Some Things Are Best Left in the Past
BLiP Football reviewed by Ojo de Gallo
BLiP Football very accurately recreates those handheld football games from the 1970's, which means it's just as boring and repetitive as that Mattel Football reissue you bought four years ago at Wal-Mart and played once. OK, that's not entirely true. BLiP Football has an "enhanced" feature which allows you to switch from red players on a black field to red and yellow players on a black field with blue endzones. Not even Mattel's Football II had that.
Endhanced mode. Feels like you're right there in the stadium, doesn't it?
For those of you unfamiliar with LED football games, or the game of football in general, the goal is to score points by getting the ball into the other teams endzone. In real football, this can be done by running or by passing the ball to one of the other players on your team. In BLiP Football, there is no one else on your team, so you're limited to running.
Pressing the fire button moves your blip forward one yard. Pressing the joystick up or down moves him up or down. There's no backtracking. Once your blip reaches the far right edge of the screen, it reappears on the far left with the five defending blips right where you left them. Pressing the joystick to the left gives you the score and time left in the quarter. Pressing to the right gives you the down, yards to go and the ball's current location on the field.
In 1977, a portable football video game using LEDs to represent players was pretty killer. In 2008, tying the exact same game to a bulky console and doubling the price makes as much sense as putting a band-aid on a broken leg. How about a game that keeps the blip look and feel but adds real football gameplay and a true 2-player mode (or, for that matter, a true 1-player mode with both offense and defense)? Instead, BLiP Football is just rehash of a once great game now 30 years past its prime.
| Grahics: 1 |
| Splendidly recreates the look of 6 LEDs on a black screen. |
| Sound: 1 |
| Just a bunch of beeps. |
| Gameplay: 1 |
| Simple and monotonous. |
| Overall: 1 |
| Seriously, just find one of the originals at a thrift store. |
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