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. This game is the first in the Blitz series to receive an "M" rating by the ESRB due to the graphic violence, explicit language, and drug use depicted. 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 originally intended to be a Wii launch title, but the Wii-version was delayed and eventually canceled. On January 22, 2007, the game was refused classificatio 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.
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Who didn't like breaking bones?
mortal kombat football
A shallow football game that places shock and style over substance and gameplay. With EA buying exclusive rights to the NFL in 2005, this meant that Midway could not make an NFL Blitz game. Instead, we got a Blitz game with more traditional, slowed-down gameplay than NFL Blitz, which featured a more mature storyline and a completely fictional league.
The League keeps the 1st and 30 format from past Blitz games, but removes the on-fire element in favor of a new clash system. As you gain yards and make plays on offense, you gain clash which allows you to slow down time by holding the trigger button to perform matrix-like jukes, spins, and evasions that reward you with clash icons. Earning 6 icons charges your meter to "Unleashed," which once used, triggers a cinematic stiff arm or juke (similar to NFL Street's Gamebreaker) that pretty much lets you drive the ball home for an easy touchdown.
On defense, clash is only gained through sacking your opponent, making defense quite underpowered. Clash on defense can be used to land dirty hits, and enough dirty hits can injure an opposing player. Earn 6 clash icons on defense and your "Unleashed" meter fills, which when used to tackle, triggers a WWE-like wrestling move cinematic that causes your opponent to fumble just about 90% of the time.
Late hits are there, but take place in a brawl mini-game. After enough dirty hits, a helmet lights up on screen and if a dirty hit is landed before the drive summary is over, both teams take place in a 10-or-so second mini-game where whoever gets more late hits earns extra late hit icons or a full Unleashed meter.
Injuries and drugs are the last aspects setting the League apart. Injuries (which only happen to players on offense) are shown via a Mortal Kombat-style X-Ray and can either be treated or juiced. Treating an injury is the safer way which sits a player out for longer, but fully recovers their stamina. Juicing lets you bring the player back in sooner, with less stamina and a much higher risk for a several game/season ending injury if hit with another dirty hit.
Campaign mode is the story mode where all these factors come into play. You create a team through a decent team creator, pick an offensive and defensive coordinator, a few star players, a playbook specialty and are on your way. As with traditional sports modes, the goal is the win enough games (usually 7) to qualify for the Division Championship and rise from Division 3 to Division 2, and 1 to win the final Championship. Upgrading players is as simple as selecting an attribute to train them on that will randomly increase by a few points each game. Legal and illegal drugs can be given to players. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, and spending too much money on drugs will get you fined for money earned from winning games.
Best part about Campaign Mode are the team captain vignettes that play before facing a new team. They're pretty over the top as most captains are parodies and obviously supposed to be real life players. Story is told through cutscenes and occasional text and voice messages through your phone, but really comes off more like it's trying too hard. The gameplay really just falls flat. As cool as the clash system sounds, it leaves the overall aspect feeling shallow.
The AI is much worse than the notorious AI from the older NBA Jam and Blitz games to where once you get to Division 2, the CPU makes ridiculous plays that make games hard to win. This renders the mostly useless playbook you choose even more useless since your only choice is to pick a Hail Mary play a bomb is all game. Without having any clash on offense, plays feel on autopilot and random to where you have no control over your team. Running and Blitzing hardly work, so if you chose to specialize in those areas in Campaign Mode, you're better off restarting to a Pass/Coverage focused team. Your players run their routes correctly during plays, but the AI has a tendency to pretty much read every play you choose. Difficulty doesn't matter as the CPU cheats whether it is on Easy or Normal or Hard mode.
There are some cool unlockables available like extra game modes for Play Now (every hit is a fumble, large vs small players, no 1st downs, etc.), images of Blitz Cheerleader models, concept are, and even a playable version of the classic Cyberball arcade game. The in-game soundtrack is also great, with a ton of rap, hip-hop, rock and metal songs from what I would assume were indie and underground bands and artists.
Outside of that, Blitz The League doesn't offer much. Creating teams and editing players is exclusive to the team you create in Campaign mode, which of course can be used in Play Now modes. There's no Season or Franchise, no roster viewer or statistics page, no versus screen cheat codes and Campaign mode doesn't even have traditional management or franchise options.
