Summing up the Backbreaker Conference Call - RaychelSnr's Blog

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RaychelSnr's Blog

Summing up the Backbreaker Conference Call Stuck

Posted on April 20, 2010 at 06:25 PM.

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I've got a bit of time to recap what we learned in the Backbreaker conference call with Rob Donald. I'll post a short paragraph at the end with my opinion:

Seemingly unlimited creation options. You can use your created teams locally if they have real players or are real teams, but you cannot use real teams or players online.
Season mode features several different number of team options and all of those teams can be created teams.
There are no injuries in the game
There is no fatigue in the game.
Audibles are in, hot routes are not.
From what Rob said, it sounded like the bulk of the gameplay was finished some time ago minus some polishing, and the camera has been the team's main focus in the past few weeks.
No online franchise or leagues.
No creation sharing options within the game.
Behind the shoulder cam is the only option.
No sliders in the game.
Donald feels the game is a sim game despite any of it's shortcomings because it features 11 on 11 action with authentic rules and whatnot.
Rosters are 'several players deep' at each position. No real number nailed down here.
Donald hinted at wanting to make Backbreaker a franchise, who wouldn't want to see their creation live on though?
Several different body types in the game, will effect gameplay in some way.
Custom plays aren't in.
Color Commentary isn't in, the game wants to focus on the stadium experience first and foremost.
No replay challenges.
There are deeper attributes than the Gold, Silver, Bronze rating system, no word on progression though.
No create a stadium mode.
No DLC planned for the game.
A new Backbreaker TV ad will start appearing around the TV Universe this week.

Chris' Thoughts: I think the call was mostly a big letdown in a lot of ways with things such as no fatigue and no injuries. There is literally no real reason you want a roster with more than 24 players with neither of those being a factor. However, the tone Rob presented about the gameplay has me more excited than ever to give the game a shot just to see what it presents. I'm still thinking the game won't be an all-time classic, but I think it has the potential to change sports gaming for years to come if some of the things within the gameplay are successful, such as the Euphoria engine and the simple approach to controls.

What are your thoughts on Backbreaker?

Comments

# 1 GIveMeR3alFooTball @ Apr 20

my thoughts are that the gameplay of bb better be jesus reincarnated into a video game or else the short coming in this game will kill any hope for a future franchise

# 2 kjcheezhead @ Apr 20

Good info. I disagree with only needing 24 players tho. Even without fatigue and injuries, would you want a base 3-4 defense if your opponent is using 5 wrs? On offense, having rbs and tes for blocking situations and for passing situations would still be very useful.

The no hot routes and no sliders just plain sucks tho.

# 3 Complex @ Apr 20

Huge letdown reading this. Its a step backwards as far as gameplay.

# 4 DJ @ Apr 20

No fatigue, injuries or sliders? That hurts.

# 5 Hova57 @ Apr 20

very disappointed . i'm sure it will be ok but we have a bare bones game this year. alot of time went into the development of the game. now they have somethingto build on. that said def not buy and maybe not rent.

# 6 huntt26 @ Apr 20

Not being able to share your content is the big let down for me. I don't have time to sit there and create the entire NFL, but with sharing, I could download and fine tune it to my liking. That kind of sucks. Don't think I will buy, but if it drops down to a cheap price I'll pick it up then.

# 7 EyeAmBaldman @ Apr 20

The injuries in Madden are random and mostly make little sense. So, no injuries...no big deal. Fatigue? I had more fun playing Madden 95 than most of the next gen Madden's and I'm pretty sure it didn't have fatigue. Something Madden has never handled correctly is fatigue and injuries. Fatigue should lead to injuries, but madden just takes the player out of the game when tired.

I don't care about custom plays. I've never liked them anyway.

Hot routes...that's ONE of the things I like in Madden...but there aren't many.

No create a stadium? So what? No color commentary? Good! I turn off Madden, i can't stand them! No sliders? Again, don't care. Play it out of the box.

I absolutely love the idea of the creation options on BB. Personally, if Madden hadn't been given to me as a gift, I never would have gotten it this year. My favorite part of NCAA is the ability to create your own team. So, I like the Teambuilder aspect of BB...and yes there's no online sharing so that's the only negative for me. I like creating local HS football teams. Personally, I've lost interest in Madden thanks to EA. And after seeing the new NCAA 11 video, I'm afraid I'm starting to not care about that game, too.

Backbreaker is not going to be a perfect game by any means, but it WILL be different to the underachieving Madden franchise. I like that. Here's to hoping all you negative people give it a chance. EA needs the competition.

# 8 DubTrey1 @ Apr 20

IMO, this game is a letdown and basically a tech demo for the company and their sophisticated game engine. That being said, I do not want to crush this game without even playing it, but things sound fairly grim for this title up to this point.

# 9 LeonM @ Apr 20

The gameplay is the key and the game does have alot of great modes and features. There is alot of depth with this release. I can live without injuries and fatigue. It would have been nice to have them in the game however.

# 10 SuperKyle @ Apr 21

Maybe if this is received well critically, the folks at EA or 2k would consider licensing the euphoria engine for use in future games.
Just brainstorming.

# 11 boritter @ Apr 21

It seems like they are banking on people loving the real time physics. I think that looks awesome.

But the game is so bare bones. It is missing features that have been standard for sports games for 4 or 5 years.

But

# 12 CreatineKasey @ Apr 21

I don't even know if the 3-4 D will be in this game. I have no confidence of anything being in outside of the bare bones basics unless I'm told otherwise.

# 13 Gusto1 @ Apr 21

I am still on the fence final decision will be made for me based on the demo.

# 14 rudyjuly2 @ Apr 21

I think this game will be a disaster - both in sales and review scores. This will be the one and only Backbreaker.

# 15 Ziza9Noles94 @ Apr 21

No color commentary, no injuries, no fatigue, no sliders, no online leagues/franchises, no creation sharing. All of that kneecaps my enthusiasm for the game. Everything else sounded cool (creation options, customization).