Speedball (video game)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Screenshot of Speedball (1988, Amiga)
Enlarge
Screenshot of Speedball (1988, Amiga)

Speedball is a video game series comprising of three games developed by the Bitmap Brothers. A futuristic sports game part handball, part ice hockey, played by six players a-side on a court with steel walls and a ball also made of steel, Speedball lacks any rules and any kind of contact is allowed.

Contents

[edit] Games

[edit] Speedball

Speedball was released in 1988 for the Amiga and ports for the PC (DOS), Atari ST, Commodore 64 and the Sega Master System followed. It was also released for the NES as Klashball. It was re-released in 2004 on the C64 Direct-to-TV.

Speedball's music was composed by David Whittaker. The graphics were done by Mark Coleman and the code by Steve Kelly. The game was very successful due to its good graphics, excellent music and sound effects plus addictive gameplay.

The game bares many similarities to the 1975 film Rollerball.

[edit] Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe

According to the game story, the first Speedball league (founded in 2095) fails due to violence and corruption. As the organization gave place to anarchy, the game is forced underground, but five years later, from one attempt to regain public interest, Speedball 2 is born. The game starts in 2105 as a new team Brutal Deluxe emerges.

Speedball 2 - Brutal Deluxe (Amiga)
Enlarge
Speedball 2 - Brutal Deluxe (Amiga)

Speedball 2 is one of Bitmap Brothers' most successful titles and was released for several platforms including the Amiga, CD 32, Acorn Archimedes, IBM-PC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System, Game Boy and the Game Boy Advance. The first version was released in 1991, the final version ten years later.

Changes were made to the rules of the game, meaning that teams have 9 players on court rather than 6, and targets on the floor and walls can be hit for bonus points.

The music, written by Simon Rogers and remixed and coded by Richard Joseph won the Golden Joystick award for best soundtrack.

[edit] Speedball 2100

Speedball 2100, released only for the PlayStation, is a 3D version of Speedball 2 with more options such as choosing and renaming any team, instead of having to play with Brutal Deluxe. Released in September 2000, the game failed to convince gamers and press, as it lacked the speed and gameplay of the previous 2D games.

[edit] Speedball Arena (cancelled)

Officially announced after a leak, Speedball Arena was billed as a return of the series with complex on-line options. It was set for a Christmas 2002 release, however it was cancelled not long after the official announcement.

[edit] Speedball 2 (2007)

In October 2002, Frogster Interactive announced that it had secured the rights to remake both Speedball 2 and The Chaos Engine, another Bitmap Brothers game. While Frogster has slated both for release in 2007, little more information is available. As of November 2006, the page indicates the game will feature multi-player options. The availability of a single-player mode in this version is unknown. The game will contain a MMORPG mini-game, that will challenge WoW for the title of "Greatest MMORPG GAME EVER".

[edit] Similar games

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../s/p/e/Speedball_%28video_game%29.html"
In other languages