Ballblazer Champions
Ballblazer Champions is an action/sports video game released for the PlayStation console. It was developed by Factor 5 and published by LucasArts in North America and by CTO SpA in Europe. It is a remake of the 1985 video game Ballblazer that was released for the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers.
Ballblazer Champions
- Date
- 1997
- Publisher
- Ballblazer Champions was published by Lucasfilm Games.
- Genre
- action game
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Documentary summary
Ballblazer Champions is an action/sports video game released for the PlayStation console. It was developed by Factor 5 and published by LucasArts in North America and by CTO SpA in Europe. It is a remake of the 1985 video game Ballblazer that was released for the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers.
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wikidata · Q4851561 · wikipedia · Ballblazer Champions
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Ballblazer Champions • Developer — Factor 5 • Publisher — LucasArts • Producer — Julian Eggebrecht • Programmer — Holger Schmidt Thomas Engel Jens Petersam • Designer — Brett Tosti Julian Eggebrecht Holger Schmidt Thomas Engel • Artist — Mario Wagner Tobias J. Richter • Composer — Rudolf Stember • Genre — Action, sports • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer • Platforms — PlayStation
Plot
Plot
A one thousand year feud between four races - the Kraytons, the Mandalars, the Thilibies, and the Zaitecs - is planned to be settled by a Ballblazer knock-out tournament. Each race enters two of their best rotofoil pilots to take part in a series of 1v1 matches with the victor being crowned "Master Ballblazer". The race that wins overall gains control over the galaxy.
Gameplay
Gameplay
The game takes place on an asteroid where an intergalactic BallBlazer competition is taking place, featuring creatures coming from throughout the galaxy. The player selects from one of eight characters, each with their own unique ship called a rotofoil. Each has differing stats in speed, handling, launcher and energy. Players travel around an arena in their rotofoils, armed with various weaponry, similar to the 1975 film Rollerball. The object is to score goals by shooting glowing balls known as "plasmorbs" with the rotofoil into the goal. The winner of each round is the first to score five goals. At the same time, opponents use their weapons to prevent goals from being scored. When a ship has possession of the ball, the energy used to maintain its top speed drains.
Development
Development
At one point the game had been scheduled to be released in the fall of 1996, before it was delayed to early 1997.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- Germany
Named but not plotted · 1
Ballblazer Champions is associated with Germany.
Country
Reception
The game received mixed reviews. In Japan, where the game was ported and published by Bullet-Proof Software on October 23, 1997, Famitsu gave it a score of 22 out of 40. The game received a wide range of opinions from reviewers. Adam Douglas from IGN said that "For fans of the original game, BallBlazer Champions offers a nostalgic update. But for everyone else, stick to the normal sports." Ward's biggest praise about the game was with the multiplayer mode, which he says adds to the game's replay value. A Next Generation critic similarly described it as "A good one-player game, but even better with two players." Contrarily, GamePro said that "Even though it has an interesting premise, BBC ultimately rockets its way into the 'who cares' bin." Shawn Smith of Electronic Gaming Monthly said "The different play modes were fun (my personal favorite being freeplay) and the competition was pretty fierce at times", while his co-reviewer Dan Hsu said that "The choppy and speedy animation combined with the loose controls make the game very difficult to follow, especially in the two-player mode." The most widely praised aspect of the graphics was the lighting effects. Several critics found the game's sound uninspired. Another common complaint was that the arenas are too large, frequently resulting in situations where the two players simply drive around in isolation from each other. The game was named the Best Multi-Player Game of the Year in PSExtreme Magazine's 1997 Extreme Awards.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Ballblazer Champions”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q4851561: Ballblazer Champions
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Sony PlayStation Available Software sorted by Release Date @ www.vidgames.com. 1998-06-11.
- 2.PlayStation Soft > 1998. GAME Data Room - ゲーム情報室 Ver 1.10.
- 3.Imagine Media. NG Alphas: Ballblazer Champions. Next Generation. 20. 82. August 1996.
- 4.EMAP. First Sight: Ball Blazer Champions [sic]. PlayStation Plus. 2. 9. 36–37. June 1997.
- 5.Douglas, Adam. BallBlazer Champions. IGN. Ziff Davis. September 2, 1997.
- 6.Ward, Trent C. Ballblazer Champions Review [date mislabeled as "April 28, 2000"]. GameSpot. CBS Interactive. April 17, 1997.
- 7.EGM staff. Ballblazer Champions: Shoot and Score with this Updated Classic. Electronic Gaming Monthly. Ziff Davis. 93. 106. April 1997.
- 8.BALLBLAZER: A CLASSIC GAME GETS RECLASSIC-FIED FOR THE NEXT GENERATION. LucasArts. May 13, 1996.
- 9.CBS Interactive. Ballblazer Champions for PlayStation. GameRankings.
- 10.Sutyak, Jonathan. BallBlazer Champions - Review. AllGame. All Media Network.
- 11.Chick, Tom. BallBlazer Champions. Gamecenter. CNET. May 23, 1997.
- 12.Edge staff. Ballblazer Champions. Edge. Future Publishing. 48. 86. August 1997.
- 13.EGM staff. Ballblazer Champs [sic]. Electronic Gaming Monthly. Ziff Davis. 96. 54. July 1997.
- 14.Lucas, Victor. BallBlazer Champions. The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions, Inc. July 10, 1997.
- 15.Enterbrain. ボールブレイザー 〜チャンピオンズ〜 [PS]. Famitsu.
- 16.FuncoLand. Ball Blazer Champions [sic]. Game Informer. 50. June 1997.
- 17.Imagine Media. BallBlazer Champions. Next Generation. 31. 157. July 1997.
- 18.The Rookie. Ball Blazer Champions [sic]. GamePro. IDG. 106. 89. July 1997.
References
Citations
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General reference
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