NFL Blitz Available Now For PS3, Tomorrow For 360 - Post Your Impressions Here

[wyrm187]

Quote: Originally Posted by DickDalewood

This is Blitz, there aren't any "running" plays... you either scramble with your QB or lateral it to one of your receivers.

fair enough, I just could've sworn the comp had handed the ball off. I must be seeing things

[CRMosier_LM]

Running plays are pitches more or less, you pass to a receiver or HB behind the qb. I have several rushes already.

All in all a pretty decent game same as NBA Jam. If you just want a fun experience and arent looking for a "sim" experience then this is a great pickup. Better than I expected especially for $15. Still have to check out the online though.

Will have some videos up tonight on my Youtube channel: search BuckeyesAttic

[JeffMorris]

First Impressions:

It's NFL Blitz. The graphics are solid and what you would expect from an Xbox Arcade Game. I have minor frustrations with it - I want customizable controls, I wish each receiver had a different button assigned to him, I want onside kicks to have to travel 10 yards, I don't like that there's no way to select jerseys so we are already hearing of white-on-white jersey games and I've played color-on-color games - but it's NFL Blitz and the point is that it's all for fun. I expect more because it's the NFL and because it's EA Sports, but I also know the mantra of "you get what you pay for". There's fun to be had, and the 12-year-old me playing this at the arcade would have loved to be able to fire up an online game of NFL Blitz (nevermind in a then-unknown-to-me HD on a widescreen TV) at home against anyone anytime.

Initial Requests:

1. Updated rosters.

2. Left-handed quarterbacks.

3. Jersey selections.

4. More play selections (currently only 1 defensive page and 2 offensive pages).

5. Weather (rain, snow, wind).

6. After-the-play tackles.

7. Unlockable alternate and throwback jerseys.

8. Selectable and more (even unlockable) touchdown celebrations.

[DirtyJerz32]

Quote: Originally Posted by JeffMorris

I want customizable controls, I wish each receiver had a different button assigned to him

Going to controls and changing the control scheme allows this.

[Blzer]

It sounds like people have already stamped their impressions, but I'll throw down some just for the hell of it. It'll be more of a rambling effort, but there are still impressions embedded in there.

The premise is simple: if you owned the original NFL Blitz, you'll grow toward this one pretty easily. Though, not everything was transposed over exactly. The speed of the game itself is significantly slower than that of its predecessors, though this might not be a bad thing for some. The players are less gigantic, as in they don't crowd up the field as much as the original Blitz. The sound effects and player voices/grunts aren't as over-the-top either. Also, there is a lot less mid-air ball juggling. It's been pretty straightforward for the most part, otherwise. I just have to get used to the controls. I still don't know how to leap while on defense, or onside kick.

Speaking of kicking, it is pretty tough in this game! I don't know if it's my kicker ratings or the distance of the kick itself that makes it tough to hit the green, but the target arrow shoots across the screen very quickly so that it's extremely hard to hit. I'll get the hang of it, but it's nice to know that it's not automatic.

The playbooks are shallow, but this is expected. Offense has two pages, defense has one. I'm trying to stick to the classic way of highlighted receivers as opposed to the face button option, not only for nostalgic purposes but also because I believe you must do that for Blitz Battles online.

Oh, and concerning online and playbooks, I ran into two playbook glitches. One time I had turned the ball over on fourth down against my opponent, and when the play-calling screen popped up again, it still showed my defensive plays. I really didn't know what to do, so I just chose "Safe Cover." It ended up choosing an offensive play randomly, and I just called an audible. Don't really know what happened there, but as long as I didn't remain on defense, that's pretty good. The second time was on the kick-off right after the half, my play-calling screen had nothing on it. It just showed my red flashing "select play" frame in the top left corner of my playbook with an X beside it, but no plays to select. I tried to move it, flip pages, press X, etc... nothing. The play select clock ran out, and again, it just chose a play for me.

