Bits 'n' Bytes writes: "The Blitz series has had a bit of an odd history. Starting in 1997 as a bit of a novelty game to act as a counterpart to Midway’s NBA Jam, the first run of Blitz games were a bit of a mess. Then, with Blitz 99, Midway refined the game, extracted all of the fun elements, did away with all of its issues, added a bit of competitive potential, and created a game that would later become a staple in the arcade sports genre. The franchise continued, maintaining more or less what made the 1999 iteration of the series so fun, until 2005, when Midway lost the ability to use licensed NFL teams in their games. Two mediocre, hyper violent games, and one company bankruptcy later and the Blitz franchise falls into the hands of EA sports, and once again has the ability to feature licensed NFL teams."
It seems now is the time to capitalise on a renewed acceptance of, dare we say it, the video game side of sports video games, and here are five classic arcade titles that really need to come back.
Sick and tired of only being given the choice of playing Madden when it comes to football video games? Westapo of Gaming Rebellion goes over two of his favorite non-Madden games that are still a ton of fun to play: Tecmo Super Bowl or the NES and NFL Blitz for PS3/Xbox 360. Both games hold up remarkably well.
When NFL Blitz rebooted under EA Sports in 2012, with the franchise's creator back on the case, it lacked nearly all of the oomph that made the 1997 original so appealing, even to non-sports fans. No late hits, no over-the-top bodyslams. Quarterbacks weren't really sacked so much as they were shoved to the ground. Receivers were hip-checked and stumbled to the turf.
