Blood Bowl II Reviews
If you can accept the role that randomness plays in the overall game, Blood Bowl II offers a great deal of turn-based strategic fun.
A digital conversion of a physical game is worthwhile, but it might have been best to leave this one on the tabletop.
Blood Bowl 2 is definitely one for the board game devotees who prefer to play online rather than solo.
It captures the spirit of Warhammer's lighter side and translates it beautifully onto the screen.
Despite some balance issues and long play times, Blood Bowl 2 is a bloody yet engaging sports strategy sim
This inspired pairing of the Warhammer universe with American Football works surprisingly well, although it has to be said that fans of more straightforward sporting sims may not take to the game as well as those who prefer tactical, turn based titles, as Blood Bowl 2 definitely leans towards the latter.
An overall improvement in every way from the original. Worth an investment if you are looking for something different and fun.
A strong strategy game tarred by its unfinished feel and the influence of luck, but fans of the setting will be able to overlook its flaws
A strategy game that offers little in the way of strategy, Blood Bowl 2 at least has dumb fun going for it.
While Blood Bowl 2 is a solid game on its own, it suffers from the lack of variety compared to the previous game.
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.
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.
There is very little I can fault with Blood Bowl 2, it is solidly executed and a must for those seeking a fun and competitive game to play.
A smart mixture of Warhammer strategy and American Football, BB 2 combines the nuance of turn-based skill with perceptive risk management to create a game that is equal parts joy and pain to figure out. And though it bears the frustrations of unpredictability and a sporadically malfunctioning A.I., which destroys match pacing (and will probably be patched), the core gameplay is intelligent and deep enough to advocate to anyone who appreciates turn-based strategy coupled with an endearing high fantasy aesthetic.
Not for everyone, but what Blood Bowl II does, it does exceptionally well.
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.
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.
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.
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…