☆ Review: Blood Bowl II - "A Beast Of A Game!" ☆ #GameDev

Blood Bowl II - PC

Digital conversions of board games are a welcome part of current generation video gaming trends for me as it has allowed me to experience certain games that I would never have experienced in board game form.

Blood Bowl is a popular Game Workshop board game that has already seen the original version of the game released on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 back in 2010.

Blood Bowl 2 Legendary Edition is the full Blood Bowl 2 experience of the game released back in late 2015 crammed into a tasty package which will please players who are just starting out on their Blood Bowl journey as it enables you to come to the Blood Bowl table with whole host of features at your fingertips.

The Legendary Edition features all he previously released DLC plus new unreleased content. The package includes new animations, new teams, stadiums and modes on top of the already impressive Blood Bowl 2 original edition.

I am a new Blood Bowl 2 player so it would appear that for me and players like me there has never been a better time get involved with this package hitting Steam.

There's a stack of modes available for solo players and multiplayer types. You can also play two player hot seat mode too which is a neat inclusion.

As a new player I started with the base campaign mode featuring the story of the Reikland Reavers as you take them from fallen franchise to top tier team once again.

The Endless League mode allows you to manage a team through multiple seasons
There are multiplayer tournaments and leagues available. 

Online mode sees players taking part in friendly, competitive games which can last for a fair amount of time (beware if you are low on time as you will need to put aside a good hour)

Challenge Modes allow you to play puzzle matches where you’ll need to score or prevent a touchdown under limited scenario rules and prove a shorter more compact experience.

Blood Bowl 2 is a nice enough looking game which represents the board game in a good way. The graphics and sound draw you into the Blood Bowl world and Jim and Bob provide commentary during games which is doused in some nice comedy touches.

The game includes 24 races from which to create your very own custom team.
These races include Elves, Goblins, Skaven, Ogres, Dwarves, Slann ,Kislev Circus and Humans to name but a few.

The base campaign mode does a great job of hand holding you through how to win matches and basic tactics etc and the story keeps you interested and engaged whilst trying to figure out what the hell is going on in those confusing and a little overwhelming first few matches.

When you are given the chance to pick a team you will need to consider how many of each type of player you will need and the general make up of a team is:

2 Catchers

1 Thrower

2 Blitzers

1 GIANT DUDE (Ogre) 

and the remaining are Linemen who can do a bit of everything. 

You’ll find players will level up as they score, pass or injure oppo which provides a bit of allegiance to individual players as you nurture them and see them rise the ranks.

There is also a transfer system that you can get involved in which adds another dimension to the strategy and tactics of the game. I've always enjoyed the buying and selling of players in games like Football Manager and Championship Manager so this is a welcome addition to the gameplay.

Summary:

Overall I like the ideas that this game is trying to portray and the game itself is fun to learn especially in campaign mode but the 1 hour timing of the turn based games detracts slightly from the enjoyment. 8 turns would be a better game length however, I would like to persist with learning the nuances of this game and becoming a better player. That is surely a good sign? 

If you enjoy fantasy board games and like the digital conversions of them then this is the slickest example out there that I have come across.

If not then this isn’t the game for you.

Go forth young Blood Bowler and maketh your choice…

RATING:MELTING

Ratings Explained

ICE COOL (Great Game Recommended)

MELTING (Just Falls Short Of Greatness)

MELTED (Not A Recommended Purchase

 

Game Link: Steam 

Dev Link: Cyanide Stuidos 

Review By Rich