Blood Bowl Review

There has been no shortage of Games Workshop properties making their way into the realm of video games recently, with Warhammer Online, Dawn of War II and now Blood Bowl all making their presence felt. However, Blood Bowl is slightly different to the other titles that were mentioned, as it's quite a niche title, focusing on what would happen if American Football were combined with the fantasy world of Warhammer. It's actually based off of a board game of the same name, and there has even been a video game already made, which was released in 1995 on the PC.

There are eight races to choose from, and they all have their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, the Wood Elves have high agility, meaning they are more likely to be able to evade incoming challenges. Games use the Living Rulebook 5.0's ruleset and consist of two teams squaring off against each other. Each team can have a squad of up to 16 players, although only 11 actually take part in a match. Despite this, squads are very important, due to the physical nature of the game - having replacement players is a must. Unlike real American Football, players are encouraged to take down opposing players all over the field, in a less than savoury fashion. Sometimes the result of conflicts can even be death, but the majority end in a minor concussion which causes players to be taken out of action for a turn or two.

The game can either be played turn-based, like the traditional board game, or it can be enjoyed real-time, which offers a completely different experience. Turn-based is probably the mode that will be most used, due to its connection with the original stimulus, and upon selecting this mode of play, matches take place over 16 turns (8 turns a half). Each turn, players are able to move their drones around the field like chess pieces, to either protect the ball, or try to out-think their opponent who is trying to score a touchdown. However, the biggest factor in success is the dice. It's a mode that really stresses the importance of risk management, because if one dice roll goes the wrong way, it results in a turnover and then that instantly gives control to the opposition. This could either be a player falling over because they tried to run too far, losing a duel, or a fumbled ball pick-up. It means that the game can instantly be turned on its head and it can really be quite frustrating.

It promotes risk management because players have to plan for turnovers - what would happen if the game suddenly went the wrong way? Which drones should perform their moves first? These are questions that the game asks players as they try to out-think their opponent. It's an interesting premise, but it gets quite monotonous very quickly. Having to man-manage up to 11 players individually for 16 turns can make games take a very long time and there isn't really anything to get players involved with the action. The dice rolling can also seem ridiculously harsh, as a 3 has to be rolled to simply pick the ball up successfully. It sometime results in a huge juggling session as when a fumble happens, the ball jumps to an opposing square and if that character fails, it jumps to the next square, and so on and so forth.

The game does get a little bit more engaging in the real-time mode, but only because it offers completely the opposite experience. The game then challenges players to man-manage 11 players in real-time and with poor controls, this is no easy feat. The AI attempts to control the other players, but it's relatively poor with its decision making. It essentially turns into a game of no holds barred rugby, and doesn't really have anything in common with American Football. It is possible to use concentration mode to pause the game and issue independent commands, but then the game just becomes turn-based again.

Aside from the generic exhibition mode, there is also a career mode, which allows players to create their own team and take them on the road to various competitions. They are given a budget, which must be used to buy the players they want, and can also be used to buy specials, such as an apothecary, used for healing players more quickly during matches. Upon winning competitions, which can actually take quite a long time to complete, players are awarded prestige for their team and money. This can then be used to upgrade the team further, with better players and better advantages. Players can also be upgraded due to their performance throughout matches, and this allows them to learn better abilities, while also improving their stats. It's not a terribly engaging mode though and the slowness of everything doesn't really encourage anyone but the most ardent fan to actually continue slogging through the matches.

Graphically, the game is pretty decent. The arenas are very fitting for the Warhammer franchise and all of the different races are represented well. However, each player type only has one model, which means that the majority of players on each team look identical. They also only have one or two animations each and while they may be nice the first time around, they get very old, very quickly. The same can be said for the commentary, which has absolutely nothing to do with what's going on in the game. They just repeat set lines at random intervals and there aren't even that many phrases. Hearing the same phrase twice in a game isn't that irregular, so playing multiple matches just acts as a recurring loop. Considering the licence too, it's a shame there weren't more customisation options available.

The game's saving grace is that it has online play, which allows players to take their teams online to play against humans. This is where the real challenge lies, as humans are obviously much more unpredictable and won't keep using the same strategy over and over again. It's also possible to set up competitions for the online arena too, which is a much more enjoyable experience, even if it's still not overly engaging.

5

Average

Blood Bowl is a game that would be appreciated by fans of the board game as they're probably more accepting of its slow-paced gameplay and small nuances. Fans of the game who don't have friends locally to enjoy it will relish the online play that the game offers and that alone makes it a worthwhile purchase. However, for American Football fans, or just gamers in general, it's not an overly appealing product. There's a real lack of care with regards to the presentation and the real-time mode is an interesting, but redundant addition.