Backbreaker Hands-On Impressions (Joystiq)

[turftickler]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Impressions (Joystiq)

I'm done talking about Madden NFL games, unless I can find something good to say about them. The only one that made me think twice about getting it over a 2k football game was Madden 2005.

I hope to see another article from Joystiq soon. That one seemed to be less biased than the others I have read. He seemed to nail both sides of it well. And he stated that the graphics that we should have gotten with Madden 06 are actually a quality that Backbreaker possesses.

[TracerBullet]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Impressions (Joystiq)

Yeah, fair enough. Joystiq was the most positive preview of Backbreaker and Madden forced them to redo their article last year because it was so negative. On the flip side, IGN was possibly the only truly negative preview of Backbreaker so far and they historically go higher than average with their reviews of Madden. Safe to say there is some politics involved in these previews on both sides.

It's really a shame because, these games honestly don't have to compete. If people pick up Backbreaker and enjoy it for three months, they probably got their moneys worth. Then they can move on to Madden if they want. People do it with NCAA all the time.

I agree. I always rent games on their first release (on the off chance the game is terrible) but having a new football game in May with customization like backbreaker is a great thing. Even if its just mediocre I'll be happy with it to take up my time till NCAA/Madden and maybe even further if its good. I like Madden/NCAA but that doesn't make me automatically against other football games. All of these games are going to have their share of problems though.

[turftickler]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Impressions (Joystiq)

I agree. I always rent games on their first release (on the off chance the game is terrible) but having a new football game in May with customization like backbreaker is a great thing. Even if its just mediocre I'll be happy with it to take up my time till NCAA/Madden and maybe even further if its good. I like Madden/NCAA but that doesn't make me automatically against other football games. All of these games are going to have their share of problems though.

Great post. It is good to see more level headed people post in these threads. I am on the opposited end of the spectrum. I used to love playing Madden NFL games, but they got stale to me and they seemed to get worse when they switched to next-gen. Take for example, NBA 2k10. I like the game, but I loved last years version. I rarely play it. I have only played about 170 games while many other players have played 1000's.

I sometimes think that our expectations become too high, but in Madden NFL 10's case, I would say that our expectations should have been met by now. We are not asking for a perfect game, just a football game with good gameplay that does not cheat you to win.

[bdozer66]

Do you people not see how arcady this games looks, it looks like a joke with every player having fake abs through there jersey? i mean come on.

The players all look the same at each position. It looks like blitz the League.

If you want sim, the closest thing is Madden, and it has gotten a lot better.

I cant wait for everyone to be Disappointed and come on here a cry about it.

[JMD]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Impressions (Joystiq)

Do you people not see how arcady this games looks, it looks like a joke with every player having fake abs through there jersey? i mean come on.

The players all look the same at each position. It looks like blitz the League.

If you want sim, the closest thing is Madden, and it has gotten a lot better.

I cant wait for everyone to be Disappointed and come on here a cry about it.

[roadman]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Impressions (Joystiq)

Great post. It is good to see more level headed people post in these threads. I am on the opposited end of the spectrum. I used to love playing Madden NFL games, but they got stale to me and they seemed to get worse when they switched to next-gen. Take for example, NBA 2k10. I like the game, but I loved last years version. I rarely play it. I have only played about 170 games while many other players have played 1000's.

I sometimes think that our expectations become too high, but in Madden NFL 10's case, I would say that our expectations should have been met by now. We are not asking for a perfect game, just a football game with good gameplay that does not cheat you to win.

Turf;

Practice what you preach? You said in your previous post that you were done talking about Madden, and in your next post you mention it twice?

Sorry, had to point it out.

[10yard-Fight]

Backbreaker might end being a good game, but i love to play videogame football with nfl players. As much as i loved the 2k series i still own APF2k8 but i don't play it because of the fact it's hard for me to get into a non nfl football game now.

[Gusto1]

This game is a good fix until July. It would really help 505 if they drop the price point to $39-$49. They may lose money but this game needs exposure and many will take the risk at a lower price.

[kjcheezhead]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Impressions (Joystiq)

Do you people not see how arcady this games looks, it looks like a joke with every player having fake abs through there jersey? i mean come on.

The players all look the same at each position. It looks like blitz the League.

If you want sim, the closest thing is Madden, and it has gotten a lot better.

I cant wait for everyone to be Disappointed and come on here a cry about it.

I'm more interested in how the game plays, not looks. Abs on the uniforms doesn't mean it's arcade. Animated hand towels doesn't mean its sim.

