I was just browsing my boxart collection, when I noticed something a little strange on my Amiga copy of Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe. There are several things different to the final version here: 1. A medic is on field to attend to an injured player, yet the match appears to be continuing, instead of pausing for the injured player to be stretchered off like in the final version. 2. There are 2 bounce pads in the middle of the court. In the retail there is just one, and is a completely different sprite 3. All of the powerups look completely different in comparison to the retail copy. 4. The court looks smaller than retail, with the electrify powerup sitting right next to the multiplier, where the set of 5 stars normally are in retail. 5. The metal court has been drawn to look like small steel squares make up the court floor. In Final, they are much larger, and near the goal lines the joints are at a diagonal. 6. The player at the top of the screenshot looks like he's holding his face, which could have been part of an animation that did not make it to final. 7. The font seems to have changed on the gym screens, and there appears to have been a name change to the shoulder barge pads. The arrows to select players have also switched sides. Also, each powered up section of body protection is highlighted in gold at once. 8. The star players have a badge next to them that appears to say "Brutal Deluxe", but is unclear at this resolution. Here's a video of the original: 9. On the box, it also appears to have a different backstory to the game. In the final version, you take control of a new team called "Brutal Deluxe", 5 years after the sport was revitalised. The box states: It's amazing how different from a finished game a box can be! Can anyone enlighten me as to whether this was indeed a beta version, and whether it has been preserved and released or not? Or is this just an artist mock-up or "target render"? Thanks guys for any and all info on this, as it's one of my favourite games of all time.
Thw two years text most likely mean that the original Speedball game was released in 1988 and Speedball 2 in 1990 and is not part of the story
Box pics could be from a different system, wouldn't be the first time that happened. Also possible the pics are from a beta version that ended up changed in the final version. Interesting though.
You know, with all the other discrepancies on the box, this didn't even cross my mind! That could very well be at least one of the riddles solved right there!
