Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: NFL Blitz 20-02

Written by Matt Swider on May 20, 2002

Full Review: The Hard tackles will bring men down, but the Cheerleaders will get them right up.

For the past couple of years, Midway has pressed down on the competition with hard-hitting football action straight from the arcade scene. Now, the fourth edition of Blitz representing the 2002 season finally brings the franchise to the PlayStation 2, while at the same time, sets up shop for the two other new platforms, Xbox and GameCube. Although PlayStation 2 is no longer the most powerful console on the market, all three versions of Blitz remain remotely the same in featuring an awesome blend of its no rules theme yet still staying within the bounds of football mentality.

The most notable variation throughout the Blitz series has to be the visual upgrade it's received. When looking back at the original and all of its previous generation counterparts alike, you won't be able to deny the latest version has taken a giant leap in this department. From players with large blocky shoulders who looked exactly the same to rounded bodies containing real life physical attributes that seem totally unique, things have come a long way. Though they each have figures that remain similar, distinctions like face, hand positions, skin and jersey colors, and height keep them from looking identical. Zooming in with the game's instant replay function allows you to clearly see and pinpoint details that you may miss during the game. While there is still some clipping when it comes to a mass of players, usually during a large tackle, and the crowd isn't a highlight of the game, things are still look pretty incredible without much slowdown involved.

Included in the game is footage of behind the scenes action at Midway. Here, we see the hard work and what exactly was put into this year's edition of NFL Blitz. In it, is an interesting fact that the entire polygonal count of a player from the original Blitz is the equivalent to the number contained in an arm of one in 20-02. The video goes on to explain the effort that went into the motion-capturing end of everything and the amount of solutions that were needed between programmers and artists to achieve the fine detail of the final output.

The main difference between this game and generic football titles is that NFL Blitz breaks away from the usual rules that makeup the standard game. There are 30 yards to each first down and by default only to minutes of play per quarter. So, instead of progressing slow between each play, the entire game is stripped of its long breaks and heads right into its engrossing gameplay, making all the more addictive. After the quarterback throws to the same wide receiver three times consecutively, they'll catch on fire for added effect and power. Also, when on defense, if a player pushes the offense back into a yard loss twice in a row the same effect will take place. As the flames engulf a player, they'll be treated to unlimited turbo and seem as if glue is on their hands when catching the ball. The control scheme isn't very tough to figure out, therefore even for rookie gamers. Blitz contains an easy to understand pass interface utilizing a point and pass system. There's also a button select passing style that is available after the snap with the touch of a button.

The largest downside seen has to come with the little amount of modes present. Why this season's Hitz title featured a variety of modes, Blitz goes without ones such as training create a player, or create a team. Ones in the game are Quick Play, Exhibition, Season, and a Tournament mode. Both Quick Play and the Exhibition mainly play the same, while the Tournament and Season modes play as their titles explain. So, there's not much to tackle in this version, as well as not much to account for in the stats end of the game. Even previous editions of Blitz contain personal stats, however, we only see player stats as far as 20-02 goes. Since the variety within the game is rather weak, it puts a lot of pressure on your usage of its multiplayer capabilities. And, bear in mind, that the PS2 adaptation of Blitz only allows two players to participate. Nevertheless, the multiplayer here is of the highest quality with smashing fun and excitement.

The attempt to capture the real life crunching pain of an actual football game is pretty accurate. While remaining aggressive in the game, some samples will make you laugh, like those of taunting players after a tackle or the one's on the ground who scream from the burst of pain. The hits and slams are clear as a bell, and seem like the hurt like hell. The commentary is a definite change from any other football title out there, and as long as the two jeering announcers don't annoy you, things should work out fine when listening to the less than intelligent words of wisdom.