NFL Blitz is making a very spectacular – yet retro – return. 

After getting some hands-on time with the new NFL Blitz, I was reminded of the days where I would play the old arcade game with my friends for hours. The core gameplay feels nearly untouched and the focus is still on either sacking the quarterback or knocking down all of the receivers.

Once a receiver catches three passes in a row, or when the defense grabs two sacks, they will catch fire. Your player(s) will run faster and play better until the power-up fades away.

Other than the gameplay, which is very reminiscent of NFL Blitz 20-03, the game has changed quite a bit. There are new modes that should keep a gamer busy for quite sometime. These modes include a Madden Ultimate Team-like card collection and a Mortal Kombat-like ladder system. 

The card system works similar to the MUT concept, but it has a few minor changes. Contracts can be bought with Blitz Bucks – money earned during games – rather than hoping you pull one from a pack. There are three packs available for Blitz Bucks purchase, but each pack has the chance of giving you an ultimate player. The lowest pack has the smallest amount of cards and a low chance of pulling Michael Vick, but there is still the chance.

The ladder system is fairly interesting. Much like Mortal Kombat, the ladder will consist of so many teams that must be defeated in order for you to win. As you move up the ladder you will be faced off in a boss battle. These battles will be played against virtual teams made up of zombies, robots, etc. These teams will feature power-ups that will cause them to gain the upper hand. You beat the team, you unlock them for free play.

The online features should be pretty entertaining as well. With a new leader board and co-op capabilities, NFL Blitz should be one of the most played arcade games releasing this winter. Not to mention Tim Kitzrow also makes his return to the Blitz game with humorous commentary. He actually stood behind me and created some new commentary to go with the game I was playing.

Sure there ae some new features and more things to accomplish in the upcoming Blitz, but with the original gameplay back, there isn’t much else I could ask for.