Backbreaker News Post

Backbreaker Hands-On Preview (Gameinformer)

06:59 PM - April 2, 2010 by Steve_OS

Gameinformer has posted their hands-on preview of Backbreaker.

Quote:


	"With All-Pro Football and Blitz hanging up their cleats, EA is the undisputed king of football games. That isn�t stopping Natural Motion from going for it on fourth down with Backbreaker. Armed with the Euphoria engine that has powered the impressive animations for games like Grand Theft Auto IV and The Force Unleashed, Backbreaker aims to take down the NCAA and Madden publisher with its gritty, up close and personal brand of football. To get a better sense of what this game�s about, 505 Games supplied us with a preview build."

Game: BackbreakerReader Score: 6/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 51 - View All

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Member Comments

# 81 denverbro89 @ 04/05/10 11:10 AM

This game is going in a different direction and I hope this game is successful and challenges Madden so that Madden feels the need to compete and produce more quality

# 82 jfsolo @ 04/05/10 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveDQ


	This game has been the hope of so many simply because it has for so long showcased the possibilities of Natural Motion's Euphoria engine. You can not overlook the glaring issues this preview talks about. This game may have some pretty looking tackles, but I fear along the way they forgot they were making a football game and have been far too one dimensional.

People can chose to ignore whatever they want to. A lot of folks here made up their minds that they were "all in" with this game a long time ago, and that is totally fine. Its unfortunate though, that since they've already decided to buy the game no matter what, some choose to mock or cross examine anyone who has the audacity to actually voice their concerns with some of the things they see in vids or read about in previews.

# 83 raz77 @ 04/05/10 04:25 PM

I'm waiting for another source to get into this. I haven't trusted GI in a looong time. I don't like the news about customization, but I'm not going to take GI's word on how this game plays or any other game for that matter.

# 84 JayBee74 @ 04/05/10 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfsolo


	People can chose to ignore whatever they want to.

Bottom Line-that preview or people ignoring "those serious flaws" (brought up by a questionable preview) isn't going to make or break this game. If the game sucks we are going to know by release time-if it is indeed by the end of May. I'd like to hear something about a demo release or a response to the Game Informer preview.

# 85 ScoobySnax @ 04/05/10 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayBee74


	Bottom Line-that preview or people ignoring "those serious flaws" (brought up by a questionable preview) isn't going to make or break this game. If the game sucks we are going to know by release time-if it is indeed by the end of May. I'd like to hear something about a demo release or a response to the Game Informer preview.

They'd be dumb if they released a demo for it. Sounds like the right thing to do, but for this game, they're gonna need every sale they can get. People could be easily turned off if the demo sucks.

# 86 LaW97 @ 04/05/10 06:33 PM

after this they better release a demo with PRO mode

they killed me in the sharing dept so they can atleast gimme the chance to see if i can fall in luv with the gamepleay since i know im gonna be drained with editing

# 87 JayBee74 @ 04/05/10 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaW97


	after this they better release a demo with PRO mode they killed me in the sharing dept so they can atleast gimme the chance to see if i can fall in luv with the gamepleay since i know im gonna be drained with editing

they definitely need a Pro Mode demo with Easy, Medium, and Hard Difficulty levels AND two teams with varying player skill levels.

# 88 DLaren @ 04/05/10 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScoobySnax


	They'd be dumb if they released a demo for it.

Previews and reviews don't mean much to me, but I do need to play or see a demo before I decide to invest in a product that has not earned my loyalty yet.

I only play football games in 'coach-mode', so that further heightens the need for the AI (both playcalling and on-field) to function at a respectable level in all phases of the game; or the game has no value to me, regardless of what else it may do well.

Since everyone has a different tolerance for AI hiccups, I need to see the game for myself to see what I can and cannot put-up with. Without a demo there is no chance I'll buy this game new. With a demo, at least they would give themselves a chance to win me over.

# 89 HolyCrap @ 04/05/10 07:26 PM

Hopefully the AI issues are fixed by playing on pro mode or at a higher difficulty level otherwise that is a game killer.

