Mutant League from the Genesis days? You get Blitz: The League from Midway. Let’s get this out of the way right now, if you are looking for a game that replaces the void left by NFL2k5, this game will not fill it. This game is completely 100% arcade football, but it is arcade football at its very finest.
Game play:
Blitz the League is the easiest football game to pickup and play to date. Controls are tight and responsive as well as simple with no complicated combination of buttons to use to execute crazy on field maneuvers. Not only does the game have easy control, but it doesn’t require an in-depth knowledge of NFL football.
The game is a bit different than NFL football. First off, to get a first down you need 30 yards. Quarters by default are set to 2 minutes in length. You are limited to 8 men on the field instead of the usual 11. Even with those 3 limiting factors, it's very easy to rack up 35 or 45 points a game. It's incredibly easy to run the ball back to the 40 or 50 yard line on every kick off. Passing the ball requires little finesse, and running the ball doesn’t require quick jukes all the time.
As you gain yardage on offence and complete “dirty hits” on defense you gain Clash. Clash is like a boost meter. When you hold the left trigger you will enter Clash mode. In clash mode, everything slows down ala Matrix style so you can execute some big plays. Say you enter Clash mode as your quarterback, it's very easy to then to dodge any incoming sacks with a flick of the thumbstick. As a running back you can easily break tackles, unleash stiff arms and spin around blocks. Clash is limited though, and can't be used rapidly in succession.
After obtaining enough Clash you enter an Unleash mode. Unleash mode is like Clash on crack. Basically you are unstoppable from the time you enter Unleash mode until you complete your play. On offense, you are capable of huge long bombs with your receiver outrunning the defense, or having your running back break multiple tackles bowling defenders over running down the field. If you are on defense and make a tackle in Unleash mode, chances are you will injure the player and cause them to fumble the football. Injuries in the game are brutal. When an injury occurs, there will be small x-ray style cutscene where you’ll watch a part of the player's anatomy break, snap, or crack. If one of your players is inured you will have the choice to treat them, this will place them out for a set time period but is the safest measure. Or you can juice them, which mean giving them some kind of injection on the sideline. Juicing them will set them out for a much shorter time period but they have the possibility to be severely injured.
The core of Blitz is the campaign mode. After your team loses a game and gets knocked down to the lowest division in The League, the owner decides to fire everyone and rebuild from scratch. You then pick your city, team name and logo. You’ll get to design your uniforms and then pick some players. You'll then choose 2 players, a Rookie and a Veteran, to build your team around. The rookie and the veteran each have their own storyline that will play out before, during and after games. There is also an ongoing storyline of the owner of the team and the mayor of the city who have a bet that your team will win the Division I league championship by years end.
Your 2 key players receive emails from other players in the league which are challenges. By completing the challenges you can gain extra cash after a game. After a game completes, you are awarded cash for certain milestones. The better you do the more cash you earn. You can also gamble on your own games to earn extra cash. Cash in the game can be used to buy player upgrades, either in the form of physical training, equipment or drugs (both legal and illegal). The campaign mode spans 3 “seasons” of 10 games each. Each group of 10 games is for one of the 3 divisions. Each respective division increases in difficulty.
The game also sports online play, and one unique feature is the ability to take your custom team that you created in campaign mode online against other teams. The only stipulation to this is you must be logged into Live while playing Campaign mode.
Graphics:
Blitz: The League sports some impressive visuals. Animations are smooth, textures are crisp. The hits, which are the core of the game, are brutal and imaginative. You'll see everything from clotheslines, flying elbow drops to power bombs. The game seems to take some inspiration from The Longest Yard or the Water Boy. The player models are very well done, and are exaggerated in all the right areas. Even the cheerleader models, supplied by FHM, are exaggerated in all the right areas. A quick aside, you can actually unlock and build your own cheering squad with the girls you like to see on the field. The cheerleaders are quite prominent and are showed quite often gyrating and dancing in a very “adult” manner.
The game also has some nice special effects. For instance, when playing in the Las Vegas area, there is a heat haze effect over the field. The stadiums all have a unique look and you can usually tell where in the country you are playing by the look of the stadium. The crowd in the game could use some improvement, but the game rarely focus's on the crowd anyway.
Sound:
Blitz the League is rated M for a reason. There are swear words on almost every play. Hell, even your offensive/defensive coordinator in the upstairs box swears while you are picking plays. Players swear, coaches swear, about the only person that doesn’t swear is the referee, because there is none. The hits themselves sound brutal. The in game sound of helmets colliding, and of bones breaking are frighteningly realistic. The music in the menus are mostly rap, but fit the setting well. The music in game is really well done. It's a mixture of rap and “situational” music. On some key plays, it was amazing how well the music fit into what was going on in the game.
Conclusion:
The game play is just down right fun. I constantly find myself either laughing or cringing at what's happening on the screen. The game is frustrating at times, while either being overly easy or overly hard with little middle ground. Midway has done an excellent job without the NFL license, and takes a chance in numerous spots to poke fun at its competition. If you are looking for a fun football title, and don’t mind the complete disregard for realism, Blitz: The League is for you.
The Good:
Incredibly fun football game
A storyline is a fresh thing in sports gaming
Good graphics
Ability to take your custom team online
The Bad:
Too easy or too hard
It's not a NFL2k replacement
The Ugly:
The games themselves take <15 minutes to play, so the campaign mode is kind of short.
Score:
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e4.jpg
4 out of 5 EvilEyes