It's just such a shame that the recent sequel was so abhorrently awful and nothing like the originals that it's nothing more than an insulting cash in on nostalgia.
I wasted far too much time playing both Speedball 1 and 2 :)
I know it’s not 2095 yet but with Boris back in power and the Olympics imminent, I am preparing myself to witness London fall into terminal decline due to sports related overspending and aggressive austerity measures. Indeed, I can envisage an appetite for a Rollerball-style games event; entertaining the galleries of corporate …
Quel disappointment!!
I used to build my centre forward up and just have him muller through the opposition in a straight line all the way through to the goalie then slam the ball in for good measure :o)
There was a throw you could do to bounce the ball of the electrifier so it went along the side through any opponents and round the multiplier loop, too. Most effective!
Must have destroyed 4 Kempston Pro joysticks.
Ice Cream, Ice Cream!
Little Green Desktop is an Atari ST fan site. It has links to three working emulators.
As for the game itself, it is available on the Automation Collection disk 400. That should be enough information to find a copy.
Absolute classic. From an era of British classics, Bitmap Bros, Sensible Software, Code Masters, Team 17, Bullfrog...
The Bitmap Brother's The Chaos Engine deserves mention in any compendium of the Steam Punk sub-genre, too, taking as its premise 'What if Babbage's difference engine had gone a bit HAL9000?'
The closest I have experienced in recent times is Wario Stadium Soccer on the GameCube- takes the sensible step of not aping too closely the sport it is based on. Trying for and failing a slide tackle on your opponent gives them the opportunity to drop a massive Kooper Shell on your side of the pitch. The automated goal keepers are crocodiles... Superb mayhem.
@ Sir Runcible... Very vaguely, from the pages of PC Zone... there was what looked like a rugby pitch with bombholes in it...
Still remember the classic strategy of "lob the ball at the goal and follow it in". When a player's in the air, a tackle automatically takes him out, so you hammer the goalie as he jumps and the ball sails straight through. Of course this relies on the two defenders and central midfielder not nailing you first...
This.
The game basically boils down to making sure that you own the multipliers, making sure that you pummel the opposition CF, CM and GK non stop - they should be injured and replaced by the end of the first half - and then romping through the second half.
The more you score, the more money you get for a win, make sure to collect as many upgrades as possible.
You can get out of league 2 easy enough by playing well and buying 'stars', but they are all league 2 stars, and so will suck next season. The absolute best players you get are the ones you started with, as these can all be improved to 250 on all stats, where as a star is quite fixed. So you need a few stars to help you in leage 2, but not more than 3, and keep pumping up your original squad.
I also broke a bunch of joysticks on this, I ended up with a custom built joystick with parts from about 3 knackered ones! The fire button was just a microswitch dangling outside of the case :)
It's worth noting that there was an unlicensed rollerball game for the Amiga, called Killerball. It didn't have the bikers or catchers, but the style was intact and it was quite a fun game.
As for rollerball itself, there has been a full game played. The stunt team on the original movie thought they'd give it a go before the sets were dismantled, and by all accounts had a high old time.
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I recently saw this on PS3 so had to download and play continually until my fingers broke
I completed the first 2 leagues , but then the 3rd league with the robot /alien players i couldn't remember form my younger days, anyway they mashed up my hardcore new transfers like a bullet shot through a wet turd ans i could win a match : ( - but still great fun and fine to play on ps3 pad
Bodini was always my favorite : D
Sensi was (is? I have it for PS2) good, but it's no Speedball 2. Few things beat the feeling of an extended powerslide, down the entire pitch, shoving all comers out of your way, and then flattening the goalie, before chucking the ball into the hole in the wall at point blank range. Or cocking it up at the last minute, and having the ball ping off the wall.
This, and the Chaos Engine are quite possibly the greatest games ever made.