Blitz: The League II (Xbox 360, PS3) Review

Posted by John Curry on 12.17.2008

Breaking legs like L.T. has never felt so good. Update: Thoughts on the PS3 version.




Title: Blitz the League II
Publisher: Midway
Developer: Midway
Genre: Sports, Action
Players: 1-2
Rated: M for Mature
Also available on: PlayStation 3


One of the most enjoyable and, in my opinion, fan focused football games returns for another season in Blitz the League II. I remember playing Blitz at the arcade as a child and later on the Playstation and absolutely falling in love with it. In no other football game could you blindside someone who is celebrating their touchdowns, body slam a running back, or drop kick a receiver. Fortunately for us loyal fans the new Blitz game doesn’t skimp on the excessive violence, rather they have increased it while teaching us about sports medicine without ever telling us.

Story
The story aspect of is just like any other football game. You are a prodigy and the future of the sport, your whole life is ahead of you in the world of football. As with anything related to professional sports you must be drafted, which in Blitz II means you must answer some questions that will help dictate what kind of athlete you will be, a team leader, an egomaniacal jerk, or a careless player. Once you have answered all of the questions you need to answer you will get a call from your favorite agent, voiced by Jay Mohr who will tell you what you need to know in regards to challenges you will have to complete in order to gain sponsorship which will lead to newer gear which affects your ratings. You are also exposed to the other more sinister side of professional sports. Your player has the opportunity to take “performance enhancers” both legal and illegal, meet numerous women, bet on your own games, and deliver some of the funniest lines ever heard to your team owners, all in the name of winning a championship. In the end you are the road you take, make it a bad one and you’ll have a great time. Make it a good one and the results are just as amusing.



Gameplay
The gameplay is much like any other football game on the next generation console. You select a play and run it. There are a few exceptions, namely with franchise player specific plays. The plays are not as varied as your Madden games, however with the setup of the system and play there is no reason there should be. The one major addition this year is the targeted tackling system which allows you to inflict a set amount of damage, by pressing the A button, in a specific area. Once you have selected and powered up your hit you can witness the internal destruction that it causes based on the area hit. This is actually my favorite part of the game. Once you witness the destruction your player can inflict you will play the game over and over again trying to do as much damage as possible.

The one thing that I really enjoyed about the gameplay was the pre-game breakdowns of your opponents and their star players. The way it was presented not only made the game seem a little more vivid but actually helps you understand who to target during a game. If the team you are playing has a star receiver, you can work towards taking him out of the game. If you succeed you road to winning will increase astronomically.
There are however some complaints about the gameplay that I have. First and foremost is the lack of continuity in the tackling. One play you are tackling spot on and the next one you can’t tackle with ANY of your guys.



The second thing is the lack of a no huddle offense. I wish that at some point and time, especially towards the end of the game when I am down by a touchdown with :45 to go. The constant usage of timeouts and hoping the guys will make it out of bounds is ridiculous.

The game also offers a tournament mode and several bonus modes such as Buttafingaz (Every tackle forces a fumble) Make it, Take it (Football’s version of the basketball game), Pain (Points are earned by dirty hits and hurting players) Prison Ball ( no 1st downs, no kickoffs, and a smaller field), Lucky 7’s (1 point deducted for each play it takes to score a touchdown), and Bone Crushers (no helmets). These help keep the game fresh for a while longer.

The game plays extremely well over the Xbox Live system with plenty of challengers awaiting you. I did not experience any lag, or drop in quality that was enough to make me write about it. Overall, everything you enjoy solo, you can enjoy online.

Graphics
I am torn on the graphics with this game. While I understand that there were supposed to be some discrepancy between the cities in which you played, some of them, such as when you play the Cleveland Steamers (That’s right if you don’t know what it means look it up) the field is much too dark and the over-usage of the color brown kills the game. The excessively cartoonish players make the game seem a little light compared to what it is truly trying to achieve and the similarity between the players make the game’s graphics come off as lazy. On the other hand, the amount of effort put into the X-ray injuries is phenomenal. Not only are the injuries anatomically correct but they are gruesome to look through. Overall, how you view the game depends on how much you like the injury aspect of the game. If you don’t enjoy the bone crushing and torn tendons or the sideline cortisone shots you administer you will not enjoy the graphics of the game. If you do then the monotonous fields and players will barely register in your head.

