Bloodsports.tv: No Kumite, Lots Of Nukes
Welcome to Indie Spotlight!
Quick announcement: For the foreseeable future we will be aiming to post up an Indie Spotlight every week! More games for everyone!
Today we get a little sadistic with a stylish game that’s mixing old and new (and does it very well) – Bloodsports.tv!
Imagine a post-apocalyptic Sweden wherein the leaders insist on launching nuclear missiles on villages full of bandits, outlaws and thieves. Naturally, said bandits take it upon themselves to assault these missile silos and keep their homes safe. So, it’s up to you, a hired warrior and champion of the state, to protect the silos from being destroyed. Oh, did I mention they turned all of this into a Pay-Per-View spectacle?
Bloodsports.tv is the latest take on the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) genre. If you’ve heard of DOTA 2, League of Legends (LoL), Smite, Infinite Crisis … that’s the kind of game I’m talking about.
For those not familiar with this game style, you take control of a character and wage battle in an arena against enemy players and AI minions. Generally these games thrive on making dozens and dozens of characters (LoL and DOTA are well over 100 apiece!), each themed off a different class, fighting style or source material. The most common games pit teams of five players against each other, battling in a tug-of-war match until one team’s home base is destroyed.
Character gameplay and development is where the MOBA formula holds true in Bloodsports.tv. Each character has four unique skills that you can upgrade as you level up within a match. A shop on each map will provide with a whole slew of items that improve your stats (attack power, health and energy, movement speed, etc.). You’ll gain the money for these items by fighting and slaying foes.
What makes Bloodsports.tv unique is that it’s ultimately setup as a co-op tower-defense-like game! Instead of going up against five enemy players, you are fending off wave after wave of AI baddies that get stronger the longer you survive. Elite minions with powerful abilities mix up the challenge, and every few waves a big boss will invade to put your teamwork to the test.
Players get to setup the general difficulty of each match by selecting a League in which to compete. Amateur League gives the enemies little bonuses (like some health), whereas Pro and Master Leagues will also buff their skill powers and damage resistance. Hone your skills long enough and you’ll get to join the APOCALYMPICS! I don’t even know what kind of challenge awaits…
Despite my busy life, I have managed to put in about ten hours of gameplay in just the past week. As a huge fan of tower/base defense games and a four-year veteran of LoL, Bloodsports.tv carved a cozy place in my heart right away. If you’re all about cooperative tactics and prefer to beat up computer baddies instead of other players, you can do no wrong giving this game a try.
Bloodsports.tv was created by Toadman Interactive and Fatshark, and is available now on Steam.
