Great Game, don't listen to the haters.

[Terramis]

Hello all,

I just wanted to inform those who were/are on the fence about trying Blood Bowl that I almost didn't buy this game after reading a zillion negative forum posts about how awful it was and how broken it is etc.

However I went ahead and purchased the game regardless since I had played and enjoyed the tabletop many years ago. In short this is a great game. In turn based mode it is an excellent strategy game, plays well, holds true to the table-top rules, hasn't crashed on me at all, and is super fun.

I understand this may not be the type of game for everyone, strat games are often the least popular game type. I havn't tried the real-time version yet and would be happy even if it wasn't there at all.

I havn't had my computer hijacked from some terrible SecuRom Trojan of doom and have absolutely no complaints about the game other than perhaps the tutorial is certainly not good enough for someone who's never played before, and load times are a tad long.

All in all it is exactly what I was hoping for from a PC bloodbowl game and thanks go to the devs for a job well done.

T


(PS): Thanks to Disodium for noting the Steam overlay problem, which is true, Steam overlay does not work at all with Bloodbowl nor does my Alt-Tab. Not a dealbreaker but certainly would be nice to have.

[Disodium]

Initially I had issues with the game..
The whole 2x key registration thing was a bit of a worry but once that was out of the way it has been good.
The only issue for me now is the game does not allow you to Shift+Tab to use the steam overlay..

Other then that, I think it was a worthwhile buy and would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed playing the table top version.

Looking forward to the new version coming up!

[Nara]

I totally agree with this. It's a bit tough initially, but that's because it's a fairly complex game. Once I got over the initially high learning curve the complexity is what's hooked me in.

[hoplyt]

Yep, I'm happy with my purchase. It's a good game, and I had no issues with it.

[terrorance]

Ive played the game before on a friends PC and if you enjoy the board game you will probably enjoy it... that is if you can get it to run.

I have installed probably about 20+ different games on this PC and have never had a single problem. This game however hates my computer, it won't even get to the load screen just crashes after I click play in Steam.

[03tellis]

Ye, its kinda funny watching the haters hate. I've seen people say the gameplay is ♥♥♥♥, apparently they dont know about the board game XD

If I hadn't already played a little Blood Bowl a few years back I think I'd have a hard time learning with the bad tutorial. But overall its a good game.

[Phynaster]

Have to agree with all of the above. I never played the tabletop version but bought the game in the last days of the sale nontheless. I wasn't aware about the SecuROM untill after purchase and was disheartened after seeing all the negative forum posts but I persevered.

I have to say I'm glad I did - I've experienced no evil SecuROM problems whatsoever, the game has been rock steady as far as stability is concerned (no crashes at all).

The gameplay itself was a little difficult for me to learn initially and do expect to get thwomped in your first match if you're a complete beginner - I know I did. But after reading through the "Guide to not completley sucking at Blood Bowl" over on the official website forums and spending a couple of hours in-game I have experienced some truly spectacular moments in the campaign so far with my human team which have had me either jumping with joy at the amazing dodges/touchdown combination or feeling my heart sink when those pesky Elven Wardancers leap all over my poor back liners with their 2+ dodge rolls...

A word of advice - beginners should start out on Medium difficulty as the the difficulty setting only controls the AI's risk assessment. On Easy the AI will basically not risk assess and could pull off a string of high-risk, high-reward moves down to luck. For a less frustrating time use Medium as it nicely balances out this tendency.

[anachreon_]

+1. This is my surprise favorite game of the year. It's a shame you have to go online and find the full 5th edition living rulebook to actually understand what is going on - the developers could have done a far better job with the learning curve. But overall, my friends and I are having an absolute blast with this, and I can't wait to buy the legendary edition.

[Kews]

I regret reading reviews about this game when it was released. I didn't buy it before recently and I'm absolutely in love with it now. I'd marry this game if it was legal. So to keep things short; the damn reviewers stole alot of potential fun from me by scaring me away before.

