EA gained a lot of heat when they were given the exclusive license of the NFL. This means that other companies cannot use copyrighted NFL names, logos...This is a big disadvantage since players like to play as their favorite team/athlete. With the license, however, comes approval of certain aspects and guidelines that must be followed. So Midway decided that since they no longer have the NFL license, they can do what they want with a football game (besides any NFL relation). Blitz: The League (hard not to say NFL Blitz: The League) captures the grittiness off-camera things such as using drugs to get players through the pain of an injury.
The main football gameplay is similar to the other football games on the market with some exceptions. Blitz is an arcade-style franchise and it continues on with The League, though not overly arcade. This means you'll see harder tackles and dirty hits. These hard hits even cause injuries. When your player gets injured, you can either let him heal or inject him with drugs to speed up the healing process. The risk of drugging your players is that you might get caught. Another feature of Blitz is bullet-time, or Clash. You earn Clash by gaining yards, completing plays, and scoring touchdowns. Using Clash will allow for more accurate plays since everything is slowed down. You can also do some bigger hits with Clash. Fill up all of your Clash icons and you get Unleash. This is an even more powerful version of Clash.
Starting the campaign consists of creating a new team and making them champions. My biggest problem with the game is that there aren't enough options for creating your team. There needs to be more logo and stadium choices. You also get to pick coaches and team doctor (each with only 3 choices). As far as your actual team, you only have a choice for your rookie and veteran player (again out of 3 choices). There is some player customization after this however. There is also player and equipment upgrades. By player upgrades I am referring to training. Each player can be trained in things like strength, handling, tackling, kicking, and others. These can be further improved by purchasing better training equipment. Outside of training, you can also purchase better gear like helmets, shoes, and gloves. Earning money comes from things like completing combos on the field, winning the game, making and winning a bet on your team, and completing a challenge specific to each game.
The graphics for The League are average. The opening CGI cutscene of course looks great, but in-game graphics aren't anything spectacular. To me, however, graphics are far from the main part of a game and these graphics aren't actually that bad either.
One thing that is definitely nice to see is that Midway really got their creative team working on some background details for the League and the history of the various teams and players. While waiting for the game to load, you are presented a screen that talks about certain teams' past. This shows that Midway is planning to extend this franchise further.
Midway did a good job with going a different route for football games, but it only feels like the start. By that, I mean that they didn't go too deep for what they are doing differently. As I mentioned, team customization needs a lot more depth. Before a game starts, you might be presented with a dialogue box saying that the upcoming team likes to party before the game. You have the option of sending up some call-girls to tire out the players. These types of things should just be an option on the team menu all the time and have you choose when you want to do something.
In the end, Blitz: The League is able to successfully stray away from the NFL license. Except for the League background details, the game really has the first of a series feel with the lack of depth. Hopefully we will see The League continue onto next-gen consoles as this one is addictive
