'Blitz II' embraces dark side of professional sports

Title: "Blitz II: The League"

Platform: PS2, PS3, Xbox 360

Studio: Midway

Rating: M for Mature — Blood and gore, strong language, suggestive themes, use of drugs, violence

Score: 6.5 of 10

THE REVIEW:

Gameplay: The NFL works very hard to cultivate an image by cracking down on the smallest of infractions, including nonregulation socks or untucked jerseys. It works hard to keep parity, enforce citizenship rules and maintain the sanctity of the NFL brand that extends even to video games.

The problem with the carefully maintained image is that it isn't very hard to see beneath the facade. There are plenty of examples of players who break the law, draw attention to themselves and use both legal and illegal drugs. It is this dark side of the professional sports that is embraced by "Blitz II: The League," including featuring sometimes troubled all-time NFL great, and the game's cover boy, Lawrence Taylor.

You will not find any of the familiar professional teams in this definitely-not-official take on the violence and the seedy underbelly of what happens in professional sports. Team and host cities are fictional, featuring teams such as Vegas Aces, L.A. Riot and Mexico City Aztecs. It also allows city customization and the creation of your own team, including uniform design and color scheme. I must say my Salt Lake City Scorpions with red, orange and black are better from a marketing standpoint than a lot of real local sports franchises that have graced the Wasatch Front. My blue, red and white Tijuana Hellions weren't bad either.

Controls are about what one would expect from a sports game, operating with the same basics as other football franchises but with tweaks here and there. The offense and defense both call plays or can leave it up to the computer, and play can be head-to-head, player-vs-computer or played online. Most of the standard sports games features are here.

The campaign mode features a young up-and-coming athlete who looks and sounds a lot like Taylor, controlled and customized by the player. Rather than rely on well-known real-world athletes, the game is populated by a cast of rough characters including unsavory managers and enticing money grubbers. The player must navigate the dangers of professional sports while trying to meet performance marks on the field to boost their marketability off the field.