Forget about Sega and 2k, forget about EA and Madden. There is ONE football game in the known universe that is worth playing, and that is NFL Blitz 2000 for Nintendo64. "Oh but it's so unrealistic, and the graphics suck, and blah blah blah boo hoo." Name a football game where you can just launch the ball across the entire length of the field to score a touchdown? In what other game can you run touchdown after touchdown from the kickoff just from stiff-arming everyone on the team? Yeah, I suck at Madden, as a matter of fact I suck at almost all sports games, but so what? I'll gladly take anybody down in a game of NFL Blitz 2000.
The controls? Awesome. It's three buttons and a joystick. Z-trigger for Turbo, B to jump, A to hike and throw, and the joystick to move. It's so easy a parent could do it. Try teaching my dad Madden 09. See you next year. Try teaching my dad NFL Blitz? Took him an hour. The last game my dad played was probably Mrs. PacMan, and he took to Blitz like a natural.
The game is designed for playability. The best sports games always are. They aren't meant for the die hard sports fans who are into all the stats and the lore around the teams and their players. The best sports games are made for people who love to play games and have a good time with family and friends. Best basketball game? NBA Hangtime. Best hockey game? Wayne Gretzky 64. Baseball? Mike Piazza Strike Zone. What do these games have in common? They are easy to learn, easy to play, and you can play them for hours without having to think about much of anything other than good comebacks to the hours of trash-talking that go with each game.
What about graphics? Yeah ok they haven't held up that well, but so what? You don't play these games for graphics. NBA Hangtime is 2D and that's still about as fun a sports game as any. The music, sound effects, and announcer commentary is incredible. In particular the commentary in all of these games is hilarious and turns a really awesome game into an incredible game. It's impossible to forget going up for a slam dunk as Scottie Pippen in Hangtime and hearing "BOOOOM SHAKA LAKA!" It's also impossible to forget the countless hours of hearing a John Madden clone say "Spin. Spin. Spin." Or even after the play has ended, "It could be..It might be...IT IS!!!" Hilarious!
Blitz is a broken game, and I think the programmers realized this. I mean it is one big practical joke on the world of football, and it works so well and is so frickin awesome. The best team in the game? Philadelphia Eagles. They are rated the worst in the game, but for one reason or another they are unstoppable. I mean really unstoppable. If you choose a great team, like the Denver Broncos, and use cheats, you will still probably lose to the Eagles. Don't ask me why, it just is what it is.
Also, the cheats are so funny. You can be anyone from Raiden from Mortal Kombat to a Stegosaurus. WTF?
I challenge anyone to name a football game that is funnier, or more fun to play than NFL Blitz 2000 for Nintendo64. As a matter of fact, if you can wow me with a better game than NFL Blitz I will personally buy you a copy of NFL Blitz 2000 for N64 from Amazon.com Marketplace.
NFL Blitz? 10 out of 10 baby.
posted by Brian Biederman on TheSpoonFeed.com
