Is a more mature NFL game better than Madden? Not quite.
As the sequel to the more than one million unit selling and award-winning football experience, Blitz: The League II, continues the franchise legacy as the ultimate alternative to the watered-down, licensed competition. In addition to an all-new story mode penned by Peter Egan (ESPN’s Playmakers), Blitz: The League II features include Precision-Aim Tackles, player-controlled touchdown celebrations, an enhanced on-the-field Clash Mode, online multiplayer capabilities, expanded rosters with all-new personalities, and the return of a cornerstone of the Blitz franchise… Late Hits! Football legend Lawrence Taylor returns as the game’s cover-athlete and star linebacker for the New York Nightmare, Quentin Sands, along with a star-studded supporting cast.
Despite not being a big fan of American Football. I really enjoyed this year’s Madden game. It improved upon every aspect of past games, while actually making it fun to play. The only real competition for the NFL crown comes in the form of Blitz The League II. The first game didn’t exactly get high reviews, so will the second one fare any better? In a nutshell, the answer would be yes but it still doesn’t come close to the standard that Madden NFL 09 set and I even doubt the next game in that series will be as good as that. It tries to be more mature with severe injuries, cracked bones, teeth flying and the like…but it’s purely cosmetic and lacks any real drive to persuade Madden fans to switch over.
One of the problems I found with Blitz 2 was that it’s incredibly tough, even the training is near impossible to complete due to unclear objectives and awkward controls. You can target areas of an opponent’s body for maximum damage, although they can be pretty tricky to pull off. I just didn’t like the overall feel of Blitz 2, Madden felt so more refined and responsive while Blitz 2 just doesn’t, it feels clunky and can be confusing, especially to me.
I’m not saying that everyone will go for Madden over Blitz 2, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. Blitz 2 feels more arcade in its style, while Madden feels more authentic with its licensed players and realistic look and feel. It also doesn’t look nearly as good visually; players lack the design quality that they should have. In case you were wondering, one version completely topples the other and I think you know which one I mean. Blitz 2 has all the modes like play now, campaign, online and mini-games. There’s no real surprises with what the game has to offer, making it a very predictable package and one that I can’t recommend for you to buy. It just feels very limited and dated with how it handles and looks, making it very disappointing to play and see for all.
The Verdict
It may look like a more mature game with an 18+ on the box, but a few broken bones and some cracked teeth don’t qualify as good gameplay, at least not anywhere near what Madden did this year. EA has won again this year with a more superior game and its going to take something incredible to top it, which Blitz The League II certainly isn’t.
