It is a sad fact of life that established games of real world sports, like FIFA Football, will always sell thousands of truckloads more than any futuristic, fantasy-inspired sports game concepts. People love to play what they already know and are familiar with, which is why Chaos League will likely never receive the attention it truly deserves. But it is my mission to change all that.

For those who don’t know what Chaos League is all about, have a glance through the verbose ramblings of my esteemed colleague, Philip Howard here.

In a nutshell, the idea is to score rugby-like goals on a something vaguely resembling a rugby pitch, by taking the ball past the opposition. But the rules quite simply don’t exist. There are a few rough guidelines in place, but there is nothing to stop you trampling them into the dirt alongside your opposition. Kill, maim, or eviscerate; there are no restrictions to prevent you from slaughtering your way to the enemy goal.

Chaos League: Sudden Death comprises the entire original game, as well as the Sudden Death expansion pack. So let’s check out the improvements that the pack has to offer.

There are no major alterations to the way the game plays; the pack mainly consists of content additions. Three new races are available to play as: The Damned, The Gnomes, and The Cigulae. None of these are amazingly different or original, although it must be said that The Damned are pretty damned cool, with some excellent characters.

The addition of plenty of new heroes is a nice touch, and with some memorable ones at that. There is also a new character class: the Captain. They add some needed muscle to most sides, and have some nifty abilities. There are also four new maps to play on, each with its own unique style and bonus arrangements according the terrain.

There are various nips and tucks in the gameplay department, with increased control over both the pitchside and management side of your players. They also have a vastly enlargened repository of spells to add some glittery death to the battlefield. You can still bribe the referee to ignore your dirty tactics, or hire some unsavoury types to take out one of the opposition’s deadliest team members before matchday arrives.

Probably the biggest problem I have with the game is that it does not fulfil the atmosphere it promises to create. The whole ambience of the game is based around the thrilling notion that this is a horrendous bloodsport, with each match leaving a scattered trail of death, dismemberment, gore, and assorted eyeballs. The reality however is quite different. Teams just bash each other until one of them is knocked out, and they lose a bit of life. If they lose enough life, they will die, but this is not a particularly common occurrence throughout the course of a standard match.

The gameplay is never as exciting as it could be, as the adrenaline thrill of impending danger is so subdued as to be negligible. And although the zoomable camera allows you to get right into the action, the rather blocky graphics remove any kind of emotional attachment you might otherwise form with your players.

The only other criticism I have is that that with such a freeform style of gameplay, things are horrendously unbalanced. Some races are distinctly underpowered, with few good players, while some seem to have plenty of amazing ones. Plus, with so few rules, match results are often arbitrary. One match you might lose 10-0, the next you might win by the same margin. Of course it is not entirely random, and skilled players can pull off some impressive tactical coups, but the whole concept is just a little too loose.

Regardless though, there is much fun to be had from Chaos League. A standard match of elaborate passing and progression techniques accompanied by lots of crushing of skulls is a distinctly enjoyable experience. Magical spells flicker and burn around the battlefield, sorry, I mean pitch, and mystical creatures from fantasy-land adorn the ground with their blood. Sometimes the actual idea of the ball can seem a bit of an afterthought, and you all too often forget all about it and just pummel the opposition into submission.

But nevertheless, at just £19.99 for Chaos League: Sudden Death, which includes the full game as well as the expansion pack, this is great value for anyone who has not yet sampled its delights. Having said that, too little is added to make the purchase worthwhile to most players who already own the original game.