Midway’s small collection of sports franchises—NBA Jam, NFL Blitz, and most recently, NHL Hitz—are known for their tendencies towards over-the-top arcade action, as opposed to the complex rules of the sport. The general formula is to remove the rules that would slow the game up even for a moment, and to replace those times with, say, bodyslams and piledrivers. Keeping only the most fundamental methods and regulations intact, things become a little less like a sports game and a little more like a brawler.

However, because some of the key elements still exist—actual players, teams, et cetera—sports enthusiasts are likely to still be slightly interested, at least. This makes for the possibility of a very wide audience of appeal; you certainly do not have to be a close follower to football, basketball, or hockey to enjoy the antics that go one in Midway’s interpretations of the sports.

NFL Blitz is a combination of the National Football League’s brightest stars and some of the more popular stunts that would be featured in an event of professional wrestling. The basic methods of football are present—calling running and passing plays, sending receivers in motion, tackling, fumbles, interceptions, touchdowns and fieldgoals—but the real interesting stuff happens between the football-like sequences. Because there are no penalties, then the player is free to attack the opposing teams with reckless abandon. As they lay on the ground after a tackle, you can jump on them, kick them, perform elbow drops, and so on.

It may not sound like much, but keeping the football to a minimum and the action to a maximum will make one feel more involved with the game. It’s not often that someone, say, a non-sports enthusiast, is going to feel truly embraced in the complexity of a game like Madden Football, where the most minute of details can make a difference. No, Blitz is about heavy hitting, turbo buttons, stiff-arms and juke moves. It’s a continuously running highlight reel.

The positive aspects of Blitz are obvious: quick gameplay, the aforementioned action, and the incredible animation and graphics that the players sport as they move about. This particular version of the series, because of the power of Microsoft’s console, very much resembles the arcade’s level of quality in terms of graphical presentation. Huge, bulking players run this way and that, colliding in all kinds of ways. Everything has a shiny, polished look. The number of animations for tackles and celebrations is astounding.

The audio is also a superb contributor to the wacky atmosphere of Blitz. The two men in the booth make keen observations, such as “if he hadn’t gotten tackled so soon, he would have gotten farther!” It’s all quite amusing—they appear to have no idea what they’re talking about, and this will probably appeal to those who know absolutely nothing about football. They won’t be alone. Throw in some silly trash talk that the players will throw around more than often, and the visual and audio presentations are a combined force to be reckoned with.

Sure, the game has its share of problems. The available plays are often so simple that anyone who wants something more complex are going to be left out in the cold. And, after previous editions of Blitz (such as that that was on the N64) had a play creation tool, the lack of one here is sort of disappointing. Should you build any sort of lead, the computer opponents will become very, very harsh in approach, as they force interceptions, fumbles, and score big plays. This is great or keeping a game interesting, but it surely isn’t terribly realistic. Finally, your own computer-controlled players are usually downright stupid. They won’t utilize any of the special moves in their arsenal to get open on the receiving end, and they usually won’t be making many tackles for your squad.

The positives easily override the negatives when it comes to a game like Blitz, though. With a slick presentation, hilarious sounds and commentary, and the loose gameplay that will actually attract some people who aren’t huge sports fans, NFL Blitz 20-02 takes only the most exciting moments of football, and strings them together for an entirely outrageous game. Anyone who has previously been interested in a Blitz game, or found some fun within the parallel Midway franchises in the realms of basketball or hockey might want to give this one a look.