Blitz: The League
Encyclopedia
Blitz: The League is an American football
game by Midway
as an unlicensed extension of their NFL Blitz
series. Released after the NFL
signed an exclusive licensing deal with Electronic Arts
, it was released in October 2005 for the PlayStation 2
and Xbox
. Lawrence Taylor
, who provides voice acting for the game, serves as its official spokesman. In 2006, a second version of the game was released on the Xbox 360
in October. In December 2006, a portable version was released on the PlayStation Portable
(under the title Blitz: Overtime). These versions included the voicework and likeness of former pro linebacker Bill Romanowski
. The game was also set to come to the Wiihttp://wii.ign.com/objects/826/826160.html in 2008. It was originally intended to be a Wii
launch title
, but has since been delayed.http://wii.ign.com/articles/735/735895p1.html
On 22 January 2007, the game was refused classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification in Australia, effectively banning the game there. The game was banned as the use of drugs was related to incentives and rewards.
.) The game also brings back the hard-hitting and violent gameplay of earlier Blitz games in a ramped-up manner. Former NFL star Lawrence Taylor
is in the game as Quentin Sands, captain of the New York Nightmare. In the next iteration released in 2006, former NFL star Bill Romanowski
joined the roster as Bruno Battaglia, the captain of the Baltimore Bearcats.
. Like previous games in the series, first downs are awarded at 30 yards, not 10; there are eight men to a side (similar to arena football
, not 11, à la American football); penalties and referees do not exist (although players are somehow prohibited from going offsides); and overly vicious tackles and blocking are the norm. On gaining yards, making tackles for a loss, scoring, or forcing turnovers, players are rewarded with an increased "Clash" meter. When the "Clash" meter is charged up, players may perform "dirty" stiff-arms, dodges, rush avoidance (for quarterbacks), or, most importantly, "dirty hits" on defense. Performing a "dirty" hit or stiff-arm causes opposing players to lose stamina (in essence, reducing their effectiveness) and occasionally become injured (An image of an x-ray would zoom into a specific bone and snap or a ligament tearing). After successfully performing a number of "Clash" moves (or forcing turnovers and scoring touchdowns), players can perform "Unleash" moves which are nearly unstoppable.
When an injury occurs, the player may choose to "treat" the injury normally, or "juice" the injury (inject an athlete with steroids). "Juicing" causes an injury to be ignored, but increases the risk of more severe injuries. However some injuries are so serious (kneecap fracture, torn ACL
, wrist fracture, ruptured Achilles
), that juicing is not a possible option.
The player must win seven of ten regular-season games in each division, followed by a division championship. Players need to decide on a training program for each athlete, which gradually increases the athlete's skills. Players also earn money for each game based on performance, "dirty hits" performed, etc., and can also earn additional money for "gambling" on the results of a game. With this money, players may purchase superior equipment, training facilities, and drugs (some legal, some not) that can be used to augment performance. Occasionally, players may be asked if they would like to spend money to send prostitutes to the opposing team's room before a game (an option based on the supposed real-life exploits of game spokesman Lawrence Taylor
), which greatly reduces their strength on game day.
In "Campaign" mode, the player is also periodically shown cutscenes illustrating a variety of subplots involving the team. The game begins at the end of the previous season, when Quentin Sands of the New York Nightmare lands a devastating, career-ending hit on your team's star quarterback (like Taylor's infamous sack of Washington Redskins
QB Joe Theismann
), as the team is demoted to Division 3. As the game progresses, the player learns that the veteran captain returned to the game as a result of financial troubles, while the rookie is portrayed as a naive yet talented individual whom Sands has targeted as the next player whose career he'll end on the field.
The story of the "Campaign" mode was partially written by former writers of Playmakers
, a controversial show on the ESPN
network that was canceled due to the NFL's objections to its portrayal of professional football players. Like in the series, the pro circuit chronicled in the game is simply referred to as "The League".
The most common critical complaints with Blitz revolved around allegations of "rubberband AI"; that is, in single-player mode, the computer opponent becomes nearly unbeatable late in games with the human player leading. However, many critics also pointed out that "rubberband AI" is also an undocumented feature
of more "legitimate" football titles such as the Madden NFL
series.
Blitz: The Leagues Lead Designer, Kraig Kujawa, said on website operationsports.com that there was actually no "rubberband AI" and that it was just people's perception based on past Blitz games that had it.
The PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable
releases of Blitz have also been criticized for their very long delays and load times. This does not apply to the PlayStation 2 Slim.
