Team Buddies

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Team Buddies

European cover art including a Parental Guidance warning. The North American version is rated "E" due to censorship of profanity.
Developer(s) Psygnosis Camden Studio
Publisher(s) Midway Games (North America), Activision (Europe)
Platform(s) PlayStation
Release date(s)
  • EU September 15, 2000
  • NA September 18, 2000
Genre(s) Tactical Shooter
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer
Distribution CD-ROM

Team Buddies is a game released for the PlayStation on September 18, 2000.[1] It was published by Midway Games and developed by Psygnosis Camden Studio (now SCE Studio Soho).[2]

Story

One fine and sunny day in the land that Buddies roam, there was a great and mighty disco in a tent. This tent would bob up and down with the music. All of a sudden, a large, flat, grey, flying THING blocked out the sun (The Great Eclipse) and began to drop crates. These crates were filled with all sorts of goodies such as Uzis and Bazookas. Inevitably, chaos broke out and the buddies became segregated according to color.

The Buddies continue to battle for supremacy across the world until they reach temples similar to Aztec designs in the jungle. It is revealed here that the mysterious craft in the sky was actually the world of the Baddies, which are similar to Buddies except for the fact that their bodies are cubes. The Baddies dropped crates in order to provoke conflict in the Buddies and then film the ensuing destruction for a popular TV show. Upon realising that the season finale of the show involves a giant laser destroying the entire Buddies' world, they hijack a rocket to the Baddies' lair and destroy both the laser and the leader of the Baddies, bringing peace and parties back again.

Gameplay

The player, as a blue Buddy, has shot a tree using a tank, to release a health pick-up.

The game is a mix of Worms' humor and a typical real-time strategy game. Central to the game's theme is the ability of a team of buddies to stack crates in a 2×2×2 pad located in their starting area. Stacking the crates in different ways make different items when the resulting larger crate is broken; for example, a single crate on a stacking pad produces a light weapon, four crates positioned horizontally makes a heavy weapon, and filling the pad creates a vehicle. The battle toys created are based on the selected world, and there are eight original worlds, plus many special sets unlocked once players complete story mode. Most vehicles can carry two crates, but larger vehicles (and the golf cart) can carry three. Up to three additional team members can also be created by stacking crates directly on top of each other; these new "buddies" can be commanded to attack or defend a certain area or even build on the stacking pad on their own. The player can swap between any of the buddies under his or her control in order to make use of that particular unit's powers or weapons.

In addition to a stacking pad, each starting point has a large base building which can be attacked and destroyed. If a base is destroyed, the stacking pad for that team can no longer be used; this means that new members cannot be created, making destroying the base a top priority for securing victory. A team without a base is also unable to build new weapons and must rely on those dropped by the enemy or found around the map (although a fast unit can steal a weapon from an enemy pad as it is being opened).

A typical map will have various "crate drop" areas (in most cases a small area at the players base and a much larger spawn in the middle of the map), where the crates used to build weapons and teammates fall from the sky. Most crates in the game are yellow with red borders, but yellow crates with blue borders also drop from time to time. Adding one of these to a crate formation causes the object or unit created by it to have increased abilities; for example, a higher rate of fire or range for a weapon or more hit points for a unit or vehicle. In certain maps, mega-crates also drop if certain conditions are met; these large, grey and yellow crates contain a weapon or vehicle not normally found in that particular area, and can be towed behind a Mech, but not behind other vehicles.

Team Buddies also supports split-screen multiplayer for up to four players. There are several different game types in multiplayer:

Deathmatch

A straightforward game type in which all the members of all opposing teams must be eliminated to win. If there are two or more human players and three or more players overall, the rabanete option can be turned on(unlocked after beating the game). In this mode, the last member of a completely eliminated team remains in play as a slow-moving, invisible ghost. If the ghost walks into the smoking boots of a recently killed unit, it is resurrected and can continue to stack crates and attack enemies.

Domination

Around the map are "domination points," which can be anything, from ankhs to trees, that must be captured in order to achieve victory. Holding a domination point for 5 seconds gives a team a point; multiple domination points grant multiple points, and the first team to reach the required amount of points wins. In the event of time running out, the team with the highest number of points wins. Domination points are captured simply by touching them. Teams cannot be eliminated in a Domination match; if all members of a team are destroyed, another unit of the lowest type spawns at their stacking pad, armed with the lowest available weapon if the pad has been deactivated.