Sound
Okay first of all let me say congrats to Blitz for smacking Madden around by bringing in Frank from Frank TV to do his ever famous and quite frankly (no pun intended) played out version of Madden to make his snarky and idiotic comments about the gameplay. Then there is Jay Mohr busting out his snide, moocher of an agent, and Lawrence Taylor being Lawrence Taylor. Overall, the cast does what they need to do but there is really nothing that sets the announcing or sound apart from any other sports game. My biggest complaint is that sooner or later the game creators of this world are going to have to realize that the increased usage of profanity (once every other word in Blitz) does not make the game any more enjoyable and can actually detract from the game as it minimizes the market for the normally family friendly sports genre.



Fun Factor
This game is fun based on what you look for in a football game. If you buy this game thinking it is some cerebral challenge in which you try to bring out your inner coach, then you bought the wrong game and will hate it. With that being said, if you bought this game for the good old fashioned, smash mouthed in your face football that indulges in everything you want from the NFL but aren’t willing to say, then this game is for you.

Lasting Appeal
With several modes to try, many different bonus levels, numerous unlockables and expansive online multiplayer, Blitz II has the potential to last any fan until the next Madden or Blitz III comes out with no regrets. I have played this game, beaten all of the modes, bonuses, and unlockables and unlike many of the other games I have played, I play this game still at least three times a week.

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PlayStation 3 Short Review
by Sean Garmer

I mostly agree with John on everything he wrote in his review. I too am very familiar with the Blitz series and loved every version of it, except for the crap that was Blitz pro. Blitz the League 1 took ESPN’s playmakers and made it a reality for gamers everywhere. They took their extreme brand of football and bumped it up a notch with performance enhancing drugs, a crazy storyline, and literally bone crunching action.

With this, the second edition they took that to a completely new level. First of all, Midway does a great job putting you in control of the main character “Franchise” by allowing you to pick his position by the questions you answer at a press conference. Then Jay Mohr does a splendid job of playing the witty attorney who steps in to take care of the rest. Before taking the field the game will enlighten you on the other team’s star player with a video (basically telling you, “this is the guy you need to take out by halftime if you want an easier game.”) This is something that Madden should consider for their games. Especially the storyline part, you know that Superstar mode gets a little bland after a while.

However, the graphics leave a bit to be desired. I know some of the way it looks is a desired effect but some of the animations also make it look like a PS2 game as well. I agree with John that the game looks a bit too cartoony for the serious nature of it, but the one thing they do a great job with is the injuries. Before they would only show a skeleton of the body injured, and with this game they show an enlarged caricature with muscles, bones, and blood. When you get to see, the truth of what you just did to your opponent in this detail there is nothing left to say but “that’s cool.” Not to mention this is the first sports game to allow you to fix your own injuries.

The gameplay is what you would expect from a Blitz game. The playbook is simplified, there are late hits, and aside from the injuries, there are crazy celebrations and lots of trash-talk. I agree that the tackling is a bit uneven but I felt that it tended to happen mostly with the star players (which would make sense) then with regular players on the squad.

In the end, this game is fun to play with friends or online. It has some extra game modes to add to the delight and the story mode is kinda lengthy for a sports title. So there is plenty to keep those entertained that are fans of hardcore football action. There isn’t much wrong with the game perse, it is a title that does its job in delivering the fun and staying true its name. Midway should be commended for improving on a good first title. So if you like to feel what its like to break bones and fix them, while playing a game of football this is for you.

Graphics	7.5	The injury camera is awesome but everything else seems a little rushed.
Gameplay	8.5	The game is great but the non-precise tackling could use a little work.
Sound	7.5	I am a little tired of Frank doing his Madden impression but other than that it isn't too bad.
Lasting Appeal	9.0	There are several modes to this game, combined with unlimited potential online makes this a keeper.
Fun Factor	9.0	While there are some flaws the game is an absolute blast to play.
Overall	8.3   [ Very Good ]

Screenshots
All 6 Blitz: The League II Screenshots