Backbreaker Hands-On Preview (Gameinformer)

[t11]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Preview (Gameinformer)

Might as well take that whole portion about AI and throw it out the window...

He was playing on arcade and there was no mention of the difficulty he was playing on. But the numbers sound like Rookie Difficulty on Madden/2k.

When will previewers realize they need to tell us ALL of their variables?!?!?

This previwe raised more ? than it did answers...

[JayBee74]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Preview (Gameinformer)

OK so no viewing stats in the pause menu, no challenges, no editing player attributes (if they even exist, other than the ones he stated), no editing player size (linebackers the same size as kickers?), and what appears to be a modified version of the QB vision from Madden 06 (which a lot of people hated with a passion), and thats not even going into the AI issues he mentioned.

Does it even matter if I can make Peyton Manning, but he has the same attributes as Jamarcus Russell. The only hope there is for the game now is if the AI is better on the pro mode with higher difficulty settings for both the CPU and the players AI controlled teammates. Either way this game just went from a first day purchase to a "if there isn't a demo I'm not touching this" game. Thank God for gameinformer

As I stated in another thread the Gameinformer "previewer" didn't even have the presence of mind to say what difficulty level he was playing on, or explain why arcade mode was the only properly balanced mode in the build that they got.
Having said that the developers are not doing a good job promoting the game if a good game actually exist here. The main speculation on my part to come to this conclusion is that the game could have been set to "kiddie mode" (Arcade, Easy difficulty), but that may not be the case because default settings usual start at Medium. It is also curious why custom mode (1 of 3 modes-arcade, pro, and custom) wasn't at least explored from a settings/sliders point of view.

[Crimsontide27]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Preview (Gameinformer)

Might as well take that whole portion about AI and throw it out the window...

He was playing on arcade and there was no mention of the difficulty he was playing on. But the numbers sound like Rookie Difficulty on Madden/2k.

When will previewers realize they need to tell us ALL of their variables?!?!?

This previwe raised more ? than it did answers...

We have all heard that story before. Doesnt matter which game is previewed early we always have others stating that its somehow because of the mode / settings / skill level that everything appears out of whack. Fast forward to release day and SUPRISE!! same issues seen in videos and mentioned in reviews are the exact same issues you get in release.

Until a game comes out that breaks this trend, I tend to err to the side of caution.

[LeonM]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Preview (Gameinformer)

I would ignore all the comments about AI in this preview because the user played in Arcade mode with a preview build. I'd wait till the demo or release to really judge the AI.

I also expect alot of first time Backbreaker players to struggle with the controls or having success being a player on the field. Backbreaker is a totally brand new football gaming experience. Very revolutionary. I dismiss any complaints from this area.

I also dismiss the presentation element because the game is still being tuned and tweaked and will be different than the build that is being previewed here.

The defensive aspect of this game sounds great. Love the revolutionary perspective of being a defensive player in this game. All the reviews of playing defense on these early builds have been positive.

The limitations when it comes to team editing isn't that bad. You can still create 32 teams with full player rosters and edit them to be anything you want in offline mode. I can create any teams and players that I want and use them in two seperate franchise modes.

The only real limitation is online and it's not that bad. Instead of having The New England Patriots logo with uniforms online. I have The N.E. Patriots logo with uniforms online. Instead of Tom Brady. I have T.Brady. It's not that big of a deal.

The areas that concern me are the limitation in editing players height, size and ratings. There seems to be some form of player rating system in this game but it's unclear to what extent. It sounds like you can alter your team's strengths and then decide how many gold players you have on your roster.

Overall, The reviewer Matt Bertz stated that he walked away with mixed feelings. Not exactly positive but not completely negative either. The proof will be in the pudding when the game is ready for the real previews and a demo.

[CreatineKasey]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Preview (Gameinformer)

This preview didn't surprise me one bit. BB hid info for such a long time. I wondered why. Wouldn't they just be excited to share this revolutionary game with us? Well, now you can clearly see why nothing of depth was really ever discussed outside of the phenomenal physics system.

Crimsontide is hitting the nail on the head here. If it's between believing NM or the reviewer, I'm believing the reviewer at this point. I think he was still holding back some. You can tell he really didn't like this game.

Much like Crimsontide, there's a lot of shortcomings that I'm completely okay with: Editing issues, presentation, commentary, rating style, responsiveness (I preferred APF's lack in responsiveness), or difficulty running.

I'm not okay with AI weakness. From what I've saw in ALL previews until this point, the AI looked weak almost all the time. Rarely did I ever see "that defense was in a cover 2 zone and the safety made a phenomenal play". Instead on previews I see 3 defenders randomly mashed together and a WR catching a ball between them on a throw off the QB's back foot 30 yards downfield... on a frozen rope.

