Retro Recall: Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe – The bloodiest ice cream you’ll ever eat
Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe is just one in a long line of hits for the Commodore Amiga, and later for many other platforms. It’s a brutal game about a ruthless fictional sport that is, ironically enough, a mix of real-life sports such as handball, ice hockey or American football. Maybe it’s not that far in the future, actually.
It’s also addictive as heck. One of the best multiplayer games ever designed, period.
What is it?
Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe is the much-improved sequel to Speedball, featuring a larger arena and a refined metallic look that was one of the main characteristics of its developer. You control a team of nine players and fight your way to the goal – literally. Your main ‘weapon’ are the sliding tackles that may or may not bring your rival down, and there are other distractions, power-ups and multipliers in the arena.
Speedball 2 is a clever game, one where there’s always something happening, there is no downtime...
… Well, apart from the classic “Ice Cream” cry when one of the players is down and must be removed from the arena. A memorable moment indeed, one that caused many players to scream with joy or anger, depending if you’re on the receiving end of the bargain.
Speedball 2 has a lot of depth for what seems like such a straightforward, brainless game. You must be constantly on your toes, as your opponent may be going for the goal, choosing a point boost with the multiplier, take an aggressive ‘sliding tackles everywhere’ approach or go for an electrified ball that zaps everyone in its way. It’s a pure tactical delight behind all the merciless action going on.
Who made it?
The Bitmap Brothers are the masterminds behind Speedball 2, as well as many other games for 16-bit machines. You want some names? Gods, Xenon 2, Z or The Chaos Engine are good, sometimes great games that often shared one of the unmistakeable traits of the developer: a shiny, metallic look across their characters or environments.
Their games were also famous for their high difficulty, one more example that while everyone felt ‘challenged’ by Dark Souls, we, retro gamers, had to deal with it for a long, long time, especially considering that most games back then didn’t have a save option. You lose, it’s all the way back to the start menu.
What makes it a true classic?
Speedball 2 was rightfully acclaimed as one of the best games of all-time for many years after release and is now fondly remembered as a great example of an addictive futuristic sports game. The perfect mix of action and tactical prowess ensured that it wasn’t a shallow game, and skill plays a big part in it – most of the time, you win because you’re better, not due to a stroke of luck.
The entire package was appealing, from its unforgettably angry industrial intro music to the metallic shine of the arena and players’ armor. But in the end, it’s the gameplay that seals the deal – grab a friend, start a game and you’re in for some brutal, relentless fun.
Platforms: Amiga, Atari ST (original release)
Release date: 1990
Publisher: The Bitmap Brothers
Developer: The Bitmap Brothers
Oh yes I can remember, played it on the amiga of my brother. A little bit chaotic but always fun to play.
Very chaotic, there was no time to breathe with all the electric balls and tackles everywhere. It was a lot of fun!
It's amazing to see Speedball here! "Bitmap Brothers" were creating magic for Amiga 500 then (remember Magic Pockets?) :)
I do remember Magic Pockets! However, it wasn't my favorite platformer, I preferred Yo Joe!, Flashback or Lionheart, to name just a few.
"Superfrog" was my favorite in Amiga 500 :)
Yeah, Superfrog also came to my mind. I loved everything Team 17, but I wasn't too keen on the cartoonish look of that game. They were going for a Sonic kind of style, I guess, but it never clicked with me in a way that classics did.
Terribly competent and enjoyable still, no doubt about that.
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