I miss arcades a lot, especially the fast and exciting game play styles that they offered.  Many of my favorite titles to date were ones born out of those big boxes, with glowing lights, fun sound effects ranging from bleeps and boops to monstrous bass-ey sounds, joysticks, and big buttons that were jammed repeatedly. 

NFL Blitz was one of those games in the arcades that burned a good chunk of my allowance money.  My love for this over-the-top football experience also extended to the console, where many installments of this game saw lots of time in my various consoles.  So when EA announced they would be resurrecting one of my beloved sports IPs, I couldn’t have been happier.

EA’s NFL Blitz offers a lot of the same experience we’ve come to know and expect from the Midway classic.  Electronic Art’s rendition of the game offers larger than life players, classically violent hits, 30 yard first downs, and amazingly terrible commentating (as in funny, not in the annoying sense.) 

But, were in the 21st century now, and not everything can be exactly the way it was back then.  One noticeable difference players will see right away is the lack of late hits.  While this will draw the ire of some, this decision came down from the NFL, as they wanted to send a message coinciding with their stricter policies on late, nasty hits in the real game.  Others will notice the game plays just a tad slower than the arcade classic.  Personally, I didn’t even notice it that much until someone else pointed it out to me.

One of the big differences however, is the addition of online play (Blitz Battles) and a ladder local play mode (Blitz Gauntlet).  Online Blitz Battles allow you to play head to head against other players online, or even as a team against another team.  Players then score ranking points based on the performance in the game, which can be spent on bonuses to be used in the game.  The online play also features a ranking board so you can see how you stack up against other players.  The Blitz Gauntlet has you taking your team head to head against other teams on a ladder which features special teams (boss battles) along the way, such as Gladiators, Zombies and many more interesting characters.  Once you have defeated these boss teams, they are unlocked for use in regular play, as well in Gauntlet play as well by matching their corresponding code in the pre game lobby.

Another online mode EA has introduced into Blitz is called Elite League.  This mode, which is similar to the Madden Ultimate Team has players building their fantasy rosters through purchasing card packs with points earned through online play.  Players can build their own custom rosters in this mode, along with various power ups and special players.  This mode is loads of fun and perfect for those who want to mix things up a bit from the same old rosters.

EA’s NFL Blitz brings a lot of fresh concepts to a classic arcade hit.  The introduction to various modes of online play will gives players a reason to come back for punishing hit after punishing eccentric hit.  EA’s NFL Blitz is available now on PSN for $15 or on XBLA for 1200 MS Points.

SCORE: 4.5 out of 5