During my school days I was one of those kids into the whole games workshop/warhammer thing. As a result I was seriously excited when it was announced that a console version of their tabletop classic Blood Bowl was being developed. The potential was clearly there for a gaming experience that was just as addictive and exciting as the tabletop version. Did French developer Cyanide succeed? Read on to find out.

For those not in the know, Blood Bowl is a strategy game set in the games workshop universe and loosely based on American football. Teams consisting of different races (Elves, Orcs, Goblins and Humans amongst others) compete to score touchdowns by moving the ball into the opposition endzone, just like in the U.S sport.

However in this game pounding your opponents into the turf until they are dead is just as valid a tactic as a long pass. Each of the races specialises in different aspects of the game: the elves are superb passers of the ball but are very easily injured, whereas Orcs are rarely incapacitated but often struggle with even picking up the ball. Players on Goblin teams can even make use of special weapons such as chainsaws and pogo sticks.

The game features both the traditional 2 halves of 8 turns in turnbased mode, and the all new realtime ‘blitz’ mode. The realtime mode though is an absolute joke, as it’s realtime in name only. Players pause the match in order to give instructions to their team which are then played out when the game is restarted. It’s a good job then that the turn based mode has been executed much more successfully.

In turn based mode players can choose from a set of actions to be performed by each of the players on their team. The main actions revolve around moving, passing the ball or tackling opponents. The success or failure of each action is determined by a dice roll which is performed in the background in the case of all rolls with the exception of blocking (tackling) What dice roll is required to succeed is determined by the stats of the player performing it, and adjustments based upon the in game situation at the time.

If all of this sounds very complicated, that’s because it is. The turn based rules of blood bowl have been built up over the years since its release in 1987. To fully understand the rules of the game then players really need to read the ‘Living Rule Book’ which is over 60 pages long, and not included with the game. This makes the game exceedingly inaccessible to new players, many of whom will no doubt be put off by the bewildering array of things to learn. There is a tutorial included to try and ease new players into the game, but it is insufficient to say the least.

So, you may well be thinking that this game is worth avoiding. If you’re put off by having a lot to learn then that would probably be the best idea. If you’re willing to stick it out, however, then there’s a really fun gaming experience to be had here. Blood Bowl is well known amongst tabletop gamers for it’s superb balance of strategy and luck. Once you’ve learned the rules then it’s possible to appreciate this game for what it is: a high quality strategy experience. Earning star player points for actions completed during matches allows players to rank up, thereby gaining new skills and allowing managers to customise their style of play.

The single player game allows for cup competitions, one off games, tournaments, and the career mode. Be prepared for a long game should you choose career mode as it consists of a large number of tournaments each of which are made up of several matches. The beauty of this mode is that it allows for much ranking up which really can allow players massive customisation over their team.

I’m afraid that I can’t pass much judgement on the multiplayer part of the game due to the fact that on several occasions when I’ve tried to give it a go there hasn’t been a single other person online. I am able to bemoan the fact that you are not able to gain experience online and therefore a lot of the addictiveness of the game will be missing from it.

As much as I would like to be able to recommend this game to all of you, I can’t. The flaws are too many and too apparent. You just have to work too hard in order to find the fun here, which is an absolute shame. This makes my disappointment all the more profound, as I know from experience just how excellent the tabletop game is. I just wish that Cyanide had managed to translate this entertainment more capably into what should have been a quality game.

Verdict: 4.5/10. Only worth considering if you’ve got a lot of patience.