Customer Reviews

Backbreaker Football

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is a must own for any gamer who loves football and is tired of Madden.
I for one am tired of shelling out $60 for roster updates with a few added bells and whistles. Don't read into the negative reviews too much. From what I've read, they try and compare this game to Madden. The only thing it has in common with Madden is their both football games. No canned animations here. The all new physics engine is awesome, delivering a unique football experience like no other. Whatever complaints reviewers have had are lame. No refs, no commentary. Who cares. It's the look they were going for and it doesn't hinder the game in any way. Full customizable teams and player names! It has solid graphics, huge hits and is a true next-gen title.
Check out the demo on Live. There is a learning curve to get good but once you're there, its addicting. The change in controls is also a plus, using the analog sticks to pass and triggers to enable aggressive running and focus on receivers.
We need to support innovation so we dont get stuck with the same stale game every year (Madden). I'm not saying everyone out there is going to like the new style, but at least appreciate the effort involved in the whole new vision of football this game offers.

This is my first time ever writting a review, but I think people should know that this game is not what everyone says it is.

1. When I first got the game, it was frustrating trying to play when you are so used to the controls from other football games, but I fought through this learning experience and now I actually like the controls. It does take some time to get used to them though.

2. It seems that everyone is claming that this is "real football" and unless you know real football you will not appreciate it... Well, that is true to some extent. The camera angle does make it much more like real football in that you can not see the whole field all the time, but to me that is where the "real football" experience ends. The gameplay is nothing like real football. While playing games, I notice that there are WAY TO MANY SACKS AND INTERCEPTIONS! It happens all the time, not just to me (I could understand that because it takes time to learn the game), but the computer throws interceptions all the time also. You will probably get at least 3 interceptions per game (5 min quarters), and possibly many more... Now, in "real football" it is rare for 3 or more interceptions, but not in this game. Also, you will probably get at least 10 sacks in a game, and get sacked many more depending on your skills. How many games of "real football" do you see a team get 10 sacks in? And that is not from me, I play the safety position, so those are coming from the computer vs computer on the line.

3. I have run into several issues with returning a punt. For 1, I am probably not exagerating when I say 25% of the punts result in a roughing the kicker penalty from my guy running into the kicker (and I'm way back controling the returner) This happens way too much and I end up having to take control of the ends to keep them from running into the kicker for a 15 yard penalty. Not much like "real football" to me.

4. The computer AI is terrible. I was in a game where I was trailing by 2 touchdowns with 3 minutes to go... The computer did not try to run the clock down to win the game... The computer repeatedly threw passes and did not let the play clock run down... I was able to stop them and score, then stop them again inside of 2 minutes and tie the game. I didn't even have to use my timeouts because the computer was throwing the ball and not letting the play clock run down. This isn't "real football"

5. One final point. Your player falls down way too easy. If you run into the back of your lineman you will most likely fall down backwards. I haven't seen (that I can recall) my player bounce off the back of my own man to hit the hole once.

Summary: There are several GREAT things about this game, but after giving it an honest try I would not recommend it and would not buy it again if given the choice. The physics are great, the new controls are actually good once you get used to them, and I even have grown to appreciate the camera angle. BUT, there are way to many BAD things about this game to make it a "real football" game. I have come to the conclusion that people are just saying that to make themselves feel like they know football more than others.

Finally an alternative to the Madden football games we've all been forced to play since EA gained exclusivity of the NFL license.

If you were one of the few to pick up All-Pro 2K8 you'll know that, without the NFL logos, the game of American football seems to appear a bit different. While All-Pro 2K8 was a decent comeback for the team responsible for the finest football game to date (NFL2K5), 2K sports just couldn't compete with the Madden marketing juggernaught and, sadly, gamers never got to see an updated version of All-Pro.

Flash forward three years and out comes a new contender in "Backbreaker." Hopes were high, but expectations had to be set low, for this new football game coming from Natural Motion and 505 Studios. You really need to see this game running in all of its glory to appreciate what 505 has done here. Like their marketing has boasted, "there are no canned routines and every tackle IS different." Linemen move realistically, players obey the rules of football and the animation engine never seems to quit giving of itself. Some hits are brutal, some are downright hilarious and some hits I've seen would kill a person if they happened on the field. Sure the crowd animations are limited and the characters look like sculpted-robot-men from the future but, at its core, Backbreaker is a very solid first outing and definitely has the components to build an even greater football experience their next time around.

