Full Review: Dare I repeat: Seems like they replaced the flaming ball with a flaming sac of shit.
Oh, how the mighty Midway has fallen. For years, this company controlled a niche market made up of players seeking something a little more extreme in their football game. While NFL Blitz was able to deliver such an approach with high scores and heavy hits since 1997, its career came to an abrupt end with the announcement that NFL Blitz Pro would take the field for the 2004 season. As an avid Blitz fan, I was skeptical to read about the more authentic touch. However, I remained reassured with the claim that the extreme nature of the game would be intact and that a much-needed online play mode would make the cut this year. While the online promise proved to be true, the attempt to take to the field with both intense and accurate football causes the gameplay to fall short of a first down, never mind a touchdown.
The movement from 8-players on a side to a genuine 11-on-11 match-up isn’t such a terrible idea, yet the baggage that comes with that authentic number actually does a number on the gameplay. The heavy hits are still here, even if less frequent, but at the same time players seem heavier in weight and slower in speed. I realized this for the first time at E3, but was told the game was running at a reduced rate while in development, so I figured it would speed up in the end. Instead, the entire game still runs at a simulation pace and doesn’t come close to preserving the lightning quick plays seen in 20-03, which detracts from the "extreme" factor before the ball is even snapped.
Since a normal game no longer consists of interceptions that occur in the double digits, almost guaranteed touchdowns in every quarter and players that can jump to outrageous heights, NFL Blitz Pro becomes your average football game and looses its original appeal. Its focus is too heavy on defense now and the offense shies away from the high-scoring games and improbable moves in favor of simulation. Really, it just doesn’t serve a purpose when two other top-notch football franchises already own the gridiron, meaning, Midway’s attempt to blitz them is futile and alienating its core following could be fatal. It does benefit from head-to-head online play, but like all games here, it’s fairly predictable who will win when it comes down to the wire. It’s unlike the random fallout that could occur in the final seconds of NFL Blitz 20-03, which makes it a shame that Midway only brought online play to the series now.
On the bright side, NFL Blitz Pro does look more professional in a visual sense, only it can’t compete with the big boys like Madden and ESPN. At the same time, its higher detail does detract from the frame rate to lower the speed a little more and the new menu setup creates a slower selection of plays. Still, I must give the game credit now that the sidelines are sparsely filled with coaches and cheerleaders for a little more eye candy than we got before. It’s definitely the best Blitz has looked, but not as fluid as it should be and not going to fool Maddenites. One area of Blitz that remains the same, or underwent only one change I should say, is the play-by-play. This year, the booth belongs to "Gator" Jones and Chris Morgan who capture the on-field action with comedic commentary.
