Chaos League
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| Chaos League | |
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| Developer(s) | Cyanide Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Digital Jesters Focus Home Interactive |
| Latest version | 1.7 (December 15, 2004) |
| Release date(s) | August 8, 2004 (EU) March 8, 2005 (US) |
| Genre(s) | Real Time Strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | PEGI: 12+ |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
Chaos League is a real time strategy fantasy based sports game developed by Cyanide Studios and published by Digital Jesters in 2004. The game is viewed by some to be based on the table top Games Workshop Blood Bowl franchise with many references including style of characters and names of certain skills within both games. The game has also spawned an expansion entitled "Sudden Death" in 2005. The game features traditional fantasy elements like mythical races and magic but includes many comedy values like comical character and commentary styling. The game has received a cult, if not small, fan base online in Western Europe, mostly France and is one of the more well known Cyanide titles.
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[edit] Gameplay
Chaos League falls into a multiple genre category, both real time strategy and sports games as the game involves war based tactics like unit positions and fighting strategies but the main goal of the game to score points by getting a pig skin ball to the opposite end zone, very much like the same rules found in American Football (Mutant League Football is a similar 1993 game of this style). Players are given a choice of 10 different fantasy based races (13 in Sudden Death) to play as their team, each with their own style of play, skill and tactics. The player then has to handle the teams finances in order to hire different players like Linemen, Quarterbacks etc after of which can name them individually to their liking. When gameplay starts, players are given 1 minute to set up their formation, after game starts in real time. The player can click on individual team mates an give them an order like attack opponent, pick up ball, throw ball to this player, cast spell etc, all with the goal to get the ball to the end zone. Each game lasts 10 minutes, after players can be upgraded to gain extra speed or strength or to add new skills or magic abilities, all from gaining experience during the last game they played like scoring or crippling an opposing team mate.
Other aspects astray from normal sports games include causing player knock outs, injuries or even deaths. Chaos League also includes rather crude options like stamping on downed players, intervening hooligans, drugging players before games and bribing the referee when the rules are broken. The main basis of some of it's popularity was the comical style of commentary from a dysfunctional pair of Chaos League enthusiasts that would insult both each other, the fans and the players in the current game. The Sudden Death add on expanded the features to include team clans to help during gameplay, fighting the ref and aging players over time, requiring new players every few seasons.
There are 5 modes for the player to choose from the main menu.
- Championship - In 4 different ranking divisions, teams are to play up to 10 games per season, each game counting towards a final score in which the top 2 teams will play to see which advances to a higher division, or which 2 bottom scores play to stay in their current division. At the end of the player can choose whether to enter their team into a basic structured tournament to win a final trophy. After this victory a new year starts again.
- Match-Up - Custom sandbox freeplay games where players can who they play and where along with editing certain game rules.
- Scenario - Preset challenges slightly different from normal gameplay, focusing on a set score or kill limit.
- Multiplayer - Either online or a LAN match.
- Tutorial - To learn the game's basics.
[edit] Player Positions
A team can hire up to 15 players (9 per team on the pitch during the match) with a choice of player positions, each one with their own skills, looks and game style. However not all positions are available for all teams, instead some go without others like for example Dwarves get no receivers like Wood Elves do yet instead have a Linebacker unlike Wood Elves.
- Lineman - Physical players, injures quarterback more easily.
- Receiver - Fast runners and good at catching the ball, can make a feint against a runningback more easily.
- Linebacker - Offence force, injures a bigfoot more easily.
- Quarterback - Ball passers, inflicts feinting penalty on a receiver.
- Runningback - All round player, stronger with ball with armour bonus against linebacker.
- Bigfoot - Special brutal fighters, protection penalty on a lineman (one per team except Goblins).
- Champion - Unique players in many ways, mostly on their race's special skill.
[edit] Races
Chaos League featured 9 races, all the traditional fantasy style classes similar to that of Warcraft and Dungeons and Dragons.
- Humans - All round players with the skill to adapt their personal play against other teams. (Bigfoot: Ogre, no Linebackers)
- Dark Elves - Skilled in the arts of magic and can handle the ball very well, yet are weak in fighting. (Bigfoot: Dark Ent, no linebackers)
- Wood Elves - Better at handling the ball than Dark Elves but not a skilled with magic, they are also weak in fighting. (Bigfoot: Ent, no linebackers)
- Orcs - Aggressive players backed up with some magic but are much slower and handle the ball less well. (Bigfoot: Troll, no Runningbacks)
- Dwarves - Very slow, poor at magic and terrible at handling the ball, however are the strongest and best fighters in the game. (Bigfoot: Elder Dwarf, no Receivers)
- Goblins - Very small and weak but are slippery characters, plus can hire multiple bigfoot monster players. (Bigfoot: Minotaur, GoboRider x2, no Linebackers, Runningbacks or Quarterbacks)
- Barbarians - Like humans but better a fighting yet more vulnerable defence. (Bigfoot: Hunter, no Runningbacks)
- Undead - Wider player choice to vary speed and strength depending of position choices. (No Bigfoot yet Linebackers stronger, no Receivers)
- Praetorians (wolf men) - The best at long distance running and are fair handling the ball but incredibly weak. (Bigfoot: Balgor, no Linebackers)
- Mercenaries - A round up of weak linemen from all of the above races varying play. (No Bigfoot)
The following races are included in the Sudden Death expansion pack.
- Gnomes - Slow and stumpy yet use heavy steam powered machine walkers to for their advantage. (Bigfoot: Machine, no Linebackers or Runningbacks)
- Damned (demons) - Use black magic for fighting situations rather than playing passing games. (Bigfoot: Demon, no Receivers or Runningbacks)
- Cicturas (lizard men) - Weak yet slippery players who use projectile poisons and bites to wear down foes. (Bigfoot: Cicturi, no Runningbacks or Receivers)
[edit] Modding
The main basis for the game's cult like status came from the vast chance to mod many aspects of the games [1] like custom team logos or pitch design. However the more popular modding aspect came from player skins and costumes which was a simple matter of rendering character pallets in the game's software files. Changing character models was accomplished by only a very view and even then it was mostly swapping of player templates.
[edit] Blood Bowl Connections
The majority of Chaos League fans also prefer the Games Workshop table top game Blood Bowl, also a fantasy parody of American Football. Despite the obvious connections to the style of the game itself, both being violent fantasy sports, even minor similarities were noticeable to Blood Bowl fans. Most notable were the recurring skills in both like "Mighty Blow", "Bulldoze" and "Projectile". Even during a loading menu in after games, a well known red sun with an Orc face, usually found on Games Workshop inks can be seen in the background. Despite many obvious connections, Cyanide had no ties or legal rights exchange with Games Workshop. However there has been news of the studio developing a Blood Bowl game off the Chaos League engine.[2]
