Date: 2008-11-02 11:52:02 Created: null
Yep, it's for the Xbox.
Remember Speedball 2?
I do, and I'm not alone. Even Bitmap Brothers themselves remember it so much that they put together something called Speedball 2000 a few years back. I've never played it, but I never heard much good about it either. It seems they should have let the game remain an old classic.
Deathrow, though, is different. It isn't Speedball at all, except for being a violent future sport there really are more differences than likenesses, but it definitely captures the spirit of the older game. Essentially, two teams of four players each fight for a floating disc that is thrown through the opponent's goal (really a hanging hoop) to score. The pace is slower than in Speedball II, but that doesn't mean it's low! Heck, is there anything that's faster than Speedball II out there? More importantly, Deathrow requires more work to get into, and might be said to be more of a sports game as well. Where Speedball II only needs a one-button joystick to play, Deathrow makes use of pretty much everything the Xbox controller has to offer. Players of fancy football games might feel right at home, I just felt confused at first. I felt out of control, almost like I can do in fighting games, and lost my first training match as a result. I've played the game very irregularly too, always feeling certain that I'd really like the game once I got into it but somehow never feeling I had the time or will to get past the initial work needed.
Shoot. Pass. Turn to face disc. Kick. Punch. Hold left trigger for attack shift. Block. Team strategy changes. Heck, there are even combos for grabbing and faking throws! I still have a lot to learn but now I'm really getting started.