Refusing to throw in the towel, Blood Bowl steps back onto the field

Just hearing the concept behind Blood Bowl 2 is enough to make any fantasy fan start to ponder possibilities. Pitting human forces against orcs, or elves against the forces of chaos on a “fair” American football inspired sports field, sparks the imagination and has nerds from all walks of life debating who would win and why.

Well, they won’t have to ponder much longer, because Blood Bowl 2 is nearly here.

Keeping their eye on the ball

With the original Games Workshop Blood Bowl board game hard to come by, and the original Blood Bowl video game a little lacking in terms of execution, my hopes are high for this follow up. The first game lacked the impact required for such a brutal sport, with each play feeling quite mundane. This could have been forgiven if the developers were trying to capture the feel of the tabletop game, but they also hid many of these trappings (such as visible dice rolls) to leave the whole thing falling flat.

Even looking at the videos for this new take on the board game it seems evident that the complaints have been taken to heart. Dice seem to have been placed front and foremost, showing the game’s roots and surfacing why each action turns out the way it does. The same can be said for movement, which is filled with arrows and grids in a way that will look comfortably familiar tabletop fans.

Heavy hitter

The other notable change is in the visual design. The previous cartoony style has been replaced with something far more realistic, with each race’s team now seeming distinctly more ready to rumble. This grittier, more brutal look is maintained in the character’s interactions, which look far more devastating and hard hitting – distinctly more in keeping with the ethos of the game.

Other features promised for the sequel include a full realized story, new teams, improved AI, tactile feedback, and loads of customization options to style your teams however you fancy.

The gloves are off

My hopes are certainly high for Blood Bowl 2, I only hope that it will deliver after the disappointed of the last installment and the mobile version. Still, at least the comical announcers seem to be back – so one way or another I will be having a giggle.