Blitz: The League II

A gruesome and violent arcade sports game, perfect for the Xbox 360.

Rib-ticklingly good fun. Not just for fans of American Fistball. [Christmas 2008, p.85]

Blitz The League II is a spleen exploding, spine cracking, cleat stomping, hand snapping, testicular-bustlingly good time.

Very simple controls, good tutorials and strategies that are easy to pick up. The AI doesn't ramp up the intensity like it used to in the old Blitz games which is nice as you can get a lead and keep it.

It’s not as deep as Madden, by design; Blitz: The League II is an action game wearing pigskin, tucked inside a salacious sports soap-opera with a sick sense of humor. But ultimately, it’s the accessible gameplay that makes Blitz a pleasure — guilty as charged.

However everything seems to have been improved for this year’s game, and to me if your looking for a fun light hearted football experience you really cannot beat picking up Blitz: The League II.

Do your self a favor and at least rent this one if you love football and you may find that its really enjoyable. With the budget title price tag, many folks will probably want to pick this one up though.

But grabbed by the scruff of the neck, Blitz: The League II has the tools to deliver an extreme experience that’s pretty much off the charts when compared to what else is out there. In other words, if the basics of football spliced with the raucousness of studio wrestling matches your personality type, then you can’t go wrong with Blitz: The League II.

Midway has done a nice job of correcting most of the mistakes from last year's game, but the sore visuals and lack of overall polish keep this game from achieving greatness.

Midway's arcade football franchise breaks all the rules, plus your arms, legs, skull, scrotum, and spleen. If that sounds like fun, it's because it is.

If you want a game that is fast, gritty, and fun as hell to play with commentary by Madden himself (actually it's the hilarious Frank Caliendo doing his Madden impersonation) then Blitz may be that "shot in the arm" you are looking for.

A substantial improvement over the original game. It’s very fun to play and although you’ll probably finish campaign mode in a day or two, there’s enough online replay value to get you through the season.

It's readily apparent that Blitz: The League II is not a game for football purists. The use of power-ups, lack of penalties and dirty play is enough to make them cringe. However, for fans of arcade-style sports games, The League II is pretty good.

If you are not obsessive about the Blitz and/or Street series, you probably won't get much out of this game. But those who are obsessive should give it a thorough testing.

If you are looking for an alternative to Madden, Blitz II: The League has enough punch to make it worth the purchase. It’s not going to replace the ultra high gloss of its competitors, but it is an original take on the dark side of sporting.

Blitz the League 2 takes the "No Fun" out of the "No Fun League".

Overall, Blitz: The League II suffers from terrible announcers, annoying soundtracks and a boring campaign mode.

The game controls often feel unresponsive in real-time, but using the Clash meter slows the action down and allows you to make cuts that spell the difference between torn tendons and touchdowns. If senseless violence and arcade football are your passions, Blitz is the league for you.

Sadly, the lack of replay value, and plethora of better games makes this nothing more than a rental for a weekend when your local football franchise is on a bye week. There’s potential to capitalize on, but I’m not so sure even with improved gameplay if this game could ever be a day one purchase.

Ironically, in trying to cram loads into Blitz: The League II, Midway has actually made it less enjoyable. The tacked-on mini-games only delay the proper action. That's not to say it's not a fun game: it's just not consistently fun. Shame.

No, it won't topple EA's Madden franchise, but this Blitz is worth playing if you want a smash mouth football game with mature issues.

The story is overblown but actually engrossing as long as you set your expectations correctly.

Entertaining, ultra violent American sports without a great deal of depth. [Christmas 2008, p.73]

Blitz II: The League is neither fantastic nor is it bad. The multiplayer is fun and the Campaign does offer a lot of value but the AI issues and the disappointing graphics and sound will put off most people. This won’t appeal to everyone, but if you’re looking for an alternative to the simulation of the Madden Series, you should give Blitz a try.

Different and fun for gamers who seek an alternative to the typical football videogame experience. When that novelty wears away, however, what gamers are left with is a relatively shallow experience waiting to be replaced by the next new thing.

While the campaign is really good fun and the brutal tackles are definitely a highlight, the graphics are really poor and the gameplay is too shallow to make a lasting impact.

A fun game that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Therefore, players shouldn’t take in-game action too seriously either, and if true-to-life football, play-calling, and tactics is your thing, Blitz is definitely not for you. At the most, this is an arcade intended for a good time, though the fun can tend to be short-lived.

While the ability to injure the other team by ripping a guy’s helmet off and beating him with it is attractive, it comes at the expense of the core gameplay.

The quintessential mediocre package. Nothing in the game – from the campaign to the online play to the extra game modes – stands out, but nothing is so bad that people starved for games (how could you be?) and like over the top football shouldn’t give it a look.

It's that lack of respect that keeps Blitz from being a truly entertaining alternative to vanilla football. Players are one-dimensional, drugs are easy to get and use, and playing the actual game itself is more about dumb luck and freaky bounces than skill and ingenuity.

Beyond the storyline, there is not one thing that is truly well executed in this game.

Blitz: The League II unfortunately never rises above the moniker of a run-of-the-mill arcade game.