By Jim Rossignol on June 25th, 2008 at 7:30 pm.
Following this afternoon’s sports theme, we get something a little more meaty: a trailer and some screenshots for the upcoming Bloodbowl game. This if, of course, is the Games Workshop boardgame in which the denizens of fantasy RPG-world tear each other to shreds in fights over an inflated pigskin, while wearing clothes that look remarkably similar to the armour worn by American foot-to-ballists. In keeping with the boardgame, Bloodbowl is be turn-based. No crazy Speedball-style gaming here – we’re talking tactics. After the click: a trailer and some enormous images.
There’s what appears to be some in-game footage in the second half of this trailer, but neither that, nor the screens, are giving much away about how the game will play. Developers Cyanide make excellent cycling games (also sports!) so it’s hard to tell how they will handle this task.
Fantasy sports game don’t traditionally do all that well at review, and if they were ever going to leave us with a bloody taste in our mouths, then Bloodbowl would be the game to do it. I don’t know that means, but it seemed appropriate. Onward!
Click for the full image:
Bloodbowl is due by Christmas 2008.
25/06/2008 at 19:53 Jonathan says:
Elves being brutaly beaten by orkz and Dwarves being consisting of 80% beard and 20% beer. All is right in the fantasy world.
No words from Kieron?
25/06/2008 at 20:03 fanciestofpants says:
I had no idea someone was making a proper bloodbowl computer game. My life is brightened.
25/06/2008 at 20:05 Jon says:
I want to pre-order this already. The idea alone is worth £30.
25/06/2008 at 20:18 Stella says:
Sadly, the trailer doesn’t seem to be working for me. I never played the board game and would’ve expected a Blitz-type game. Turn-based football? Could be interesting.
25/06/2008 at 20:25 Verdugo says:
It’s not football, it’s BLOOOOODBALLLLLLLLLL
25/06/2008 at 20:30 KingMob says:
@Stella: I had the same problem. View it in a new window by right clicking, or just go to this link:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/233796.html
Anyhow, this seems pretty great. And turn based as well??! Actually, I feel like I should check if it’s April 1st, as this is just the kind of trick some people seem to play then.
25/06/2008 at 20:36 Crash says:
This game is biggest GWs’ joke in whole tabletop games’ world. And now they want to make a computer game based on it?! I want two copies, presto!
Elven cheerleaders will made me to buy this game. I just hope I WON’T see orcish cheerleaders.. o.O
25/06/2008 at 20:39 Shon says:
The idea of a turn based Blood Bowl computer game is too good to be true. They could slap any price they want on it and I will snatch it up.
I wonder if they will have multiplayer?
25/06/2008 at 20:39 andy m says:
this is really just a reskinning / updating of chaos league by the same developers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_League
as chaos league was any good, this is not a bad thing.
25/06/2008 at 20:43 Kieron Gillen says:
Jonathan: Nope. They asked me if I wanted to do it, I said yes, but you’ll have to pay me more than you did last time and I never heard from them again.
KG
25/06/2008 at 20:55 K says:
There’s actually an older computer version of Bloodbowl too. Turn-based and everything. I have it somewhere.
25/06/2008 at 21:22 Lacero says:
There’s fumbbl too, with a java client.
I’m really looking forward to this, I just hope it has skaven in it. If they follow the GW rules it should be a fantastic game whatever else they do.
25/06/2008 at 21:29 liquidindian says:
I have absolutely no desire to play any tabletop GW games again. All that hassle, all the painting and arguing over rules and transporting miniatures and buying the things in the first place will bankrupt you and so on.
This game will get rid of all those annoyances, and leave a game I remember as being pretty damn good. I’m excited.
25/06/2008 at 21:58 gnome says:
Oh please have a turn-based mode and decent online options… please…
25/06/2008 at 22:16 terry says:
Please can I have a turn-based “You throw the bladder to the undersized troll and bludgeon him thenceforth with a copper syringe” mode and a realtime-mode for all of us poor denizens that once played Brutal Sports Football/Speedball 2.
Pretty please?
edit: to add naval gazing
25/06/2008 at 22:43 Jubaal says:
This is one I’ve been following very closely and am certainly looking forward to. I owned the original Blood Bowl game with the cardboard pieces and was also heavily into Chaos League where I ran a friendly league. Keeping my fingers crossed for this one.
terry: You will be pleased to know that the developers have confirmed that they are doing two game types. One will be turn-based as faithful as possible to the LRB5 (Living Rule Book version 5) and the other will be real-time action probably along the same lines as Chaos League. Everyone’s a winner.