Capture

Similar to capture the flag, this game type requires teams to steal animals from an enemy's pen and return them to their own pen. Animals include dogs, penguins, pigs, and sheep. Animals must be stunned with an attack before picking them up (animals cannot be killed in multiplayer). The animals will attempt to break free if carried (even by their own team) and return to their pen. Shooting a unit carrying an animal causes it to drop the animal. Ten points are awarded for capturing the enemies animal, with five bonus points awarded if your team still has their animal.

Bomball

An explosive grey ball is spawned at the center of the arena. Each team has three members armed with the lowest weapon of the game's chosen weapon set; if killed, an identical one will spawn shortly after. The goal of the game is to carry the ball to an enemy goal and throw it between the two goalposts. Once a ball is thrown, a timer begins to count down; once the timer reaches zero, the ball explodes, dealing damage to any nearby buddies. One point is awarded for throwing the ball through a set of goalposts, and additional six points are given for a ball exploding in the goal area immediately behind them.

Style

One of the distinctive aspects of Team Buddies is its visual style and choice of dialog. Censorship in the United States caused the games vulgar and stereotyped character dialog originally used for characters to be toned down. The Europe version of the game gave each character class different voice identities, and additionally gives each multiplayer team color its own nationality; for example blue team are stereotypical English, whereas purple are 'engrish' style Japanese.

All the buddies and various other creatures in the game have pill-shaped bodies and disjointed limbs reminiscent of Rayman, with the exception of the moon-dwelling enemies encountered late in the single-player game. Environments are brightly colored and angular, gaining most of their detail through texturing rather than more detailed polygons. Nearly all of the weapons encountered are similarly simplistic and usually one or two solid colors and with clear arrows pointing out the way projectiles are fired from them. Terrain darkens and deforms if hit with an explosion, creating fairly realistic craters and scorch marks where a battle has taken place.

In multiplayer, a variety of skins can be unlocked to personalize a particular match, including zombie skins, underwear skins and English football uniforms.

Rarity

Team Buddies was not popular upon release, receiving a very limited release and as such is not widely available. Despite being relatively unknown upon release, the game developed a considerable cult following over time. Nowadays, the game is considered one of the rarest and most difficult games to find for the PlayStation, mostly due to a small number of available copies, especially ones made for the U.S. market. Prices vary considerably, ranging anywhere from $70 to $200 for a NTSC version and £50- £70 for a PAL version, depending on the retailer.[3]

Weaponry

Listed in this order:1 Brick, 2 Bricks horizontal, 2 Bricks vertical, 4 Bricks horizontal, 4 Bricks vertical, 8 Bricks, then the supers will be listed after in the same order. S means super, " means same as before. So, for example, S " means same as before only super. Typically The super versions made with a single blue box either have more health or ammo, some super upgrades particular for vehicles can be completely different

