Blood Bowl II Reviews
A digital conversion of a physical game is worthwhile, but it might have been best to leave this one on the tabletop.
Technically superior, but with a shallow roster the latest Blood Bowl adaptation falls short of a touchdown.
There are those out there that will really love this game, but for the casual and even some hardcore RPG fans, this can quickly become a mess.
I think that the most shocking aspect of Blood Bowl is that it has been around since the mid-80's, with the first tabletop release being in 1986. I guess that goes to show how much I paid attention to it when walking into a GamesWorkshop retail store (when they still existed in abundance here in the States), though I was admittedly staring at the gorgeously painted models, so I had eyes for little else.
With some deep mechanics and a level of micromanagement that would make even the most compulsive of table top gaming aficionados blush, it is quite easy to see how well Blood Bowl 2 would work as board game. It is for some of these very same reasons, however, that Blood Bowl 2 is somewhat less satisfying as a videogame. The random nature of the dice rolls can lead to some serious frustration and the action is so slow and plodding that it is definitely not the kind of game someone can just jump in and play. There is certainly going to be a target audience that appreciates what this offers, and what Blood Bowl 2 does well it does really well. Grab a six-sided die, then, and some extensive spreadsheets to keep track of stats, because everyone knows it isn't a real American Football game without either of those two items…
If all you want is a better-looking version of Blood Bowl: Chaos Edition, and/or built-in online league support, then Blood Bowl 2 has you covered. But if you were hoping for a bit more from Cyanide Studios' next Blood Bowl release, it might be worth waiting until the price comes down and/or an upcoming Blood Bowl 2 patch gives the game a much-needed content injection.
Whilst Blood Bowl 2's strict adherence to the franchise's rules may dissuade some from even trying this out, those that do take the plunge and stick with it will find that despite its faults, it can be a deeply rewarding and enriching experience. The AI isn't really up to snuff though, so expect to ride a long learning curve to be able to become competitive online - if you can find a game.
What little Blood Bowl 2 does wrong is more a result of its unconventional mix-up than any technical shortcomings of the game. Combining sports and RPGs is a tricky thing at best, and while Blood Bowl 2 pulls it off well, to say the mix is perfect wouldn't be right. This is fun to play through and through, even if the audience might be limited.
While Blood Bowl 2 is a solid game on its own, it suffers from the lack of variety compared to the previous game.
A strategy game that offers little in the way of strategy, Blood Bowl 2 at least has dumb fun going for it.
Blood Bowl 2 is definitely one for the board game devotees who prefer to play online rather than solo.
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 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.
Blood Bowl 2 is a faithful recreation of the board game with improved visuals and a cleaner UI than previous installments. The AI is as poor as ever but multiplayer is really where Blood Bowl 2 shines. The inclusion of only 8 races is extremely disappointing though as is the lack of overall polish the game has. If you already own Blood Bowl Chaos Edition, sadly Blood Bowl 2 doesn't really do enough to justify owning both unless the multiplayer community decides to migrate. It's still a lot of fun though, especially in multiplayer.
Fans of turn-based strategy and tabletop games will want to give Blood Bowl 2 a shot, but a muddled presentation limits the broader appeal among gamers and holds this game back from becoming a standout title.
The core of Blood Bowl 2 is great. It's a wonderful realization of a fun board game, brought to life with a competent design. Unfortunately, beyond the one-off matches, the title is catered to a very specific kind of fan.
The storyline of the campaign mode is sort of fun and playing a season with all of the ups and downs that brings is also fun, but for me I think most of the joy comes from the nostalgia, I'm afraid.
Despite some balance issues and long play times, Blood Bowl 2 is a bloody yet engaging sports strategy sim
With its action taking place on a playing field, the scope and structure of Blood Bowl 2 initially feels smaller in scale than you tend to expect from most turn-based strategy games. After a few hours though – with its board game roots exposed – you'll find that there's actually plenty of depth to be explored. While the abundance of random dice rolls will put some people off, if you're the sort of person who relishes the unexpected, then there's a good chance – 70 per cent according to the God of Dice – that its bizarre setting and chaotic action will make it worth a punt.
Blood Bowl 2 has been well adapted from the tabletop game into a fun digital world. Even if you know little about football or Warhammer, anyone who likes the challenge of a complex strategy game will appreciate Blood Bowl 2 - especially in multiplayer.