Preview Blood Bowl

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Since the release of Chaos League during summer 2004, fans hoping to see a Cyanide days working on the famous license Blood Bowl Games Workshop universe both of the two titles are similar. After many adventures and a few threats of lawsuits, their dream has never been closer to being realized. The studio french actually works, and this for several months, the adaptation of Blood Bowl in video game. After a quick presentation at last fall during the Games Convention, Cyanide invited us into his office to try it on both PC and on consoles. Impressions.



Based on the rules of U.S. football, the Blood Bowl is both a fantasy and much more trash in the national sport in the country of Uncle Sam Designed by the English of Games Workshop, this board game based on the Both teams struggle to score touchdown. As U.S. soccer, the ball is oval. As U.S. soccer, the confrontation is muscular, but unlike the U.S. football here almost all shots are allowed to prevail. Indeed, a game of Blood Bowl has quickly turned to boxing and this happy "anything" that Cyanide has tried to recreate.



A joyous anything Cyanide was based on the final draft of the rules of the game. Even if it has any hopes of importance to newcomers, it is of course a guarantee of quality players rocked the Games Workshop since their early childhood. It should be added for even more stick game, Cyanide has developed a game turn-based. It is present on the four media listed (DS, PC, PSP and Xbox 360), but note immediately that for a greater number of players, Cyanide has also developed a real-time mode on PC and Xbox 360 only.

Turn-based or real time, this does not change much to the many options of the game in one case as in the other, we can compete in singles parties, taking part in championships and customize all kinds of competitions "classified" (ie managed by Cyanide) or "free". Small disappointment however, it is possible to play on a single machine, but not to make a number of competitions in this way: this should be left to management "per sheet of paper interposed." Seemingly rich and full, the options available will deserve our attention at the time of testing.

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For now, we focused on the ingame impressions and from that point of view, we were not disappointed. Of course, we could not play a lot of time, but in real time mode first, we have found the sensation of a part of Blood Bowl. The camera, totally free, will give the land as you want and all is perfectly readable in all circumstances. Nothing wrong either at the level of players. They are very finely drawn and luxury details can very quickly identify the various players, the "big boss" and the star player.



In this regard, note that the creation of a new team, the Cyanide Blood Bowl again scrupulously follow the rules of the game with a choice of positions for the players' basic 'hiring "big boss" ( men and trees, minotaurs ...) and recruitment of mercenaries to the time of a match. These mercenaries are actually players who featured on condition of breaking the bank, may change after a match. Of course, during the game, these talents are soon the target of all attacks! In a game of Blood Bowl, and even if the ball is still the main element, many players tend to lose interest in the pig bladder to go "play together" ... literally!

So that part does not turn-drag not too many, it is possible to define a maximum length for the turn of a player. This period can increase the pressure while in a turn, it is obviously important to forget any movement. The first player makes his moves, launching few attacks and his defense before the other player does the same with in mind, however, the objective of scoring a touchdown, taking the ball into the area en - opposing goal. The party rose at a rate of exchange of PIFS-stuffing and goals until the 16th and final round of a match.

In real time, things are not fundamentally different. For Cyanide, it was especially important to offer a game a little more dynamic than the turn-based, but you can not necessarily distort the Blood Bowl. It is therefore not a game as great a part of Pro Evolution Soccer for example, but the atmosphere is still present and even for a purist mode that offers real-time great moments. The rules are all present with some adjustments so that the actual time to work: the actions of some players are left to artificial intelligence as a player focuses on the essentials.

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Despite the wealth of the rules of the fifth edition, the Blood Bowl takes place without much time. The game shows its advantage by playing board games in the sense that all the tedious elements are supported by the computer ... or the console. Habile transition quickly to talk of portable versions. While the Xbox 360 version should be identical to the PC, on consoles, we will right the way round by round in order to allow these small machines. The DS is graphically very simplified, but still enjoyable while the PSP retains the essential details of the PC version.



We have tried this version a few minutes and resumed at any point, the qualities of Blood Bowl PC. All rules, all the options and, it seems, all contents are present. The controls are responsive and lack of mouse not a problem. Single question: while Cyanide has not made any secret of the many additions that the studio is already thinking, the console versions will be as well off as the PC version at this level? With eight races and six fields, the game is already quite rich, but the world of Games Workshop contains