The customization doenst matter that much but the AI def does

# 90 boooey @ 04/05/10 10:07 PM

i still think that this game was originally just meant to be a tech demo, and at some point for whatever reason, they just decided to go ahead and attempt to make a real game out of it.

What they have done with the limited resources and budget they have compared to EA should be applauded even if this game does not turn out to be everything we want.

I will still be buying it.

# 91 TheWatcher @ 04/05/10 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boooey


	i still think that this game was originally just meant to be a tech demo, and at some point for whatever reason, they just decided to go ahead and attempt to make a real game out of it. What they have done with the limited resources and budget they have compared to EA should be applauded even if this game does not turn out to be everything we want. I will still be buying it.

Sums up my thoughts, exactly.

# 92 LeonM @ 04/06/10 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LIVEDEHTMAI666


	After the latest hands on review of Backbreaker, unfortunately my hype score went from a 9, to a 7. The two main selling points for Backbreaker with me are the Euphoria Engine, and the quote, "Full Customization." Judging by the review, the game falls far short of the quote. This is a non NFL licenced game, i need to b able to make it my own, in every aspect, not just logos and uniforms. The Euphoria Engine is completely awesome, but i think i speak for all harcore sim football game players when i say that Backbreaker is just going to need more than that. Not having full customization when creating players for my teams is highly unacceptable. This is where All-Pro Football 2k8 failed to me, an awesome game, but the lack of customization kept 2k8 from realizing true greatness. ESPN NFL 2k5, best football game ever made period. I welcome Backbreaker into a genre where compitition is feared and bought away instead of faced and challenged. To me EA Sports has killed football. I don't trust that they will ever be serious about creating a quality sim football game so long as they have the exclusive NFL rights. Yes the game gets better every year, but honestly that's not saying too much. They would rather address cosmetic issues than fix the gameplay and AI issues that have been lingering for years. We need Backbreaker to step it up so that the real sim football game playing guys and gals can play FOOTBALL again. Hopefully the developers at Natual Motion will read the reviews, read our comments, and add more of what needs to be in Backbreaker before the May 25th launch.

The customization in Backbreaker is going to be the deepest and best customization engine in the history of football games. Will it be enough because NM and 505 took the neccesary steps to cover themselves here.

In offline mode, In two franchise modes. You can create any team with their logos and uniforms. You can put any players on your team that you want.

In online mode, You have to be creative. You can still have for example, The Pats colors and uniforms. You can have the logo at midfield and in the end zone. You just have to word everything differently for your team name and players. Instead of The New England Patriots in offline, You'd be the N.E. Patriots or The New England Pats online. Your QB is Tom Brady offline but T.Brady online.

This is all stuff that can be worked with and is much better than the massive limitations in APF where you couldn't even name your team what you wanted. For example, If you wanted to create The New York Jets. You can do the colors and uniforms but you didn't have the capability to make the logo and there is a limited amount of names you can use. The New York Jets became the New York J's with some strange plane like logo on the helmet. You were also not allowed to edit the player names on every player on your roster like you can in Backbreaker.

The real limitation in Backbreaker's editing is the report that you can't edit your players rating or appearance. That sucks.

505 Sports and Natural Motion are small companies that can't afford to go into litigation and take on the Giant that is the NFL and EA sports. They did all this to cover themselves. They need to retain every resource that they can and they need to maintain every profit that they can. They can not afford to use any resources in battling the NFL.

# 93 CreatineKasey @ 04/06/10 09:54 AM

If I were releasing a demo, I'd ONLY release a tackle alley minigame. Do NOT release real gameplay, they will definitely lose sales from that in my opinion. I would like if they did, though so I could at least try the game out. My instincts just tell me it'd go bad given how this whole game transpired.

