What do you get when you cross an elephant and a rhino? Elephino ... but if you cross WWE style hits and slams, fast paced gameplay and football ... you get Midway's  new sports game (in an ongoing franchise) which started the whole extreme arcade lineup, NFL Blitz. Blitz 20-03 enters the PS2 gaming lineup among some other football releases, such as Madden 2003, bringing with it a more high speed, hyperactive arcade style gameplay with some hits that are so hard ... you will be left laughing but wincing at the same time. Real football games of course are popular among the armchair fans which demand full control of the remote on Sunday afternoons in the fall, but this title brings football to the people who enjoy things like UFC or wrestling as well. 

Now, any arcade hangin' football fan has played or remembers playing NFL Blitz back in the day (1998, if my memory serves me correctly). It has been re-incarnated and had sequels appear on multiple consoles over the past four years, and was met with some mixed feelings here and there. Regardless of what reviewers said or thought about it, it picked up a pretty devoted fan base over the years ... and why not? Who wouldn't want to play a game of football against a rival team, then be able to slam the QB (Look out Brett Favre, I'm heading to the PS2 when I get done with this review!) ... drop an elbow ... then leg drop him across the head all after the whistle has blown? Blitz 20-03 brings this same action that we have known and loved ... and controls which make it really simple to get into. The controls operate around single button presses to snap, pass, dive, or stiff arm, to name a few. There is also a turbo meter for an extra boost of speed, and the passing game has been made simple by opting to either move the control stick in the direction of an open receiver, which highlights the person you are passing to, or holding the L2 button will assign one of the controller buttons to a receiver for better accuracy. No button is needed for hard in game or "post whistle" action necessarily ... and running the highlighted player into a member of the opposing team results in some of the funniest (and painful) moves I have seen in a sports game. Things like clotheslines, body slams, haymakers, and even a swift kick in the side are present ... and the results are a satisfying groan from the opponent left rolling around on the field.

Gameplay is basically your typical football game ... with violent hits, 30 yard first downs, and high speeds added in. Each team consists of only 8 players on the field at a time, with the player controlling whoever has the ball while on offense, or whichever player you choose while on defense. The offensive playbook has about 27 different plays to run and mix it up a little (Against about 9 on defense), most revolving around the passing game to keep it running quick. In addition, each team has someone known as the "impact player", who can get special assignments separate from the other CPU controlled players. On offense, he can do things like blocking or going out deep for a pass, while he can be told to blitz or cover while on defense which feels like you have a little more control over what is going on ... even though you only control one person at the time. AI is pretty decent, even though it doesn't play fair 100% of the time (QB gets sacked but lands a 35 yard pass into double coverage) and Midway made sure to help eliminate "cheese" plays or running the same thing over and over again by making sure that your players will be more likely to fumble the ball or miss a play if you attempt to run the same thing over and over again. 

Blitz 20-03 contains numerous different game options to get you into the action right away. There is a Quickplay mode, which tosses you right into a one on one match up against the computer or a buddy to try out your abilities or just play a quick game. It also has multiple contest style modes as well, like Exhibition where you can challenge all 32 teams with complete stat tracking and full gameplay customization, a Season mode to lead your favorite team to the Superbowl, and a 4 or 8 team Tournament mode which is held in ladder style competition until only one team remains. In addition, Midway has added in a create your own player mode to create your very own gridiron persona of yourself for use in the Exhibition mode. The skins range from normal looking humans to more outrageous player models like a clown, horse, cowboy, or even a zombie. Ever seen Steve Young get Yokozuna splashed by a big hot dog with a big cartoony smile? Well, I hadn't either until I played Blitz 20-03 ... and it's pretty funny.