As for now, at $49.99, you can't find a better reason to stop paying for Madden's inability to innovate every year and start playing football again.

I really really tried to love this game. I watched video's on youtube thinking this would be the new revolution of football gaming as much as I hate Madden I was ready for something new and refreshing. I played this game for 3 hours straight as soon as I purchased it, knowing there was a learning curve I gave my self some time to adjust and still could not enjoy myself. Either I am terrible or this game just lacks the simplistic play that I have learned and perfected in Madden and NCAA Football. The offensive controls are down-right awful, I sometimes sit in the pocket and move the thumb stick 3 or 4 times before he winds up his arm and eventually gets sacked. I have a hard time gaining any yards on outside runs and ALWAYS lose yards. Defensively, I cannot even begin to explain, I become lost and once I find out where the player with the ball is the play is over. I will continue trying to get better cause I dont want to give up on such a revolutionary way to play football. Dont purchase unless your sure that you enjoy the style and controls.

First of all, if you play this game expecting to have a "god camera" like EA's Madden you're going to get yourself frustrated.

Pros:
+ Euphoria for football is incredible. I LOVE the non scripted randomness, non canned animations.
+ First football game I have played were I feel truly in control of my player on defense
+ Running and running controls are responsive, fun, great!
+ Right analog stick used for control is done excellent (except for passing)
+ Team customization is bar-none the best ever created (yes if you are willing to devote a lot of time you can recreate pretty much any NFL, college, HS, whatever team)
+ Just awesome Euphoria engine for football (ya...I'm repeating it, because it is that good)
+ Best kicking control and meter in a football video game. Kicking field goals is a fair and challenging.

Cons:
- The passing controls are good, but switching your targeted WR with right analog is too cumbersome
- You get sacked too quickly...in combo with in the inability to switch WR's quickly, this can cause some frustrating moments
- Lot's of interceptions. If you make a bad decision, you WILL pay for it with an interception. Which is fair, but unforgiving at times.
- No injuries, no fatigue (i.e. bench players are meaningless)
- AI can be too easy to beat
- Wind affects punting far too much. I've seen AI get like 10 yard punts into a 20 mph wind and AI is not smart enough to kick a line drive down the sideline.
- Bare bones presentation (no refs, no players on sidelines, no announcers (except the stadium intercom), limited replay camera angles)

Suggestions:
* They do provide alternate controls for passing, which do work better, but it changes the controls for other parts of the game which I like. Allow me to use buttons for passing and keep the rest of controls the same
* Add league depth. I know there is no NFL license, but need something to make the league come alive and players to have meaning.

Let's hope this isn't a ONE and DONE game...its a great foundation to build from and even with its flaws it is a very playable and fun experience as it is.

Greetings Amazonites!

If you're a football gamer, then you might be a little ambivalent about this title. Is it any good? What features does it have? These questions are important. I followed the game's development for about six months prior to release. I played Madden and 2k5 faithfully. I've been disappointed with football video gaming in general. Maybe some of you feel the same way. Or maybe you just like football and want to know about Backbreaker! Well, read on!

***** OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
Backbreaker is lots of fun to play. The gameplay is exciting. There are some glitches and weird bugs, but none that "break" the game. If the action wasn't so good, these hiccups would be much more troubling. The game interface is smooth and simplified. It's easy to manage your team and keep track of everything. The controls are easy to learn and use during the game. There is a learning curve--especially for gamers coming from Madden/2K/Blitz. This game might be frustrating at first, because it forces you to re-think how you play football games.


***** GRAPHICS & SOUND
The graphics in this game are beautiful. It is not the NFL, so the style of player uniforms looks more futuristic or over-the-top. It is not cartoony or phony-looking at all. This is one of the best looking football games--if not the best (in my opinion)--that has ever hit the market. The stadiums are astounding. There is a fresh, colorful, and lively look to this game. The game looks exciting and doesn't disappoint in graphic design. The menus and overall interface is clean and uncluttered. There is nothing to knock on the visual side of this game.

There is no music in this game. That, unfortunately, might deter some people. The developers wanted players to feel like they were on the field, so they left out blaring music and other distractions. I think it is a great move and it succeeds. You can hear your team mates talking; you can hear the crowd yelling, cheering, and booing; you can hear the stadium intercom blaring out the details of the last play. The sound design is different from any other game in that you hear what the players hear.

