arcade

How NFL Blitz Became the Best Arcade Football Game Ever Made

Football is violent and fast. Brutal injuries are inherent to the action when 300-pound bodies slam into one another like cars at a demolition derby. In the late 1990s, no video game simulated that feeling more than the most anti-sim football game ever made: NFL Blitz. Unfortunately, the world may never see a game like Blitz again. To be sure, football video games are as popular as ever—or at least EA Sports’ Madden franchise is, since it’s the only football sim officially licensed by the NFL. Spiritual successors to the Blitz brand of arcade-style football have come along here and…
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Madden 21’s The Yard Isn’t NFL Blitz But It’s Still Important for Arcade Football

The Madden franchise and I go way back. I poured a lot of fifth-grade free time into Madden NFL 97 for the Super NES, and I can still hear that edition’s chiptune menu music in my head when I think about the series. But, I have to be honest. For all the Madden games I’ve owned over the years — give or take 15, by my count — I’d trade them all for a high-quality arcade-style football experience.  Quality is highly subjective when we’re talking about a video game. For you, quality arcade football might be EA Sports BIG’s NFL…
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Giveaway: Win an Animal Crossing Pin Set from Penny Arcade!

Animal Crossing: New Horizons took the world by storm when it launched to critical acclaim earlier this year and quickly earned the adoration of millions of fans. We absolutely loved this cute life simulator that lets you build a community on your very own island as well as visit your friends on their own island getaway. “For me, New Horizons is the most fully-realized, most well-rounded iteration in the franchise’s history,” our reviewer wrote about the game in March. “Beyond a few minor gripes about the controls (aiming accurately when fishing is challenging in a bad way), it’s a hard…
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