Customer Reviews

Blitz: The League II

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Good:

* Compelling Storyline
* Do stuff that you cannot do in other football games(drugs, bet on games, date, sponsors, cause intentional injuries, etc...)
* Frank Caliendo (as John Madden) play-by-play is nothing short of hilarious
* Build your team, player from bottom all the way to the top
* Solid Soundtrack Exclusives

The Bad:

* Once again, possible "Rubber Band A.I."

The Bottom Line:

Looking for a politically-incorrect alternative to Madden series? Look no further than this one. A new play-by-play of Frank Caliendo as John Madden is worth the money alone. There are so many funny lines, it will keep you laughing for the whole game. A new feature in this sequel is that you can be selective when injuring your opponent, as you get to decide which body part you want to injure seconds before the collision. If somebody injures you, you now have the option of taking care of injury right on a field with mini-games: trying to align a syringe while the ailing players moving and shaking and even a mini-game where you have to put the bones back into the sockets. Other interesting storyline decisions that you would have to make will be dating your sponsors. Do you want to date one girl or date other girls and use their sponsorship to your advantage? Once again, there will be many Easter eggs to hunt and pick-up on, as Minnesota franchise goes on a wild ship cruise and the New England team gets accused of cheating. Lawrence Taylor comes back as a major character, while Bill Romanowski doesn't. The computer seems to play much better when falling behind, which could suggest that just like last game, they are utilizing the "Rubberband AI." however, If you are a football fan and a fan of Frank Caliendo, this is a must get! Due to the nature of this game, it should only be played by mature audience.

I loved the first Blitz game. It was football the way it's supposed to be played. Even without NFL teams or players, Blitz provided the hard-hitting action needed in football. Broken necks, concussions, and fractured tibias (coupled with a doctor's view video of the injury) made it fun. It became a competition of how mayn opponents can I hurt, and how long can I keep them out for?

Blitz 2 takes a lot of good strides, but misses on key notes. Here's a list of Pros and Cons:

PROS
Hard-hits and lots of injuries
Good, in-depth career mode
Lots of creation ability on logo, team name, uniform colors and style, etc.
Offensive Coordinator's comments are profane and funny, but run their course quickly
Addition of "special" commentator Mohn Jadden is a riot!

CONS
Not enough to unlock that I care about (i.e. four new game modes, but 20 behind the scenes videos)
Injury cut scenes can't be skipped, even when it's not your team
Mini game for injury impact detracts from game, slows down gameplay, and gets really annoying really quickly
Injury remedy mini games get annoying after a few games
Loading takes a while, even for exhibition games

I have always been a fan of the Blitz series. I never liked sports games very much, but this is something different. Who doesn't like injuring the other teams players. Blitz the League II is far better and more versatile than the original Blitz the League. The injury system is more graphic and you actually have to participate in helping the injury recover quickly with either giving a shot or resetting the bone.
They also have a player creation system in campaign mode that is developed like a press interview which is really cool too. On a scale of 1 - 10 I'd give the first Blitz the League a 5 and this one an 8. If you're a fan of the Blitz series, this one won't disappoint.

It's fun for a couple of hours...the AI is so dirty and cheap, it takes some of the fun out of playing the campaign. Not bad in vs. setting though. Co-op campaign wouldnt have been a terrible idea either.

I was a big fan of the first Blitz The League they did on the original X-Box so I wanted to pick this up, but forgot it existed for a while. Low and behold when I remembered it existed, I checked it on Amazon and got it for a bit under 20 bucks. The story is decent, but only your success at challenges at performance in games affect the story, you don't make too many choices, and the ones that you do make, don't really affect the story that much. The gameplay is lots of fun, if a bit unbalanced. I went with the default 2 minute quarters and had no problem racking up around 30-50 point a game (depending on the opponent, and challenges that I might have to try for the game). That isn't to say that the opponent didn't have their chances to score as well - basically the defensive AI is a bit weak or at least exploitable.

The campaign is a lot of fun, taking a custom team you make from zero to hero, and there is actually some replayability there depending on the positions you choose for your star player (you play the role of "Franchise" the league's first double threat offensive and defensive player) since a Defensive End plays a bit differently from a Cornerback and a Tight End plays differently from a Quarterback (there are 4 positions to choose from on offense and defense for your player). I've played through twice and even though some of the fall releases for video games are coming out by now, I still intend to go through a third time in the campaign picking two different positions for "Franchise", and trying to do better at some challenges to try and see the story play out a little differently.

Overall I'd reccomend it to fans of arcade sports games, or gamers looking for a good value for their money, and definitely fans of the last game, or hell, even someone looking for something different than the tired Madden formula (there's actually quite a bit of violence in Blitz, mainly related to the injuries and dirty hits). Truth be told I am not a big sports game fan, but I love football and and I loved Blitz The League II.

On first playing I thought the Blitz approach to football was fun, but shallow and I definitely thought I'd tire of the game quickly.
Well it's now 5 franchises and a couple of months later and I couldn't have been more wrong. Decent graphics, tremendous team personalization, a decent story and quick, fast game play add up to game that allows one to play an ultra-violent quick fix football game without all of the overhead of Madden.

Sure a little more work could have gone into audibles and the play book, but I still winch every time I crush a dude's scrotum.

I'll be first in line should Blitz 3 see light of day.

2 player is a lot of fun. No issues there, but unless you enjoy throwing your controller at your t.v. don't bother playing the campaign. The computer was always cheap, even in the first one but this one was just ridiculous.

If the computer seems to be winning no matter what you do, do yourself a favor: Just put the controller down and let the game play out. Because whether you like it or not, the computer will win. Whether it be through fumbles, slips on the field, 6 broken tackles (seriously), you name it. It will happen to you until you lose. And don't worry about what you upgrade because the computer's teams will always have it upgraded more. I focused all money and stats on my team's speed from the beginning of the game and STILL, every team was much faster than mine. Even division 3 teams will piss you off

I can't take the swings. The mechanics and A.I. are completely manipulated by what the score is. There's no consistency whatsoever. This was a problem with the first one but it's way more obvious in this one.

This football game is great for parties and great bone smashing fun. but this is definentaly now for the faint of heart or easily offended. well worth the price if you buy used.

This game is not for the meek, or children. It's for mature people that want to have alot of fun; five stars fun. The graphics are very good, the gameplay is easy to catch on to, and the pace of the game is good. So, if you want a game that is fun, and easy to play, and entertains, this is the game for you. Madden is a good game, but I have more fun with Blitz, see you on the gridiron.

This game improved in all the areas that Blitz: The League lacked. Pointless brawls, atrocious load times, and confusing interface were all eliminated in this sequel. This interface is very intuitive and straight-forward. Additionally, all of the load times are great. The dirty hit, late hit, and injury mini-games are all an enjoyable addition to the game.

The biggest flaw, expressed in another review, is the cheapness of the computer in campaign mode. No matter how skillful you are, the computer refuses to allow you to have a perfect season. (30+ point blowouts until the last game...) The computer regularly breaks an unprecedented amount of tackles (5-6 on a single play) and intercepts any deep balls you try to throw. (All this with my attributes: 99 speed, 99 agility, 99 hands for my WR and 99 speed, 99 passing for my QB and sub-par stats for the computer's CBs and safetys.) There is no other way to describe this than simply CHEAP.

All this said I still enjoy playing the game and I think it was well worth the value price.