Dead Ball Zone

Futuristic sports games always seem to have a couple of things in common: great graphics and a healthy (or unhealthy) dose of violence. Dead Ball Zone is the latest contender with those two qualities. Its gameplay also follows the standard futuristic sports game formula: get the glowing ball into your opponent's goal by any means necessary.

The court is set up like an indoor soccer arena, with eight players to a side (including one goal keeper). Instead of kicking the ball around, however, players actually carry it (GT Interactive describes Dead Ball Zone as "a cross between hockey, soccer and football."). Once you have possession, you can pass or shoot--you can even do one-timers.

On defense, the game gets a bit crazy. When you have defensive maneuvers called "Pile Driver," "Activate Chainsaw" or "Death From Above," you know you're not playing your typical EA Sports game. Each move can do different amounts of damage and will affect the opposing team in a different way.

GT Interactive is entering the cybersports arena with Dead Ball Zone, a futuristic sports game where the stakes are definitely high--you pay with your limbs or your life. Dead's a cross between hockey, soccer, and football, centering the action around your eight-man team, which you'll need to train in areas such as jumping, shooting, and groin-kicking. DB's also loaded with cool power-ups (including chain saws, guns, and bombs) that you'll be able to use in competitive "geospheres" within cities like Thailand, San Francisco, India, and Amazonia. The league rule here is: There are no rules.