There are some glitches and bugs in the graphic and sound department. There is some minor warping / morphing (where the ball or a player seems to move without moving their body), but I haven't seen any instances where it was out of control. Most of the time, it is only noticeable on the replays. With sound, I have heard some stuttering or garbling noise from the stadium intercom. However, this can be switched off--which really brings you on the field.


***** GAMEPLAY
The controls are very easy to learn and use. All player movements come from the right and left sticks. Left stick for normal movement / steering, and Right stick for special moves (spinning, juking, stiff arming, etc). Use of the R and L trigger can modify the controls. For example, moving the R stick side to side lets you side-step/juke, but when the R trigger is held, the side-side motion on the R stick results in a stiff arm. Triggers act as modifiers that change what the stick can do. It's simple and effective. No more hitting the wrong face button combination at the last second.

There are some issues with the AI. The AI makes some bone-head moves if you have the game on anything less than Pro difficulty (hardest). It is good to start off playing on Easy / Medium, but for a solid game all-around from the AI you'll need to use Pro mode. This is a minor issue, but one which should be addressed by the developer (more difficulty motes / smarter AI). My 8 year old son plays on Medium and has a great time without getting crushed.

The coaching features are stripped down in this game. This will be good or bad depending on your style and personality. There are maybe 30-40 plays per team in this game and the playbooks are fixed. I think there are plenty of plays, since the game is about the action and not the playbook. They've taken out the ability to shift your linemen/LBs/DBs, but this is balanced by no OL shifts or Hot Routes. You can still flip plays, call audibles, fake snap, pump fake, and other stuff that pertains the action. If you want to play and enjoy the game, this simplicity will only add to that; if you're a hardcore gamer and enjoy being the coach-master, then you might not like the basic presentation in this area.

There are some issues with certain penalties and weird occurrences from certain plays. Interference penalties are ignored sometimes; roughing the kicker and passer penalties seem very frequent on Easy / Medium difficulty (switching to Pro seems to correct this); and a few other quirks like what happens when you recover a fumbled punt, or the result of a pass behind the line of scrimmage, etc. These aren't frequent enough to make the game unplayable, and you probably won't even notice them unless you're a die-hard football fanatic.

The major concern for many people is the camera: Backbreaker plays from a 3rd person camera--you're right behind the ball carrier. There are no other camera options. The developer planned this and announced it from the beginning, so no surprises there. The camera has the effect of making you feel like your right in the action. It is disorienting at first, but once you get used to it the camera angle is very, very exciting.
When you're running, you have to watch for shadows coming behind you or watch which way your RB turns his head to look. When you're the QB, you have to watch the field and your blocking. You can't see everything clearly as the QB; you can turn your focus from receiver to receiver, but you lose clarity in the periphery. It creates a feeling of suspense as you know the pass rush is coming and the second are ticking away. Many people reported having a lot of interceptions and sacks until they got the hang of being QB. You have to think like a QB with this camera. Check pre-snap reads; use fake-snaps and pump-fakes; move the defense with your eyes (yes the Defense will flow to where you're looking); move up in the pocket (use your blocking); and so many other aspects that real QBs have to deal with...

The game uses four ratings: speed, strength, agility, and focus. If you've played other games, you'll see that four is not very much. However, the game operates differently than any other game in this respect. The ratings affect what the players are doing in real-time. The Euphoria engine underlying this game (also used in GTA 4, Force Unleashed, and Red Dead Redemption) is a motion simulator. It calculates what is happening in real-time; Backbreaker is a live game, folks. So the ratings affect what is happening right then and there. And the ratings are not universal--they are position specific. A QB with 80 strength is still going to mauled by a LB with 80 strength. It means different things to different positions.


***** FEATURES
There is no NFL license. The game comes with ~60 teams made by the developers. The designs are top-notch, professional quality. You can also edit and create up to 32 teams per profile. You can load up one of the pre-made teams or start from scratch. The customization toolkit is incredible. It's easy to use, fun, and packed full of options: logo designer, uniform designer, endzone designer, and player editor. You cannot edit your player's individual ratings, but you can choose your team's specialties and assign a number of "stars" to offense and defense. Star players are exactly what they sound like.

