It is with fond regret that I look back at all the little things lost from my youth: lazy days, summer trips to Blackpool, pocket money and those little Rusk biscuit things that I used to eat by the box-full. Inevitably, whenever I get all nostalgic I remember my first ever computer - not a 2600, nor a Spectrum. No, dear readers, my first ever computer was an Amiga 600 that my dad bought 'to help with our homework'. Games came and went, gleefully absorbing the hours, days and weeks, and now I sit reminiscing, the fluorescent glow of my dual-monitors illuminating the past in all its rose-tinted glory. There was one game, though, which I still regard as perhaps the greatest sports game ever made. It was fast, furious, addictive and it was made in a time when you could still have violence in games without it being classified a national threat.

That game was Speedball 2.

Where am I heading with this? Well, the good folks at Kylotonn have recently remade this gaming classic in the form of Speedball 2: Tournament. Lazy names aside, how does this new version infringe on my glorious vision of the Bitmap Brothers' opus? I'm going to point something out that is perhaps glaringly obvious already - it might seem like I am biased before I begin. And that's because I may very well be…

Tournament retains the 'storyline' of the original game; street gangs have invented a new, brutal ball sport called Speedball and teams compete in huge arenas for the honour of ruling the city. The rules are simple: put the ball in the opponent's goal. That's about it - you can punch, slam, tackle and generally be really nasty in order to achieve that objective. But now you've been given a chance to compete; choosing from a wide range of pre-formed teams or creating your own, you are thrust into the world of Speedball and must climb the ranks to become Champion.

My first impressions were good (although the game requires Steam and those who have read my Race 07 review will know exactly how I feel about that particular piece of sub-standard, bug-ridden pseudo code.) Although lacking an introductory movie, the first few screens are reasonably well presented; a simple menu screen is always good and Tournament provides quick access to all the game modes: League, Knock-Out, Practice, Multiplayer et al. In my opinion, any game that dispenses with the formalities and makes it easy to jump straight in is a winner - but in this case I would have liked to see some kind of tutorial, as the new moves aren't that easy to grasp straight away.

Controller support is excellent and all that was needed was to bind the keys to my own liking. As soon as I had switched on my wireless controller, the game detected it and displayed the key-binding screen quick as a flash. The default keyboard controls did prove a little tricky at first - passing and shooting with the mouse buttons is unconventional - but it wasn't long before I mastered them. Overall, the control system works well and doesn't take too long for even novices to pick up. This new incarnation offers a few new moves over the original, like the ability to leap into the air and perform flying tackles and shots. Whilst not a massive addition, it was good to see the familiar formula given something a bit extra, yet at the same time it's never really fully utilised during the course of a match.

The first thing I played was the League; after all, I thought, I am a master of Speedball! A major drawback is the omission of the RPG-style levelling system that made the original unique. Players can be upgraded but only by adjusting their stats after every match - none of the options to buy better equipment are present. After entering a team name, I had access to colour settings for the team's armour, a choice of font for the names and positions and a choice of logo. Although there are a few options available, I thought that the lack of customisable models like hair/face types and so on was a minus.

Starting a match, I thought for a moment that I was playing that same game that so enthralled me many moons ago; the isometric camera, the revolving ball launcher, the vendor selling ice cream in the crowds - it was all so familiar. And for the most part, not much has changed. Obviously, this being the 'next-gen' age, the player models are all very nicely crafted - cyborgs, male and female characters display some decent animation and the variety of model types is more than adequate. The arenas are all the same size but the stands around them differ from arena to arena (there are four in all). Although the game lacks much in the way of music, the sound adds a suitable level of ambience to the proceedings and whilst the crowds aren't quite as responsive as in other sports games, the animations and sound effects serve to create a tangible atmosphere as the goals begin pouring in.

Yes, pouring in - for the goal system is perhaps where Tournament hits its biggest snag. The original Speedball offered no control over the goalkeeper and neither does Tournament (whether through nostalgic means or otherwise). The trouble is, in the original, the action was contained to the middle of the arena and both teams would follow the ball closely in a kind of moving scrum, fists-a-flying and casualties high. Tournament doesn't quite achieve the same level of aggression and opts instead to apply formations to the teams, which means that as soon as the ball is collected, it's simply a case of running towards the goalkeeper and skirting him with a quick dodge to score a goal. The lack of keeper control quickly became infuriating because it meant I was having a hard time keeping the goals from racking up in my opponent's favour.

This (rather large) niggle aside, Tournament's matches possess much of the same speed, action and excitement that gave the original its appeal. Games are quick and brutal, providing an instant blast of fun, but the game also allows for prolonged sessions, should you so desire. The range of matches isn't spectacular - league, cup and knockout are essentially the same mode, but single player is hardly any rival to most sports games on the market today and so you'll inevitably turn to the multiplayer aspect.

Refreshingly, Tournament allows two players to play on the same PC, meaning you won't have to queue for a server to play a quick match, but at the same time, online support is solid and it's easy to find a server. I played the local multiplayer and it absolutely whupped the single player in terms of downright fun. Despite the trouble I had selecting the right player at times, multiplayer provided many laughs as we went about, hacking each other's players to pieces and getting all nostalgic when the medi-bots came to carry them off the field! Clearly, Tournament's main strength lies in its multiplayer; whilst the two modes are essentially identical, the difference between playing against bots and playing against a human opponent gives the game a new lease of life.

It seems that some things never die. Just like Elvis and Joan Rivers, Speedball lives on in the hearts of all those people over twenty who will never forget their first taste of grid-iron brutality. Clearly Kylotonn have similar memories as me, because they've (almost) succeeded in bringing back the greatest sports game of all time. A few little hiccups along the way could easily be resolved in a patch or two, and even though the game is published via Steam, Speedball 2: Tournament an essential purchase for those who fancy a trip down memory lane, while those who have never experienced the delights of the original would do well to pick up a copy and give it a try.

Reviewed by John Barnes for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).