Graphically, this game looks good ... really good. Each player looks kind of similar in shape and size from a distance, but a lot less flat or pixeled than past titles. The stadiums are very well represented here, complete with good lighting, color, fireworks, confetti, and cloud effects. Players helmets even show decent lighting reflections, while faces show grimacing pain after getting nailed hard. Everyone's favorite in-game sports fanatics are back in Blitz as well ... the 2-D fans we all know and love who mob the stadiums and cheer endlessly no matter who is winning or losing at the time. There are a couple of downsides graphically to Blitz 20-03 I have found so far, one of which being a minor issue of collision detection. Now, collision detection is nobody's friend, and nobody wants it on their team. The only reason I say that it is minor is because it only occurs after the play is over, like while executing a WWE move on a downed opponent or when the ball carrier holds his hand up and the ball goes through his helmet. Thankfully, the in game play seems to be 100% solid and intact, and the only way that you avoid getting tackled or body slammed is a well placed spin, jump, or stiff arm ... not because the CPU read collision wrong. The sound is great, and all the on field action is called by two announcers whose one liners and cracks at each other got me laughing quite often. There is also enough dialogue that it didn't get boring or repetitive right away either.

Overall, I have a hard time finding anything negative to really say about Blitz 20-03. I'm definitely not the biggest sports game fan on the planet, and the addition of funny commentary and extremely exaggerated wrestling moves with a solid and fun football game has definitely been worth it to me. If you own Blitz 2002, rent this one to see if some of the new additions like the Create Your Own Player mode make it worth your while to pick up. If you are a football or original arcade Blitz fan like me, you should really look into giving this one a shot in your PS2 collection. Two thumbs way up (and really sore ones at that!) to Midway on this title and keeping the Blitz franchise alive. Now ... on to Brett Favre ...    

Gameplay: 8.9
Easy controls, fast gameplay, lots of options, create your own players, and lots of unlockable goodies (Some typical Midway "L2, R2, X" button presses before the game starts for "Big Head Mode", etc.) make for a fun football game. Add in late hits and painful slams ... and it makes it all the more enjoyable. AI is a little unforgiving at times, regardless of difficulty, and not using the L2 button on a pass can sometimes wind up in throwing it to the wrong person. Nothing which ultimately ruins or cases lots of frustration.

Graphics: 8.5
Looks really darn good overall. Good lighting reflections and player models, and the stadiums look good. Weather effects like snow or rain don't seem to do a whole lot, but they are there and add a little variance to what you see. The 2-D fans mobbing the stadium are back again, but we're all pretty used to them by now. There are some collision detection issues only after the play is run, and replays are a little goofy at times where players will get hit in the back with the ball and it winds up in their hand without them having to turn around or even hold their hand out. 

Sound: 9.0
The sounds of the players are done well, and they will even whine about their arm or leg hurting. This game also has players talking trash and taunting opponents before and after a play is run. The crowd noises react to things that happen on the field, like a big play or some mixed booing when a hometown player gets an atomic elbow. The commentators are good, pretty accurate, and add some good humor and laugh out loud statements to the game.

Difficulty: Easy
Yes it has some tough AI at times, but the difficulty can be adjusted and the controls make it simple for just about anyone to pick it up and hop right in. Easy gives a good enough challenge to not be boring, while difficult will really test your playing ability. 

Concept: 8.9
Blitz is Blitz, but there are some updated graphics and added extras which may or may not set it apart if you own Blitz 2002. It has definately come a long way from the original title.

Multiplayer: 9.0
The only thing better than body slamming the computer is of course body slamming a friend or family member. With a multitap, up to four can compete not only in a single game ... but in a tournament as well since the memory card saves info by using a name and pin number.

Overall: 9.0
The only thing which would have made this game better would have been a doctor's note to get me out of going to work so I could stay home and play it. Seriously, there's not a whole lot which could have been done differently on this game, and it is a whole lot of fun to play ... even for someone like me who is more into FPS or action titles. If you haven't gotten this one yet, and are a football fan who could use a dash of "extreme" in their football lives, go pick it up. If you've got Blitz 2002 already, go rent it first before buying. Overall this is another good, fun Midway arcade sports addition to the growing list of good, fun Midway titles already out.