NFL Blitz released at a time when American football games were coming out from numerous companies on almost every platform imaginable. Instead of trying to replicate a simulation kind of experience, this game brought something fresh and arcade-like to the table. Leaning heavily on the extreme aspect of the sport, NFL Blitz made its way to consoles after an arcade release to commercial and critical praise. With nostalgia being a hell of a drug, is NFL Blitz still worth picking up or playing today? That’s exactly what we’re here to discuss. Let’s get into it.
Background & Release
During NFL Blitz’s two year development cycle for the arcade version, developers at Midway Games were aiming to make an American football game in the same vein as NBA Jam. Midway developers Mark Turmell and Sam Divita, two of the minds behind Jam, were trying to redefine what an NFL game could be. Turmell was quoted as saying that they were “trying to do for the NFL franchise what we did for the NBA franchise - create a fun, arcade-style game with faster gameplay and more spectacular moves than other football games.”
After hitting arcades in late 1997, NFL Blitz was released on the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 on September 12, 1998. The game features the full NFL 1998-99 license for both teams and players with the cover athlete being speedy quarterback Kordell Stewart from the Pittsburgh Steelers. The game received a massive marketing campaign leading up to the release, with $8 million spent on marketing the game on TV, radio and print. When it was all said and done, Blitz saw critical praise from numerous magazines and online outlets alike as well as respectable sales. The PlayStation version sold around 1.5 million units, while the N64 version sold 1.06 million.
Gameplay & Modes
Gameplay in Blitz is a fast, frantic and violent version of American football, putting players in a seven-on-seven game of the popular sport. Instead of the usual 10 yards to get a first down, players are tasked with getting 30. Thankfully for gamers of any level, the game is easy to get into. Even with that said, passing can be a little bit tricky if you are coming from other sim-style American football games. Receivers are not assigned buttons but can be targeted by tilting the joystick in their direction. Not only this, but other things, like flea flickers and lateraling the ball behind you to the nearest player is also a possibility. By default, the game is set to Medium difficulty with two minute quarters. This can be changed to Easy or Hard, while quarters can be 1, 2, 4 or 6 minutes. I found that the two minutes and Medium difficulty were just about right for me.
Despite that arcade style of play, you will still have to choose your plays on both offense and defense. Mixing things up is the best strategy here as it can keep the CPU or your friends guessing at what you’ll do next. The playbook is a bit small (two pages on offense and one on defense), but I found this good enough. Additionally for offensive plays, pressing the B button before selecting the play will flip it. You’re also able to put your receiver in motion at the line of scrimmage with the tilt of the joystick.
NFL Blitz has a handful of modes on offer - Arcade, Season and Play Editor. Most of these are self explanatory, but some of these require a little bit of explanation. Arcade play allows for one-on-one games against the CPU or one other friend. Playing against the computer is fun, but you will get the most enjoyment out of Blitz by playing with a buddy. I’m a little bit disappointed with the lack of a four player mode, but developer Sam Divita had this to say about the games initial two player focus:
“We chose two players instead of four because in a football game, there just isn’t enough gameplay between the quarterback and the receiver to make it fun. It’s not like NBA Jam, where teamwork can really be a factor.”
Season Mode will put you through the entire 16 game season for the 1998-1999 season, plus the playoffs and Super Bowl if you can make it there. A variety of stats, league standings and schedule can also be viewed here. This is probably the deepest mode in the game and does require a Memory Pak for saving data. A Play Editor is also included in the game to create the plays of your dreams. I don’t really have much of a mind for this, but it’s definitely a cool addition. What’s even more impressive is that you can take your saved plays on your Controller Pak, plug it into and play them in the arcade version. This may not be the first time such a feature has been implemented into a game, but it’s a nice touch.
Although NFL Blitz may be lacking in terms of modes, the gameplay is super fun, even all of these years later. So much can happen in the course of a few seconds on the field. For example, I was playing as the Vikings on defense against the Chiefs. Elvis Grbac pulled back after the hike, he threw the ball to his receiver only to have it deflected by a defender and then land right in his own hands. After a short trot down to the end zone, my defender caused a fumble in the end zone and recovered the ball. Things like this happen in a flash. The possibility of absolute insanity is around the corner at all times.
Visuals, Audio & Performance
In case it wasn’t painfully obvious, Blitz is not going for a true to life version of pigskin. As with the gameplay, what you’ll find here is an exaggerated version of American football. Character models are big, chunky monsters who animate well and play their roles well. The uniforms also look pretty good, sporting the appropriate numbers for players and logos where possible. With all of this said, the models do have somewhat floaty limbs, but I given the nature of the game, this can be forgiven. Blitz also plays super smoothly as the game rarely suffers from any slowdown. This does sometimes happen during end zone celebrations, but other than that, I have never found it to affect gameplay. The inability to change camera angles might annoy some, but the default angle is more than sufficient. Still, it was cool to see alternate angles upon booting up the game and waiting for a little while.
Audio is also on point in Blitz on the N64. Even with the limitations of the cartridges, the commentary is a bit sparse, but this can be forgiven as it’s not trying to go for a full on simulation. The hits, screams and occasional one-liners from the players, including some obvious nods to popular shows like Beavis and Butthead [insert “Whoa, cool.] made me chuckle. My only complaint is that the game doesn’t have a replay system in place. There will be some times when something absolutely insane happens, and you’ll likely want to see it again. It’s a shame, but it doesn’t ruin the experience.
Conclusion
While a bit shallow in terms of content, NFL Blitz is still an absolute blast to play. Similar to games like NBA Jam, you don’t have to be an NFL super fan to find enjoyment here, either. The controls are easy to pick up and playing with a friend really ramps up the mayhem. It’s a pity that this initial release in the series is limited to just two players, but the game still remains a blast to play and serves as a great alternative to the more realistic Madden or Quarterback Club titles. If you have this stuffed away somewhere or are just looking to have a fun retro gaming night with some friends, NFL Blitz on the Nintendo 64 is the way to go.
But let’s turn things over to you guys. Did you play Blitz back in the day? What was your go-to team? Do you have any crazy memories with the game? Be sure to sound off in the comments down below. We’d love to hear from you!
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