Powerball

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a game by Namco Ltd.
Genres: Fighting Games, Sports
Platform: Sega GenesisGenesis
Editor Rating: 6.8/10, based on 7 reviews, 9 reviews are shown
User Rating: 7.0/10 - 2 votes
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See also: Sport Games, Sports Management Games, Football Video Games, Championship Games
  • Manufacturer: Namco
  • Machine: Sega Genesis

Smash Into The Future

In a futuristic sports arena, you're running upfield, free and clear, when WHAM! your opponent slams into you with a bone-jarring tackle knocking the ball loose. On defense, switch control to your nearest player, then devastate the ball handler with a lightning spin kick, forcing another fumble. Now pick it up and sprint upfield. Then cut back to evade tacklers, fake the goalie, and bust a through for a touchdown!

This is Powerball the sports game where teams of armored athletes hammer each other in a furious slugfest. Powerball combines skills from martial arts, football, and rugby. Each of the twelve teams boasts a unique level of skills. Whether you compete against the computer or a friend, you'll thrill to the action of Powerball, the smash sport of the future.

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Genesis

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
  • Game modes: Single game mode

Player controls:

  • Up, Down, Left, Right - Arrow keys
  • Start - Enter (Pause, Menu select, Skip intro, Inventory)
  • "A" Gamepad button - Ctrl (usually Jump or Change weapon)
  • "B" button - Space (Jump, Fire, Menu select)
  • "C" button - Left Shift (Item select)

Use the F12 key to toggle mouse capture / release when using the mouse as a controller.

Game Reviews

  • Machine: Sega Genesis

Smash Into The Future

In a futuristic sports arena, you're running upfield, free and clear, when WHAM! your opponent slams into you with a bone-jarring tackle knocking the ball loose. On defense, switch control to your nearest player, then devastate the ball handler with a lightning spin kick, forcing another fumble. Now pick it up and sprint upfield. Then cut back to evade tacklers, fake the goalie, and bust through for a touchdown!

This is Powerball, the sports game where teams of armored athletes hammer each other in a furious slug-fest. Powerball combines skills from martial arts, football, and rugby. Each of the twelve teams boasts a unique level of skills. Whether you compete against the computer or a friend, you'll thrill to the action of Powerball, the smash sport of the future.

  • Theme: Sports
  • Players: 1-2
  • Difficulty: Hard

Combine football, soccer and rugby and you get Powerball. Use your different skills to get to the goal to earn your team some major points and critical acclaim.

SMASH INTO THE FUTURE

In a futuristic sports arena, you're running upfield, free and clear, when WHAM! your opponent slams into you with a bone-jarring tackle knocking the ball loose. On defense, switch control to your nearest player, then devastate the ball handler with a lightning spin kick, forcing another fumble. Now pick it up and sprint upfield. Then cut back to evade tacklers, fake the goalie, and bust through for a touchdown!

This is Powerbali, the sports game where teams of armored athletes hammer each other in a furious slugfest. Powerball combines skills from martial arts, football, and rugby. Each of the twelve teams boasts a unique level of skills. Whether you compete against the computer or a friend, you'll thrill to the action of Powerball, the smash sport of the future.

Namco has a new sports game coming for the Genesis. Unlike others which try to simulate a particular sport, Pow-erball is entirely new. The best way to describe it is that it's a cross between soccer, football, and rugby! Taking place in a futuristic setting, Powerball is a fast moving no-holds-bared sport where getting the point is all that counts!

What do you get when you combine the strategic elements of Football with the violent quickness of Hockey and throw those two spots years into the future? Why, Powerball, of course! Each nation has represented a team at these games, each possessing special talents. Speed, power, stamina - these are all important attributes, but what really matters is your aggression and quick thinking on the field.

People say:

7.0

Powerball is one of those addicting titles that doesn't quite seem like much when you first plug it in, but the more you play and learn the techniques, the more involving the cart becomes. Powerball is a very different video sport that combines high action and pseudo-football rules.

6.0

This game moves fast, looks good and represents one of the first times that a game company has developed a new "sport". The action is fast, lightning fast in some instances, with decent graphics and sound. A different change of pace that should appeal most to sports fans.

7.0

Powerball is just the right kind of game for people who have wanted to merge football videos with action titles. The premise behind the "sport" is easy to pick up, and the action comes off well. Not exactly my cup of tea, but nevertheless a very playable game.

7.0

I've seen this idea many times in the past, but there's still something in this game that grabbed my attention. As with most games of this type, the two player option is what really shines in the game. The computer opponent is way too hard, frustrating the single player gamer quickly.

Like Base Wars (see page 79), Power-Ball takes a popu-lar sport and soups it up to create a high-octane, take-no-prisoners videogame. In this case the sport is soccer, and PowerBall gives it more speed, more scoring, and a lot more contact.