As reported by Game Politics, the government of Australia
has officially banned the game due to steroid
use. The game is region free so the NTSC
version of the game can be played on Australian PAL
Xbox 360 consoles. http://gamepolitics.com/2007/01/24/blitz-banned/
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
game by Midway
Midway Games
Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
as an unlicensed extension of their NFL Blitz
NFL Blitz
NFL Blitz is a series of American football themed video games by Midway featuring the teams of the National Football League. It began as a 1997 arcade game but was eventually ported to home consoles and spawned several sequels...
series. Released after the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
signed an exclusive licensing deal with Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
, it was released in October 2005 for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
. Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Julius Taylor , nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League...
, who provides voice acting for the game, serves as its official spokesman. In 2006, a second version of the game was released on the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
in October. In December 2006, a portable version was released on the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
(under the title Blitz: Overtime). These versions included the voicework and likeness of former pro linebacker Bill Romanowski
Bill Romanowski
William Thomas "Bill" Romanowski is a former American football player. He was born in Vernon, Connecticut. A linebacker, he graduated from Rockville High School in 1984, Boston College in 1988 , and then went on to a 16-year career in the NFL, playing for the San Francisco 49ers , Philadelphia...
. The game was also set to come to the Wiihttp://wii.ign.com/objects/826/826160.html in 2008. It was originally intended to be a Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
launch title
Launch title
A launch game, or launch title, is a video game released to consumers synchronously with the release of its respective video game console, meaning they are the only available games at the time of the console's launch. Several of these games are also packaged with the console...
, but has since been delayed.http://wii.ign.com/articles/735/735895p1.html
On 22 January 2007, the game was refused classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification in Australia, effectively banning the game there. The game was banned as the use of drugs was related to incentives and rewards.
Changes
Since Midway Games no longer has an NFL license, Blitz: The League focuses on a fictional league consisting of 18 teams known simply as "The League"http://blitzleague.com/teams.php, whose history is written as a tongue-in-cheek parallel of the NFL's. (The League consists of 3 divisions, using a system of promotion and relegationPromotion and relegation
In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...
.) The game also brings back the hard-hitting and violent gameplay of earlier Blitz games in a ramped-up manner. Former NFL star Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Julius Taylor , nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League...
is in the game as Quentin Sands, captain of the New York Nightmare. In the next iteration released in 2006, former NFL star Bill Romanowski
Bill Romanowski
William Thomas "Bill" Romanowski is a former American football player. He was born in Vernon, Connecticut. A linebacker, he graduated from Rockville High School in 1984, Boston College in 1988 , and then went on to a 16-year career in the NFL, playing for the San Francisco 49ers , Philadelphia...
joined the roster as Bruno Battaglia, the captain of the Baltimore Bearcats.
Gameplay
Blitz: The League is very similar to previous installments in the Blitz series, as it depicts an aggressive and violent version of gridiron footballGridiron football
Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...
. Like previous games in the series, first downs are awarded at 30 yards, not 10; there are eight men to a side (similar to arena football
Arena football
Arena football is a variety of gridiron football played by the Arena Football League . It is a proprietary game, the rights to which are owned by Gridiron Enterprises, and is played indoors on a smaller field than American or Canadian outdoor football, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game....
, not 11, à la American football); penalties and referees do not exist (although players are somehow prohibited from going offsides); and overly vicious tackles and blocking are the norm. On gaining yards, making tackles for a loss, scoring, or forcing turnovers, players are rewarded with an increased "Clash" meter. When the "Clash" meter is charged up, players may perform "dirty" stiff-arms, dodges, rush avoidance (for quarterbacks), or, most importantly, "dirty hits" on defense. Performing a "dirty" hit or stiff-arm causes opposing players to lose stamina (in essence, reducing their effectiveness) and occasionally become injured (An image of an x-ray would zoom into a specific bone and snap or a ligament tearing). After successfully performing a number of "Clash" moves (or forcing turnovers and scoring touchdowns), players can perform "Unleash" moves which are nearly unstoppable.
When an injury occurs, the player may choose to "treat" the injury normally, or "juice" the injury (inject an athlete with steroids). "Juicing" causes an injury to be ignored, but increases the risk of more severe injuries. However some injuries are so serious (kneecap fracture, torn ACL
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
, wrist fracture, ruptured Achilles
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon , also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendo calcaneus, is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to the calcaneus bone.- Anatomy :The Achilles is the tendonous extension of 3 muscles in the lower leg:...