Source: In-game menu Pal PS1 version

World Name/Type 1 Brick 2 Bricks horizontal 2 Bricks vertical 4 Bricks horizontal 4 Bricks vertical 8 Brick cube 1 Brick S 2 Bricks horizontal S 2 Bricks vertical S 4 Bricks horizontal S 4 Bricks vertical S 8 Brick cube S
World 1 Uzi Grenades Infantry Bazooka Commando Small Tank Uzi Grenades Infantry Bazooka Commando Small Gatling turret Tank
World 2 Shotgun Time bomb Infantry Gatling Gun Medic Small Rocket Tank Shotgun Time bomb Infantry Gatling Gun Medic Two-man tank
World 3 Small rocket launcher Flame Grenade Commando Flame thrower Ninja Grenade Tank Small rocket launcher Flame Grenade Commando Flame thrower Ninja Stealth Tank
World 4 Fire Ring Cluster bomb Commando Missile Launcher x4 Cyborg Missile Launcher Tank Fire Ring Cluster bomb Commando Missile Launcher x4 Cyborg Missile Launcher Tank with grenades
World 5 Ice Gun Ice grenade Commando Electron gun Stealth Soldier Agile cannon tank Ice Gun Shock/Ice grenade Commando Electron gun Stealth Soldier Stealth Tank
World 6 Taser Mortar Commando Strong Missile Launcher Flying beam man Hoovercraft tank Shockgun Double Mortar Commando Strong Missile Launcher Flying beam man Hoovercraft tank with grenades
World 7 Small Strong Rocket Launcher Shock Grenade Cyborg Shock-thrower Stealth Soldier Missile Launcher Tank with grenades Small Strong Rocket Launcher Shock Grenade Cyborg Shock-thrower Stealth Soldier 3 man flame tank
World 8 Weak blaster rifle Barrel Bomb gun Cyborg Strong blaster rifle Flying beam man Giant hammer bot Weak blaster rifle Barrel Bomb gun Cyborg Strong blaster rifle Flying beam man Giant hammer bot
Flame Fire Ring Flame Grenade Commando Flame thrower Ninja Flame tank Fire Ring Flame Grenade Commando Flame thrower Ninja 3 man flame tank
Lightning Taser Shock Grenade Commando Cyborg Shock-thrower Missile Launcher Tank Taser Shock Grenade Commando Cyborg Shock-thrower Missile Launcher Tank
Grenades1 Grenades Cluster bomb Infantry Flame Grenade Commando Grenade Tank Grenades Cluster bomb Infantry Flame Grenade Commando Grenade Tank
Grenades2 Ice grenade Shock Grenade Commando Mortar Stealth Soldier Grenade Tank Ice grenade Shock Grenade Commando Double Mortar Stealth Soldier Grenade Tank
Heavy1 Bazooka Gatling Gun Medic Flame thrower Cyborg Small Rocket Tank Bazooka Gatling Gun Medic Flame thrower Cyborg Small Rocket Tank
Heavy2 Missile Launcher x4 Electron gun Ninja Strong blaster rifle Cyborg Missile Launcher Tank Missile Launcher x4 Electron gun Ninja Strong blaster rifle Cyborg Missile Launcher Tank with grenades
Rocket Small rocket launcher Mortar Commando Missile Launcher x4 Ninja Missile Launcher Tank with grenades Small rocket launcher Mortar Commando Missile Launcher x4 Ninja 3 man missile tank
Missile Strong small rocket launcher Mortar Ninja Strong Missile Launcher x4 Stealth Soldier Missile Launcher Tank with grenades Strong small rocket launcher Mortar Ninja Strong Missile Launcher x4 Stealth Soldier 3 man missile tank
Special Zap gun crucifix laser commando suicide barrel cyborg Hoovercraft tank Zap gun crucifix laser commando suicide barrel cyborg Hoovercraft tank with grenades
Flying1 Shotgun Bazooka Infantry Missile Launcher x4 Flying beam man glide bomber Shotgun Bazooka Infantry Missile Launcher x4 Flying beam man Spitfighter
Flying2 Uzi Bazooka Medic Shock-thrower Flying beam man spitfighter Uzi Bazooka Medic Shock-thrower Flying beam man helicopter
Flying3 Small rocket launcher Mortar Commando Strong Missile Launcher x4 Flying beam man Helicopter Small powerful rocket launcher Double Mortar Commando Strong Missile Launcher x4 Flying beam man Harrier
Flying4 Mortar Shock-thrower Ninja Strong blaster rifle Flying beam man Harrier Double Mortar Shock-thrower Ninja Strong blaster rifle Flying beam man Stealth Harrier
Stealth1 Taser Bazooka Cyborg Weak Blaster rifle Stealth soldier Stealth Bomber Taser Bazooka Cyborg Weak Blaster rifle Stealth soldier Stealth harrier
Stealth2 Fire Ring Electron gun Medic Strong Missile Launcher x4 Stealth Soldier Stealth Tank Example Example Example Example Example Example
Space Zap gun Weak Blaster rifle Medic Strong Blaster rifle Cyborg Giant hammer bot Zap gun Weak Blaster rifle Medic Strong Blaster rifle Cyborg Giant hammer bot
Bikes Uzi Gatling gun Infantry Missile Launcher x4 Commando Bike Uzi Gatling gun Infantry Missile Launcher x4 Commando Motor Bike

References

  1. ↑ "Team Buddies Release Information". gamefaqs.com. Retrieved 2009-08-27. 
  2. ↑ "Team Buddies for Playstation". gamespot.com. Retrieved 2009-08-27. 
  3. ↑ "Rare Playstation 1 Games". PriceCharting.com. Retrieved 4/10/12. 

External links

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