Get ready to scream "ice-cream!" at the top of your lungs, as sci-fi sports classic Speedball makes a return to the playing field.
Speedball 2 Evolution is a modern day re-imagining of the title. Usually such a sentence would give us that cold feeling in the bottom of our stomachs, but if anyone's going to tackle the task, then it'd be ex-Senisble Software's Jon Hare, who is heading up the Tower Studios' relaunch on PSP and iDevices at the beginning of next year. A teaser trailer is available here.
"It is a truly excellent version of a classic old game on modern technology," Hare explained, but went on to warn about the current issues with iOS development and distribution. "I would hate to think that all the work we and our development partners Vivid Games have put into this title could be wasted, purely because we cannot penetrate the market or because we are unlucky, or because Speedball is predominantly a European license and the iOS market is about 90% US based."
I think you had us at 'Speedball 2" Jon. we've been severely lacking in brutal next-gen sports since the XBLA version of the game was pulled from Xbox Live Marketplace after its publisher Empire went under.
it won't be the first time someone has attempted to remake Speedball for modern audiences. Speedball 2 - Tournament (artwork below) hit PC in 2008 by developer Kylotonn, but failed to capture the spirit of the original. nor it is the first time Speedball has went portable - a GBA version of the classic saw the light of day as well. Fingers crossed Hare and his team get it right.