BackBreaker Impressions

[BiGTooT]

Quote: Originally Posted by LBzrule

The only thing is the game feels a little sluggish to me and the passing I'll have to get used to because right now I'm not comfortable with it at all.

Thought the same thing on first attempt..

[mvb34]

Quote: Originally Posted by LBzrule

Positives 1) Players feel like they have weight to them so no twitching. 2) You can choose your position on the kick off, pre-kick off. Pretty nice. Then you can switch players as well. 3) 2k8 kick meter 4) Defensively there are some good fire zones in here 5) OL Pass blocking shows OL working together to block the inside gaps - PIG protection. 6) Defenders can be pushing an OL and grab the QB simultaneously. 7) Defenses do some shifting before the snap, showing blitz, coverage, overload, shifting secondary shells ect. 8) DE's seem to run a natural arc. 9) Double team pass blocking even with the HB helping out on edge defenders. Damn shame in their first try and they are not even American football developers. They got this on their damn first try. Someone else has been here, ehhh nevermind. 10) OL does a great job of combo in the pass game and pushing guys past the QB at times. I'll do more when I come back from the gym. From an X's and O's stand point right now with respect to offensive and defensive line play, OL pass blocking schemes, this game is already better than Madden in these areas And that my friends is something someone should be hanging their heads over.

This really good to hear this info from person like you!! I respect you opinion..

[CreatineKasey]

My initial impression is: surprised at how polished it is.

The throwing animations and overall feel of the game is better than I thought. Controls on D kind of reminded me of 2k8 with some weight under the guys. I like that. Hitting people is a lot of fun as I imagined. When in zone defense, your guy stays in a strafe on D. You don't have to hold a button or do anything. He stays squared up and I like that.

I like how difficult passing is. You really have to go into the play with a plan and an idea. You can't just read 3 WR in a compression set and fling the ball out there via reaction. You are not alone if you think the deep lob is hard to pull off. It took me a bunch of tries to get the feel down.

I did see some quirky AI, but I only played one game. I'll give this more time before I write anything off. I saw an OLB run directly away from the toss play coming at him. I saw OL miss a DT on a toss play, and the DT ran in and sacked the QB untouched. The QB AI is pretty rough, I think. First play of my game: I played OLB and I got a pick-6... moron threw it right at me.

Running is definitely fun. Tackle alley is awesome. Pulling off moves is gratifying. Logic wins... I remember trying to take a slight angle at a defender then truck them so I "graze" their body and avoid the majority of their momentum. It worked like I expected.

The playbooks are simple, but the plays are good. We don't need 2000 plays. We just need a few that work and have a solid counter to them.

I did feel a bit handcuffed not being able to perform hot routes and defensive adjustments. That's okay, though. It means you have to worry about calling a good game and not manipulating the AI (my opinion).

Pass blocking did look really solid from my experience so far like Lbz said. I did get a pretty cool user sack between the A/B gap on a cover 0 heavy blitz. That was fun to do.

I don't understand the ratings. The QB's seem to have no throw power or pass accuracy. I wasn't sure how to judge my athletes. Oddly enough, on the Pittsburgh team the LB's had just as much strength as the DT's (high 90's) and more than the DE's. Maybe it's position specific. My CB's had strength in the 70's even.

Music is repetitive, but I remember reading that we can change it fortunately.

All in all, this game may have a shot with me. Needs some more time. There's definitely potential. The interactions are gorgeous, especially when tackling.

EDIT: Pro mode looks a lot better. I just saw an AWESOME animation where I sprinted into my OL, but ended up running into his back and falling backwards in aggressive mode. That's awesome. No way we should be able to sprint into a guy and stay upright.

I also got my 2nd user INT at MLB playing a cover 2 zone. I'm a beast out there!

I just saw a MLB "chuck" a slot WR trying to cross his face in a zone. It threw off my timing and I threw an INT to him. Very nice.

Dumb AI logic: CPU punts short into the wind, I run away to let the D down it, one of my dumb players runs in there and touches the ball. I lose possession. DOH!

[sparkyiii2k]

Awesome insight Creatine must get home

[LBzrule]

The thing is it looks like the pass blocking auto-adjusts in a sense. I have seen PIG blocking and I have also seen 1/4 slides with the back helping and combo blocking with the backside tackle. That's some good stuff and the exact kind of thing Madden needs. The thing also is that you can still get pressure even with the superb pass blocking, however, it is realistic pressure. I'm going to capture some vids later. I think I might like this game more than I thought I would. The passing game though That's going to take a hell of a lot of getting used too.

[CreatineKasey]

Quote: Originally Posted by LBzrule

The thing is it looks like the pass blocking auto-adjusts in a sense. I have seen PIG blocking and I have also seen 1/4 slides with the back helping and combo blocking with the backside tackle. That's some good stuff and the exact kind of thing Madden needs. The thing also is that you can still get pressure even with the superb pass blocking, however, it is realistic pressure. I'm going to capture some vids later. I think I might like this game more than I thought I would. The passing game though That's going to take a hell of a lot of getting used too.

I know what you mean. Pressure comes more from expected realistic areas. I've seen an OLB beat my OT untouched around the arc like real life. I've also seen my guys break through up the middle, but it's not instant... they need to fight through their blocks.

Passing is definitely hard. Defense is pretty fun when you're involved. The game isn't as offensively oriented because of the tight audibles IMO. Also, on D it seems pretty easy to get INT's. I have yet to see any passes simply deflected or knocked down.

[LBzrule]

Quote: Originally Posted by CreatineKasey

I know what you mean. Pressure comes more from expected realistic areas. I've seen an OLB beat my OT untouched around the arc like real life. I've also seen my guys break through up the middle, but it's not instant... they need to fight through their blocks. Passing is definitely hard. Defense is pretty fun when you're involved. The game isn't as offensively oriented because of the tight audibles IMO. Also, on D it seems pretty easy to get INT's. I have yet to see any passes simply deflected or knocked down.

I think until I get that lob pass down I'll be throwing INT's galore. I think the camera needs to be a little better for the QB too. Pre snap I can't see both Safeties sometimes and I need to see both of them. I also do not like the replay camera. Unless I just don't know what I'm doing with it, you can't span around to see all the action.

[RogueHominid]

I'm downloading the demo now ... interested to see what it's like.

Is this thing supposed to be playable in league format online?