League of Pain

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League of Pain
PlayStation cover art
Developer(s)Beyond Reality
Publisher(s)Psygnosis
Designer(s)Lee Doyle
Graham McCormick
Craig Lawson
Dale Thomson
Programmer(s)Andrew Bond
Graeme Love
Tim Swan
Composer(s)David Lowe
Platform(s)PlayStation, MS-DOS, Windows
ReleasePlayStation
  • NA: March 1997
  • EU: April 1, 1997
MS-DOS, Windows
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

League of Pain, also known as Professional Underground League of Pain, and known as Riot in the UK,[1] is a futuristic, violent sports video game developed by British studio Beyond Reality and published by Psygnosis for the PlayStation, MS-DOS, and Windows in 1997.

Plot[edit]

National sports games are under threat by a new sport, Riot. Sponsors are pulling the plug on funding of traditional sports and moving to this new hybrid sport.[2][3]

Gameplay[edit]

League of Pain combines elements of rugby, soccer/football and basketball in a futuristic sport that is violent and without rules.[1] The objective of the game is to charge up the plasma ball, and to then launch it through the ring that floats above the centre of the play area.[4] The points earned from a goal are determined by the distance from the ring.[5] The ball is charged by reaching the charger in the opponents side of the arena. In the PlayStation version, once charged, the ball will glow purple to indicate the home team charged it, or yellow to indicate the away team charged it.[6] For the Windows/DOS version, the ball will glow blue to indicate a home team charge and green to indicate an away team charge.[3] If the player scores while the ball is charged with the opposing team's color, it will count as an own goal.[3][6] Despite the futuristic set-up, the game plays in much the same way as standard sports games with the ability to tackle, slide and shoot but also allows the player to fight with their opponents.

There are 5 types of power-up available that are randomly thrown into the arena by the crowd. The power-ups are "Speed Up" which makes the player move 3 times faster than usual, "Power Punch" which makes the player's punching power 3 times stronger, "Power Shot" which makes the player throw the ball faster and harder, enabling the ball to be used as a weapon against opponents, "Health" which restores the player's health to maximum and "Hawkeye" which increases the accuracy of passes and shooting.[3]

Teams[edit]

There are 16 international teams to choose from and an option that allows for customisation and trading of players.[4]

  • New York Knights (USA)
  • Los Angeles Lasers (USA)
  • Tijuana Tyrants (Mexico)
  • Mexico City Aces (Mexico)
  • London Royals (England)
  • Liverpool Dockers (England)
  • Paris Strikers (France)
  • Lyon Sharks (France)
  • Frankfurt Vipers (Germany)
  • Berlin Breakers (Germany)
  • Leningrade Reds (Russia)
  • Moscow Maulers (Russia)
  • Osaka Comets (Japan)
  • Tokyo Tornados (Japan)
  • Sydney Sentinels (Australia)
  • Melbourne Destroyers (Australia)

Game Modes[edit]

Friendly: A single exhibition game. This mode allows for team selections and team editing.

League: A season of 30 games where you play each of the teams twice.

Exhibition: A knockout competition with 2, 3 or 4 rounds.

Network: Only available on the Windows/DOS version. Allows for network play between 8 players but only allows for a "Friendly" game to be played.[3]

Additional Features[edit]

There are also in-game options to perform substitutions to alter the player line-up, and the ability to view a replay of the in-game action.[6]

Reception[edit]

The PlayStation version received mixed reviews. Next Generation said that the game "offers an interesting alternative to the standard 'real' sports games. And you have to love a game with violence and no rules."[4] GamePro said, "League of Pain is fun at times, especially with 2 players, but the camera angles and sometimes frustrating control doom it to rental status."[5]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ GamePro gave the PlayStation version three 3.5/5 scores for graphics, sound, and overall fun factor, and 3/5 for control.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "NG Alphas: League of Pain". Next Generation. No. 25. Imagine Media. January 1997. p. 140. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  2. ^ a b PC Zone staff (April 1998). "Budget Zone: Riot". PC Zone. No. 62. Dennis Publishing. p. 109.
  3. ^ a b c d e How to Play Riot. Psygnosis. 1997. pp. 8–9.
  4. ^ a b c d "League of Pain". Next Generation. No. 30. Imagine Media. June 1997. p. 118.
  5. ^ a b c Johnny Ballgame (May 1997). "League of Pain". GamePro. No. 104. IDG Entertainment. p. 88.
  6. ^ a b c League of Pain Sony Playstation Manual. Psygnosis. 1997. pp. 6–9. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  7. ^ "Professional Underground League of Pain for PlayStation". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  8. ^ Weiss, Brett Alan. "Professional Underground League of Pain - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  9. ^ Ham, Tom (April 11, 1997). "League of Pain". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  10. ^ EGM staff (April 1997). "League of Pain". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 93. Ziff Davis.
  11. ^ Lucas, Victor (March 16, 1997). "Professional Underground League of Pain". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions, Inc. Archived from the original on June 17, 1997. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  12. ^ Anderson, Paul; Reiner, Andrew; Storm, Jon (May 1997). "League of Pain". Game Informer. No. 49. FuncoLand. Archived from the original on October 21, 1997. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  13. ^ Dr. Moo (March 1997). "Professional Underground League of Pain Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on June 13, 1998. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  14. ^ Robertson, Ed (March 20, 1997). "Professional Underground League of Pain Review [date mislabeled as "May 2, 2000"]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 4, 2005. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  15. ^ Mallinson, Paul (June 1997). "Riot". PC Zone. No. 51. Dennis Publishing. pp. 102–3. Retrieved July 25, 2021.

External links[edit]

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