As far as online in general, those two glitches aside, there were still a couple of more problems. For one, it was very choppy. NBA JAM: On Fire Edition has a bigger issue with delayed input response, but this one chopped up almost every second. This was extremely bad for field goal kicking, but I got used to it, otherwise. Even still, I'd prefer a smoother experience myself. Also, you can see the opposing player's selected player, turbo meter, and which receiver he is highlighted on while on offense. I found this a bit too expository for my liking, but I think the online play will be the bread and butter of this game, so it's best that you play that now while people are still logging onto it. The one thing I love about it over NBA JAM: On Fire Edition's online play is that, if a user drops on you (which somebody did), your win percentage and streak aren't negatively affected. I got credited with the win, as I deserved, and all was good from there.

I've only played three games so far (two exhibition and one online), and as people have spoken about, you can't select the jersey (only has home team jerseys, including the Dallas white top), and all quarterbacks are right handed. The former issue might just be something you can purchase/unlock, I'm not sure. The second one is a bit of a head-scratcher, but thankfully this isn't a game that takes pride in its authenticity.

I do wish that this game included late hits. There is something that is sorely missing in the comedic/entertainment department of this game, and I think this would help enrich the experience. I'm sure the NFLPA perhaps encouraged that EA didn't implement it (maybe it's a cheat code?), but nevertheless, it was always something in any NFL Blitz game, and it is conspicuously absent here. Another thing that is less entertaining is the commentary. Aside from the personal gripe that the commentary audio is coming more through my surround speakers than my center, Tim Kitzrow just doesn't have that many lines, and the excitement level compared to that of NBA JAM is very lackluster. I've heard some good lines that really made me crack up, but nothing hard and heavy as you could expect from any game that Kitzrow is featured in.

So, there you have it. I think this would be a very worthy $10 title, and at $15 you can certainly get your money's worth, but you better aim for all of the unlockables if you really want to squeeze its money out of it. I thought that NBA JAM: On Fire edition is a much more valuable game, but it's also a sequel to the remake from the previous year, so maybe Blitz just needs a "sequel" to be on par with JAM, in which case I'm not sure that I would buy since I already have this one. In all, I'm glad that they remade it, and if it doesn't end up holding up in the end, I still have the original PSX game to fall back on.

[Blzer]

Quote: Originally Posted by poisedjase

i havent bought it yet pro will soon question who bought the game is there really no running plays ?

Not exactly, but I'll explain down below in your other question about it.

Quote:

is there really no more then 1 page on defensive plays and only 2 pages on offensive ?

Yes, but there isn't really much more variation that you can get outside of the standard stuff.

Quote:

can you play defensive linemen in the full game

No, and as I was sitting here writing my first impressions, I was hard-pressed to remember if the original game allowed you to do so as well. I'm assuming they pretty much copied the original, so you probably couldn't then either.

Quote:

why have a rb if there no running plays

There are many backfield plays where you can throw/pitch/option to him, and even he can make a throw afterward. I once had a play while online where I threw to him, and as I pressed Circle again I accidentally threw it back to my QB. It looked like it was going to be an awesome flea-flicker kind of play (assuming he is still allowed to make a throw after that, but I accidentally ran out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage.

Quote:

i was hoping this be like blitz pro that was my favorite blitz game since it was 11-11 instead 7-7 which was like the very first blitz

Yeah, again, I think it's just a remake of the original when it comes to on-the-field play, with some exceptions here and there.

[jyoung]

Is anyone else lagging online for Xbox 360?

It could have just been my connection or my opponents' connections causing the problem, but the two online games I played had major input delay.

Lag made the kicking impossible, and also led to more sacks than there should have been.

Also, you can use some codes online. I used the "wide camera" and "icon passing" codes successfully.

One more online issue: if someone quits on you, you get no credit for the game. This is a major problem since you have to buy so much stuff in the Blitz store using credit from completing games. Both the losers I played online quit in the 4th quarter lol

[DirtyJerz32]

Quote: Originally Posted by wEEman33

One more online issue: if someone quits on you, you get no credit for the game. This is a major problem since you have to buy so much stuff in the Blitz store using credit from completing games. Both the losers I played online quit in the 4th quarter lol

This should be a must for all online sports games. Someone quits, you get the win. No reason why it's not in the game. NBA Jam is like this too.