Backbreaker Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

[TracerBullet]

I wish there was a way to look backwards when you're running.

[Romeclone]

Quote: Originally Posted by backbreakersteel

I love the camera. I like controlling the corner and when you make a tackle without switching its really rewarding. If they were to change the camera I think it should be to an actual forst person like in 2k5. That would be so fun when your in the trenches

Yeah, I love playing corner. I was a corner when I played and this is the best representation of playing corner I have ever played with. You are able to move the view around and read what you THINK is going to happen and then go with it. This is the best thing about this game to me. Being able to play a corner and see and read everything is just amazing. Second on the list is kickoff coverage; another of the things I loved IRL. I love just going down and blowing up the wedge setting up my CPU guys to kill the return man.

[swaldo]

Quote: Originally Posted by swaldo

Look, if Indy is throwing too many INT's then there's a problem. According to the dev teams demo guide, they have an awesome offense and are one of the top teams in the best league... "The BBFL contains the best teams in Backbreaker. In all there are 32 BBFL teams, 4 of which are represented in the demo. All these teams should be able to hold their own against the UPFL teams relatively easily - when playing with them, bear the following in mind: Indianapolis Spartans --------------------- The Spartans are a tough team to beat. Taking them down requires containing their offense - easier said than done. Those trying to break through their O-line by Blitzing are often forced to rethink things pretty quickly. Getting through to sack Reed Wagoner at Quarterback is easier said than done. Strengths: Awesome offense. Even though McPherson is said to be somewhat slow at WR - the Spartans have enough options in their receiver corps to spread the ball around. Once a defense has been weakened, they often strike a killing blow with their star Tight End, Stone Lara. Weaknesses: It's hard to find any, which is why they are currently sitting pretty near the top of the BBFL. Their Defense isn't the best in the league, but it won't help most teams that come up against these guys. You need to bring your A-Game against the boys from Indiana. They said it clearly - Indy should be able to wipe any team from the UPFL. If not then this should be considered a valid concern. This was from the demo guide written by the dev team! At no point did they say, "Oh by the way the AI might have issues due to an early build or memory restrictions." No, they said Indy kicks balls and should cream the lower teams. The two UPFL teams are Charleston and Columbia, so I'm off to play these guys against the Spartans and will report back with several games of stats later.

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.

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. In the last play of a game they threw to the Tight End who bowled over 2 defenders until finally getting tackled (51 yards later) on the 2 yard line with no time left on the clock. In another game they went for 4th and 1 on my 15 yard line. The running back came right at me but did a nice spin move and scampered in for the TD. It wasn't all pretty though, overall it's some pretty funky, clunky football but sometimes I'm left amazed and in awe of what I just witnesses. The potential of this game is unreal!

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

That is a major weakness of this game - too many east/west runs getting stuffed for neg yardage! I did burn the CPU for a 22 yard play action pass, and the next play I called a pitch. All 4 of the LB's froze which was a good sign, hopfully keeping the "D" honest in that way will help. I did see way too many plays where the DL's busted through too fast though. Again, I'm playing with a bad team so maybe OL rating adjustments will also help.

So in conclusion INT'S are confirmed (at least to me) to be too high. A top offense vs a poor team should not have 5 INT's. I think this can be fixed relatively easy though...

1. DL and LB hands ratings should be toned down. In one case a pass was deflected off a helmet and intercepted by a DL. His reaction was too fast and he would had to have hands of a wide receiver to catch the ball. It should've been muffed, I mean in real life DL's and LB's drop balls that come right at them all the time.

2. LB's and DB's need to be programmed to go for a swat or bone jarring hit (rather than a catch) more often.

3. In real life deflections are much harder to catch than a spiral pass. Is it possible to program less successfull catches on deflections?

Sacks are also too high. In the demo guide it stated "getting to Indy's Qb would be difficult." I expected less sacks from my Defense.

