#pitball

One of my favourite BSD tweets I ever made and barely got appreciation for it!

‘Pitball’

[PS1] [UK] [MAGAZINE] [1997]

Pitball mixes elements of hockey, football, basketball, and Toshinden and places them in an intergalactic theater. At a basic level, the object of the game is to get past another two "man” (and we use the term loosely) team and shoot a ball into the opposing goal.

There are many different alien races and teams to choose from, each with its own unique strengths, weaknesses, and abilities. While there are many different forms of attacks, most players have some sort of charging attack that stuns other players unlucky enough to be caught in its path. Also, occasionally scattered around each arena are a variety of bombs and other lethal surprises, so the games aren’t exactly friendly. As a multi-player game, the pace can get pretty intense.

Unlike basketball, in which a flashy dunk earns the same number of points as a simple jump shot, a dunk in Pitball can earn players as many as three points depending upon how cool the dunk is. Bear in mind, it is considerably more risky to attempt a dunk in Pitball than basketball — a point guard doesn’t come wearing powered armor and isn’t as likely to try ripping your head off while moving in to block the shot.

Using the PlayStation’s now typical light-sourced polygon engine, Pitball is graphically pleasing, and the techno soundtrack keeps the excitement going. A season mode adds the twists of buying free agents, selling existing players, betting on other matches, and even bribing. All in all, much like Blast Chamber, Activision’s other danger-fraught "sports" title this month, Pitball is an excellent multiplayer game, if a not-so-hot single-player game. Check it out if you’ve got friends. ~Next Generation (February 1997, #25)