Retro Arena: The Bitmap Brothers

[Leon Retro]

Xenon - 1988

Speedball - 1988

Xenon II: Megablast - 1989

Cadaver: 1990

Speedball 2 - 1990

Gods - 1991

Magic Pockets - 1991

The Chaos Engine - 1993

The Chaos Engine 2 - 1996

Z - 1996


Which one do you like the most?

[Jaz]

Speedball 2 still in my top ten of all time. It's epic. The Chaos engine also holds up well.

[Leon Retro]

Speedball 2 still in my top ten of all time. It's epic. The Chaos engine also holds up well.

Yeah, Speedball 2 is brilliant. The Chaos Engine is still a decent game. I also have a soft spot for Magic Pockets, but haven't played it for quite a while.

Speedball 2 is easily my favourite game from The Bitmap Bros -- they created something that is solid in all areas. I always enjoy going back to it.

[samanosuke]

Easy, Speedball II in its Amiga guise.

Some of the others are still great (Chaos Engine, Cadaver), some are average (Gods), and some just downright stink (Xenon I/II, Magic Pockets).

[roachie]

Another vote for Amiga Speedball 2

"Ice creams!"

[importaku]

For me it's a toss up between cadaver & gods. Xenon 2 was nice to look at but it's not a good shooter even when you had the trainer cheat hacked version with infinite super nashwan power it was still pretty slow & dull.

[ZipZap]

Speedball 2 would definitely be my favourite, although I mostly played the C64 version which was ported by someone else.

Xenon 2 must be one of my biggest disappointments of all time. It looked so good from the screenshots, and the review in Zzap was glowing. When I finally got to play it, it turned out to be slow, jerky and boring. Even the initially awesome music gets a bit boring on continuous repeat.

[Leon Retro]

"Ice creams!"

The Mega Drive version doesn't even have the iconic "Ice cream, ice cream!" sample. So the Amiga version is the best for various reasons.

Xenon 2 was nice to look at but it's not a good shooter even when you had the trainer cheat hacked version with infinite super nashwan power it was still pretty slow & dull.

Xenon 2 is a tech demo waiting to be crafted into a complete game. It's like the developer knew their stuff in all areas except for game design, as it's such a slow boring experience. The game needed far more variety and pacier action.

although I mostly played the C64 version which was ported by someone else.

I didn't know it was released for the C64 -- is it any good?

and the review in Zzap was glowing. When I finally got to play it, it turned out to be slow, jerky and boring. Even the initially awesome music gets a bit boring on continuous repeat.

Zzap rated the game 97%. C&VG 96%. The Games Machine 95%.

What the hell were the reviewers thinking? It may have some impressive elements to it, but next to something like Battle Squadron it's slow and boring. Definitely one of the most overhyped games ever.

[ZipZap]

I didn't know it was released for the C64 -- is it any good?

It sure is! Obviously the graphics and sound aren't as good as the Amiga (and they weren't great by C64 standards), but it's fast and smooth and plays well. I believe they also re-balanced a few things from the Amiga verison.

An enhanced version was actually released this year, so the C64 now has the ice cream sample amongst other improvements

[Leon Retro]

An enhanced version was actually released this year, so the C64 now has the ice cream sample amongst other improvements

That really is awesome -- even the "Ice cream" sample is top quality. I love this sort of update that really shows how much better an 8-bit game can be.

[JazzFunk]

Only Bitmap game worth playing is Speedball 2.

[QualityChimp]

Not a massive fan of sport games, so Speedball 2, which was mainly about punching people, seemed restrictive.
I would rather have played EA Hockey.

You can't fault the attention to detail though.

Magic Pockets seems sluggish after Mario.

Never played The Chaos Engine, but I love the theming to it.

For me, it's got to be...

"Ah, ah, ah YEAH!"

Xenon 2. Yeah, the game's limited, but even now, I clearly remember hearing the intro with the Bomb Da Bass sample and my mind was blown.

Watching Assault on Precinct 13 on the free VHS that came with Neon magazine, I had a moment of
"Where do I know that song from?"
"Ah, ah, ah YEAH!"

[Asura]

I also unapologetically loved Xenon 2. The mitigating factor was that I was very young and completely floored by the novelty.

[QualityChimp]

I also unapologetically loved Xenon 2. The mitigating factor was that I was very young and completely floored by the novelty.

"Ah, ah, ah YEAH!

[Protocol Penguin]

Agree about Xenon 2 being a tech demo. Was astonished as one of the first non-bundled games bought for my family’s Amiga 500, but it’s unrelentingly sluggish and the level design is crap.

Speedball II is amazing.

Magic Pockets in gameplay is a slow, inferior version of Graftgold’s Fire & Ice, and I have no idea what they were thinking using their metallic visual style in a ‘cute’ platform game, I know it was their signature look, but it just doesn’t work...

Cadaver was good for the time, and a rare example of 16-bit revival of the isometric adventure genre... but bad controls hinder it.

The Chaos Engine I really need to try a control version of. Having one-button controls made the Amiga version needlessly infuriating at times. Looked great on the 1200/AGA version, mind.