The good news is that ratings can be adjusted to boost an offense. Also, INDY's offense is only rated a 74. What will happen if you creat a team with a 100 rated offense? I just hope the running issue can be fixed through rating adjustments but I doubt it, it seems more like a programming issue.

Also, NM for Christs sakes please pick up the phone and call 2K! They have YEARS of top notch presentation and AI programming sitting there not being used, what a waste. And what a knock-out combo you guys would make with a collaboration/partnership.

[gr18]

I'm liking this game alot in every aspect other than computer offensive A.I.They are getting occasional good drives for touchdowns but the int's are the major concern.Hopefully there is a remedy and I think things would be a good bit better.

[mgoblue678]

Hmm, weird just played Indy as the Pioneers who have a decent defense on pro hard.

Their qb went 7/8 for 132 and 2 tds and 0 ints. He was making good reads for a change and their o-line was picking up the blitz for the most part on the handful I called. I played as either a linebacker blitzing or a linebacker covering the rb, so I couldn't really skew the results.

Very strange, completely the opposite of what I had been seeing from the CPU QB for the most part.

[gr18]

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. 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 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. In the last play of a game they threw to the Tight End who bowled over 2 defenders until finally getting tackled (51 yards later) on the 2 yard line with no time left on the clock. In another game they went for 4th and 1 on my 15 yard line. The running back came right at me but did a nice spin move and scampered in for the TD. It wasn't all pretty though, overall it's some pretty funky, clunky football but sometimes I'm left amazed and in awe of what I just witnesses. The potential of this game is unreal! 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 That is a major weakness of this game - too many east/west runs getting stuffed for neg yardage! I did burn the CPU for a 22 yard play action pass, and the next play I called a pitch. All 4 of the LB's froze which was a good sign, hopfully keeping the "D" honest in that way will help. I did see way too many plays where the DL's busted through too fast though. Again, I'm playing with a bad team so maybe OL rating adjustments will also help. So in conclusion INT'S are confirmed (at least to me) to be too high. A top offense vs a poor team should not have 5 INT's. I think this can be fixed relatively easy though... 1. DL and LB hands ratings should be toned down. In one case a pass was deflected off a helmet and intercepted by a DL. His reaction was too fast and he would had to have hands of a wide receiver to catch the ball. It should've been muffed, I mean in real life DL's and LB's drop balls that come right at them all the time. 2. LB's and DB's need to be programmed to go for a swat or bone jarring hit (rather than a catch) more often. 3. In real life deflections are much harder to catch than a spiral pass. Is it possible to program less successfull catches on deflections? Sacks are also too high. In the demo guide it stated "getting to Indy's Qb would be difficult." I expected less sacks from my Defense. The good news is that ratings can be adjusted to boost an offense. Also, INDY's offense is only rated a 74. What will happen if you creat a team with a 100 rated offense? I just hope the running issue can be fixed through rating adjustments but I doubt it, it seems more like a programming issue. Also, NM for Christs sakes please pick up the phone and call 2K! They have YEARS of top notch presentation and AI programming sitting there not being used, what a waste. And what a knock-out combo you guys would make with a collaboration/partnership.

Thanks for the breakdown;hey at least there is hope that maybe ratings can be tuned down for defensive catch ratings as long as there are ratings for it****n block or defensive break block ratings tweaked as well.

We really need to find out about ratings per position and the overall affect of form.If there are only those 4 basic ratings without sliders.......

[GymRat]

I thought the demo was great, Definitely not buying Madden. Backbreaker's done on the first try what Madden has never done before.

[bkrich83]

Quote: Originally Posted by mgoblue678

I honestly don't get the camera complaints on defense. I just stick with one guy the whole play and use LT to focus on the ball often , use RT occasional and I find the camera to be perfectly fine. In fact I love the camera on defense. Just read a play as a middle linebacker where I could see a draw developing, came in and crunched the rb. That felt really good.

I am in the same boat. On defense it doesn't bug me to much. I do the same thing, I pick a player and basically stick with him. I love playing SS or FS.