NFL Blitz (1997 video game)

NFL Blitz is an American football video game developed and published by Midway Games for the arcade in 1997, the first game in the NFL Blitz series. The development team was headed by Mark Turmell and Sal Divita, who were known for being behind NBA Jam, and NFL Blitz was a deliberate attempt to translate the exaggerated arcade-style approach of NBA Jam to the football realm. The game was ported to the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Windows.

NFL Blitz
Developer(s)Midway Games
Publisher(s)Midway Games
SeriesNFL Blitz
Platform(s)Arcade, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Microsoft Windows
Release
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

Gameplay

NFL Blitz is based on seven-on-seven-man football teams.[1] It also diverges from traditional rules of American football in that there are no penalties, no substitutions, and players can perform illegal attacks on each other such as dropkicks.[2]

The game features a full NFL license, with players and teams from the 1997 season.[3]

Development

The game was developed by a team lead by Mark Turmell and Sal Divita, who wanted to "do for the NFL franchise what we did for the NBA franchise [with NBA Jam]" in Turmell's words.[2] In particular, they wanted to create a football game which allows the players to get to the action more quickly than other football games, which they found tended to bog the player down in the play-select screen and other setup menus.[2]

The arcade board is called the Seattle System, which is based on a 3Dfx chipset.[2]

According to Divita, the team decided to make the game support just two players instead of four "because in a football game, there just isn't enough gameplay between the quarterback and the receiver to make it fun. It's not like NBA Jam, where teamwork can really be a factor."[2]

Reception

Next Generation reviewed the arcade version of the game, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "NFL Blitz provides an unrealistic but adrenaline-packed experience."[1]

Next Generation reviewed the PlayStation version of the game, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "Blitz offers the most intense game of football you're likely to find at home and makes a worthy purchase."[4]

When NFL Blitz was released on the Nintendo 64 in 1998, it was referred to as "the best football game ever made" by GameSpot.com.[5]

Reviews

References
  1. "Finals". Next Generation. No. 42. Imagine Media. June 1998. p. 148.
  2. Johnny Ballgame (September 1997). "Hot at the Arcades: NFL Blitz". GamePro. No. 108. IDG. pp. 80–81.
  3. "NFL Blitz". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 100. Ziff Davis. November 1997. p. 90.
  4. "Finals". Next Generation. No. 47. Imagine Media. November 1998. p. 146.
  5. http://www.gamespot.com/n64/sports/nflblitz/index.html?tag=result;title;1
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