# 94 booker21 @ 04/06/10 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeonM


	The customization in Backbreaker is going to be the deepest and best customization engine in the history of football games. Will it be enough because NM and 505 took the neccesary steps to cover themselves here. In offline mode, In two franchise modes. You can create any team with their logos and uniforms. You can put any players on your team that you want. In online mode, You have to be creative. You can still have for example, The Pats colors and uniforms. You can have the logo at midfield and in the end zone. You just have to word everything differently for your team name and players. Instead of The New England Patriots in offline, You'd be the N.E. Patriots or The New England Pats online. Your QB is Tom Brady offline but T.Brady online. This is all stuff that can be worked with and is much better than the massive limitations in APF where you couldn't even name your team what you wanted. For example, If you wanted to create The New York Jets. You can do the colors and uniforms but you didn't have the capability to make the logo and there is a limited amount of names you can use. The New York Jets became the New York J's with some strange plane like logo on the helmet. You were also not allowed to edit the player names on every player on your roster like you can in Backbreaker. The real limitation in Backbreaker's editing is the report that you can't edit your players rating or appearance. That sucks. 505 Sports and Natural Motion are small companies that can't afford to go into litigation and take on the Giant that is the NFL and EA sports. They did all this to cover themselves. They need to retain every resource that they can and they need to maintain every profit that they can. They can not afford to use any resources in battling the NFL.

you still can�t assign ratings to each player.

So you may do the Vikings but the RB could be a bronze player... instead of gold.

# 95 JayBee74 @ 04/06/10 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CreatineKasey


	If I were releasing a demo, I'd ONLY release a tackle alley minigame. Do NOT release real gameplay, they will definitely lose sales from that in my opinion. I would like if they did, though so I could at least try the game out. My instincts just tell me it'd go bad given how this whole game transpired.

You're kidding right? If they suck they suck. Let the world see what they have in a playable demo. There's always Tecmo Bowl Throwback
to fall back on.

# 96 CreatineKasey @ 04/06/10 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayBee74


	You're kidding right? If they suck they suck. Let the world see what they have in a playable demo. There's always Tecmo Bowl Throwback to fall back on.

Do you think that a full demo would increase sales more than a tackle alley minigame? I think tackle alley would show off their biggest strength and avoid the weaknesses being discussed here. Putting a full-on demo may expose some things that they've avoided showing us for some time now. There's a reason we never saw gameplay in the past.

EDIT: I'm looking at this from BB's point of view. Of course I'd want a demo to play.

# 97 JayBee74 @ 04/06/10 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CreatineKasey


	Do you think that a full demo would increase sales more than a tackle alley minigame? I think tackle alley would show off their biggest strength and avoid the weaknesses being discussed here. Putting a full-on demo may expose some things that they've avoided showing us for some time now. There's a reason we never saw gameplay in the past. EDIT: I'm looking at this from BB's point of view. Of course I'd want a demo to play.

I figured you were looking at BB's point of view, but although I think the Game Informer review is inconclusive and lacking certain details, it needs to be addressed by the developers head on one way or the other. Not having a demo at this point would raise all kinds of red flags.

# 98 CreatineKasey @ 04/06/10 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayBee74


	I figured you were looking at BB's point of view, but although I think the Game Informer review is inconclusive and lacking certain details, it needs to be addressed by the developers head on one way or the other. Not having a demo at this point would raise all kinds of red flags.

I agree with that. I think many red flags have been raised already. If I'm blowing a bunch of hot air and they legitimately have these things corrected, by all means they should release a demo. I just have a hunch that they don't. Things don't add up for me right now. I'm still hoping for the best, though. I'll be relying on level headed interview from people I know (and you). I already know who I will not be listening to regarding a review of the game.

# 99 kjcheezhead @ 04/06/10 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by booker21


	you still can�t assign ratings to each player. So you may do the Vikings but the RB could be a bronze player... instead of gold.

We don't know the whole story yet. The preview says we can edit a teams strength and how many gold players we get. So it's possible if we edit a team to have 5 gold players and we say one of our teams strength is the running game, then your rb would be one the gold players.

# 100 KBLover @ 04/06/10 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjcheezhead


	We don't know the whole story yet.

Theme of the BB saga:

We don't know the whole story yet.

Still...

*sigh*

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