There are no injuries or fatigue. The developers felt that putting in an injury/stamina system that didn't work well or was just random wouldn't have suited the intense physical realism of the game. I agree, but you might find it unbearable. Seeing a massive laid on someone without injury is a bit odd. Because of the action, you don't really notice it.
--- Also, there is a mechanism in the game called FORM. You can set this manually in non-league games (exhibition, etc), but in Season and Road to Backbreaker mode, the form changes dynamically. From what I've seen, it is affected by a player's performance from game to game. If a player is benched the whole game, it's likely to stay the same or go down; if a player performs poorly (my QB threw to 2 int's and suffered a loss in Form) it will go down. I don't know if this is affected by "injuries" but I think it might be. My QB got sacked 8 times one game (nasty DL against my shoddy OL) and his Form went from slightly positive to horrendous by the next game. Form is a great addition in lieu of injuries, since it forces to pull players from your depth chart that are in bad form and replace them with someone in good form. It keeps the game dynamic and gives you reason to have depth.

There are two franchise modes: Season and Road to Backbreaker.
- Season is the standard NFL-style league with pre-season, regular, and post-season games. There is rookie scouting and off-season drafting, as well. You can import any of the pre-made teams or make your own custom league. You can also decide whether or not you want an 8, 16, or 32 team league. For example, I live in Rhode Island and made a 16-team league based solely on Rhode Island locations.
- The other mode, Road to Backbreaker, is a European style league. There are 3 tiers in the league: a lowly 8 team league, a mediocre 16 team league, and a professional 32 team league. When you start RTBB, you can use a custom team you made or make a new one (note: your player ratings and stars are automatically reset to match the 8 team league). If you finish at the top of the league, you get promoted to the next league. If you finish at the bottom of a league, you get demoted. It is very dynamic. In RTBB there is no draft (there are championship games, however). The scouting/drafting system is replaced by Free Agency. Every game, depending on outcome and performance, you earn credits. These credits can be used to buy new players. The simplicity of the system is its strength, and it works really well. There is incentive to try hard in a game to earn performance bonuses.


* I would recommend watching some gameplay footage on Youtube for a closer look at Backbreaker. There are several developer diaries available for viewing, as well.


SUMMARY: Great game; loads of fun. A refreshing change of pace from previous titles. Tough to adjust to at first, but rewarding if you do. This game is not for everyone, so try the demo or rent it if you're not sure. Minor bugs and glitches don't break the game. Customization is a blast.
Fun: 5 stars, Overall: 4 stars (-1 for the glitches)


*** UPDATE: AUGUST 14, 2010 ***

I've put in 6 full seasons in League mode, a few in Road to Backbreaker, and a healthy number of exhibitions. An update was released recently; the update was called "Greathouse" and seemed to receive pretty good reviews. There are a good number of people, including myself, that aren't sold on the update. I'd definitely recommend not installing the patch if possible. The running game is twice, if not more, difficult than before; the passing game is half as hard, if not easier. There are some new bugs introduced and some strange behaviors on the screen. The replay system has been beefed up, thankfully, but it doesn't excuse the other issues.

The lack of meat in the season mode also wears down the thrill of building a team over the long term. There's enough in the game modes to complement the great action; the problem is, the patch, in my opinion, unbalances the gameplay. When I attempted to remove the patch, my season 7 save game wouldn't work until I re-installed the patch. Weird.

The price has gone down, so I definitely still recommend picking this game up for a football experience of a very different nature, but I do so with warnings: there's no long-term investment in your team or players (it seems a little "sterile" after a while) and the recent patch unbalances the gameplay. Take the great on-the-field action with these caveats.

Hated this game for the first few hours. Way too fast, unpredictable, and camera angles seemed like they were going to be impossible to get used to. But after playing it for hours, I started getting used to it and found some aspects of the game quite entertaining and good. If the developers can just pull back the camera a bit so that you can see the field a little better, I'd rank this game better than any Madden I've ever played (even though Madden 1993 was amazing!!!). So I was too harsh on my first review, give this game a chance for the money.

I love this game. To me it is better than Madden.A football game player can't go wrong with this game.

This game is pretty good.Ill name the pros and cons.

pros-
great passing game,fun throwing the ball
tackle alley is fun,100rounds
good graphics
feels good to get a touchdown or interception
great kick returning

cons-
running game is super hard,you can barely get passed the offensive line if your playing on normal/hard
camera angle is bad on defense but cool on offense
hard to get tackler,sacks,interceptions but when you do it feels great
it gets boring pretty quick

overall its a good and fun game,but the controls take time to get used to.after you learn the passing controls the game feels allot better.

Even though the game is different from madden it has the potential to be better then all of the future football games.