If you like classic NFL Blitz it’s going to take you awhile to get used to EA’s new downloadable PSN/XBLA reboot of the series — it’s not the game you remember. I recently played a few rounds of the new Blitz at an EA Sports event. At first glance it looks like faithful recreation of the arcade original: The plays are exactly the same. Thirty yards are required for a first down. There are seven people to a team. Madden-style button passing is noticeably absent — though I did see a tool-tip on a loading screen suggesting that it would be available in the final version — instead, you’ll select a receiver by pushing the left stick (which also controls QB movement) in your target’s direction.
However, the second I got my hands on the controller, I realized that this isn’t Blitz as I remembered. I was hoping for a faithful recreation à la EA’s own NBA Jam. Instead, what I played was a game that seemed, well, inhibited. It’s as if its creators had wanted a faithful remake, but were stymied by forces outside of their control. Take the classic Blitz feature of tackling an opposing player between plays. It’s absent from this new version, but there’s still a strange pause in the game after a down, but before play selection. The players even pop up from a tackle and look around as if they’re waiting to be hit — just like the original game. It’s as if the feature was implemented at one point, but then later taken out — perhaps at the request of the NFL?
