Speedball 2 HD

The game is playable and I have some fun with it. Speedball 2 was among my favorites games on the Amiga. However there are plenty of issues with this HD port. The Gfx are certainly HD, and not pixelated, but they lost the special feel of the 1990 edition which used a limited colors palette to give a distinctive metallic feel. Additionally the Gfx seems to comes from various edition and lack homogeneity. But the biggest issue is the gameplay, which is exactly the same old gameplay, it feels very aged. 30 fps jerky animations, pathetic AI teamates, the goalkeeper in particular is ridiculous, poor active character selection, and slow shot direction control. Most games are very one sided with scores of 200 to 20 being very commons. Most of the time you'll trash the opponent in regular championship while during the cup it is you that is being crushed. In the end few balanced matchs.

I loved Speedball 2, but this has been 'improved' and basically ruined it. Confused transfer system, stupidly difficult cup games, and no real sense of linear progress anymore.

First off: I've never really played the original speedball 2. My impression of this remake is that it's a fun and quick game which is easy to pick up and fun to play in short bursts. Graphics are cute and it's nice to have the additional stadiums to unlock and to look at, as well as the alternative player sprites. That being said, the biggest downside is probably the balancing. Team pairings seem to be selected very much randomly, which means that you can have a hard time, especially in the beginning, should the game decide to put the toughest teams against you right from the get-go. Then again, the cups in between the league divisions are very hard because most teams on there are top tier ones. If you're constantly levelling up they can be beaten with some effort after league division 2 though. And after that the game becomes increasingly easy. Chances are you will absolutely dominate any league division from here on out and eventually even the cups, though those might occasionally still offer a bit of a challenge. I noticed that the game seems to sometimes randomly either drop one player from my team and exchange it with another player (suddenly Robin was gone from the roster but I got Nigel instead?). Though you can pick pretty much any team you want, I think it would have been great to be able to pick some colours on your own or choose the team appearance. For some reason the game will also let you endlessly upgrade your players' skills without seeming to actually improve them once you've maxed out. All in all, I still think that this game is rather decent. It certainly is fun for at least three seasons. Imo it gets a bit too easy a bit too quickly - which will likely drive off players looking for a challenge. It'll start getting a bit boring. Same old, same old - you know! Three stars is pretty much where it's at. It's a fun game, but it tends to be a bit random and will start getting a bit boring as you progress.

As a fan of the classic Speedball 2 that I greatly enjoyed playing many, many, many times on my Amiga... I was excited to see the revamped changes to this amazing version. Personally, I found it plays with the great same skill and fun I’ve always remembered but the improved graphics, brilliant career mode and ability to name your own team are all things that I find take this game to a whole new level. I have already recommended this work of genius to many friends. Hopefully this game will get the enormous appreciation it deserves!

Having played the PSP version (after years playing both Amiga, DOS, Mega Drive and GBA versions of the game), I already knew what was coming - slightly "off" graphics, not very good AI, but well fun to play. Its origins as a mobile game show - it's great fun for short bursts, but the lack of a better career implementation kind of kills the long term longevity of the game. Having a variable player pool, with randomized players (and faces) with more variable abilities, a more detailed league/cup system, maybe some deeper team customization (wouldn't mind playing in Energy Corporation orange). Inside the arena, when compared to previous attempts at futuristic handball - such as the dreadful Speedball 2100 or the messy Dead Ball Zone (that tried to do too much and ended up being a mess for the most part), S2HD comes as solid - although sometimes it seems harder to hit passes and straight throws. The worst part is by far the AI, often ignoring ramp multipliers and star bumpers (won several games with stars alone while allowing 6 or 7 goals). In brief, while it could - and should - have been much better, particularly the AI, it's the first step in the right way on a very, VERY long time. Hopefully, the devs will build on this and give the classic a proper sequel.