Backbreaker - a whole new football game

I downloaded it....I wasnt that impressed with it.

 

I'll have the full game tomorrow ($50 new BTW) but BB does a lot of things very differently than previous football games.

You have to see the tackles to know how well the Euphoria engine works, it's really "nextgen" animation compared to just motion capture.

This is a game from a small developer, but they want to make a great football game. Just the fact they realized it's a 3 day weekend for most of us, so they've emailed GameStop to sell the game early (Saturday the 29th instead of waiting till June 1st). Very cool move on their part.

As a first game, I don't expect it to be great, maybe even just fair-good overall. It's just nice to have another option besides Madden.

 

I'm thinking its going to be solid but probably get and average score from review sites.

 

Thanks for joining the party:

http://forums.thephins.com/showthread.php?t=49515

http://forums.thephins.com/showthread.php?t=13320&highlight=backbreaker

http://forums.thephins.com/showthread.php?t=1411&highlight=backbreaker








Edit: Madden is still the only player in the NFL video game field at the moment, but the article is still wrong in its statement about the past 5 years because both NFL Head Coach and NFL Head Coach 09 appeared in that time span.

 

All produced by EA.

 

Duh.

But it is not "EA's Madden" which the article claimed to be the only NFL game.

 

I forget have to be 100% Literal or else!!!

 

Well considering the article says this:

It would be absolutely silly to lump Head Coach in with Madden simply because they are both made by EA.

 

while I do wish something would come out that would put Madden to shame, it's unfortunately never happened and because EA is down right brilliant (and rich, dont forget rich) it never will.

Backbreaker does some things i think are cool but in the end its all just stuff EA can steal and put in their game whenever they want. it's a vicious cycle.

 

I downloaded the demo and checked it out this morning. For a demo, it's surprisingly robust, with a tutorial mode, a number of different teams, and the ability to play 2 two minute quarters of football. If you're a noob to the controls (as I am) I'd recommend playing the game's tutorial - this isn't Madden, and as such takes some getting used to. I also dropped the difficulty just to get a feel for the game.

As a geek I appreciate the detail that goes into this game - it's clearly all about the tackling. And that's where the game truly shines, as each interaction looks pretty much flawless. Backbreaker has nailed the nuances of football - this much more like playing the actual game, just based on how you interact with other players, and the camera angle that is used.

That can be kind of difficult, as unlike Madden, if you find yourself on a breakaway you may get tackled, as you can't see where folks are coming from. The passing controls are interesting though I found lob passes incredibly difficult to pull off. The passing mode is begging for a zoomed out mode; most of the time I found myself chucking and praying, as you really can't see the action down the field. If this game sells well and nets a sequel, then hopefully they can revisit this down the road.

I love the promises of the customization, which I've seen. I'm actually looking forward to trying to design a Miami Dolphins logo ... or stealing one that I find online. The in-game graphics are decent as well (particularly the crowd), though my complaint is that the players themselves look a bit plasticky, particularly the uniforms, which don't have any real texture and appear to be locked in place. While Madden will ooh and ahh you with realistic faces and jersey movement, you won't see that here.

That said the physics of the game make up for the missing aesthetics, and, depending on the price point, I may pick this up at some point, provided I can come up with some spare cash (and after I pick up Red Dead and Super Mario Galaxy 2). I do think it's smart strategy to get this game out now, in front of NCAA Football in July and Madden in August. I usually pick up one or the other anymore ... and I may instead skip both and pick up Backbreaker.

 

Camera angles totally blow this game's potential away...

 

i been playing this all weekend. It's in a funny place in games for me... It's new (idea, franchise, and game), so you have to have a level of leniency about it.

First and foremost, I think it blows the dog snot out of Madden football and gameplay wise. I can look at hits and tackles all day. It's true.... There never are two exactly the same. They're definitely physics based and horrible pre-rendered animations like madden.

Is it perfect? No way. Passing is ridiculous hard. Because of the location of the camera, it's VERY difficult to see over the line and see what's going on... All while getting away from the most skilled QB blitzers on earth. I (Like someone posted earlier) tend to throw and pray way too much. Camera transitions are tough too. There's no way to know who it's going to put you as so it's very easy to become disoriented.

The camera also is kinda why it feels more like football than madden does. A player shouldn't be able to know where everyone is 15 feet around him. It's tough to say what should stay and what should go for part 2. What do you sacrifice to make it more playable without loosing it's character and becoming Madden?

In the long run I don't know that a non licensed football game will drive a big enough fanbase to even warrant a part 2... But god I hope so. I made a power running team called the Puerto Rico Pistols. I'm enjoying my season against a whole heap of fake teams.

Not sure if I'd pay $60 for this, but I'd definitely play it over madden.

 

First google link tells me PS3 demo could be out anywhere from June 1st to 8th.

Until everyone else bought it?

 

U are a God bro

 

Hey!

I would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for those damn kids....

 

so I picked this up Saturday, traded in Modern Warfare 2 for it so it only cost me $30.

my thoughts are similar to Mor's. Passing with a bad QB is ridiculously hard. I went 3 for 23 with 3 interceptions in a game. It is that hard, and half of those should have been completions but they were just overthrown. I literally went to throw a swing pass to the running back and he hit the guy in the first row.....no joke.

running the ball is epic. so much fun.

playing defense is also epic. i've made more plays on defense in the two days I've had the game than my entire madden career. making tackles never gets old, i actually feel like I am part of the play now.

cheats:
you can name real players and teams by adding a space after the first name. I have the entire dolphins roster made out and a good rendition of the logo; I spent probably 5 hours or so on it.

tips:
set up your team, balance, and number of star players before you name your players. everytime you change your focus or number of star players your roster will be shuffled. I forgot to add star players and had to go rename my team again like 5 times while I tried to balance everything again.

 

Screenie or never happened :P