""If it ain't broke, don't break it" describes NFL Blitz 2000."

Everyone knows NFL Blitz, NFL Blitz '99, so NFL Blitz 2000 is more of the same. There are a few subtile differences...

1. Cleveland is a team you can pick. Yes, for the first time, you can select Cleveland for the first time. (I did against a true-Pittsburgh Steeler fan and got trounced 70-0...) Otherwise, all other teams are representated.

2. More plays period. On a standard game, you have two pages of offense AND DEFENSIVE plays, which is a big step. I expect NFL Blitz 2001 to have the ability to create DEFENSIVE plays along with offensive plays that you still have.

3. You can set up the game before hand. Now this is the biggest change, because before the only way you could control the game settings was through cheats. (By the way, the Cheats that worked in NFL Blitz '99 still work for NFL Blitz 2000, which means Midway obviously was very pleased with NFL Blitz '99 and didn't feel like needing to change much to it.) You can have an extra play page, set field conditions (three new field conditions: Dirt, Mud, & Asphalt, yes Asphalt.).

4. In the "create a play" mode, you can now set a primary reciever, which I believe is new for the game. Still, you are limited to setting offensive plays, but I've gotta believe that if Midway wants to create NFL Blitz 2001, they're going to let you create both offensive and defensive plays.

5. You get better plays as you win more games. (You also get them if you enter the Extra Offensive Plays cheat (333 up), which implies they may have added a cheat for extra DEFENSIVE plays, but I can't confirm that.)

6. They've added real-life cheerleaders (gasp!). Well, I guess that is one thing they fixed. Somehow, NFL Blitz '99 3-D girls didn't quite make the cut.

7. Finally, the AI is better, which means they weren't kidding when they said that in their ads. They blitz better, they don't cheat not as much, and aren't fooled as much as they used to in '99. Which is great, since a lot of people I've talked too complained that the computer was too easy to be in Blitz '99. Of course, these are the same people that complained that the computer cheats too much in 2000 (which I disagree. The AI is better, that's all.).

The only really bad thing about NFL Blitz 2000 is that the announcer is really cheesy and says the wrong thing at the wrong time, and they didn't give him a new set of things to say. Otherwise, the gameplay, graphics, sound, music is very good and up to Blitz standards. I recommend it completely.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/23/00, Updated 01/23/00