The basic rules are simple: Two 11-member teams try to move a basketball-sized sphere down the field and past the opposing goalkeeper. Players can score three-point touchdowns by running the sphere across the goal line, or one-point field goals by kicking it into the goal box. Other than offering greater scoring possibilities, PoiverBall doesn't sound much different than regulation soccer, does it? Well, hold onto your shin guards — it's on defense that the action really gets crazy.

In PoiverBall, you can steal the ball by making diving tackles, by leaping into the air and landing directly on top of the ball-carrier, or by slamming into him with a tornado-like spin. In regulation soccer, any of these tactics would earn you at least a red card. More likely, you'd be ejected from the game, and maybe even banished from the sport altogether.

Because the players in PowerBall have so many defensive options, securing possession of the ball is no minor feat. In fact, possession will probably become your obsession. It's no surprise that the team which can hang onto the ball the longest usually wins. This emphasis on possession also increases the importance of passing. Put simply, ball hogs won't enjoy much success in PowerBall.

An inset screen (identical to the one in Sega's World Championship Soccer) lets you see where your players are positioned on the field and plot your route to the goal. Although monitoring the smallish inset box while executing your plays is difficult, you'll need to pull it off, especially against the better teams.

Whether you're competing against the computer or a friend, this is a game you'll play on the edge of your seat. PowerBall’s riveting action, sleek graphics, and unique blend of hockey, soccer, and football should be enough to get anyone's adrenaline pumping.

In a futuristic sports arena, you're running upfield, free and clear, when WHAM! your opponent slams into you with a bone-jarring tackle knocking the ball loose. On defense, switch control to your nearest player, then devastate the ball handler with a lightning spin kick, forcing another fumble. Now pick it up and sprint upfield. Then cut back to evade tacklers, fake the goalie, and bust through for a touchdown!

This is Powerball" the sports game where teams of armored athletes hammer each other in a furious slug-fest. Powerball combines skills from martial arts, football, and rugby. Each of the twelve teams boasts a unique level of skills. Whether you compete against the computer or a friend, you'll thrill to the action of Powerball, the smash sport of the future.

A bizarre composite of football and the American Gladiators, Namco's Powerball is a pretty fair game. How so? Well, if you've got the ball, you're fair game. If you're in my way, you're fair game. If it's a good match, chances are pretty fair that half of each team will be lying unconscious on the playing field before you're through. Joe Montana meets Shinobi . Okay, kids, go to it.

In Powerball, your primary means of getting possession of the ball consists of taking flying leaps in the air and landing full force on your opponent. Some players have more fancy moves, such as spinning kicks. The ball is never out of play, so you don't have to worry about it skittering halfway down the electrified gridiron after you've laid the opposing player down to sleep.

There are eight preformed teams, each a different nationality. Teams consist of 11 players, and every player has a set of stats that reads like a role-playing game: speed, kicking ability, power, stamina and accuracy. The maximum for any stat is 100; the lowest is 25. You get 50 points with which to build up any combination of stats, and you should choose your team according to your preferred strategy. For example, the Japan Samurai team is deadly accurate but weak and slow; the China Emperors have real powerhouse goalies and right halfbacks but mediocre generals. Not all teams are so lopsided, though.

There are several play options: You can train or enter into a tournament, both of which pit you against the computer, or you can go head-to-head against a second player (not in tournament mode). A simple password scheme allows you to retain your standing against the computer in tournament situations. You can configure the length of the quarters in five-minute increments, and the attack- and volley-shot options allow you to let the computer automatically handle those aspects of the action.

The computer does an admirable job of running all the peripheral offense and defense. You control only the ballholder, or, if you don't have possession, the player nearest the holder. The playfield is often too chaotic; the arrow designating the player you're controlling jumps around fast enough to make keeping track of your player the toughest aspect of the game.

Using the buttons, you choose a pass method or make an attack. The longer you hold down the attack button, the more energy that goes into the attack (the arrow flashes to indicate the amount of energy built up). Provided the attack is effective--based on your stats versus your enemy's stats--the ball will roll, and it will be your chance to sweep it up.

The graphics are only average. The entire game is seen from the same overhead vantage point used in World Championship Soccer, featuring the same scaling effect of the ball (or the jumping player) in the air. The scrolling is smooth, and a small full-field view occupies the upper-right corner of the screen to give you an overall perspective of the action. The music and sound effects are actually the standout features in this game; the music is varied, and the crowd sounds, grunts and oofs, are realistic and plentiful.

There's enough strategic variety to make the game interesting, but little originality or innovation and too little control over the makeup of your team. It's not different enough from what's already available (Cyberball, World Championship Soccer and either of the existing football titles).

Snapshots and Media

Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Screenshots