NFL Blitz Gauntlet

Hey guys, NFL Blitz designer Yuri Bialoskursky here again, this time to talk to you all about fantasy characters! How can you not love these guys?! It seems like just yesterday that we were all sitting in a conference room having a meeting about them. Clearly, this wasn't anything like our normal snooze-fest meetings about schedules, hours or reviewing workflows.

Secret characters have been around since the very first version of NFL Blitz in the arcade, so naturally we wanted to keep that tradition going in our new version of the game. Our meeting started off by reviewing all of the fantasy characters from previous versions of Blitz. It was a great blast from the past to see some of the crazy characters that had been used back then like the headless guy, a boxer, dinosaur heads, a pirate, robots, a moose and so many more. There were a lot to choose from and we definitely wanted to keep a few, but we couldn't keep them all. Not only that, but we wanted to add our own batch of new characters into the mix as well. Of the classic characters, we settled on eight that we would keep and then we created four completely new fantasy characters. So who did we keep and who did we ditch? Well, here are some of the characters that didn't quite make the cut:

• Viking
• Bear
• Alien
• Knight
• Eagle
• President Obama
• FBI agent
• Dolphin

Now if you want to see all the characters that did make it into the game, the easiest way to do that is to play through the Blitz Gauntlet. The Blitz Gauntlet is our offline single-player mode that will have you battling against both NFL teams and fantasy boss teams. When you first enter the Blitz Gauntlet, you’ll be presented with a billboard that shows you which of the gauntlet bosses you still need to defeat and which ones you’ve already sent home packing.

If you’re just starting out, you’ll get the chance to pick an NFL team and then you will be given the opportunity to customize your team’s roster. Maybe you love Peyton Manning and the Colts but feel like their defense could use an upgrade…not a problem! All you have to do is substitute in your favorite defensive players and voila! You have your dream team.

Once you’re done giving your team a face lift, you’ll be presented with the Gauntlet ladder and see precisely just how far you have to go and who you have to get through to get there. The Gauntlet is made up of three tiers. Each tier contains three NFL teams that you have to defeat before you reach the boss for that tier.

This is where things really start to heat up! Boss fights take place inside of the awesome Blitz Coliseum where you’ll be greeted by a boss team of fantasy characters that looks ready to bury your facemask into the turf.

Not only are you going up against a boss team of fantasy characters, but these games also offer another unique twist…power ups. As you’re playing, you’ll see power ups randomly appear out on the field. Each team will have up to two power ups appear on any given play, but you’ll need to pay extra close attention to the moving arrows beneath each one, because that’s what indicates if it’s yours or not. There are eight different types of power ups. From the simple but effective Turbo Bar Refill to the cool ground shaking effects of the Earthquake, they all have one thing in common, run over a power up and the effects will instantaneously change the game.

To the victor go the spoils! Assuming that you’ve successfully beaten the boss team, you’ll then have the pleasure of being rewarded with the cheat code for not only the single fantasy character that you just beat but the team of fantasy characters as well.

Battling your way through the Blitz Gauntlet once won’t be enough to unlock all of the fantasy characters though. You’ll need to lace up the cleats and suit up multiple times in order to unlock them all.

Hope you guys enjoyed our preview of the Blitz Gauntlet. Don’t forget to visit our Facebook page to stay up to date on all the latest NFL Blitz news and giveaways. Also don’t forget to follow us on Twitter by using #NFLBlitz. Tune in next week as I’ll be taking you through the first of our new online modes, Blitz Battles.

NFL Blitz Designer
- Yuri Bialoskursky