Speedball (video game)

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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 per team on a court with steel walls and a ball 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 bears many similarities to the 1975 film Rollerball.

[edit] Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe (1990)

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 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. To save memory, the Master System version's management section used symmetrical faces, producing somewhat amusing results. The first version was released in 1990, 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 amount of points a team receives for scoring a goal starts at 10 but can be increased to 15 or 20 via the use of the score multipliers located on the sides of the pitch. The same amount of points for scoring a goal is given for injuring a player from the opposing team. When a player is injured, he is replaced by one of three substitutes. If all three substitutes are injured, the already-injured player will be forced to return to the game, despite his wounds. There are five game modes: knockout, cup, league, practise and multiplayer. Each game lasts for 180 seconds.

The music, written by Simon Rogers and remixed and coded by Richard Joseph, won the Golden Joystick award for best soundtrack. The voices were credited to Jams O'Donnell which was a pseudonym used by composer and sometime Richard Joseph collaborator Michael Burdett.

[edit] Xbox Live Arcade

Main article: Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe (XBLA)

Empire Interactive officially announced an Xbox Live Arcade version for the Xbox 360, to be priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10 USD).[1] The game was released on October 17, 2007, and features a 3D graphics mode in addition to the "classic" visuals, as well as additional teams and online play. [2] Based on statements by the Bitmap Brothers, the XBLA version of the game takes place in the 24th century.

[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 Tournament

Main article: Speedball 2 Tournament

On October 2006, Frogster Interactive Pictures announced that it had secured the rights to create the sequel to Speedball. Kylotonn Entertainment (the game developers) have released information that the game will be available via Steam at the end of November, 2007.[3]

[edit] Similar games

[edit] References

  1. ^ Speedball II Comes to Xbox LIVE Arcade (Press Release). yahoo.com. Silverstar Holdings, Ltd.. Retrieved on 2007-05-03.
  2. ^ Speedball II product page. xbox.com. Microsoft. Retrieved on 2007-10-15.
  3. ^ Speedball 2 Tournament hits Steam this November - Joystiq

[edit] External links