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Speedball 2 - Brutal Deluxe

Author

Lorenzo has written 23 additional reviews

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Written by Lorenzo

July 10, 2001

Comments

Year: 2095. File: Speedball

Corruption and violence force the game underground. Un-regulated and un-governed, the game degenerates into a fiasco.

Year: 2100. File: Speedball 2

Attempting to regain public interest the sport is reorganised. Speedball 2 is born. Five years later, a new team emerges. The new team is Brutal Deluxe...


Graphics

Every Bitmap Brothers game featured excellent graphics, and this one is no exception. It' s just like the Amiga version, although slightly darker, with excellent sprites and a very fluid animation and scrolling. Everything is well detailed and a pleasure to watch. Ok, to be really picky we could say that there' s just one stadium and the players look all the same, but hey, this is no Fifa 2000...


Sound

Not much to say here... a great techno-rock intro tune, and some pretty good fx.


Gameplay

What a game. One of the best selling ST games ever, and for a reason... it's incredibly addictive ! It' s a futuristic sports sim that takes something from handball, football, pinball and wrestling, and mixes it up in an unique, gorgeous blend. Every match is a rush of adrenalin from the beginning to the end...


You start with a poor second division team, and you must lead it to win the championship. Each team has 9 players: a goalie, 2 defenders, 3 midfielders and 3 strikers. The aim is, of course, to score more points than your opponent. You can score points in many ways; scoring a goal earns you 10 points, hitting one of the big red spheres behind the goals 2 points, and hitting one of the five stars on the borders earns you 10 points. 10 more points are awarded if you manage to light up all the stars. Also, you can score another 10 points if you manage to knock out one of your opponents.


But there' s more... you can throw the ball into a wheel to multiply your score by 1.5 and 2, or use another "thingy" (can' t find an appropriate definition, sorry) to make the ball white-hot and score a goal throwing it, quite literally, through your opponent's goalie. There are many bonuses you can collect on the ground; the "lightning" icon, for example, strikes the opponents to the ground, the "stop" icon blocks them for a few seconds, wings make you faster, and so on.


The management section is simple but enjoyable. During the game you'll find some coins lying on the ground; collect them and raise up some money to buy new players and boost up the abilities of those already in your team. And you'll need to make a LOT of money if you want to boost your players enough to win the championship, trust me...


Conclusion

An all - time classic. In my opinion, there's no other game that combines graphics and playability so well. Oh, and it's great to score points when you beat your opponents to a pulp instead of getting a red card!






Score
  • Graphics: 9
  • Sound: 9
  • Gameplay: 10
  • Overall: 9

Review Comments

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Zone Warrior

February 12, 2023 by AtariCrypt

Once again, pesky aliens are giving us Earthlings lots of grief. We previously fought them off but they managed to pinch a time machine so are using that to alter history and wreak havoc by taking crucial hostages from each period in an attempt to halt their influence. From the invention of the wheel in prehistoric times to England's King Arthur uniting Britain! And where would any of us be today without Japan and its technical wizardry? Yep, we cannot allow this - the fight is on!

Son Shu Shi

March 21, 2021 by ST Graveyard

What an accomplishment this game is. Created with such a small team, the result is really amazing. The game oozes creative passion. While the gameplay is really well balanced, it is a tough cookie, very hard from time to time with its moments of sheer frustration. As of level 3, timing becomes key. You will need to practice and learn the levels to complete this game, there are so many bad guys on screen it sometimes gets a bit hard to take.

Blood Money

April 4, 2020 by Morcar

Graphically, it's also nice on the eyes with well-defined graphics and animation. You really get the feeling that the developers put some thought and love into the game. Remember what I said about the large levels? Well these are wonderful and are very different to each other, they also scroll fairly smooth in all four directions.

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