Reader Review: Blood Bowl

Do you have what it takes to get a review published right here on Kotaku? Nick does, as he dresses goblins in helmets.

Yes, that’s right, we’re now publishing reader reviews here on Kotaku. This is your chance to deliver sensible game purchasing advice to the rest of the Kotaku community.

And thanks to the very kind chaps at Madman Entertainment, purveyor of all kinds of cool, indie and esoteric film, the best reader review we publish each month will win a prize pack containing ten of the latest Madman DVD releases.

This review was submitted by Nick Durbridge. If you’ve played Blood Bowl, or just want to ask Nick more about it, leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Blood Bowl (Xbox 360)

The fantasy-based table-top sporting game makes it to the big league.

Loved

Mighty Blow: The problem most board-game-to-console ports have is that they play hard and fast with the rule set, often changing the game’s core mechanics to take advantage of the technology (what’s wrong with dice? Come on!). Blood Bowl side-steps this, by having two game modes, one being a faithful interpretation of the table-top game’s 5th edition rule set. The other mode is a real-time top-down shoulder charge of an affair that foregoes turns for instant impact.

Blitz: Whilst turn-based, players are under the pump as the game counts down the time to an automatic turnover to the other team. Simple mechanics allow even the most complicated play to be refined to a series of selections and button taps on the field itself. The HUD is purely for decoration, making the game surprisingly easy to pick up and learn.

MVP: Just as with the board game, the campaign modes offer you the potential to increase your team beyond their initial humble beginnings, both by gaining “Star Player Points” through skilful play, and by using the team’s funds to purchase better equipment or sneaky tricks.

Hated

Stumble: The real-time game needs a lot of work. It’s not great at all.

KO’d: Whilst being able to give my star player a better helmet certainly helps him when being beaten senseless by a Goblin with a chainsaw, the PC versions’ team customisation options would have been a nice way to avoid the eye strain gained by trying to separate the red-livery from the red-due-to-being-stomped-into-the-grass players.

Fumble: The AI has a very limited range of tactics, making campaign games a little too easy to predict the outcome of once the ruckus begins.

Blood Bowl is far from a perfect sporting game, but for aficionado’s of the table-top classic it’ll have you reliving your glory days and swapping new stories of spectacular touchdowns.

Reviewed by: Nick Durbridge

You can have your Reader Review published on Kotaku. Send your review to us at the usual address. Make sure it’s written in the same format as above and in under 300 words – yes, we’ve upped the word limit. We’ll publish the best ones we get and the best of the month will win a Madman DVD prize pack.

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