Arcade games that never made it home

HEAVYSMASH

DEVELOPER: DATA EAST YEAR: 1993 GENRE: SPORTS

■ We love a good future sports game – give us some ridiculous body armour, an incredibly thin rulebook, a good dose of violence and you’ll keep us amused for hours. Data East has done just that here, with a game that will instantly remind many players of the Speedball series. Much like the home computer classic, Heavy Smash tasks teams of players with carrying the ball in their hands, running it and passing it around with the ultimate aim of throwing it into the opposing team’s goal to score a point. There are fewer players, the pitches are slightly smaller and the perspective is different, but the action is familiar. You can obviously win by having more points when the time is up, but the game will be ended early if either team gets six points ahead of the other.

Heavy Smash differs from Speedball in how the developers chose to deploy complexity. The pitches in Heavy Smash are simple – as in Speedball, there is no way to put the ball out of bounds, but there are no crazy features like teleporters or score bumpers. You can centre the ball in front of goal by throwing it into the corner, but that’s about it. However, you have a greater degree of control. A dedicated jump button allows you to perform aerial shots and passes at any time, as well as diving kicks. Additionally, a power bar constantly charges, allowing players to perform super shots when they hold possession, and shoot projectiles when they don’t. As you’d expect, the various international teams have varied statistics that clearly mean something in practice – we liked the speedy Australian team. They also all have their own gimmicks, reflected in each team’s attire as well as the look of its home stadium.