The game looks like it plays a decent game. I have seen almost no clipping, sliding or glitchy type play in the vids. No real over the top tackles at all. It looks fun to me. Besides, I'll decide if I want that other "sim" game in August, not May 18th.

[LingeringRegime]

I'm more interested in how the game plays, not looks. Abs on the uniforms doesn't mean it's arcade. Animated hand towels doesn't mean its sim.

The game looks like it plays a decent game. I have seen almost no clipping, sliding or glitchy type play in the vids. No real over the top tackles at all. It looks fun to me. Besides, I'll decide if I want that other "sim" game in August, not May 18th.

Great analogy about the abs and hand towels. Very, very true. It makes me laugh that people are really so concerned about what the players look like. I would rather play with an Intellevision style player model, than player models that have little collision detection, or have terrible physics. I am crazy like that.

[Stormcrow]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Impressions (Joystiq)

I'm more interested in how the game plays, not looks. Abs on the uniforms doesn't mean it's arcade. Animated hand towels doesn't mean its sim.

The game looks like it plays a decent game. I have seen almost no clipping, sliding or glitchy type play in the vids. No real over the top tackles at all. It looks fun to me. Besides, I'll decide if I want that other "sim" game in August, not May 18th.

I'm with you on this. For me, football games don't have to be sim-like in order to be fun. If this game can provide a decent football experience out of the box, that's what I'm more concerned about. Not having injuries, for example, or stats like how many pancake blocks your lineman have don't bother me. Is the game fun? I'd rather see them have the core gameplay be enjoyabe even if it's not ultra-realistic like some people seem to want.

If people are looking for a sim-like experience, then I don't think this game is for you. Also, I'm excited to see how the team editing works, for those people that just gotta have the NFL teams.

[thor-17]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Impressions (Joystiq)

Do you people not see how arcady this games looks, it looks like a joke with every player having fake abs through there jersey? i mean come on.

The players all look the same at each position. It looks like blitz the League.

If you want sim, the closest thing is Madden, and it has gotten a lot better.

I cant wait for everyone to be Disappointed and come on here a cry about it.

The "fake abs" that you are talking about are actually pads. They are taking a license to think outside the box and imagine what pads will look like in a few years.

Players don't always look the same. Linemen look a lot bigger than qbs. LBs look bigger than receivers.

I thought Madden was sim this year until my WR had a magical burst of speed and caught a ball that he was in NO position to catch. That ball actually went through the defender. Also, I caught a TD pass with 3 minutes remaining in the half. The refs called it out of bounds. The game wouldn't let me challenge the call. No, I hadn't challenged any plays yet or looked at the replay.

I really don't think we will be dissapointed in a game where glitches and animations don't rule the play on the field. If players get beat, it is because they are out of position. Not because a player morphed into the right position due to a dice roll.

[Americas Team1]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Impressions (Joystiq)

Do you people not see how arcady this games looks, it looks like a joke with every player having fake abs through there jersey? i mean come on.

The players all look the same at each position. It looks like blitz the League.

If you want sim, the closest thing is Madden, and it has gotten a lot better.

I cant wait for everyone to be Disappointed and come on here a cry about it.

Madden and sim in the same sentence?Ok, that really made me LMFAO.

[TreyIM2]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Impressions (Joystiq)

Well, even if they are anti-Madden, they should be for a good reason. Madden NFL games are horrible at best, in my opinion. I'm being honest, not sarcastic. This should be the Madden NFL killer, but it won't be, especially since NFL gamer fans are brainwashed by EA Sports. Backbreaker deservers respect and a fair chance. I finally broke free from EA's grasp this year.

I feel you but it's one thing to be a "professional gaming website" and rate a game negatively as opposed to being a very sarcastic, childlike website, which can be funny at times DEPENDING ON THE ARTICLE, and give a "preview" of a game like Madden purposely making up things that are not true about the game just because, as a "professional", u don't like Madden or EASports, for that matter. Reading the Backbreaker preview shows that they are obviously trying to stick it to EA in regards to Madden with that overly brimming with positives "preview".
I've briefly skimmed a few other previews and NO ONE seemed to be as chipper about Backbreaker as Joystiq. I smell B.S. in that Joystiq "preview".

At any rate, again, I can't wait to get my hands on the game or demo. I enjoy Madden but don't think it's the be all, end all football game that it can be and give all "competitors" a chance. Backbreaker could possibly be a nice change of pace.

[SouthernBrick]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Impressions (Joystiq)

This game is a good fix until July. It would really help 505 if they drop the price point to $39-$49. They may lose money but this game needs exposure and many will take the risk at a lower price.

The game is 49.99.