Yet, not all sports games are that bad; there are some that purposely don't try to be realistic. This limited breed often fuses video game play into a sport, rather than the reverse. To illustrate: they take something that's real, and put it on crack and PCP just so you can control something you know you'll never do in the real life. NBA Jam, Wayne Gretzky's Hockey, and Blitz are some of these arcade sports titles that come to my mind when I think of anything remotely fun about sports games. I bet I'm getting some fans of the genre pretty mad, but it's the way I feel. I don't like sports sims. I just want something fun and natural in play mechanics and this is where Blitz delivers.

The controls are simple, and even a sport gimp like yours truly can catch on. One button for passing/switching players, one button for jumping/tackling, and one button for a turbo boost of speed. That's it; more complex moves are all stemmed from this setup. Oh yeah, there's no rules, no penalties, no limits as to the pain you can give (and get). 30 yards in between downs, huge passes, and vertebrae crushing tackles run rampant. If you want to pass, press left, right, or up/down to highlight one of three receivers and let them have it. On defense, the goal is get to the guy with the ball. Heehee, see I said I was a gimp at sports =). To top it off, 4 people can play at once (2 to a team), which means if you have friends at the house, you can trash talk until they leave, ashamed and broken. Sure, in-between downs you get to pick the plays (some are plain nuts), and you can even call audibles and flip plays, but this isn't NFL2k by any means. It's meant to be fun, not real. Um...unless you like realism in your sports titles, then I guess Blitz wouldn't be fun.

Options are plentiful in Blitz. There is a tournament mode that pits buddies against each other in an elimination competition. A season option is available too, allowing you to go through an entire NFL season and (hopefully) to the play-offs. I didn't play that too much as it was in the vein of the sim ;). What really got my attention was the play editor feature, where you can make and save offensive and defensive plays and implement them in the other modes. Not that I dream of becoming a NFL coach anytime soon, but I like it when games put in an editorial-type mode (i.e. make a level, track, character, etc). Finally, there are the standard set of game options, such as quarter length, difficulty, and whatnot.

Graphically, Blitz is nice, but not astounding. 60 FPS and hi-res textures are non-stop, but the players are on the chunky side, and the field effects don't get too impressive. The stadium(s?) isn't a big deal either, but once or twice I saw a field that I guess is in Central Park. Hmmm...big deal, huh? Plenty of time was put into animations for multiple tackles, gestures and such, but it isn't the best of what DC has to offer...*hack* *cough* NFL2k *kaff*... Basically, this is just what the arcade game was, even though the DC's power could've improved Blitz's visuals.

I never liked the Blitz tunes. They sound like they've been ripped from some bad rap beat and come off as being very generic and uninspiring. The announcer is amusing for the initial ten minutes, and I find myself turning him and the music off...a lot. Players' voices are bad too; they basically equate to the 'yee-haw,' 'I kicked your @$$,' and 'you da man' attitude of over-testosteroned individuals. Some of them are funny to hear once or twice, but I just can't stand it. Really, I can't. *plugs ears*

All in all, if you're one who tends to play sports sims, you might not like this. Those who don't play sports games religiously (like me) may find fun in renting it. And if you just hate all types of sports whatsoever, don't come near this. In a nutshell, Blitz isn't bad, isn't good, just decent.

Now how about an Eternal Arcadia review sometime down the line? How about it Bahn? ;)

Ed's Note: Uh...

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