Backbreaker Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

[SA1NT401]

Quote: Originally Posted by RaginCajun

I just played four games using the Cougars who have the worst defense and played against the Spartans who have the best offense. I played on Pro-Hard. On defense, I called the same play every time. No matter the situation, the same play. What would you guess happened? In four games, I gave up a total of 31 yards. Thats right, 31 yards. Obviously I didnt give up any points. I didnt do anything fancy. Didn't move players pre-snap. Didnt call all out blitzes. Hell, I didnt switch players once the play started. I recorded 10 sacks, 3 fumbles, and 5 interceptions. Again, the worst defense against the best offense. And dont forget, the same play on defense every time. There is no excuse for this. This game is nothing more than a tech demo. There is no real game of football here and this proves it. I cant believe some people actually think this game is a sim experience. The developer focused solely on the animation tech and nothing else.

DId that myself as well and have to agree.

However....

SInce I am actually buying this for SOLO play (Road to BB mainly) and wont log not 1 minute online here is what i am referring to.

There is a FORM system in Solo play....Could be a slider concept (not literally) where you can Increase/Decrease the FORM (or performance) of certain aspects of the game. Since there is limited info on this concept, its effectiveness (or lack there of) is still up in the air.

But i am hoping it will change certain areas of the game that are VERY lacking...ie your example.

Ill find out soon enough.

[dmick4324]

Quote: Originally Posted by RaginCajun

I just played four games using the Cougars who have the worst defense and played against the Spartans who have the best offense. I played on Pro-Hard. On defense, I called the same play every time. No matter the situation, the same play. What would you guess happened? In four games, I gave up a total of 31 yards. Thats right, 31 yards. Obviously I didnt give up any points. I didnt do anything fancy. Didn't move players pre-snap. Didnt call all out blitzes. Hell, I didnt switch players once the play started. I recorded 10 sacks, 3 fumbles, and 5 interceptions. Again, the worst defense against the best offense. And dont forget, the same play on defense every time. There is no excuse for this. This game is nothing more than a tech demo. There is no real game of football here and this proves it. I cant believe some people actually think this game is a sim experience. The developer focused solely on the animation tech and nothing else.

Here we go with the tech demo thing again lol. In all honesty I agree with your complaints, the offensive AI is at the very least, terrible. There's still hope that this can be fixed or improved slightly before retail or through patches like many of you guys have posted.

But if you can stomach the camera angle (I personally am a HUGE fan) then there's no denying that this game plays a fun brand of football. Which is exactly what the developers were going for, an in your face, jaw dropping, fun experience.

[RaginCajun]

I wouldnt call giving up 8 yards a game fun...

[jdareal21]

I was pleasantly surprised, it's not as derivative as I thought it would be. That being said, it definitely takes some getting used to, and I'm still not sure if it would warrant more than a fleeting novelty interest

[jdareal21]

Edit

[wheelman990]

I would like to see them use my idea from years ago with there camera system. Heres how the controls and cam should be in my opinion after playing the demo:

The cam should always be straight before the hike( although you can look left & right with the right stick pre snap with the qb/rb/ or whom you choose to play as). After the hike your qb looks straight first with the cam looking straight. You can look left by pushing left on your right stick. You can look right by pushing right on the right stick.Letting go of the right stick lets it center up again. Then they can just use a button icon to throw to the chosen reciver as current games do. To me this is a much better & faster system, and you are in control of the cam movement. The camera can continue to be a close perspective, yet you have total control over where the cam looks.

My only opinion on the camera zoom is at times it zooms to close.

the right stick should ALWAYS be for looking right & left.

[footballdude1971]

Demo Impressions:

1) Hated the cam at first but have grown to like after just a few games
2) Saw some really sweet ball physics on a fumbled punt...the most realistic I've ever seen in a video game football
3) Didn't like defense at first but now I prefer to play defense over offense

In other words, it has grown on me..big time. I'm not one who plays the cpu or who would consider cpu AI a deal breaker, I'd rather play a human and that will be the real test for me which means lag free online is very important. The split screen multiplayer is something that I'm not overly interested in after playing the demo because less screen to view the action could be a real concern.

I'll be buying it for sure...I've enjoyed the demo. But I can't help but wonder what the game would be like with Madden esk camera angles. The tight control, hard hitting action, and the organic collisions and interaction are all elements the EA football games are missing.

This game is definitely more engaging and intense that Madden...and for me, that equals more fun.