), that juicing is not a possible option.
"Campaign Mode"
In single-player "Campaign" mode, the player is challenged to win championships in all three divisions of the fictitious League. The player begins by creating a new team, designing its uniforms and choosing a team name, then picks one of three defensive veterans and one of three offensive rookies as team captains.The player must win seven of ten regular-season games in each division, followed by a division championship. Players need to decide on a training program for each athlete, which gradually increases the athlete's skills. Players also earn money for each game based on performance, "dirty hits" performed, etc., and can also earn additional money for "gambling" on the results of a game. With this money, players may purchase superior equipment, training facilities, and drugs (some legal, some not) that can be used to augment performance. Occasionally, players may be asked if they would like to spend money to send prostitutes to the opposing team's room before a game (an option based on the supposed real-life exploits of game spokesman Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Julius Taylor , nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League...
), which greatly reduces their strength on game day.
In "Campaign" mode, the player is also periodically shown cutscenes illustrating a variety of subplots involving the team. The game begins at the end of the previous season, when Quentin Sands of the New York Nightmare lands a devastating, career-ending hit on your team's star quarterback (like Taylor's infamous sack of Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
QB Joe Theismann
Joe Theismann
Joseph Robert "Joe" Theismann is a former quarterback in the National Football League and Canadian Football League . He achieved his most enduring fame in his 12 seasons playing for the Washington Redskins, where he was a two-time Pro Bowler and quarterback of the winning team in Super Bowl XVII...
), as the team is demoted to Division 3. As the game progresses, the player learns that the veteran captain returned to the game as a result of financial troubles, while the rookie is portrayed as a naive yet talented individual whom Sands has targeted as the next player whose career he'll end on the field.
The story of the "Campaign" mode was partially written by former writers of Playmakers
Playmakers
Playmakers is an American television series that aired on ESPN from August 26, 2003 to November 11, 2003. It depicted the lives of the Cougars, a fictional professional football team in an unidentified city. The show starred Omar Gooding, Marcello Thedford, Christopher Wiehl, Jason Matthew Smith,...
, a controversial show on the ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
network that was canceled due to the NFL's objections to its portrayal of professional football players. Like in the series, the pro circuit chronicled in the game is simply referred to as "The League".
Reception and criticism
Critical reception for Blitz: The League was mostly positive. Gamerankings.com gives the PlayStation 2 release a score of 76% and the Xbox release a score of 78%.The most common critical complaints with Blitz revolved around allegations of "rubberband AI"; that is, in single-player mode, the computer opponent becomes nearly unbeatable late in games with the human player leading. However, many critics also pointed out that "rubberband AI" is also an undocumented feature
Undocumented feature
Undocumented features are frequently found in computer software releases. Sometimes the documentation is omitted through simple oversight, but undocumented features are often elements of the software not intended for use by end users, but left available for use by the vendor for software support...
of more "legitimate" football titles such as the Madden NFL
Madden NFL
Madden NFL is an American football video game series developed by Electronic Arts Tiburon for EA Sports. The game series is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden, a well-known former Super Bowl-winning coach of the Oakland Raiders and color commentator...
series.
Blitz: The Leagues Lead Designer, Kraig Kujawa, said on website operationsports.com that there was actually no "rubberband AI" and that it was just people's perception based on past Blitz games that had it.
The PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
releases of Blitz have also been criticized for their very long delays and load times. This does not apply to the PlayStation 2 Slim.
As reported by Game Politics, the government of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
has officially banned the game due to steroid
Anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroids, technically known as anabolic-androgen steroids or colloquially simply as "steroids", are drugs that mimic the effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in the body. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue ,...
use. The game is region free so the NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
version of the game can be played on Australian PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
Xbox 360 consoles. http://gamepolitics.com/2007/01/24/blitz-banned/
Differences
- PS2/Xbox: These two games are exactly the same as they are the initial iteration of Blitz: The League.
- PSP: The PSP version, dubbed Blitz: Overtime, features extra unique helmet logos, new cities and unique coordinators to choose from in team creation mode. It also features 3 exclusive All Division teams for the 3 divisions.
- Xbox 360: Still called Blitz: The League, this version features Bill Romanowski as Bruno "Brutal" Battaglia, as well as unique helmet logos and extra cities. Unlike the PSP version, it features the same offensive and defensive coordinators as the original PS2 and Xbox versions. However, it does feature its own 3 exclusive teams representing All-West, All-East and All-American.