Today the boxed version of Blood Bowl has finally been released in America, even if it's been available from many sources including Steam earlier. While Mass Effect 2 is the popular game of the moment, some people also like a nice turn based tactical game. Blood Bowl is the video game version of Games Workshop's famous board game. For those who haven't played the board game, it's a turn based tactical fantasy football game with some RPG elements, player improvements and team building. Not that it's actually much like football other than you have to get the ball to the other side of the field.
I think the fairest review I saw said something like, "it's an A level game with a C level interface." Everyone who likes the board game should like the computer game. Bad points include SecuROM with limited activations, worthless real time mode, poor tutorials, and a weak AI. The good points are that it's a reasonable re-creation of the board game. The rules are close to the board game, but there is still some work needed. For multiplayer you have challenges, match-making, one off games, and can even set up your own leagues. They are even going to have a world championship tournament with $8000 in prizes. One thing that definitely makes it better than the board game is that you can always find matches. Something that you can't say about many strategy boardgames.
Games can be played in an hour. Team building is a rewarding feature of the game. The graphics are decent, while nowhere near Crysis, they far better than any previous version of Blood Bowl. They are better graphics than most turn based strategy games. The music and sound effects are decent. The announcers are fairly good, but they do get repetitive quickly. The board game still has a following after 20 years, so the computer version should still have an active community years from now. Overall it's a great tactical game with some minor flaws.
One thing that makes Blood Bowl unique among strategy games is the turnover rule. When one of your players fail an important action, it's a turnover and your turn is over. Which means mistakes are punished harshly. So it's usually a good idea not to take any risky actions until after all your other players have moved. This can definitely frustrate new players. The first thing a new player may try to do is pick up the ball, which if he fails means the end of his turn without anyone else getting to do anything. A safer thing is to stand up fallen players, move players who aren't in tackle zones even have one of them move next to the ball to guard it, make safe blocks, and then try to pick up the ball. Risk management is an important part of the strategy.
Since the tutorial isn't going to be enough to learn to play well, read the rulebook so you know the game mechanics and the odds of success. One of the basics is blocking so also read the Art of Blocking. You'll want to be playing Classic Mode since that is what the board game and all sources for it are. It's also what almost everyone plays online. Ignore the real time version, and Blitz mode. For more check out their website and their forums for more info. Basic guides on strategy have been posted on their forums.
Site: http://bloodbowl-game.com/
Living Rulebook 5.0: http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA.../m1310002_BB_Complete_Blood_Bowl_Rulebook.pdf
Art of Blocking: http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m1310006_BB_Art_of_Blocking.pdf
I think the fairest review I saw said something like, "it's an A level game with a C level interface." Everyone who likes the board game should like the computer game. Bad points include SecuROM with limited activations, worthless real time mode, poor tutorials, and a weak AI. The good points are that it's a reasonable re-creation of the board game. The rules are close to the board game, but there is still some work needed. For multiplayer you have challenges, match-making, one off games, and can even set up your own leagues. They are even going to have a world championship tournament with $8000 in prizes. One thing that definitely makes it better than the board game is that you can always find matches. Something that you can't say about many strategy boardgames.
Games can be played in an hour. Team building is a rewarding feature of the game. The graphics are decent, while nowhere near Crysis, they far better than any previous version of Blood Bowl. They are better graphics than most turn based strategy games. The music and sound effects are decent. The announcers are fairly good, but they do get repetitive quickly. The board game still has a following after 20 years, so the computer version should still have an active community years from now. Overall it's a great tactical game with some minor flaws.
One thing that makes Blood Bowl unique among strategy games is the turnover rule. When one of your players fail an important action, it's a turnover and your turn is over. Which means mistakes are punished harshly. So it's usually a good idea not to take any risky actions until after all your other players have moved. This can definitely frustrate new players. The first thing a new player may try to do is pick up the ball, which if he fails means the end of his turn without anyone else getting to do anything. A safer thing is to stand up fallen players, move players who aren't in tackle zones even have one of them move next to the ball to guard it, make safe blocks, and then try to pick up the ball. Risk management is an important part of the strategy.
Since the tutorial isn't going to be enough to learn to play well, read the rulebook so you know the game mechanics and the odds of success. One of the basics is blocking so also read the Art of Blocking. You'll want to be playing Classic Mode since that is what the board game and all sources for it are. It's also what almost everyone plays online. Ignore the real time version, and Blitz mode. For more check out their website and their forums for more info. Basic guides on strategy have been posted on their forums.
Site: http://bloodbowl-game.com/
Living Rulebook 5.0: http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA.../m1310002_BB_Complete_Blood_Bowl_Rulebook.pdf
Art of Blocking: http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m1310006_BB_Art_of_Blocking.pdf
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