IGN fouled and murdered my lineman. Don't believe their lies.

I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of the bad reviews stems from them not bothering to learn the very tricky rules in what limited they time have to sample the game. In terms of learning curve this game is up there with newb-unfriendly games like EVE Online. Also, I suppose it probably had bugs back in the day.

(PS): Thanks to Disodium for noting the Steam overlay problem, which is true, Steam overlay does not work at all with Bloodbowl nor does my Alt-Tab. Not a dealbreaker but certainly would be nice to have.
You can make it alt-tab via some tech kung-fu. First you have to ctrl+alt+del to get your task manager, then you alt-tab twice to make the game actually minimize and show your taskman, and after that you can alt-tab as much as you like.

[Delinth]

You can make it alt-tab via some tech kung-fu. First you have to ctrl+alt+del to get your task manager, then you alt-tab twice to make the game actually minimize and show your taskman, and after that you can alt-tab as much as you like.

Or you can disable fullscreen in options. It's computer wizardry at it's finest.

[lon_suder]

Used to play the tabletop version so when I saw this on sale I jumped on it. Haven't regretted it for a moment. It is great fun and nothing beats smacking a wood elf into the dirt.

[Donners]

I think it's a good game, I just find it extremely slow both in terms of loading for each game and each AI turn. Admittedly, not quite as slow for the AI thinking as the old DOS version, but slow nonetheless when you want to play a campaign!

[Genosidoh]

I think it's a good game, I just find it extremely slow both in terms of loading for each game and each AI turn. Admittedly, not quite as slow for the AI thinking as the old DOS version, but slow nonetheless when you want to play a campaign!

I use the + key to speed up the game during the AI's turn, it solves it nicely.

[Donners]

I use the + key to speed up the game during the AI's turn, it solves it nicely.

Wha...

Well, that's what happens when you don't read the manual. Load times are still terrible, but at least the game speeds by now. Can't believe I wasted all that time before.

Thanks!

[Nitemair]

This is actually the only game I am playing these days. The first 20 hours or so was FRUSTRATING. I actually didn't think it was possible to beat the computer even on the easy setting. Once you get in the grove and figure out the rules and skills, the game become a ton of fun.

Recommendation: Build an Orc team and get block and mighty blow on EVERYONE.


The only problems that I have had is when the match is loading and it says "Loading Sounds", every once in a while I will get an error and have to reload.

I regret reading reviews about this game when it was released. I didn't buy it before recently and I'm absolutely in love with it now. I'd marry this game if it was legal. So to keep things short; the damn reviewers stole alot of potential fun from me by scaring me away before.

Totally Agree

[giskarduk]

I enjoy the game a lot too, definitely recommend it but its a bit of learning curve, but worth it.

[SalamanderX]

Never played a tabletop game of bloodbowl in my life (never even knew about it) but enjoyed the game quite a bit. Perfect "beer and pretzels" kind of game.

I play against the AI and while its not perfect it does a decent enough job for a casual player and will win if dont make a good effort (and sometimes the rolls are just against you even still).

[One_Eye]

Its interesting because it would be very difficult to distinguish between the haters who have actually played this game and disliked it from those who have never played the cyanide version but simply hate it because it has attracted a great many players from other BB websites.

This will make sense to those who understand what other websites i'm talking about but to those who don't (i'm not going to promote them so no names), just don't get sucked into the negativity because in many cases its just coming from people with very skewed and bias opinions that have absolutely nothing to do with the cyanide game.

Bloodbowl was originally a boardgame that has secured such a massive following that it had to be made into a full computer game. It is not however a simple and easy game to learn like so many dumbed-down games around today. it will take many many games to get used to the gameplay and basic movement/actions available and THEN you need to learn the tactical part of the game. This will take years not weeks and some players will just never fully get the point of the game.

Its a hobby, a passion and a lifestyle. Its not just a computer game and long after Cyanide have stopped supporting this game, Bloodbowl will continue to be played on thousands and thousands of tabletops by people across the world.