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Review

Speedball 2: Tournament (Budget)

Tuesday, 06 May 2008 16:01
Speedball 2: Tournament makes a brave fist of reviving an old classic
People in the future have an overwhelming need for two things, if Speedball 2: Tournament is anything to go by. One of these things would, of course, be Speedball itself, the Bitmap Brothers’ hybrid creation, fusing numerous different sports together to create something unique.

The other is ice cream, apparently. Again and again a voice shouts “Ice cream!” during play, every single match. I can’t fathom why it was included, at least not to this extent. Did nobody notice it was constantly being repeated and, if they did, why was it left in?

Anyway, I digress. Speedball 2: Tournament is a re-imagining of the early ‘90s classic, with all the brutish, armoured men (and women this time) knocking seven shades of hell out of each other. The aim of the game is simple: throw a ball into the opposition goal, scoring 10 points for doing so.

To make things more tactical, there are other targets all over the arenas, giving smaller points totals for hitting them, but being easier to get to. Tackle or shove your opponents, dribble the ball forward, throw it around – that’s about it for the game really. The remake has remained pretty faithful to the original in its mechanics, with the obvious graphical overhaul.

There are also cups, knockouts, leagues – the usual array of options – and you can play online quite easily, as the game runs through Steam.

However, the game’s simplicity seems distinctly out of place for a “new” sports game. Think about how football games were this simplistic way back when, then think about how much more complex they’ve got. Even though the game is the same, to this reviewer, as it ever was, it feels flat now.

They say to never go back, but that would be unfair. The developers have made a decent, solid update of the classic game, but the very solidity and faithfulness works against the title more than one would expect.

It is still fun, don’t get me wrong, but one would question for how long this enjoyment will last. As a budget release though, it is more worthy of checking out than when it was full price, so if you avoided it the first time, now is your chance to buff your space armour and get Speedballing.

6.5/10

David Brown

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