Don't let the hype fool you. The random physics were a very big problem in BackBreaker. That wasn't a great football game and I don't expect this to be a good hockey game. They left a lot of core football stuff out and I think hockey to a more complicated game. Don't expect it to touch EA or 2K.
I saw their physics as more of a problem then anything. I believe that was the root of all their problems not related to leaving stuff out. There were many times when a D-lineman would bull rush or tackle the QB and they flew like 10 feet in the air. In hockey I guess if someone got checked the right way, they would fly into the stands. There were also sideway and backward passes and ridiculous fouls not being called.
The only thing wrong with Champ's argument is that EA's physics are 100x less impressive than Natural Motion's. Things like people being sent flying and penalties were addressed in the patch. EA's physics in NHL don't even look good. Granted everything else in NHL 11 is awesome.
I'm looking forward to it, honestly. Even if it's as unconventional as Backbreaker was, it's still another hockey game on the market, which always gets a thumbs up in my book.
Very cool. This sport was meant for Natural Motion to simulate. The randomness and the intense physics of the puck itself colliding with different things is such a great opportunity for this engine to truly shine and separate itself.
With NHL getting physics in their game and 2k coming back this will be a verrrry tough sell
That's true, IF 2k really comes back in 2012. I have serious doubts. If the only other option is NHL 12, it has a chance to sell some copies. Personally, I would probably buy both, as I used to buy both EA and 2k's hockey games, and I would take a shot on this sliding into 2k"s spot.
The problem with Backbreaker is that they literally only had one selling point for the game (physics) and it failed to really wow anyone by the time it FINALLY came out. If you're marketing a game with no player/team licenses, piss-poor presentation, virtually no real franchise mode to speak of, and glaring rule inaccuracies, the calling card of your game (physics/gameplay) had better be near perfect. So when people realized that none of the players had any weight to them and you could go flying backwards just by running into one of your OWN blockers, that pretty much sealed Backbreaker's fate.
While I love hockey, and demand competition in video games, I have even less hope for an Icebreaker game than I did for Backbreaker. Backbreaker (or at least the "idea" of it) fit neatly into a market deficiency, which was the fact that there was no fully-featured sim football game in 2007/08 when BB was conceived. But by the time it came out, Madden had made better-than-expected strides forward, and Backbreaker was anything but "full-featured".
In hockey, EA has what most people consider to be one of the elite sports titles every year. It reviews about as well as sports games can, and it sells about as well as you could expect (for a hockey title). What would Euphoria really offer? A true sim hockey game would probably focus LESS on the physical aspects of the game, not MORE, as was the case with the checking-fests that ruined NHL 2004-06.
Don't let the hype fool you. The random physics were a very big problem in BackBreaker. That wasn't a great football game and I don't expect this to be a good hockey game. They left a lot of core football stuff out and I think hockey to a more complicated game. Don't expect it to touch EA or 2K.
Euphoria was the least of Backbreaker's issues. Anyone who thinks physics was a key issue in that game didnt play it. The dynamic blocking and tackles made the game worth playing. The benefits of Euphoria outweighed the negatives 10 fold. The main problem with BB was its AI. Until the patch the CPU could not move the ball without turning it over. After that the next big issue was the camera which many could not get use to. I personally didn't like changing receivers with right stick. Would rather have had icons like Madden.
Then the game didnt have a license, hardly any ratings for players, and lots and lots of little issues.
Still BB was a lot better than the original Gameday or NFL 2k. For a first time effort it was good largely because of Euphoria though they did get a lot of other basics right too.
I think they will have their work cut out for them, especially if they do not get an NHL licence. Hockey isn't exactly popular in England, so they probably would not have as much knowledge of the game as a north American studio.