Blitz: The League is by far one of the wildest sports video games ever created. Gamers likely don’t remember it for its play calling or its multiplayer modes that were readily available from the launch. Instead, anyone who has ever played the game remembers it for having the most gruesome injuries possible for football players. 

Even I, a fan of combat sports, can not forget about the horrifying injuries that would occur amid games. The vibe of Blitz: The League is similar to that of Madden, minus all of the NFL-associated rules. 

In this piece, I will review this beloved series from the standpoint of someone who was around for its inception. I wish they continued to make these games on the newer consoles, but I understand that popularity-wise, it was not always the top-selling game for football. Nonetheless, this game deserves a review to demonstrate just how great it is. 

Welcome to Blitz

As I stated previously, Blitz: The League is just like any other football game. Most of the dynamics, like the storyline or the multiplayer, are extremely similar to the likes of Madden. Of course, there are a few missing components, like the full-on customizations that come with Madden. However, the game makes up for this with its cruel gameplay. 

Ultimately, the injuries make Blitz what it is. It is hard to stand out in a world that already has a dominant sports game. Blitz did its best to do so by taking the game of football and making it reimagined in a truly unique way.

Whether I played with athletes or non-athletes, everyone always loved this game because of the intensity involved in a football game. Yes, there was an urge to win, but most importantly, it was key to always make injuries happen. The goal of crippling the other team was only second to winning a game. Even if you lost the game, the worst-injury award was always another coveted, made-up trophy for players. 

Playing Blitz

The gameplay is straightforward. At its foundation, Blitz is a good old-fashioned football game. While there are some minor variations from the traditional game, most aspects of traditional football are retained in Blitz. The primary objective of each game is to win. Injuries that happen along the way are always secondary to any winning involved. 

The major difference between Blitz and other football games is the absence of referees and penalties. This makes the game a lot more gruesome, with rough plays and tackles being overlooked. A good way to understand the game is that it is backyard football in an arena setting. The game does provide some general rules, much of which are derived from the basic mechanics of American Football, but the actual gameplay does not hold a bar for the characters. 

I knew plenty of folks who found the game to be a bit too cruel for them. However, if you can get past the various injuries and rough takes on backyard football, you can find it to be an entertaining game. 

Pain & Gain

The injuries ranged far and wide. As I previously stated, it was always a secondary goal of each game to ensure that the most injuries happened to the opposing team. At least, that was the goal whenever my friends would play the game. 

Some of the minor injuries would be slight sprains or anything that could be easily fixed. Sometimes the remedy would be having a player simply rest or juice up to get back in the game as soon as possible. 

Conversely, some injuries would put players out for an entire season or lifetime. These included skull fractures, spinal cord injuries, and more. You had to always get certain types of hits to make these harsher injuries happen, but when you did, it was almost like winning the game. 

All of the injuries were unique in their way. Again, it was the secondary aspect of the game, so even with all of the injuries, one should never lose sight of the primary goal of scoring more than the other team. 

The Fate of Blitz

Blitz as a series deserves a 5 out of 5 stars. There have not been any sequels following the second installment of the series, but if there were, it would be interesting. 

I would love to see a rendition of Blitz in a virtual reality environment. It would be interesting to see how VR could be incorporated to make players feel as if they are causing the injury or dealing with the injury. This is a tougher game mechanic to implement, but it would add to the overall experience of the game. 

I do not know if there will ever be a third installment, however, I would be thrilled if there was. It would be even more interesting to incorporate different environments and NFL greats to make the game stand out. If the day does come, I will happily wait at the front of the line to get a copy. 

By Thomas Hernandez

My name is Thomas James Hernandez, and I am a storyteller from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania! My entrance into gaming started with playing Call of Duty and Yu-Gi-Oh! alongside my older brother. My current interests in gaming are action-adventure games, tabletop games, and new gaming technology!