Backbreaker Hands-On Preview w/ Gameplay Videos (IGN)

[CreatineKasey]

Quote: Originally Posted by kjcheezhead

Look at this vid at the 35 sec mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h-9lkqRIKU That's a perfect pocket. That said, I was still underwhelmed with the line interaction overall. I did see a dlineman dropped to one knee and nice attempts at arm tackles in the developer diaries tho so the potential is there, it's just not there yet.

Absolutely not. The outside defenders did NOT drive upfield. In a lot of situations the DE's/OLB's run 3 yards past the line of scrimmage before engaging an offensive tackle/runningback.

Don't get me wrong, there's things I like so far from what I've seen, but the pocket is not one of them so far.

Don't kid yourself man, DE's don't just always square up with OT's and stalemate 5 yards from the QB. That was just as much of a pocket as Madden has. Like I said, in most pass rushing situations the outside rushers are getting upfield. Because of that, the QB needs to step up and remain in the pocket.

[creed200569]

They have only 6 people working on this game. For them to even give us this crazy customisation with 500-1000 layers,franchise mode witih drafts,scouting,etc... Road to BB mode,tackle alley,co-op play,amazing tackles,great graphics and awesome crowds is amazing in itself. They didnt think they were gonna have a franchise mode cuz they didnt think they could make the time to put it in. They gave us that and another mode.

I think for their first time around with only 6 ppl with technology thats NEVER been used in a sports game before,they did an amazing job. Rob,one of the developers already said they are looking into injuries for the future,BB2 maybe, and everything else ppl bring up that they want to see in BB. Ppl should stop being so greedy with this game and expect it to have everything Madden or 2k had,thats just crazy. Go look at Madden 06 and All Pro 2k8 and compare those to BB's first years and clearly it shows the BB team did an amazing job with their first game. Most of the thing Ian Cummings said Euphoria couldnt do has been proven it can do. The gang tackles in BN look wayyyyyyy better than that Pro Tak garbage that just sucks everyone together.

I agree with Rob from the BB team that once ppl experience this engine they will have a hard time going back to what they usually play.

[Critical Kills]

Sorry, agree to disagree. In sports games having more options is a good thing, not less. Having a restrictive camera angle and calling it a design decision is simply ignoring the fact that you are cutting out an audience that might be playing your game if you gave them more options. I understand the concept of the vision of a game but that doesn't preclude them offering options for those who might be interested in the game otherwise.

Choosing to do so if you're the king of the hill is one thing, you can afford to indulge yourself in forcing the user to partake in your vision...but when you are the new kid on the block trying to sell the game and build the series restricting the game to adhere to only your vision of it instead of trying to build to a larger audience and being inclusive is simply a very poor strategy.

I get your guys point, completely. All I'm saying is that by following this "vision" they may make the game they want everyone to experience and, as you say, make everyone play it how they want you to play it or not play it all...but what happens when people decide to not play it at all? The series dies and future chances to innovate are gone.

They would be much better served to include other camera angles and then simply suggest in the manual that the game is meant to be played in the default camera angle. Many games do this as we all know. Having a vision is fine but offering users no other choice but to partake in that particular vision or else simply dont' play the game is very short sighted.

[Critical Kills]

creed - comments like these are what lead me to believe this is a technology demo meant to sell to EA more than an actual game.

"I agree with Rob from the BB team that once ppl experience this engine they will have a hard time going back to what they usually play."

[CreatineKasey]

Quote: Originally Posted by creed200569

They have only 6 people working on this game. For them to even give us this crazy customisation with 500-1000 layers,franchise mode witih drafts,scouting,etc... Road to BB mode,tackle alley,co-op play,amazing tackles,great graphics and awesome crowds is amazing in itself. They didnt think they were gonna have a franchise mode cuz they didnt think they could make the time to put it in. They gave us that and another mode. I think for their first time around with only 6 ppl with technology thats NEVER been used in a sports game before,they did an amazing job. Rob,one of the developers already said they are looking into injuries for the future,BB2 maybe, and everything else ppl bring up that they want to see in BB. Ppl should stop being so greedy with this game and expect it to have everything Madden or 2k had,thats just crazy. Go look at Madden 06 and All Pro 2k8 and compare those to BB's first years and clearly it shows the BB team did an amazing job with their first game. Most of the thing Ian Cummings said Euphoria couldnt do has been proven it can do. The gang tackles in BN look wayyyyyyy better than that Pro Tak garbage that just sucks everyone together. I agree with Rob from the BB team that once ppl experience this engine they will have a hard time going back to what they usually play.