As much as I wanted to like this game when it released, Blitz The League is just too shallow and frustrating with weird design choices (you have to put in a cheat code to have 2 players play on the same team), horrendous PS2 loading times and only slightly faster Xbox loading times, super repetitive commentary and occasional odd glitches (ball-carriers being tackled but teleporting and gaining extra yards, save file corruption if more than 2 Campaign mode teams are created, etc.)
The League keeps the 1st and 30 format from past Blitz games, but removes the on-fire element in favor of a new clash system. As you gain yards and make plays on offense, you gain clash which allows you to slow down time by holding the trigger button to perform matrix-like jukes, spins, and evasions that reward you with clash icons. Earning 6 icons charges your meter to "Unleashed," which once used, triggers a cinematic stiff arm or juke (similar to NFL Street's Gamebreaker) that pretty much lets you drive the ball home for an easy touchdown.
On defense, clash is only gained through sacking your opponent, making defense quite underpowered. Clash on defense can be used to land dirty hits, and enough dirty hits can injure an opposing player. Earn 6 clash icons on defense and your "Unleashed" meter fills, which when used to tackle, triggers a WWE-like wrestling move cinematic that causes your opponent to fumble just about 90% of the time.
Late hits are there, but take place in a brawl mini-game. After enough dirty hits, a helmet lights up on screen and if a dirty hit is landed before the drive summary is over, both teams take place in a 10-or-so second mini-game where whoever gets more late hits earns extra late hit icons or a full Unleashed meter.
Injuries and drugs are the last aspects setting the League apart. Injuries (which only happen to players on offense) are shown via a Mortal Kombat-style X-Ray and can either be treated or juiced. Treating an injury is the safer way which sits a player out for longer, but fully recovers their stamina. Juicing lets you bring the player back in sooner, with less stamina and a much higher risk for a several game/season ending injury if hit with another dirty hit.
Campaign mode is the story mode where all these factors come into play. You create a team through a decent team creator, pick an offensive and defensive coordinator, a few star players, a playbook specialty and are on your way. As with traditional sports modes, the goal is the win enough games (usually 7) to qualify for the Division Championship and rise from Division 3 to Division 2, and 1 to win the final Championship. Upgrading players is as simple as selecting an attribute to train them on that will randomly increase by a few points each game. Legal and illegal drugs can be given to players. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, and spending too much money on drugs will get you fined for money earned from winning games.
Best part about Campaign Mode are the team captain vignettes that play before facing a new team. They're pretty over the top as most captains are parodies and obviously supposed to be real life players. Story is told through cutscenes and occasional text and voice messages through your phone, but really comes off more like it's trying too hard. The gameplay really just falls flat. As cool as the clash system sounds, it leaves the overall aspect feeling shallow.
The AI is much worse than the notorious AI from the older NBA Jam and Blitz games to where once you get to Division 2, the CPU makes ridiculous plays that make games hard to win. This renders the mostly useless playbook you choose even more useless since your only choice is to pick a Hail Mary play a bomb is all game. Without having any clash on offense, plays feel on autopilot and random to where you have no control over your team. Running and Blitzing hardly work, so if you chose to specialize in those areas in Campaign Mode, you're better off restarting to a Pass/Coverage focused team. Your players run their routes correctly during plays, but the AI has a tendency to pretty much read every play you choose. Difficulty doesn't matter as the CPU cheats whether it is on Easy or Normal or Hard mode.
There are some cool unlockables available like extra game modes for Play Now (every hit is a fumble, large vs small players, no 1st downs, etc.), images of Blitz Cheerleader models, concept are, and even a playable version of the classic Cyberball arcade game. The in-game soundtrack is also great, with a ton of rap, hip-hop, rock and metal songs from what I would assume were indie and underground bands and artists.
Outside of that, Blitz The League doesn't offer much. Creating teams and editing players is exclusive to the team you create in Campaign mode, which of course can be used in Play Now modes. There's no Season or Franchise, no roster viewer or statistics page, no versus screen cheat codes and Campaign mode doesn't even have traditional management or franchise options.
As much as I wanted to like this game when it released, Blitz The League is just too shallow and frustrating with weird design choices (you have to put in a cheat code to have 2 players play on the same team), horrendous PS2 loading times and only slightly faster Xbox loading times, super repetitive commentary and occasional odd glitches (ball-carriers being tackled but teleporting and gaining extra yards, save file corruption if more than 2 Campaign mode teams are created, etc.)
unfortunately lacks the successor's ballbusting feature
mortal kombat if it was good
Edgy Football.