Genre: Futuristic Sports
Developer: Cyclone Studios
Publisher: Studio 3DO

Studio 3DO and its children companies always seem to get more out of the 3DO's power than other developers. Like fellow Studio 3DO title BladeForce, BattleSport features a 3d engine with high resolution textures, silky smooth framerates, and sharp, clean lines. Exceptionally detailed sprites are used for the powerups, and they fit with the 3d arena and players very well. In short, BattleSport's visuals are more akin to a nice looking Playstation or Saturn title than they are a 3DO game.

Burke Trieschmann, who did the music for another Cyclone Studios 3DO title, Captain Quazar, comes up with another fantastic soundtrack; the score is hectic, melodic, and the music samples used throughout are of exceptional quality. David Kazanjian, the voice of "Chief" from Captain Quazar, makes an appearance as the game's announcer, and he proves his vocal talents here just as well as he did in his aforementioned "Chief" role.

To anyone who has played the classic Atari title "Ballblazer", BattleSport needs no explanation; you drive a hover tank around an arena, scoop up the ball, and shoot it into a goal, all while fending off your opponent, who is trying to accomplish the same goal. BattleSport features several dozen arenas, many of them quite clever, dozens of powerups, and a control scheme that works marvelously, to go along with 2-player split screen support.

BattleSport is a fantastic single player title. There's a plethora of options available, including the fun "Tournament" mode, which allows you to work your way up a ladder, acquiring cash to purchase new tanks and powerups as you go. But where BattleSport really shines is in the 2-player mode; BattleSport is, along with Return Fire, one of the best 2-player games on the 3DO, and given all of the arenas, powerups, and strategies involved in the gameplay, it could keep a pair of gaming junkies busy for some time.