NFL Blitz Message Board

It's football, other football, basketball, and hockeyball in today's Xbox Countdown to 2014 sale, with 75 percent deducted from four arcade sportsters. There's FIFA Street 3 down to $5, NFL Blitz and NBA Jam: On Fire Edition both at $3.74, and 3 on 3 NHL Arcade just $1.24.

If you just can't take another charade, some of those games are perfect holiday fodder - the original NBA Jam was a seasonal fixture in our house, the ideal platform for inter-familial bragging rights. For less than $4, EA Canada's reworked On Fire Edition looks a steal.

Finally, a quick reminder/warning/warming: This is the last day of the week-long sale, and that means it's the last day you can get a whole bunch of games at reduced prices.

Last week you welcomed Starhawk’s single-player campaign into your gaming collection for free as a PlayStation Plus member. This week we continue to roll out even more content with NFL Blitz, coming free to Plus! Please note that Borderlands will be leaving Plus with this week’s PlayStation Store update, so make sure you grab it while you can.

Don’t have PlayStation Plus? Go to the PlayStation Store on your PS3 or click here to get access.

October 2nd PlayStation Plus Update

NFL Blitz — Free for PlayStation Plus Members With football (of the American variety) in full effect, we and our pals at EA thought it right to help you gather some friends and play one of the best arcade sports titles in recent memory, all for free with your Plus membership. NFL Blitz features a combination of the arcade-style gameplay that made the original a hit and the deep, immersive game modes of today; recharged with an energetic, football gaming experience. Pick it up today, free with a Plus membership. Alex Kidd in Miracle World — 80% discount for PlayStation Plus Members (Regular Price: $4.99, PS Plus Price: $1.00) You’ll also see an amazing deal on SEGA’s classic Alex Kidd in Miracle World. Remastered for PSN, this is your chance to meet one of gaming’s original heroes, and get a great deal and a dose of nostalgia in the process. Journey to Miracle World in a search for your long lost brother Prince Egle, and get some Trophies while you’re at it. You can also challenge yourself with all new trial modes. Spelunker HD — 50% discount (Regular Price: $9.99, PS Plus Price: $5.00) All DLC 80% Off (Regular Price: $4.99, PS Plus Price: $1.00) Spelunker HD is no stranger to Plus members, as earlier last month we had a similar deal for the game. Fans (and to-be-fans) of the game will be excited to note that the new DLC releasing with the October 2nd Store Update (Area EX9 and Area EX10) will be joining the rest of the DLC with an 80% off discount — about $1 per Add-On. The game itself is going back on the 50% off deal as well, so get on it!

Lastly, I wanted to leave you guys with a Plus tip to help manage your benefits as a Plus member. If you’re low on HDD space but don’t want to miss out on any of the content in Plus, you can still click download, but then cancel the download. As long as you’re a Plus member you’ll be entitled to download it in the future, even if it’s not in Plus at that time.

That’s it for this week. Make sure you check out tomorrow’s PlayStation Store update post to see all the details for this week’s Plus update, and come back next week when we’ll have more great Plus news to share.

Also, we’d love to know your thoughts as to what you enjoyed most about Plus in the month of September. Feel free to explain your vote in the comments, or in the Plus section in the PlayStation Community forums.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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In January, EA Sports released a reboot of Midway's arcade football game, NFL Blitz. Basically, I loved it, so when I sat down for a chat with EA Sports executive vice president Andrew Wilson, I asked him if we would see more NFL Blitz. "I would say so," he responded.

"I think what we've come to realize is we need to build games fans want to play," Wilson said. "We just want to hear that fans want to play it. We don't want to be the brand anymore that just puts it out because we can. I think NFL Blitz was a great value, so will we do it again? Absolutely. When will we do it again? When fans tell us it's time for the next one."

Move over, Sonic CD -- you're last week's news. EA's remake of Midway's arcade football series, NFL Blitz, is top dog now, securing the No. 1 spot as PSN's most-downloaded game of January 2012. We're going to chalk that one up to playoffs fever.

On the PSOne Classics side, Final Fantasy VII bested the competition, and Corpse Party managed to be the PSP's most popular download. Hit the break for the full list of PSN games -- the entire lineup of January's best performers can be seen over on the PlayStation Blog.

#rumor Finish off the "Blitz Gauntlet" mode in the recently released NFL Blitz for PS3 and Xbox 360 and you'll unlock a team full of zombies. And the logo on their jersey isn't that of the National Football League, but of another league, one from a future of decaying flesh and dismembered bodies. More »

Jeff and Patrick examine the minutiae of EA's arcade-style dude-colliding software.

Boil football down to basic plays, long throws, field goals, and tackles, and all that's left is a simplified version of a complex game. But up the ante on those basics, extend the length of a first down from ten to thirty yards, stop calling penalties, set the players on fire, and it becomes a fun,...

#stickjockey A walk-on running back; a dad who couldn't tell his kids what he did; a fat kid who started going to the gym and never stopped. A guy who came to know his sport's greatest venue in ways some champions never will. The top man at sports video gaming's dominant publisher, and a college student who considers himself a "virtual athlete," watching every out from his wheelchair. More »

Been waiting for NFL Blitz? Well, the download will be out next month, and now we know that Ray Rice from the Baltimore Ravens will be the digital cover athlete. The new version of Blitz will include commentary by NBA Jam announcer Tim Kitzrow, new modes like Blitz Gauntlet and Big Head mode, and full roster customization. The new game will be available on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network for $14.99 on January 3, 2012...

I should preface this by saying I love NFL Blitz. I dumped tons of quarters into the original arcade machine and when it came to N64, I was the guy going to the arcade with his memory card. Those were good times.

Now I know Blitz: The League and its follow-up left a bad taste in your mouth, but EA's NFL Blitz is exactly what you've been waiting for -- well, it's what I've been waiting for, anyway. The only difference in gameplay from the original is that there are no longer any post-play interactions. I'll admit I was sad to hear about the game's entire lack of elbow drops, but it's such a small thing when you consider how much EA has put into this $15 package.

#stickjockey For 18 months, Dave Ross surfed forums and blogs and dreaded what he'd find. He couldn't tell his kids what he was working on, lest they say something at school. Every day, when Ross booted up his computer at EA Sports, he clicked on the shared drive over the studio's intranet, and then on the folder marked MADDEN PLAYBOOK CREATOR. More »

A new installment of NFL Blitz is on the way, featuring the full NFL license...