[swaldo]

Quote: Originally Posted by swaldo

OK as promised I played 8 games and tracked the stats in pro mode on hard difficulty. In every game it was Indy (CPU) at Columbia Colonels (me.) I chose to play left defensive end so as not to effect the result of plays too much. In other words, I didn't want to play CB and get burned thus skewing the stats. I kept playing until I got at least 60 plays out of Indy, this would replicate one full game of plays from scrimmage. Also, on defense I called a wide mix of plays - man, zone, blitz etc. And here are the results... INDY SPARTANS: 33 OFFENSIVE POINTS (3 TD'S) PASSING: 38 ATTEMPTS 29 COMPLETE 76.3 COMPLETION % 428 YDS 5 INT 5 SACK 1 QB FUMBLE RUSHING: 28 RUSH ATTEMPTS 65 YARDS 2.32 AVG YARDS PER RUSH 0 FUMBLES So the devs claim that INDY has an excellent offense, should pass the ball well and dominate teams in the lower league is accurate. They had some really nice drives and some plays were killer to watch. As for me and the sad sack Colonels...on offense I mostly ran running plays so I could get the ball back in the hands of INDY. I also wanted to test outside runs so 2/3 of my calls were east/west. I played QB and let the CPU do the running. Here are the results... 47 ATTEMPTS 54 YARDS 1.15 AVG YARDS PER RUSH

So now that I established that INDY can be effective against a weak team (as shown above) I wanted to see how they would hold up against a good secondary, so I put them up against the OAK Scourge. This time I had to play 7 games in order to get the minimum 60 offensive plays out of INDY.

First off, here is the description of OAK in the devs demo guide (the Scourge is in the best/BBFL league)....

Oakland Scourge
---------------
The scourge are a team built from the backfield. Their secondary is amongst the best the league has to offer, and they tend to keep a lid on some of the league's toughest offenses. Their star player on offense is Dexter Houston at Running Back, renowned for being tough and reliable. Houston is at his best when running downhill for consistent gains that are tough to stop. Strong fast and agile, Houston embodies the way the Scourge play. It's often said that the addition of a world class QB would put the scourge right up there amongst the best of the best.

Strengths:
Very strong secondary makes it difficult for opponents to make big gains. Often teams will be reluctant to throw long against the scourge, as it's a team that prides itself on Ballhawking.

Weaknesses:
They talk about replacing the QB for a reason. Corey Stark could be generously described as an average BBFL QB.

Here are the results...

INDY SPARTANS:

33 OFFENSIVE POINTS (3 TD'S)

PASSING:

36 ATTEMPTS
23 COMPLETE
63.8 COMPLETION %
426 YDS
7 INT
3 SACK
2 QB FUMBLE

RUSHING:

33 RUSH ATTEMPTS
88 YARDS
2.66 AVG YARDS PER RUSH
0 FUMBLES

And below are my offensive numbers. Once again all I did was run the ball with 2/3 of them going east/west.

56 ATTEMPTS
75 YARDS
1.34 AVG YARDS PER RUSH

So the devs statement that the Scourge will "put a lid on top rated offenses" seems to be inaccurate, at least in this one full game sample. The stats were nearly identical in all areas as the Columbia games I tested. OAK did have more INT's and the completion ratio was lower, but still they allowed 64% completions, gave up 33 offensive points and 428 yards in the air! Hardly one of the "best secondaries" according to these numbers.

Meanwhile, INDY's running game performed the same as they did playing a weaker team. I dunno, this may be a bad sign for people wanting ratings that really matter. These were alll played on hard level so perhaps the ratings will have more of a spread on medium? However, there seemed to be way too many INT's when I played on that level.

Also, this Houston guy is supposed to be a stud running back for OAK, but he did no better than the lousy Colonels in my last test. 1.34 yards per rush! The east/west running game is pathetic and completely broken.

In this test I played "D" as the outside linebacker and had a blast. The control is amazing and getting involved in plays is such a great feeling. My only gripe is that in EVERY SINGLE GAME I'VE PLAYED NOT ONCE HAS THE CPU THROWN MY DIRECTION IN PASS COVERAGE! Is anyone else having this problem? At first I thought "Well, I'm just awesome so he doesn't want to go near me. But then I see him throw into double & triple coverage away from me so what gives? They do run the ball at me though. This happens whether I'm playing CB or LB (haven't played much safety.)

All gripes aside this game is addicting and I will still be buying it. Punting the ball then sitting there watching their return man dance around and break through the pack and you go "Holy Crap!" as he and 3 blockers are coming straight at you in open pasture....and somehow you are able to trip him up and save a TD. When things like this happen it's just sick and makes every other football game look like it's from the PS1. This is going to be one of those "mess around games." It won't be 100% realistic and it has glaring issues, but I'll be messing around with ratings, creating teams, uniforms then jumping in games and just messing around and having as much fun as I can get out of this thing.

Oh, a couple more notes: Yes as it's been mentioned you can cheese on field goals. Just line up in the A gap, rush then hit the right stick up for the block. If the CPU is running down the clock they always hike at 2 seconds left so you can actually time it.

Fumbles: have seen none yet from RB's. There have been three QB fumbles though.

Punting: when you aim at the highest level you'd expect a high kick at shorter distance with a fair catch right? Nope, doesn't seem to make a difference. The PR always has plenty of time to catch and move. Meanwhile, if you aim a punt at it's lowest setting for a line drive the PR will rush it, then the ball bounces over his head, even though the punt is short. I imagine this will lead to some interesting outcomes as he has to turn around and chase a bouncing ball.