Speedball 2100 is essentially a 3D remake of Brutal Deluxe. Character designs, armor, power-ups, options, and player portraits are pretty much identical to the early 90s classic. Even the interface of the options menus are the same.

The idea behind Speedball was inspired largely by the James Caan film, Rollerball. Two teams on a field fighting for possession of a metal sphere the size of a baseball, beating the bejesus out of each other because rules like "unsportsmanlike conduct" don't exist. The team that scores the most goals by full-time wins the game. Additional points are won by throwing the ball at bonus stars and loops on the side of the field. There are also power-ups to be collected for extra speed, throwing power and so on; and there are warp zones and bounce pads placed at strategic sections of the field.

Using either analogue or digital controls, players are navigated from a top-down perspective. The X button lets one punch, slide, and throw the ball; the Square button is for heavy tackling; and the Circle button is dedicated to jumping up for the ball.

It pains me to report that Speedball 2100 does very little to capture its former glory. The metal-grey motif of the Speedball future has been replaced by strange, wiry multicolored textures - most of them shockingly low-res. Player models are just as lacking in detail and design - chunky and clumsy looking, nothing intimidating about them. One wouldn't even expect this from a first generation PlayStation game.

Worst of all, it plays worse than Brutal Deluxe on the Amiga 500. Player switching and control isn't as responsive and the inconsistent frame rate makes it difficult to follow the ball - so the flow of the game is completely different. If anything, Rage's Dead Ball Zone from last year does a better job of emulating the Speedball experience than Speedball 2100.

Sound has also taken on a completely different character. There was an atmosphere about the old Speedball games where the announcers and other voice-overs had the same kind of satirical yet commercial feel of The Running Man. This game offers strange computerized voices, and even the ice cream guy has been butchered. Other aspects of the atmosphere are lost in the poor graphical detail - such as the victory slide after scoring a goal.

Maybe I'm being a bit harsh since I'm coming from a purist's perspective, but realistically the only people who might buy Speedball 2100 are the people who knew about the original games. On its own it's just too sub-par to attract new fans. As a fan of the original, I managed to force myself to come to terms with the choppy gameplay, but I ended up going back to my 2D Amiga 500 version, which looks and plays miles better. Let's hope the Bitmap Bros can do better next time.