NIDZUMI+

Games Workshop have had mixed success when transporting their tabletop games to the modern video game format, from the rather average Curse of the Horned Rat to the well received Dawn of War series. On paper Blood Bowl should be one of the easiest to transfer across as it is relatively simple – with no massive battlefields and 200 model armies – just two players, twenty models, a board and a rulebook. Beards and bellies are optional. Cyanide studios were a good choice after their Blood Bowl-esque PC game, Chaos League, and have managed to successfully bring Blood Bowl from board to screen. Almost too successfully. The game has been transported across to near perfection with every nuance and detail programmed into the game.

Blood Bowl is a fantasy parody of American football. Opposing teams take turns to score touchdowns and kill the opposition, for some teams the latter comes first. Much like its counterpart, the game is very complicated to get to grips with; lots of rules for movement, injuries, blitzing, throwing and even chainsawing the opposition. In the original form all these decisions were decided through the beautiful, yet frustrating medium of throwing a dice. Thankfully Cyanide studios have kept this in and even show you the numbers.

Just two players, twenty models, a board and a rulebook. Beards and bellies are optional

It’s not just the dice rolls that Cyanide have recreated, almost everything from the original game has been painstakingly recreated. It feels like Blood Bowl has come alive via some Toy Soldiers like shenanigans. The combatants look full of character and have some great animations for tackling and moving; the best being the goblins air-humping touchdown celebration. The overall graphics are really sharp with lots of impressive sideline details. Sadly the polish does not carry itself over to the menu’s. They are basic at best, and labyrinthine to navigate. The tutorials are helpful and do give you a basic understanding of the game but to really get to grips with it, you’ll just have to play it.

You have the choice of eight playable teams: Humans, Orcs, Wood Elves, Dwarfs, Skaven, Lizardmen, Chaos or Goblins. Anyone familiar with Warhammer or fantasy lore will feel familiar with these names. Each team has its own merits whether they be speed, versatility or just plain old damage. The easiest team to play is the Humans as they have fast catchers, tough blitzers and dangerous Ogres. The other teams have more of a singular strength – Dwarfs are slow and tough, Skaven are fast but weak – and thus are a lot harder to use.

Once you have your team you can then go and play. Choices range from single game, Xbox Live, campaign, tournament or even the option to create your own tournament. If you are not a fan of the turn based game play then you can be brave and venture out into the Real Time carnage of Blitz mode. I can see Cyanide’s thinking behind this mode – the hope is that it will bring in more players – but it just does not work. It’s all too chaotic, even by Blood Bowl standards. While it might have some appeal, it just feels mindless and poorly executed.

The Campaign mode is the meat of the single player game and is incredibly fleshed out. Each season consists of fifteen championships that unlock in relation to your Fame. The more you win, the more money you get to play with. You will need money to build your team and most importantly, replace your dead players. There is nothing worse than watching your star player get thumped to death by a giant rat ogre and this is where the impressive depth comes in. You can buy apothecaries that will allow you to re-roll one injury roll per game. When you’re not hiring apothecaries you can spend out on re-rolls (you will need these), cheerleaders, ref bribes and one match mercenaries.

The tutorials help but to really get to grips, you simply have to play it

Combine this with the ability to level up your players then you can really see how deep the game is. The problem is winning/surviving long enough to get there. Blood Bowl is hard and complex, even on easy.

Along with my copy of the game I was greeted with a 79 page strategy guide, which alone is enough to scare a lot of players off. Being a Blood Bowl fan I already had a few tricks up my sleeve, or so I thought. You see, it all comes back to the dice. You can have the perfect set up – your catcher has broken free in the deep field, the thrower is protected – but just as you go to release the ball, you get hit with a 2 and 1 on the dice. Turnover. You use a re-roll, same again. Turnover remains, the opposition have the ball.

It can make you feel like the computer is out to get you, which of course it is, but what makes it worse is the fact that you are not throwing your own dice. Instead of throwing your fate openly into the hands of chance, you have to await and see what you are given, somewhat akin to a cruel Dungeon Master. When you ramp the difficulty up it becomes even more of a rough ride. I tried a campaign on medium and was greeted with three dead players by half time. With no funds for a large sub bench I had to struggle through the second half with one less player.

The more time you put into the game the more you are going to get back. With eight races to master you have the option of a lot of game play. Teams like Dwarves and Goblins are so hard to get wins with, especially against their speedy/strong counterparts. Some players, myself included, are going to slog through and find the strategies. This brings up the major problem with the game, is it too hard for casual players?

The Blood Bowl fans will pick it up, and they should, as it is great to practice new strategies and mess around with new tactics. You can even hook up with friends who live far away thanks to the online multiplayer. But is it going to draw in new players? If you have never played the game and think you might like it then yes, go buy it and give it plenty of patience. If you are not a fan of in-depth games or the vibe doesn’t appeal to you, then maybe you should pass on this one. It doesn’t have that instant appeal that anyone can get on board with and if you do manage to get on board, the game and its achievements don’t reward you for your persistence. Nevertheless, if you like stomping on goblins and scoring the odd touchdown then I would recommend it, you might be safer to give it a rent first though..