Classic Speedball II
Score: 76% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Empire Interactive Developer: Bitmap Brothers Media: Download/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Arcade/ Classic/Retro/ Sports
Graphics & Sound: Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe was a fast-paced game, with cutting-edge presentation... at the time. I remember hearing the ice cream vendors hawking their ice cream when everyone was cheering because a point was made and thinking how cool it was to have this realistic touch. Now, with the exact same sound effect, this many years later, it's hard to discern that something's being said. I suppose we get used to higher fidelity. Classic Speedball II doesn't claim to be anything other than a re-release of the Bitmap Brothers' game of yesteryear, but they have updated the graphics a bit. In the updated graphics mode, the armor is shiny and everything looks much more realistic. The original graphics are still available, however, as a second graphics option. Sadly, I would have to recommend that everyone use the classic graphics version, to get the true speed and original feel of Speedball II. I know I ragged on the sound effect of the Ice Cream vendor, but it still makes me smile when I hear it. Other sound effects in the game, from the grunts to the sounds of the crowd and the sounds of the ball hitting the various scoring items around the arena, all are distinct and do a good job of indicating what's going on. And, I hope you like the sound effects, because there's not any music in the game.
Gameplay: When I heard "Speedball" in a list of games to be reviewed, I was excited to get some hands-on gameplay. Then, I found out that it was Speedball II. I was familiar with Speedball from way back in the day, on some Commodore computer; it may have been the Amiga, but I would hazard to say this one was all the way back on my C64. At any rate, Speedball was an excellent game back then, whereas Speedball II tried to build upon the original and, somehow, ended up with something less than Speedball, in my opinion. Speedball II added team management aspects and offered a more complex scoring system that should have made things more fun, but actually made the game harder to follow. The basic concept in Classic Speedball II is fairly simple. Imagine the natural progression of football or soccer, as the audience's attention span is shortened by Attention Deficit Disorder and as everyone's thirst for blood and violence continues to increase. What you end up with is Speedball, a game where the players wear armor and the ball is, essentially, a high-tech cannonball. This ball is so heavy that a perfectly viable strategy is to throw it to an opponent, then clobber them while they're stunned, take the ball back from them and keep running down the field. When you arrive at your opponent's end of the arena, there's a goal and a goalie, much like you would expect in soccer. Get the ball into the goal to score points. Simple, no? Well, it would be simple, if the scoring was constant. As it turns out, however, there are things you can do with the ball on the field prior to scoring a goal that will change the value that the ball will get when you score a goal. Additionally, there are ways you can charge the ball up to make it a weapon that your opponents can't hold on to, enhancements you can pick up... it gets complex. The main draw of Speedball was its bullet-fast pace; this was lost a little bit in Speedball II. With the release of Classic Speedball II on Xbox Live, however, this speed is back... sort of. You can get the fast gameplay if you select the original graphics in the Options menu. The original sprite-based graphics brought a tidal wave of nostalgia back for me, but, more importantly, returned the fast pace that is expected for a game with speed in the title. If you play with the new 3D graphics turned on, it looks better, without question, but it simply doesn't play as frantically as it should. There are different modes of play in Classic Speedball II. You can jump in and just play a quick game, if you like, or you can play in a Knockout, League, Cup or Practice. If you're looking for a real challenge, Knockout is ruthless... lose one match and you're out. If you don't want to actually play the game, you can play League Manager, where you just make the executive decisions, upgrading players, transferring in new players and switching players to different positions. Player management is an important part of Classic Speedball II, so it might be a good idea to use this mode to practice your team management skills.
Difficulty: The part of Classic Speedball II that I found hardest to get beyond was the way that control is switched between players. Basically, you get control over whichever of your teammates is closest to the ball... automatically. You have no direct control over which player you are going to control other than which one is closest to the ball. This can cause problems, fairly often, when the ball is equidistant to a couple of your players. The game will switch your control back and forth between these players, making it impossible to meaningfully control either one. Other times, when you make a pass down-field, you'll throw the ball while running down-field and then, after you throw the ball, you'll be controlling the player you were throwing the ball to and he'll just keep running, often outrunning the ball altogether. This can be rather aggravating. I found passing the ball, in general, to be hard to control - first because of the controls themselves, but also because you get to see a very limited amount of the arena at any given time. When you throw a pass, it's usually just a wild pass in the general direction you want to move the ball, with a hope that you actually have a player in that general region. Mind you, when you play against the computer, your opponent doesn't seem to be at the same disadvantage; as far as I can tell, the computer knows just where its players are at any given time. Classic Speedball II can be fun, especially if you play against another player, but it can also be very frustrating - especially when playing a single player game.
Game Mechanics: For the most part, Classic Speedball II is a straight port from the acclaimed original. That is, if you choose the Classic graphics option. It seems strange that selecting the newer 3D graphics option would cause the game to move noticeably slower, but since speed is crucial to Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe, you'll want to play in the Classic mode to get the true feeling of the game. I was a bit disappointed to see that Classic Speedball II has very little online multiplayer following; I could never find anyone to play against online. If you and a friend were to both get Classic Speedball II, of course, you could arrange a time to play against each other, but don't expect to just find people playing this game online; I certainly didn't. The difficulty of controlling your players is nothing new for Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe, but the issue wasn't addressed in any way with the release of this version. It's not such a big thing if you're playing against another person, since both players are affected by this issue evenly, but when playing against the A.I., this gives your opponents a bit of an advantage. Classic Speedball II is a pretty decent little game, especially if you were a fan from back in the day, and at 800 Microsoft Points, it's not too hard on the virtual pocketbook.
-Geck0, GameVortex Communications AKA Robert Perkins
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