Blitz: The League II

Developer: Midway
Publisher: Midway
Release Date: Oct. 13, 2008
Systems: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3
ESRB Rating: M
Official Web site

In a nutshell: FUMBLE!
0:00 I was a huge Blitz fan back in high school, but haven't touched the series since NFL Blitz 2000, and I've heard the series has changed quite a bit since then. The Crispy game room has an unopened copy, though, so I figure it's worth checking out.

0:01 I'm not counting the literally FIVE MINUTES it took to open the shrink wrap on this game in the running count. What is wrong with me today?

0:02 A quick downloaded update, some animated logos and some loading and then some truly awful rap plays over the menu screen. The Campaign option is kind of intriguing, but this is the type of game that was always meant for "Quick Play," which is what I choose to start with.

0:04 The Philadelphia Brawlers? The Houston Riders? The New York Nightmare? What the hell is this? I guess I forgot that the game no longer has the NFL license ... I go with the Washington Redhawks, which is surprisingly less offensive than Washington's real team name.

0:05 "You think you know how to play football? If you don't know how to use Clash, you don't know a thing!" says a voiceover for a video tutorial. Basically, holding the left trigger and tapping a button does super-cool moves like jukes, perfect catches and "dirty hits" in super-slow motion. This drains your clash meter, which gets built up by other good plays. You can also earn "Clash Icons" for big moves and build up an "Unleashed Meter" for a one-time ultra-mega-super-duper move.

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer