Carl Muller's great conversion of the Amiga classic Speedball 2 (by the Bitmap Brothers) gets some extra polish, with the original Speedball thrown in for good measure.

This EasyFlash compilation boots to a menu giving access to both Speedball games, the documentation for each title and a Save Game Manager. This allows the player to move save games between the EasyFlash cartridge and disk. Speedball is set in the 21st Century, when a violent future sport becomes popular. Two teams of five humans wearing metal armour with spikes on enter the arena. The aim is to score goals using the five-pound steel ball. In each arena are different layouts of bounce domes that the ball will ricochet off, and two warp tunnels that will send the ball to the other side of the pitch. Each game is started and restarted by the ball launcher in the centre firing the ball in a random direction. The time bar is shown at the bottom of the screen, along with the stamina ratings for each team. Players can slide to tackle or jump to catch a high ball. The goalkeeper comes under player control when visible, diving to stop the ball and automatically throwing it back out into play.

The player can choose a One Player Knockout game, a Two Player Game or a One Player League. Human players have a choice of three teams - Verna, Lacerta and Draco - each with their own ratings (Stamina, Skill, Power) and strengths. Power Tiles can be picked up to help; these include W (turn the ball into a weapon that tackles opponents), G (get the ball automatically) and F (freeze the opponent for ten seconds). Power Tokens can be collected during each match and are spent afterwards. Options include bribing the referee (to give extra time in the previous match), increasing the team's ratings or decreasing the next opponent's ratings.

Knockout games are played over two legs, with a series of increasingly strong opponents. The League is split into two Conferences and played over the chosen number of weeks, where the player's team must play everyone in their conference. Points are given for each match - 100 for the win, 20 for the draw and 5 for each goal scored. When the season is over, the top teams enter the knockout stages leading to the Blood Bowl final.

Speedball 2 is set years later, with a newly revised pitch layout containing extra features and more players on each team. The new pitch is much larger and the screen scrolls in all directions, with the goals at the top and bottom. The launcher starts play from the middle of the pitch, just like the first game. The bounce domes return, as do the warp tunnels transporting the ball from one side of the pitch to the other. The Score Multiplier allows up to double scoring for the team whose coloured lights are showing. It is activated by throwing the ball up its spiral ramp, changing one light at a time. It also increases the length the Electrobounce is active; throwing the ball against these spikes makes the ball hot so it will "tackle" any opponent it touches. The Bonus Stars appear in two rows along the side walls. Each is worth 2 bonus points, with a bonus of 10 for lighting all five. A goal is worth ten points.

All scores are affected by the Score Multiplier, so at x2 (both lights on) the player earns 20 points for a goal. (Bounce Domes also earn 2 points per bounce). Power-up icons appear during the match, extra equipment (see below) can be picked up boosting a player and coins are collected to spend later.

The main menu gives a choice of 1 player game, 2 player game or a Demo. One player can choose from Knockout, League, Cup or Practice. In the Knockout mode, the player takes control of Brutal Deluxe - the worst team in Speedball history. The aim is to take the team to the top. Players can be bought and sold through the Gym interface. Here, coins earned during the match can be spent to upgrade the players with new equipment (either individually, as a group - Defence/Midfield/Attack - or for the whole team). Progress in the League can be saved.

The main aim of this update was to bring in new presentation screens, making the game more closely resemble the Amiga version. This has been done in some style, with the new screens (for defeat, victory, substitutions and goals) looking really good. As an added bonus, the sampled chant of "Ice Cream!" when a player is badly injured has also been converted. Having both games on the cartridge is a nice idea. Both remain incredibly playable, especially against a human opponent. Both games feature excellent music (David Whittaker converting the Amiga tunes for Speedball, Martin Walker creating an original tune for the sequel's intro sequence - also included in this version). In-game sprites and presentation graphics for Speedball 2 have also been tweaked and improved.

It is interesting to note that some flaws are still present. There is a small raster flicker on the original, which is noticeable here (and on the C64 Mini version). The sequel occasionally suffers from sprite flicker too, most notably when multiple players are moving at centre pitch before play restarts. These do not detract from the gameplay however.

This is the definitive version of Speedball 2 for the C64 and a clever technical achievement too.