Team 17

AMIGA POWER clearly have a vendetta against us.

Stuart Campbell

A vendetta against Team 17, eh? Well, let's look at (God forbid), the facts:

THAT TEAM 17 VENDETTA IN FULL

ALIEN BREED
AP8, 82%, (RP)
"One of the most atmospheric games ever"

ALIEN BREED 2
AP32, 81% (CW)
"Vastly enjoyable game with some obvious flaws"

ALIEN BREED SE
AP21, 83% (CW)
"I'd have bought it without hesitation at the original price"

ALIEN BREED 3D
AP56, 91% (JN)
(AP Recommended)
"Stunningly exciting"

ALIEN BREED 3D 2
AP65, 60% average (JN)
(59% for the 2mb version, 54% for the slothful 4mb version, edging up to the mid-60s if you have a fast enough machine to run it properly, which the A4000 we used clearly wasn't.)

APIDYA
AP39, 91% (SC)
"The best shoot-'em-up on the Amiga"

ARCADE POOL
AP38, 91% (JD)
(Due to an internal misunderstanding at Team 17, we were sent an incomplete version to review as the finished game. It got 61%. We did it again when we found out.)

ASSASSIN
AP19, 89% (MS)
(AP Recommended)
"Overall a great game"

ASSASSIN SE
AP34, 79% (SF)
"If you want a good cheap game, get this. It's ace."

ATR
AP48, 38% (JN)

BODY BLOWS
AP24, 89% (TT)
(AP Recommended)
"Get it. Now."

BODY BLOWS GALACTIC
AP33, 72% (A500, CW)/79% (A1200, SM)
(Body Blows and Body Blows Galactic were also reviewed as budget re-releases, but haven't been included here as they were the same games as the originals, rather than the rewritten and enhanced Special Editions of Assassin, Project X and Alien Breed. They scored 74% and 77% respectively.)

F17 CHALLENGE
AP30, 55% (SC)

KINGPIN
AP48, 47% (PM)

OVERDRIVE
AP31, 46% (SC)

PROJECT X
AP13, 78% (SC)
"Slick and brash and arcadey"

PROJECT X SE
AP29, 86% (SC)
"A significant improvement... well worth buying"

QUAK!
AP31, 88% (SC)
"The more I play it, the more I like it."

SPERIS LEGACY
AP59, 50% (JN)

SUPERFROG
AP26, 78% (CW)
"Another fast and slick platformer"

SUPER STARDUST
AP42, 89% (JN)
"Spectacular, that's the word"

TOWER ASSAULT
AP45, 46% (JN)

ULTIMATE BODY BLOWS
AP39, 86% (SC)
(AP Recommended)
"They've got pretty much everything right"

WORMS
AP57, 60% (JD)
"Tot up your own score"

TOTAL NUMBER OF REVIEWS: 25

AVERAGE MARK:

HOW THOSE SCORES BREAK DOWN

0-9%.....0 games
10-19%.....0 games
20-39%.....0 games
30-39%.....1 game.
40-49%.....3 games
50-59%.....2 games
60-69%.....2 games
70-79%.....5 games
80-89%.....9 games
90-99%.....3 games

As you can see, 80-89% was the most common mark for a Team 17 game in AMIGA POWER by a significant distance. Just 8 games out of 25 scored below 70%, and only 4 scored below 50%.

Team 17

ALIEN BREED 2
Secret message criticising AP review policy if you type in "AMIGAPOWER" as a cheat.

ARCADE POOL
AP staff members included in game as particularly bad computer opponents.

ATR
A lawsuit.

F17 CHALLENGE
AP staff members included in game as particularly bad computer opponents.

KINGPIN
AP staff members included in game as particularly bad computer opponents. And a lawsuit.

OVERDRIVE
AP staff members included in game as particularly bad computer opponents.

TOWER ASSAULT
The dead pilot is called Nash. Although this is probably a coincidence. And Jonathan was quite pleased.

Also:

ALLEGATIONS OF BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION made from the safety of a French games magazine where they couldn't be sued for libel.

ABSOLUTELY NO CONTACT AT ALL WITH US after the lawsuit. That is, they refused to send us review copies of Alien Breed 3D, Worms, Speris Legacy or Alien Breed 3D 2...

Jonathan Nash

(I recall idly strolling into Amiga Format one afternoon and spotting AB3D on Steve McGill's Amiga. Intrigued, I sat down, but had got no further than fiddling with the joypad to work out the controls when Steve returned. He shooed me away, visibly upset at having to do so.

It seems that before Team 17 allowed Amiga Format to review the game, they had made the entire staff sign a declaration that they wouldn't let us even see it. No, really.)

... or even speak with us, let alone try to work things out. Occasional phone calls asking for review copies aside, at least two Eds made serious attempts to save the situation. Cam pointed out that our readership, the largest of any Amiga games mag IN THE WORLD (bar one in Germany), was droolingly anticipating Team 17's games, so our covering them would amount to free advertising. They ignored him. Perhaps Tim Norris's first official act as Ed was to call Team 17 and explain that as the new editor he hadn't even the slightest quarrel with the company, that allegations of unfairness were plainly ridiculous - the deliberately withheld AB3D having recently received 91%, for instance - and that not sending us games was being awfully foolish. The senior T17 staff member to whom he spoke agreed. In fact, according to this senior staff member, everyone at Team 17 agreed except Martyn Brown, but he was the company director so what could they do?

Tim then tried to speak with Martyn Brown, but Martyn Brown refused to return his calls. And then made Amiga Format sign an agreement withholding the just-finished Speris Legacy from us.

As so many people have mentioned, only AP was deemed beneath Team 17's contempt. Amiga Concept and Amiga Action, for example, were never at odds with the company.

So perhaps it really was us all along, eh?

You whining, childish hatemongers.