PopCap Games is “retiring” Bejeweled 2 + Blitz from iTunes today, replacing it with another version of Bejeweled that sells for the same price, but which doesn’t come with Blitz. More »
NBA Jam’s critical success has led EA Sports to resurrect the beloved NFL Blitz series as well, Jeff Gerstmann reports over on Giant Bomb. Development is rumoured to be underway, and the multiplatform game wouldn’t release until 2012. More »
Warner Brothers’ bid to purchase much of game publisher Midway won court approval yesterday. The company updated Kotaku and clarified the status of some studios and licenses. More »
In case you missed out on the ballin’ Midway party last night, here’s a quick rundown. The Budlight was flowing, I found out Lawrence Taylor wears watches the size of a small child’s head, and, oh yeah, there was some video games there, too. While I got to play Blitz: The League II at the party with everyone else, it wasn’t exactly the best environment to sit down and really look at a game, especially with Justin Timberlake blasting in your ears. But is it as experimental as LT says it is?
You know, I’m not sure how I should approach Blitz 2. Yes, it’s a football game, but that’s just on the surface. Really, this game is about abusing the human body. It’s over-the-top, funny, and should not be taken seriously. If you’re buying this game for the simulated football experience, there will be little of it. But that’s OK. Blitz has never been about that and certainly doesn’t try to hide it.
I’m not sure where to start. I’ll guess I can go over the football part first.
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Rather than masquerade a single video as an entire post, here are some highlights of what’s available from other sites in the way of movies and screens:
• Above is the new trailer for Lego Batman. We picked it up from Gamers Hell. It’s got Poison Ivy building some evil-looking plant mini-kits, and Bruce Wayne kicking arse with a briefcase.
• Some more screens from Tomb Raider: Underworld. (Also Gamers Hell)
• Also the World Exclusive Debut Trailer for Blitz: The League II. It’s at Gametrailers, because everything over there is a world exclusive.
Amid the potentially bad news of Unreal Tournament III‘s slipped ship date was two bits of good news from Midway. The company has confirmed that both Mortal Kombat and the NFL-license free Blitz will get “next-gen” updates next year. While we don’t know much about where the Blitz franchise is headed, we do know that Mortal Kombat mainstay Ed Boon is planning a more serious, Gears of War-inspired revamp of the violent 15-year old fighting series. As long as my Babalities are in ultra-high definition, we’re cool.
In addition to those two sequels, David F. Zucker, president and CEO, hinted at two “new ambitious open world games” but provided no further details. More »
