Game Informer Review

Quote: Originally Posted by grunt

We can't compare games in this thread.

Let me just clear this up for you:

Constructive criticism via a game comparison IS allowed, ie "I have a tough time playing this game because I'm used to spinning with B like in Madden. I do however think that once I get used to it, these controls could be a lot more intuitive".

That type of comparison IS allowed.

What we don't allow, and what eventually leads to threads being closed is "This review blows because Madden sucks and this should have a higher score".

If you can't see the difference there, then I don't know how else to help you.

[spankdatazz22]

Quote: Originally Posted by mvb34

Shouldn't they atleast gotten the basic rules of football right? A ball being punt into the endzone and pickup by the kicking team is not a TD, not even in the XFL..

Sure fault it for that. But praise it for the things it does well, and at times very well. You look at every sports genre this generation, and you can point to some innovation or logical progression that the genre has made - except football. And there's a big reason for that, one that can't be openly discussed. I think it would be hard for anyone to make the argument that BB at it's core doesn't represent a significant innovation in videogame football and changes the way other football games will be viewed. No one's saying offensive/defensive line code needs to be rewritten, or some special feature needs to be created to address it's issues. Most acknowledge it's a matter of time/tweaking before it's viewed as stellar. Same for the player interaction. Could those things be said of other game's first attempts?

You can pick out basic areas where you can say NM should've done better and I agree. But I look at the '06 version of a certain other game that had a lot of problems itself and those things really weren't held against the game - for years. And that game came NO WHERE CLOSE to representing the innovation BB represents, in it's first year. In fact that game hasn't had a single innovation I'd place amongst this generations big sports game innovations. Sure, fault BB where it deserves to be faulted. But give it credit - a LOT of credit - for what it does better than the same licensed game it's being judged against, when that game has a 5-6yr head start. Don't just pass off those things as meaningless, or try to make them less significant than they are. I'm willing to bet next year's (lol) catchphrases will center around physics. And we'll likely be hearing about improved tackling. Again.

[CreatineKasey]

I felt the game was playable, but I never really got engaged with the strategical part of football. I felt like I was playing more of an arcade video game than a strategical game of football. Yeah, there's aspects that involve strategy, but as a whole I wasn't feeling it.

There isn't enough draw with the gorgeous Euphoria animations to overcome some of the ugly mo-capped animations, shoddy AI, and lack of customization or filesharing capability for me to take this game seriously. As an earlier poster said, if they charge $50, it better be worth that cost. I just bought Red Dead Redemption and that game offers $60 worth of content. I have high standards, and RDR met them.... BB didn't.

One day when I'm filthy rich I'll go around buying games I don't really like for a "cause". For now, I worry about rent and school loans. I'll follow this franchise into the football because I love football, but they aren't getting "pity" dollars out of me.

[foolish813]

Quote: Originally Posted by fldash

Pretty brutal review...

Quote: Originally Posted by booker21

Honest review

Both true!! However, if they had a more American football knowlege, a patch could fix damn near all these issues. Hope they know how to consult.

[coogrfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by spankdatazz22

Sure fault it for that. But praise it for the things it does well, and at times very well. You look at every sports genre this generation, and you can point to some innovation or logical progression that the genre has made - except football. And there's a big reason for that, one that can't be openly discussed. I think it would be hard for anyone to make the argument that BB at it's core doesn't represent a significant innovation in videogame football and changes the way other football games will be viewed. No one's saying offensive/defensive line code needs to be rewritten, or some special feature needs to be created to address it's issues. Most acknowledge it's a matter of time/tweaking before it's viewed as stellar. Same for the player interaction. Could those things be said of other game's first attempts? You can pick out basic areas where you can say NM should've done better and I agree. But I look at the '06 version of a certain other game that had a lot of problems itself and those things really weren't held against the game - for years. And that game came NO WHERE CLOSE to representing the innovation BB represents, in it's first year. In fact that game hasn't had a single innovation I'd place amongst this generations big sports game innovations. Sure, fault BB where it deserves to be faulted. But give it credit - a LOT of credit - for what it does better than the same licensed game it's being judged against, when that game has a 5-6yr head start. Don't just pass off those things as meaningless, or try to make them less significant than they are. I'm willing to bet next year's (lol) catchphrases will center around physics. And we'll likely be hearing about improved tackling. Again.

That's all fine and dandy, but it has nothing to do with whether or not BB in it's current state is worth laying out $50 for. The fact that it may represent a solid foundation for possible future versions is irrelevant to any review of BB.

[CaptainZombie]

Quote: Originally Posted by EvanRG

Honest review. You don't give a game "a break" because it's the first attempt by a studio. We have had next-gen football games for a long time now so we as gamers expect a certain degree of polish. The reviewer did a good job of mentioning the positives, but unfortunately, there really aren't that many.

I agree with you there. This review has been the best one for me so far out of all the professional ones that I've read. The tackling engine is very well done and will be very very hard enjoying future football releases from other companies when looking at what this engine can do. On the field, the tackling animations are the best we will probably see till BB2 releases.

Some of the action on the field has been very cool which we haven't seen done so well by a football game yet. I had a pass bounce off of 2 guys and then get caught for an interception. I had another instance where a guy dove for the ball only to have it bounce out of his hands and into another players for an INT. There are some neat things going on here.

I don't care about fake leagues being used, it is the only way around not having the NFL license. I think that this game actually does a pretty good job of giving us a fictional league and does not have over the top gameplay like Blitz. With Blitz they did a good job providing the history of the league, but I disliked the gameplay on the field and how the difficulty ramped out of control.

Back to BB, once you get past the wonderful tackling animations and semi-deep customization, you are left with many issues on the field. I feel like the O-line just collapses way too early. This ends up either with me causing excessive interceptions or being sacked. When I get sacked 6-7+ times in a game, there is something wrong here. Then when I see up to 2-3 fumbles per game, my heading is spinning. In no way am I trying to compare this game to realistic NFL stats as I see this being a fictional league using rules of football that we are all used to via the NFL.

The camera at times can be frustrating and gets in the way of a play. It's cool many have been able to get adjusted to it, but it gets worse for me when holding L2 to focus in on a receiver. Things just feel to get a little bit chaotic.

I played a few games where in the first quarter of play the CPU is losing by 7-0 and twice on 4th & 1 they decide to go for it on their 15 yard line. The AI does some very idiotic things.

In 2010, why can I only see my stats during halftime and the end of the game? That to me makes no sense at all. Why do we only get 1 min, 5min, 10 min, etc. quarters of play? I love playing about 6-7 minutes a quarter, but not possible.

Can you get a safety in this game? I was sacked in the end zone and it didn't register as a safety.

It's fine that guys hate the other football games on the market because of what has happened, but at times there are a lot of people that are also oblivious to the issues because of their hate of certain franchises. I hope that this game does sell well enough that we do get a Backbreaker 2. Yes, the developers said that they are working on #2 but if this thing sells badly we may not see it. I really think that with a part 2 that this game can be very very good.

[spankdatazz22]

Quote: Originally Posted by coogrfan

That's all fine and dandy, but it has nothing to do with whether or not BB in it's current state is worth laying out $50 for. The fact that it may represent a solid foundation for possible future versions is irrelevant to any review of BB.

I am speaking to what the game is now. It's a first year effort. Imo judge it against other first year efforts

[mestevo]

Judge it as a game on it's own. That's why the reviews will be poor.