Deathrow (video game)
A futuristic extreme sport blending hockey, basketball, and full-contact combat.
Deathrow is a 2002 Xbox exclusive sports game from Southend Interactive and Ubi Soft. It features Blitz, a futuristic, full-contact sport blending hockey and basketball. The game earned TeamXbox's 2002 Breakthrough Game of the Year award and IGN's 2002 Best Game Nobody Played.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Southend Interactive
- Publisher
- Ubi Soft
- Producer
- Anders Jeppsson
- Programmer
- Anders Jeppsson; Daniel Jeppsson
- Artist
- Peter Ekstrand; Magnus Bergholtz
- Composer
- Novocaine.p
- Platforms
- Xbox
- Released
- 18 October 2002 (EU); 22 October 2002 (NA)
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Deathrow is set in the year 2219, where Blitz is the world's most popular sport. Two teams of four players attempt to toss a disc through a hoop eight feet off the ground while engaging in full-contact combat including punches, kicks, throws, and stomps. The sport combines elements of hockey, basketball, and full-contact American football, and critics compared its mechanics to games such as Speedball, Mortal Kombat, and Blades of Steel. Matches consist of four rounds, and the team with the most points at the end wins. Fighting depletes character health, and a player is removed when health is fully depleted; a team is disqualified if all its players are knocked out, though substitutions are allowed between rounds. The game's artificial intelligence compensates for belligerent players by exacting revenge, and friendly fire is permitted. There are 150 unique players across 18 thematic teams, each with distinct appearances, play styles, and profanity. Teams vary in attributes such as defense, speed, strength, and teamwork. Examples include the Sea Cats, the Marines, the Demons, and the Black Dragons. The 32 arenas include traditional stadiums and those with environmental obstacles. Minor power-ups such as health, credits, and skill augments regenerate on the field.
Development
Deathrow was the debut full game from Southend Interactive, a studio founded in Malmö, Sweden, in 1998 by five friends chasing a childhood dream. Development kicked off in May 1999 under the working title Blitz Disc Arena, originally planned as an online PC title. The concept mashed together elements from Speedball 2, the Quake and Unreal series, and Tekken. When the nine-person team got Xbox development kits in June 2000, they shifted focus to console in early 2001. Animator Rodrigo Cespedes later explained that the Xbox was the only platform that could realize their original vision, and both Microsoft and Ubisoft pushed for a mature tone heavy on blood, brutality, and profanity. The game ran on a custom 3D engine the team had been building for years. Each character boasted over 7,000 polygons and 55 bones, allowing for facial expressions, more than 800 animations, and even blinking—characters could show happiness, anger, or pain. The console move also led to more varied team personalities, with artists sketching many options for the developers to pick from. Deathrow was designed around an Action camera, but a Sports view was added to broaden its appeal. It appeared at Ubisoft’s E3 2002 booth and launched as an Xbox exclusive on 18 October 2002 in Europe and 22 October 2002 in the United States. Online multiplayer via Xbox Live was cut due to time constraints, and while Southend built a system for downloadable content, they had no plans to release any at launch.
Reception
Deathrow earned generally favorable scores on Metacritic, with IGN and TeamXbox both giving it an Editor's Choice nod. It took home TeamXbox’s 2002 Breakthrough Game of the Year award and IGN’s 2002 Best Xbox Game Nobody Played, also placing as runner-up for IGN’s Xbox action game of the year. Reviewers highlighted its fast, chaotic gameplay and effective surround sound, but criticized the steep difficulty, forgettable soundtrack, and missing online multiplayer. Opinions split on the profanity: some found it overdone, others enjoyed it. David Hodgson of Electronic Gaming Monthly pointed out the game’s European roots, noting awkward expletives in bad American accents, and felt the violence was excessive, the fighting sequences frustrating, and the learning curve punishing. William Racer of Official Xbox Magazine liked the speed and attention to detail, but faulted the camera and difficulty. Eric Bush of TeamXbox praised the computer AI for providing a real challenge. GameSpy appreciated small touches like the disc’s trailing streak. IGN’s Kaiser Hwang called the arena lighting, bump mapping, and textures the best since Halo: Combat Evolved. Several critics, including those from 1UP.com, OXM, and IGN, recommended Deathrow as a party game, especially over System Link.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who composed the music for Deathrow (video game)?
The music for Deathrow was composed by Novocaine.p.
Is Deathrow (video game) single-player or multiplayer?
Deathrow offers single-player and multiplayer play.
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