Midway’sNBA Jamcaptured the hearts of millions of gamers back in the early ’90s, but the company scored an equally big hit with its late-’90s smash-mouth football series,NFL Blitz. However, it’s been nearly a decade sinceBlitzwas relevant — high time, some might say, for a renewal of the football classic in which you needed 30 yards, not ten, for a first down.
At long last, EA has confirmed therumors, announcing today that an all-newBlitztitle, simply calledNFL Blitz, is set to hit Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network for $14.99 (1200 Microsoft Points) in January 2012. Like the recentNBA Jamrevival, the newNFL Blitzaims to recreate the classicBlitzexperience on HD consoles, and I’m stoked for what will be the first NFL-licensedBlitzgame since 2003.
EA is retaining the hallmarks of the originalBlitz: fast-paced 7-on-7 action, two-minute quarters, no penalties, and players catching on fire. They’re also updating the classic title for the modern era, bringing in head-to-head online matches and two-on-two action (both online and offline), as well as a variety of leaderboards. Play-by-play commentary will come fromNBA Jam/NFL Blitzlegend Tim Kitzrow, and actorBrian Haley(Gran Torino,Little Giants) will be the color guy.
All of that stuff is what people really care about when it comes to arcade sports games, butNFL Blitzwill also offer single-player content in the form of the Blitz Gauntlet, a mode in which you’ll take on NFL teams as well as “exclusive fantasy character bosses” in the Blitz Coliseum. (Defeating the fantasy characters will unlock them for use in the game.) In addition,NFL Blitzwill feature a mode called Elite League, which sounds similar to Madden Ultimate Team: it’s a trading-card mode where you spend Blitz Bucks (earned by playing online) on card packs to try and put together the best team and the most effective power-ups.
From the first screenshots (available in anEGMNow preview), it’s clear that EA is going for a much less stylized look than Midway’sBlitztitles, although it’s not quite on theMaddenend of the photorealism spectrum. After seeing that, I worry that the NFL has forced EA to tone down the original games’ craziness (like the WWF-inspired tackles). But I’m holding out hope that EA will honor theBlitzname, at least in spirit, with a better game than their last arcade football title, 2009’s mediocreMadden NFL Arcade.