While I’m here I’d just like to say that I’ve only recently discovered this website and now it is one of my daily “checks”. It isn’t just because of the great input from the RPS guys, but mainly it is the intelligent, humorous and dare I say gentlemanly comments left by the readers that are the icing on the cake for me. It is as if this site exists in a bubble where the normal laws of the internet don’t exist i.e. people are malicious, rude and attack your point of view with no valid argument all because they hiding behind a computer screen and can’t see the whites of your eyes. I salute you all.
25/06/2008 at 23:03 mathew says:
I have a total boner for this game. It’s one of the few I can say “I can’t wait!” about.
25/06/2008 at 23:05 chesh says:
Oh, dear, it’s the only football game I can care about, in video form. I’m doomed.
25/06/2008 at 23:06 Rook says:
Illegal Procedure!
25/06/2008 at 23:17 Faust says:
I think this just gave me a massive WANT on.
@Jubaal… keep it down.. we don’t want them to know…
25/06/2008 at 23:35 Shon says:
after watching the trailer again I just wanted to say I laughed my ass off at the Orc who pummeled that catcher. It wasn’t a tackle, it was a mugging. Thatbrought back so many tabletop beat down memories.
25/06/2008 at 23:45 Arathain says:
Turn-based, against all hope. How… delightful.
25/06/2008 at 23:48 geraint says:
honestly they need to incorporate the THROW TEAM MATE skill into Madden. and TF2. and actual gridiron
26/06/2008 at 00:22 Saul says:
GW’s best game ever. Can’t wait :)
26/06/2008 at 00:41 shinygerbil says:
Now, if they announced Necromunda: The Video Game tomorrow, then I’d get excited.
26/06/2008 at 01:27 John P (Katsumoto) says:
+100000 to shinygerbil’s hopes and dreams.
In other news, American Football has always struck me as being a bit mental – whenever I see any I have no idea what’s going on other than loads of men in ridiculous armour running into each other. Make those men Orcs the concept is rounded out perfectly and brought to its logical (logical for me, I stress) conclusion. I love bloodbowl.
26/06/2008 at 02:49 Dr Snofeld says:
American football’s just rugby for wusses. Bloodbowl is a whole other matter, of course. it might, might, be as violent and bloody as rugby.
26/06/2008 at 05:24 MeestaNob! says:
If this has matchmaking and Steam support I’M FUCKING SOLD.
I never really played the tabletop game much but I did enjoy the few games I played.
26/06/2008 at 09:16 Ian says:
I loves me some American throwball.
I also loves me some humanoid beasties smacking shit out of each other.
This has my attention.
26/06/2008 at 10:28 itsallcrap says:
Once or twice as a child I followed my brother into a Games Workshop. Bloodbowl was the only game that ever looked entertaining to me.
This event should be added to Beijing 2008
26/06/2008 at 10:40 Rosti says:
Necromunda: The Video Game with support for continuous Hive action for a group over the intertubes and AI Enforcers/Spyres? WANT.
Might get Bloodbowl on a handheld, mind you, for journeying purposes. Certainly looks the part.
26/06/2008 at 11:11 Biggles says:
Rosti, nah, playing as spyrers should be premium content for rich kids. Fits in with the setting too well to do it any other way.
26/06/2008 at 12:11 Crispy says:
If this came out on Steam, reasonably priced for all markets, it’d be top spot for weeks on end.
Can’t wait. But Necromunda would be better.
26/06/2008 at 13:01 Arnulf says:
If Blizzard should decide to improve their WOW client display engine (for accommodating that early-adopter, hardware-hungry, power-gamer super-nerd!) they should take a close look at this one! Gorgeous!
(Btw, what is Blizzard up to?)
26/06/2008 at 14:38 Malagate says:
Shinygerbil, John P, Rosti, Biggles and Crispy, if only 6 people were enough to get a Necromunda videogame, although there’s probably more like us out there…
I’d see Spyres as end-game content, they would be an excellent goal to work towards but not necessarily the only end-game content (i.e. you could stay as a gang leader).
But yes, Bloodbowl. As long as there are elves being broken like dry twigs then I’ll enjoy this game, been ice ages since I’ve played anything resembling a sports game too.
26/06/2008 at 17:03 Fumarole says:
I never played the tabletop game, but this looks like something I’ll be picking up.
26/06/2008 at 18:13 The Hammer says:
That art style is really, really, really lovely. Not too much bloom, and agreeably clear and bright.
Only the turn-based element puts me off, but that’s probably more to do with me being an impatient dick.
WAIT WAIT WAIT. Real-time as well you say, Jubaal? Christ on a bike, I’m in love.
26/06/2008 at 18:25 Lucky Main Street says:
Anyone remember Mutant League Football? That game was awesome.
24/04/2009 at 13:38 anonymous coward says:
.