Imagine the Possibilities

From the Apple II to the iPhone OS it's been generations since John Madden Football hasn't been in the homes of Americans. Don't worry we're not in danger of losing Electronic Arts' beloved franchise, but we are on the edge of what could potentially the biggest innovation the game has seen since 1997 when Madden began offering Franchise Mode as a game play option.

Currently scheduled to release this summer, Natural Motion and their Euphoria engine will be releasing a whole whole new level of football game, Backbreaker. The Euphoria engine is said to be able to dynamically calculate physical interactions rather then play canned animations for every play on the field. This type of uncertainly is sure to give us the most realistic looking football action we have seen yet.

I'm excited about the release of Backbreaker, and I will probably purchase the game when it comes out, but my expectations for this specific title are surprisingly low. I don't expect this single title to upset the balance of power that currently exists in Sport's gaming, but I do expect to experience where football games will be going in the next few years.

Most everybody knows that John Madden football holds the exclusive rights to produce a National Football League (NFL) game until 2012. Everybody is hoping that license is not extended any further then that, and if things play out that way it is almost a guarantee that we would have a well made, full featured, polished NFL title running on this engine.

I'm not one who has become disenfranchised with Madden Football, I still love the game and purchase it year after year, I am simply excited for the direction all of my sports games are going with this technology.