Blood Bowl II Reviews
Blood Bowl 2 is an interesting experience in what a turn-based strategy/sports hybrid can be. For fans of the first iteration on the 360, the second should be right up your alley. The asking price is a bit steep for what is offered here, and the rougher parts of the game such as the graphical glitches, lackluster audio, and long/frequent loading times take too much away from the experience to warrant a buy at the day-one price.
Blood Bowl II is a unique tactical turn-based game with an amusing setting and a lot of personality. The underlying game is solid and offers a lot of possibility for multiplayer, but the interface and the camera could use a little bit of polishing. Otherwise the biggest problem will be finding players willing to stick around for the league mode.
I wish there were more, particularly relating to team management and the persistency of the world, but this will do. It's not as clean and clever as fellow fictional ball-handler Frozen Cortex, but the messiness and violence really do add something. There's nothing quite like recognising that you're not going to score in the last turn of a half and concentrating all of your efforts toward obliterating the opponent team instead. Especially when they're High Elves.
Blood Bowl 2 appears to specific tastes, but offers a detailed and rewarding challenge.
It's difficult to overlook a lot of the flaws with Blood Bowl 2, but at the same time if you have a group of likeminded people willing to create a league, then this is a great if somewhat limited option. It's everything you'd expect in a Blood Bowl game, with a great tutorial for newcomers and a coat of paint, looking as good as the Citadel Minatures you'd see in the window of a Games Workshop.
[O]verall, Blood Bowl 2 is a step forward. It's a much friendlier, easier game than its predecessors, with improved looks, a tutorial campaign, controller support, and the UI improvements. New players won't feel blocked off from enjoying it.
As much strategy game as it is sports sim, this enjoyably bizarre mix of influences and genres has much to offer the more patient gamer.
For all its limiting devotion to the board game that inspired it, Blood Bowl 2 is far more of a touchdown than a fumble.
Blood Bowl 2 is the flashiest iteration of the game so far, but its dice rolls are frustrating, and its amble ruleset isn't introduced well to newcomers.
It has numerous issues and lacks content, but Blood Bowl 2 offers a solid foundation for the future of the celebrated turn-based sport.
Blood Bowl 2 is a smashy, satisfying, goofy tactical melee that leaves just a bit too much up to the six-sided dice.