PlayStation 2
Released in 2003 by Midway
Grade: C-
Who thought this was a good idea? Let’s take away the fun parts of Blitz, and add the tedious, difficult parts of simulation football.
Where it falls in the series
In the PS2/Xbox generation, there’s NFL Blitz 2002, NFL Blitz 2003, NFL Blitz Pro, and Blitz: The League, an unlicensed title that came after EA snatched the exclusive NFL license.
Praises and gripes
Forget Blitz’s classic 7-on-7 action. This is 11-on-11 football with bigger playbooks and more elaborate plays. The field is bigger, and you only need the regulation 10 yards for a first down. It’s almost like Midway tried to make a genuine simulation. Almost.
The problem is that players still have a machine-like quality, turning and stopping on a dime. And there are no penalties, so defenders knock receivers down before the ball gets to them. Quarterbacks can’t sling the ball as fast as before, but their throws aren’t gracefully realistic either.
The playbooks are deeper, and you spend more time on the clumsy playcall screens. The plays are more complicated, but they’re not realistic; they still have those goofy routes from early Blitz games. You can’t view your playcall at the line of scrimmage, and you can’t even zoom out and see the passing icons before the snap, which was standard in football games by this point.
And what’s the cherry on top? Those stupid, repetitive late hits are back … after every single play. Once the thrill wears off, those late hits just slow down the game.
Who did they think they were appealing to? If you wanted a genuine football game in 2003, there were a handful of better titles to choose from. As an arcade experience, this is clearly a step down from classic Blitz. Smh.