Where's the greed? We want a superior football game. There's nothing greedy about purchasing a product. Am I greedy because I won't accept inferior gameplay if it ends up having that?

And the bashing... yuck. Really, let's talk BB football and figure out what this game needs to be great. I understand the hate for EA... but it gets really old and hard to read over and over. You drive possible customers away when you harass other products like that. Nothing good comes from repeatedly saying how much you hate EA.

I plan to be a day 1 buyer of this game, so before I get harassed by people - I made that clear. I want this game to be my new football fix. In order to achieve that, it needs to be actually good, not just "non-EA football".

Edit: Also, has anyone seen any good pass rushing moves or block shedding animations? I was hoping to see some but I haven't really noticed too many yet. On the CB blitzes I think I saw some block shedding. I never saw any spin moves or clear rip/swims when engaged with the OL. I was also hoping to see more "off balanced" OL lunging and trying to bring guys down before they reached the QB. Maybe I just missed it so far.

[Hova57]

Quote: Originally Posted by ODogg

Sorry, agree to disagree. In sports games having more options is a good thing, not less. Having a restrictive camera angle and calling it a design decision is simply ignoring the fact that you are cutting out an audience that might be playing your game if you gave them more options. I understand the concept of the vision of a game but that doesn't preclude them offering options for those who might be interested in the game otherwise. Choosing to do so if you're the king of the hill is one thing, you can afford to indulge yourself in forcing the user to partake in your vision...but when you are the new kid on the block trying to sell the game and build the series restricting the game to adhere to only your vision of it instead of trying to build to a larger audience and being inclusive is simply a very poor strategy. I get your guys point, completely. All I'm saying is that by following this "vision" they may make the game they want everyone to experience and, as you say, make everyone play it how they want you to play it or not play it all...but what happens when people decide to not play it at all? The series dies and future chances to innovate are gone. They would be much better served to include other camera angles and then simply suggest in the manual that the game is meant to be played in the default camera angle. Many games do this as we all know. Having a vision is fine but offering users no other choice but to partake in that particular vision or else simply dont' play the game is very short sighted.

options would be great, but to get there finger on the game i see why. its not that bad a camera kinda cool, but prob wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea

[mvb34]

Quote: Originally Posted by creed200569

They have only 6 people working on this game. For them to even give us this crazy customisation with 500-1000 layers,franchise mode witih drafts,scouting,etc... Road to BB mode,tackle alley,co-op play,amazing tackles,great graphics and awesome crowds is amazing in itself. They didnt think they were gonna have a franchise mode cuz they didnt think they could make the time to put it in. They gave us that and another mode. I think for their first time around with only 6 ppl with technology thats NEVER been used in a sports game before,they did an amazing job. Rob,one of the developers already said they are looking into injuries for the future,BB2 maybe, and everything else ppl bring up that they want to see in BB. Ppl should stop being so greedy with this game and expect it to have everything Madden or 2k had,thats just crazy. Go look at Madden 06 and All Pro 2k8 and compare those to BB's first years and clearly it shows the BB team did an amazing job with their first game. Most of the thing Ian Cummings said Euphoria couldnt do has been proven it can do. The gang tackles in BN look wayyyyyyy better than that Pro Tak garbage that just sucks everyone together. I agree with Rob from the BB team that once ppl experience this engine they will have a hard time going back to what they usually play.

Thats no excuse, The text sim games developers have less and seem to put the basic football stuff ie injuries..

[Critical Kills]

Wow, this really nails what i've been trying to say: "it needs to be actually good, not just "non-EA football"

I would add that if it's just non-EA football it will be of minor interest to a lot of folks but as for the greed, what is it they say, you only get one chance to make a first impression. If the game honestly is underwhelming the series will not get another chance from a lot of folks.

So it's not a question of being greedy, and myself and most others are not demanding all of these various game modes and the like, we are simply asking that basic things that most sports games have such as injuries, multiple camera angles, etc are included.

To excluse those basic options will simply make it harder for the series to ever get a chance to impress anyone again and we'll be back to where we were in regards to EA competition. I mean this game is going to be a hard enough sell already without having the NFL and NFLPA license so missing other basics that gamers expect will make it even more of a hard sell.

I know some of you guys hate EA with a passion but the general public doesn't and being non-EA is not going to sustain a series. So continuing to bash on EA in this thread is missing the point completely.