By:
Midway

When Midway released NBA Jam and NBA Hangtime, the company created a following of casual and diehard basketball fans alike. Both games exaggerated the sexy side of the sport, casting the boring and monotonous routine aside. Fast breaks, slam dunks, half court passes and full court presses were the name of the game. Both titles emphasized fast scoring rather than strategizing.

From that same vein comes NFL Blitz. Designed by the same team who developed NBA Jam and NBA Hangtime, NFL Blitz is a player's game, not a coach's. Released in the arcade last year, Blitz made its way onto the Playstation and Nintendo64 earlier in September and is due for a PC release later this month.

Those of you seeking a Madden '99 or Gameday '99 clone, look elsewhere, as Blitz isn't your ordinary football title. Just like its older brothers, Jam and Hangtime, Blitz focuses on the meat of football, and leaves the grizzle on the plate. Blitz has no referees, thus no penalties for late hits, face masks, roughing the passer, unnecessary roughness, pass interference, holding, illegal blocks or any other one way tickets to the ER. This is smash mouth football at its finest.

The rules of the game are simple enough. Each team fields 7 players, with 18 plays available (36 including reverse plays) for the offense, and 9 for the defense. To keep things easy, the playbook is kept the same for all 30 teams. First downs are achieved by marching 30 yards upfield, while avoiding defenders who have the green light to rip you apart, limb from limb. The clock only ticks from the moment the ball is snapped, until the play is over. The action is extremely fast paced, with each play lasting no more than 10 seconds. For those who expect relaxed 15 minute quarters, you'll be in for quite a surprise, as each quarter of play is a mere 2 minutes long.