It's safe to say that sometimes us gamers get raw treatment from the media. As I write this, the whole videogame violence row has erupted once again, with Grand Theft Auto IV fast becoming the industry's easy target.

You may be wondering where Blitz: The League II features in this debate. Well, Blitz is an extremely violent game with a penchant for graphic representations of broken bones and ruptured body parts; it is truly gruesome and not for the fainthearted. It's also a game that is not exactly politically correct either. GTA is singled out as being a game that depicts the degradation of women but Blitz loves nothing better than parading a bunch of cheerleaders at every break in play, only to equip them with clothing that just about covers the bare necessities. Or, how about scoring a touchdown then bending a cheerleader over and slapping her on the backside while she giggles like a girl from the Playboy mansion? I have neglected to mention the drug taking, or 'juicing' of players too, as it is subtly called, which caused some controversy when the first Blitz title was released in 2005. My question is this: why doesn't a game such as Blitz get the same witch-hunt treatment and press exposure as GTA? Perhaps Midway should push the boundaries a little further, although it's hard to see how they could!

For all its violence and its macho exterior, Blitz has a deep and playable but flawed underbelly. Its unique campaign story mode is the jewel in its crown, where you play the role of 'Franchise' (his nickname is nearly as absurd as the storyline), the fresh new star of the league who will have to work hard to earn his stripes by starting his career in the lowest division. As well as battling on the field to progress his career, he also faces competition off the field as senior players from the league resent the attention lavished upon this up and coming starlet and seek to curtail his career before it's even begun.

To progress through the leagues, 'Franchise' joins a newly-created team, a team that's created entirely by you. Blitz is a little like the Pro Evo of American football games in that it has no licence (if it did have a licence then I'm pretty sure the violence would be non-existent). So with all NFL teams off-limits, it's time to be creative. You start by choosing where in the US you would like your team to settle, pick a team badge and colours and then you're ready for some gridiron action.

The story is told in a series of cut scenes post-match and additional storyline comes in the form of phone calls made between you and your agent, team-mates and love interests. They often set you tasks to complete in the game arena to earn extra rewards and sponsorships, and to build the reputation of your team. There is also a training schedule function but, as with most sports games, unless you are really serious about stats, it is far easier and less time consuming to use the auto-train function. The story mode serves to highlight some of the most reviled elements of professional sports people in today's society - the lavish lifestyle, the money, the drinking and the one-night stands - but Midway presents it in such a tongue-in-cheek fashion that you can't loathe them and instead end up laughing at them (the players, not Midway!). If you can't laugh at them then the voice acting is worth a small titter at least, as it's pretty poor. The in-game commentary is also flaky and best turned off, as it is a bit of an incoherent mess compared to other sports games such as the FIFA series.

The story mode is deep and will keep you occupied for some time; however, if you strip back the game's regalia and judge it purely in gameplay terms then it could be viewed as a shallow experience. The gruesome injuries, the fixing of broken limbs, the internal X-ray shots of ruptured organs - it's all there to distract you from what is a pretty mediocre sports game. Once you actually get into a match situation, after some lengthy loading times, you will find that the controls are extremely responsive and easy to master. Conversely, your players' movement is akin to a sports title made over a decade ago; the game's physics are almost non-existent when it comes to movement and animation. For instance, with a quick flick sideways of the analogue stick, the player moves from left to right to change direction without any resistance in a completely unrealistic manner. It doesn't feel like you are controlling a human entity, just a set of moveable pixels, and this lack of engagement distances you from the action. It is not until you engage the defence and need to pull off a trick whilst mashing the buttons to evade your opponents that you are likely to get the slightest hint of controlling your player. Whereas the tackles feel visceral and real, the rest of the action feels slightly detached and emotionless. Maybe we have been spoilt by the movement and physics of sports simulations in this golden era of technology but, even so, Blitz is a current-generation game and we rightfully expect more. With current-generation games setting the standard of visual quality, Blitz unfortunately falls short graphically too. The lack of variation of player movement and the surroundings could quite easily be replicated on a less powerful console. The cut scenes and injury close-ups are relatively sound but no one buys a game on the strength of its pretty FMV (unless you are a huge Metal Gear Solid fan!) .

What Blitz II does really well though is convey some aspects of the sheer brutality of American football - ruptured scrotums and all. The tackles are enough to make a grown man wince in agony, especially when the camera zooms into the unlucky recipient's body to show the full extent of the damage. From a defensive point of view, there is also a simple targeting system that can be used to determine which part of the body you would like the damage to be inflicted upon. If the injury inflicts one of your players then the medics run onto the pitch to assess his condition. If medical attention is required there and then, it's your duty to treat the injury by either manoeuvring the bones back into place with a satisfying crunch or hitting the correct spot with a painkilling injection. This is certainly not a game for the squeamish.

As well as the campaign mode, Blitz also comes loaded with the mandatory quick play mode for up to four players, as well as a two-player online experience. It also comes with a customisable tournament mode and a bonus mode, which includes a shortened version of gridiron set in the grounds of a prison - think five-a-side soccer with no shin-pads, set in Wormwood Scrubs. There are a further five bonus modes packaged with the game, which are well worth a look, offering slightly different variations on the sport. There is even a training camp that helps you master some of the techniques and fully explains the clash/unleashed meters that are utilised in the game. These operate a little like the gamebreaker meter used in the FIFA Street series but, as with that title, it can be a potent weapon and slightly unbalances the difficulty of the game. The feature essentially slows down time and the players around you, whilst the controlled player can waltz past them at a regular pace, leaving them trailing in his wake to inevitably score a touchdown.

Blitz: The League II unfortunately never rises above the moniker of a run-of-the-mill arcade game. It initially offers some good entertainment and the violence is actually well done - it is worth checking out this title just to experience the brutality. It's even worth taking a peek at if you are fed up with the endless annual updates produced by EA's simulation machine and fancy some light relief. However, peel away the curiosity that a title such as this provokes and you'll discover a game that's graphically weak and fundamentally basic in terms of gameplay. Although there is mileage in the campaign mode, spirits may be dampened by the lack of variation available in the gameplay, which either means that it will be a sorry drudge to blitz through the game for those precious achievement points or you will simply grow tired of it.

Reviewed by Mark Carlton for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).