Backbreaker football features an array of new controls and a whole new style to the way you play football in a video game. If you're used to the Madden NFL series, it might take you some time to get used to the control scheme.
First off, I have to say that this game has no NFL affiliation, therefore, it has no official NFL teams and/or players. This should not turn you off from giving it a try, however. This game offers a completely new feel to the way you play football on a console. I must also add that this review is based on the "Roadhouse 3" Title Update, which has addressed many of the issues that were reviewed poorly in the past.
The big thing about this game is the animations, and yes, they are awesome. Tackles, running, and passing all have an incredibly and shockingly realistic feel to them. The game runs on a physics engine developed by Euphoria, and it works very well with a few very small glitches. Tackles are always something different, and it all flows very well. Sometimes, though, you will slide across the field excessively, or you will fall backwards and not be able to get up until you stop moving, or an opponent touches you to end the play. This last problem has been addressed in the most recent update, so no worries. Now, if you run into the back of your own blocker, you will stumble, and you can catch yourself with the press of a button.
Let's get to the game modes:
Exhibition - No need to go into depth on this one, it's exactly what you would expect from a football game's Exhibition mode.
League Modes - There are two modes to choose from here; you can choose "Season Mode," which will take you through a season (much like a Madden game) with a selected team, or you can choose "Road To Backbreaker," which essentially puts a team you've created under your control, and you work your way up to the top.
Tackle Alley - Tackle Alley is a mini-game mode in which you attempt to spin, juke, and hurdle your way past 100 individual waves of defenders. The primary goal is to score a Touchdown without being tackled, but you also will have spots on the field in which you can get points from if you go over them. Tackle Alley is certainly a very fun mode, and can be competitive between friends. The only thing that is fairly frustrating is that, if you run out of "lives," you have to restart at Wave 1.
When Backbreaker was released, it had a few problems that caused it to get poor reviews. These problems have all been addressed and more after the latest title update, and I recommend this game very much if you have access to Xbox LIVE to acquire the update.
The update features a variety of things, but most noticeably, it elevates the camera when playing as a Quarterback, allowing you to see the field more clearly. It also adds a completely different Instant Replay mode, where you will have multiple cameras to choose from, including a free moving camera. The update also features the stumble recovery button which I mentioned earlier, and also fine-tunes a few small problems the game had when it was released.
Negatives:
- No NFL affiliation leaves you with a bunch of random teams that don't exist. The Custom Teams are very deep, and it allows you to basically recreate most, if not all, of your favorite NFL teams. You can create your own custom logo, and I have already created the Green Bay Packers on mine. It's fairly simple, but time consuming when trying to edit the depth chart and put all of the players in the correct positions. Regardless, it's very possible.
- Some things lacking in the presentation. No play-by-play commentating, no Coach's Challenges, no Booth Reviews, no injuries, and penalties are fairly uncommon. This takes away from the overall presentation, but you basically forget all about it when you're playing.
- A few small glitches, but not ones that hinder game play at all. Occasionally, you will slide very far across the turf. Another thing that happens frequently is teammates tripping and falling over each other after the play. Something you don't usually see on Sunday, and it looks a little goofy.
Fixing up these few things can really make this game an excellent competitor to the Madden NFL franchise, and by excellent competitor, I mean a serious competitor. Backbreaker really does a good job bringing you into the action of a real Football game, and could easily become the standard for Football simulator games. By the way, be sure to check and change all of your settings before you play, because there are a lot of cool things you can do, like position locking, which locks you into a position on Offense or Defense. I find that people start to like this game more and more as they play it and get used to the controls. Just do the Tutorials when you first play, and you'll get used to it fairly quickly.
The Verdict:
This game is very good for what it is, and it can play like an arcade style game, or a simulator, depending on your settings. Just because it isn't an NFL-licensed game doesn't mean it can't be good, and it's an excellent change of pace from the Madden games, which seem to echo the same tune to say the least.