NFL Blitz 2000

American football. Er ? That's it. Well, a bunch of big guys put on loads of padding to look even bigger, and then they beat the digestive waste out of each other. And there's a ball in there somewhere. It looks like it does on the telly. It even comes with realistic weather. What more do you need?

Oh, alright, it's a bigger, badder and above all newer, version of NFL Blitz, with its special Blitz Passing for one-touch passes. Now for up to four players with a Multi Tap, to share the bone-crunching around a bit. Arcade, Tournament and Season modes. There's a Play Editor for custom-built moves, so you can experiment with the opponent-flattening process. And it's American. Er ? May have mentioned that. Exceedingly fine football.

Source:

uk.playstation.com

The addition of four-player support reveals Blitz's true colors: it's one of the very best party Paks around.

For the three or so readers out there new to the Blitz phenomenon, here's the rundown on this hypercaffeinated game: 30 yards nets you a first down, the clock stops after every play, each side has only seven players and, most important of all, there are no penalties. That means no offsides, no interference, no nonsense about unsportsmanlike conduct. Defensive players can (and do) pile on after every play. It is, in short, the Hong Kong action movie of sports Paks.

Nonstop fun like this was meant to be shared, but unfortunately the original NFL Blitz only supported two-player action. That deficit was highlighted by the four-player support in NFL Blitz '99, which arrived in arcades just at the original Blitz hit the home console. But NFL Blitz 2000 has caught up with its arcade counterpart, meaning that you and your buddies should be saving lots of quarters in the coming months.

Play Hard

Midway has substantially beefed up the playbook, too, although no one will confuse it with the far bulkier offerings from NFL Quarterback Club 2000 and Madden NFL 2000. At game's start, you can access 27 offensive and nine defensive plays.

New to Blitz 2000 is the ability to compile a playbook of 36 offensive and 18 defensive plays. You can choose from the default playlist, from an additional 18 offensive and nine defensive plays, and from nine offensive and nine defensive plays that you create. You can also preset three offensive and three defensive audibles.

Options, or Lack Thereof

Blitz's stripped-down approach to football extends to the options menus. To keep you focused on the fast-moving action, the game gives you but one (admittedly extremely dynamic) camera. Midway has increased the drama by moving the camera closer to the line of scrimmage and lower to the ground, but there are no replays.

Despite the NFL and NFL Players license, Blitz 2000 is, at best, a broad impersonation of the Sunday afternoon game. All the rosters have been updated (although retired running back Barry Sanders still starts for the Lions) and the Tennessee Titans and expansion Cleveland Browns are here. However, Midway's inattention to detail, NFL-style, can be seen in the fact that all the quarterbacks in the team-select screen are left-handed, while in action they're all right-handed -- even the 49ers' Steve Young!

Graphically, Blitz 2000 trumps its predecessor. The palette is much brighter and the athletes are more subtly shaded. Dropped frames, a problem with rapidly unfolding plays in the first Blitz, are almost completely eliminated. A new visual clue has flames bursting from the backs of players who are literally "on fire." When an entire defensive squad is on fire, the players bob up and down like first-graders eager to get to the potty.

Midway is beefing up the over-the-top animations with helmet knockoffs and more taunts and end-zone dances. The verbal taunts feel more contrived than the excitable commentary from the familiar Midway announcer. Even though his comments are mostly variations on I-can't-believe-he-did-that! theme, they do justice to the game's frenetic pace.

Weather or Not

Although the intro cinema ballyhoos "More Stadiums," they all look pretty much the same, because Midway hasn't bothered to secure rights to stadium names or appearances. Down on the field, day and night games look identical.

Selecting snow or rain, which affect traction, requires a code. There's no code for wind, even though it affects the kicking game.

There are no injuries, fatigued players, substitutions or general manager options such as trading and free agents. Indeed, except for the truly bad teams, most squads seem fairly evenly matched.

Where There Are No Rules

Stacked up against that great Blitz 2000 gameplay, these are all petty complaints. However, it would be cool to have more choices in rules -- say, differing number of downs and yards to get a first, or having the clock keep running if the ball carrier is tackled in-bounds. These minor changes would create the need for new strategies and hence extend the game's replayability, especially in one-player mode. At least the one-player modes have three difficulty levels.

What are we talking about? A big-time party Pak, Blitz 2000 is meant to be played with friends. Next to the support for four players at once, Blitz 2000's best enhancement on this front is the eight-player Tournament mode. You can name your team, play rounds of single games or best of three, and save the results to a Controller Pak. It would be great if the Season mode supported more than one player, but the ability to burn through to the Super Bowl in a single afternoon is pretty satisfying.

In the Red Zone

All in all, NFL Blitz 2000 is an unbeatable multiplayer Pak. Easy to pick up and play and loaded with nonstop action, it's built for fun. Just don't expect realism or head-scratching strategy, O.K.?

Source:

www.nintendo.com – Nintendo 64