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Speedball 2 remake on the way News

PC News by Robert Purchese

5 March, 2007

A remake of Bitmap's 16-bit classic Speedball 2 is coming to the PC this Autumn, Frogster Interactive has announced.

Once again you'll be able to customise your brutal team of steroid-pumped athletes, and participate either offline against the computer, or online in international leagues. You'll be rewarded with a place in a large-scale ranking system, plus you'll also be able to blow your hard-earned cash in an online marketplace.

All the charm of the gory original will be re-created, and Bitmap Brothers' Mike Montgomery is set to lead development of the game.

There's no word on console versions just yet, though a spokesperson for Frogster told Eurogamer this morning it was something the publisher was keen to do, particularly for Xbox 360.

Originally released on the Amiga back in 1991, the game is a brutal futuristic sport played by two teams of six with a steel ball on a steel court. There are virtually no rules, so fierce melee attacks that smash through the opposing lines are a solid and text-book tactic.

The aim of the game is simply to throw the ball in the goal at the other end of the court, picking up power-ups and cash as you do, which allows you to improve your team's stats and equipment as the season progresses.

We loved the original, so our fingers are well and truly crossed for this remake.

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Comments: 1-33 of 33 in total

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kalel [mod]
05/03/07 @ 11:45
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Great news but PLEASE keep it simple. It barely needs anything doing to it.

Here's hoping for a 360 release, although really the orginal with LIVE would be sufficient.
gogobaka
05/03/07 @ 11:55
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I don't want to hear about a remake, I want the original exactly as it was, on XBLA. If they mess around updating it they're guarenteed to cock it up.
PlugMonkey
05/03/07 @ 11:55
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although really the orginal with LIVE would be sufficient.

Amen to that. God I love Speedball 2. Oh so simple yet oh so very deep.
MoFo
05/03/07 @ 11:55
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I agree Kalel but something I'd have liked in the original was an option to play on rinks with funky layouts rather than the basic rectangle ... or did the original have this option?... it's been such a long time since I played it!
Artemis_Matsas
05/03/07 @ 11:56
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Brutal Deluxe FTW!!!
Freelancepolice
05/03/07 @ 11:56
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Is this some lost echo of that speedball 2100 or whatever it was called for the pc?
riz23
05/03/07 @ 11:57
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Yeah let's just have the amiga game on XBLA. I have such fond memories of two player games degenerating into endless fights over chucking the ball through the bonus loop back and forth.
Britesparc
05/03/07 @ 12:03
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I agree with the other posters who'd be perfectly happy with an XBLA version of the Amiga classic. Although the "Speedball Arena" version using the Quake III engine, that was started years ago and cancelled, did sound intriguing, too.

Anyway, here's hoping they don't cock up a classic!
Carlo
05/03/07 @ 12:03
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Am I the only one who liked the first one more?
stx
05/03/07 @ 12:10
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Ice Cream!
Eighthours
05/03/07 @ 12:16
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Live Arcade, please. Upgrade the graphics, keep the underlying code the same.

Just like the Sensi World of Soccer project.
Popzeus
05/03/07 @ 12:30
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@carlo:

Yes.
bluebird
05/03/07 @ 12:32
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@Carlo: no I preferred the first as well :-)
Psi
05/03/07 @ 12:36
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great news, hope they do get the balance and the online play just right. multiplayer netplay if done right would rock!
brooza
05/03/07 @ 12:39
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Updated graphics, online play between PC and 360 owners
ChrisBen
05/03/07 @ 12:40
#16
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+1 to the calls for an XBLA version. I'm simply regurgitating what has already been said here, but the same game + Live + 720p graphics = perfick. Nothing more and nothing less need be done. What's that? You want 800 points for that? DONE!
MORZTAN
05/03/07 @ 12:46
#17
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Speedball 2 is one of the only games in history which is exactly as entertaining today as is was back in the days of the Amiga 500.

Please don't mess it up...
Markusdragon
05/03/07 @ 12:53
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Didn't they remake this a few years back?
Psi
05/03/07 @ 13:02
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think they did a mobile phone version? or it was talked about.
spongebob
05/03/07 @ 13:07
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For PC? What a great idea.. not. XBLA, PSN, PSP, DS, not PC.
mkreku
05/03/07 @ 13:07
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I wonder if they'll upgrade this to some 3D spectacle..?
wyli
05/03/07 @ 13:16
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...the game is a brutal futuristic sport played by two teams of six...

Teams of 9, with 3 subs wasn't it?
Edited 1 times, most recently on 05/03/07 @ 13:16
jamhead
05/03/07 @ 13:16
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Agree with those saying the underlying game must be untouched - or the original included as an unlockable (or XBLA).

Have no problem with improved graphics so long as the pace/response times of the original are left in place. The last thing this games needs is all the animations being slowed down because 'they don't look real' or some other crap.
wolfen
05/03/07 @ 13:21
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Eh, sorry, but after Speedball 2100 and Speedball Arena I'll wait before throwing my hands up in celebration.
Caimbeul
05/03/07 @ 13:32
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HD Update of the original 2D Speedball 2 on XBLA please untouched.

Or. . .

I think that 3D could be the way to go wit this one...Hear me out before you scream "Nooooooooo - Kill the heratic!" I think that it would work in 3D if you keep the fixed perspective and exact same camera angle, not allow any silly adjustments etc. The pitch/arena and players could all be renered in high poly detail with AA switched on. Basically what I am saying is that the game would have to be completely re-drawn if still in 2D so you could have it 3D allowing for lots of specular, Shader and lighting effects to be thrown in along with blood and maybe a highly varied and animated 3D crowd with contextual sound effects. Also keep the spped and pace of the original - just cos its 3D doesnt mean it needs to be motion captured realism. Make some shit up for the animations, just make it good and quick.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 05/03/07 @ 13:34
powerup
05/03/07 @ 14:02
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@Caimbeul:

Agreed.

The original Speedball 2 on the Amiga would still be in my top 5 games of all time.
DodgyPast
05/03/07 @ 14:49
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Crazy timing I'm just trying to find out if the original is playable with a joystick using Dosbox or an amiga emulator.

Out of interest how did it compare to Soccer Brawl on Neogeo.
El_MUERkO
05/03/07 @ 15:04
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/crosses fingers and toes
bloodflowers
05/03/07 @ 15:23
#29
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Hope they read these comments. This is the best news all year, but don't mess with it. Still the best futuresport game ever released for any format IMHO.

All the game needs is:

* Network play
* League table (and player team) saves
* 360 rev - this would be perfect for XBLA
Edited 1 times, most recently on 05/03/07 @ 15:24
McBain
05/03/07 @ 15:23
#30
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Ice Cream! Ice Cream!
chiz
05/03/07 @ 17:08
#31
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please dont fuck this up
rosemeyer1939
05/03/07 @ 18:00
#32
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Norman!... he was just my number 1 player. He broke many bones. :)

Fingers firmly crossed for XBLA, and no screw up.
Lutz [mod]
06/03/07 @ 09:52
#33
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/pedant

There was 12 players to a team, not 6. 3 defenders, 3 mids, 3 forwards and 3 subs

Comments: 1-33 of 33 in total

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