Blitz: The League

Crave a purer form of pigskin, where painkillers and cheap shots aren’t just overlooked but encouraged? Then give this ballsy baller a try.

EA buying the NFL license seems more like a blessing to those who really enjoy football for what it is—a great, harmful, and fun way to show that your team rules.

This is Blitz at its best, adding an even meaner, uglier spirit to the game that will have anyone with a strong stomach and a thirst for brutality jumping out of his or her seat in elation with every murderous tackle landed. Ladies and gentlemen, Blitz is back.

Blitz: The League gives a new meaning to smash mouth football.

The injury system provides an added adrenaline kick to gameplay, and the campaign mode, while not fully as explored as it could be, is more than enjoyable for most players.

Losing the NFL license is the best thing that ever happened to Blitz-it's finally the hardcore, over-the-top pigskin game Blitz is supposed to be.

Though it may lack the polish and panache of mainstream football franchise games, Blitz: The League plays to its strengths as an over-the-top, hyper-aggressive action-sports experience.

It takes the series back to its roots and makes it even more outlandish and brazen than before. It's almost like a big unfriendly gesture (which may or may not use the middle finger) directed toward the NFL, and it adds much-needed character and intensity to a representation of the sport that has become so watered down, static, and just flat-out boring.

Overall the production values are fantastic. It's just too bad the gameplay wasn't more sophisticated.

The game is brutally violent, unapologetically vulgar, and simply a hell of a lot of fun to play.

Furthermore, their solution to the lack of known teams and players was clever and, most importantly, works.

The gameplay needs some tuning, but if you've got a mind to crush some skulls on and off the field, then I think you're gonna be pretty happy with this title. [Nov 2005, p.149]

It seems like there really isn’t too much to The League, and when it comes down to it, there really isn’t.

The addition of the new play styles, attitude, and story mode only enhance this great title. This is easily the best of the Blitz titles, and Midway has given fans a truly fun and entertaining football game that is not hindered by rules and penalties.

Solid graphics, online play and original in-your-face features makes Blitz: The League a great alternative to the other football games on the market.

While it is frustratingly easy to throw an incomplete pass and slow-mo didn't always respond when I tried to trigger it, when it worked right I would leap up from my couch and start screaming in excitement as my quarterback nimbly tossed the ball down the field to a receiver who spun away from one opponent, crashed through another and raced down an open field.

The game uses profanity, cheerleaders shaking their ass, and broken bones to distract you from the lackluster AI playing out before your eyes... and it almost works.

Blitz: The League is functional, fun, *!#$ed-up fantasy football with enough humor, style, and faux "edge" to keep even the least gridiron-minded among us entertained with its raunchy excess.

Everything awful about the modern football player is showcased in Blitz: the League. [Dec p.87]

Midway continues to impress with hard-hitting and fast-paced arcade football title, but goes a bit too far with their mature "reality" presentation.

By no means is it worthy of owning. Midway has a great idea here, but the game play and graphics are just plain awful.

This is football for people who don't like football - which is rather pointless. [Dec 2005, p.110]

There is also an annoying amount of trash talking cutscenes after each play, but fortunately they can be skipped or turned off entirely.