Background Info

DC Screens(10)

This is going to be a somewhat unconventional review in that I've already written about Blitz 2000 for the PSX, and this is of course essentially the same game. So, I'll be focusing mainly on the specifics of the Dreamcast version. For the meat of what makes B2K tick, you can check out my PSX review.

Presentation/Graphics : 90
No surprise, this is easily the best-looking version of Blitz short of a trip to the arcade, and even then I prefer my Dreamcast version with the s-video hookup that I can enjoy from a comfy chair. The player models are large, detailed, and animate as well as you'd expect from this classic arcade franchise. This is exactly what you'd expect from a Dreamcast version of Blitz.

Presentation/Audio : 80
No major differences to my ears. This sounds exactly like the PSX version, which is to say that the hits sound incredibly brutal, and the announcer wears a bit thin after awhile.

Interface/Options : 85
This may be where the biggest line is drawn as far as people's opinions of this version go. How do you feel about the DC controller? Personally, I think the Dual Shock is the best controller ever made, and I greatly prefer it to the stock DC unit, but I also think that B2K works just fine once you reconfigure the buttons. The default layout is unintuitive, in my opinion, but remapping the buttons is a simple process and makes the game perfectly playable.

One note of praise for the DC controller - I love the stiffness of the analog stick. It has a bit more resistance than that of a Dual Shock, and to me it feels just right.

Gameplay : 90
Pure Blitz heaven, plain and simple. The gameplay is essentially the same, the visuals are supercharged, and you've got four controller ports on the front of the DC - what could be better? The DC version of B2K has the same features and options as its PSX brother, including Tournament, Season, and Arcade play, and the Play Editor is intact so that you can discover the football genius within.

Replay Value : 85
Perhaps the biggest issue with the Blitz series has always been depth. Sure it's fast, it's fun, it's brutal, but for how long is it entertaining? That probably depends on whether you have anyone to play with. I enjoy the one-player game, and Midway made sure that this year's versions of the game were smarter and tougher, but B2k will certainly have a longer life if you've got some buddies to compete against and talk smack with.

Overall : 85
I think that judged on its own merits, B2K for the DC is a stellar game, a spectacular version, and a game that any football fan would love to own. BUT...now football games are judged by a different standard due to Sega's own masterpiece, NFL 2000. So then the question becomes, how does B2K fare in the shadow of arguably the best football experience/game ever created? Certainly a question that every sports gamer will have to answer for themselves, but I think that it holds up fairly well. B2K on the DC offers a different kind of football fix, and as a fan of the series I think it has a lot to offer in a great version of a great game.