Remember, we can only control 1 player on defense and I guarantee there's a big lack of defensive adjustments we can make pre-snap. Because of that and the new camera view, we'll rely on AI EVEN MORE than we do in "God view" football games in the past. Let's say a guy can run deep passes and scramble for yards easily because of zones sagging so hard, and he can create that "lose-lose" situation consistently where you either cover a 10 yard out or pursue the QB. Without defensive adjustments we won't be able to contain the QB on the fly, for example.

I always said I'm okay with stuff as long as the gameplay is solid. I'm not seeing it or reading it. No way will I buy this week 1 unless I get a slew of improved gameplay and reviews saying otherwise. I try to be equally critical of all games I buy, EA made or not. BB doesn't get a free pass with me.

[JMD]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Preview (Gameinformer)

This preview does not concern me at all for one reason "Arcade Mode". I can put Madden 10 in right now and play on rookie mode and the A.I. will play just as poorly, I will hold it to completing less then 30% of it's passes and they won't score once. I'll throw and rush for over 300 each and score over 100 points. Hell I can even do it on All Pro with Madden 10.

No game plays like the Dev's intend it to on the easiest mode. I'm sure this game is better tuned for Pro mode , where things will be more realistic. If not oh well it will cost me $50.00 to find out. I'm not going to let this guy's opinion of what is essentially a training mode change my excitement for the game.

[Mbalmer]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Preview (Gameinformer)

We have all heard that story before. Doesnt matter which game is previewed early we always have others stating that its somehow because of the mode / settings / skill level that everything appears out of whack. Fast forward to release day and SUPRISE!! same issues seen in videos and mentioned in reviews are the exact same issues you get in release.

Until a game comes out that breaks this trend, I tend to err to the side of caution.

This is the best post on here yet. I can not agree more. This "previewer" is trying to tell us that the game he played sucks and he mentioned several reasons why. Some of us need to open our eyes and stop this madness that this game is going to be the best. I am done posting in the backbreaker forum until the game comes out because I don't want to be accussed of spamming and telling everyone not to buy this game. This game is going to suck, I will be back to tell you "I told you so"

[Draxion]

This is a tough review,you have to remember though that this was played on arcade mode.
The sad thing is that this game looks like it has so much potential and might have a good foundation and even if it has these problems, but just wont have chance to have a sequel.
Madden 06 sucked, Madden 07 sucked and Madden 08 sucked. It took them three games with a bigger developer team get a good/decent game out (09 IMO). The sad thing is that BB is only going to get once chance, its sad.

[jyoung]

Don't care what any journalists have to say about the game, I'm still getting it day one to support the developers.

No doubt this game will have some flaws, but so did NFL 2K when they first started out on the Dreamcast.

[nyj721]

As I stated in another thread the Gameinformer "previewer" didn't even have the presence of mind to say what difficulty level he was playing on, or explain why arcade mode was the only properly balanced mode in the build that they got.
Having said that the developers are not doing a good job promoting the game if a good game actually exist here. The main speculation on my part to come to this conclusion is that the game could have been set to "kiddie mode" (Arcade, Easy difficulty), but that may not be the case because default settings usual start at Medium. It is also curious why custom mode (1 of 3 modes-arcade, pro, and custom) wasn't at least explored from a settings/sliders point of view.

Well even if you throw the stuff about the AI out of the window, this still looks like a bare bones next gen Madden 06-like game other than the gameplay. Like I said before no challenges, no penalties apperently, no real presentation, and pretty much no editing created players (except for speed, agility, strength, and focus).

Now I understand that the game isn't out yet but its only a month until release time, so how much can they improve before they have to ship the game. How can you make an AMERICAN FOOTBALL game wiith no challenges, penalties, or commentary. C'MON MAN.

[DirtyJerz32]

Doesn't sound to good. I hope that's not the case. It's the first game out so we'll see what happens.

[JayBee74]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Preview (Gameinformer)

This is the best post on here yet. I can not agree more. This "previewer" is trying to tell us that the game he played sucks and he mentioned several reasons why. Some of us need to open our eyes and stop this madness that this game is going to be the best. I am done posting in the backbreaker forum until the game comes out because I don't want to be accussed of spamming and telling everyone not to buy this game. This game is going to suck, I will be back to tell you "I told you so"

Please stay out of the Backbreaker Forum.

[p_rushing]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Preview (Gameinformer)

WNow I understand that the game isn't out yet but its only a month until release time, so how much can they improve before they have to ship the game. How can you make an AMERICAN FOOTBALL game wiith no challenges, penalties, or commentary. C'MON MAN.

There are penalties, the commentary isn't there because its from a players point of view, not on TV.

[gr18]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Preview (Gameinformer)

A football game not made by EA needs to take the time to get things right.There's only one chance.This is what aggravated me about 2k8 where the gameplay was very good but everything else was bad.These devs had a lomg time to get this right.Even the simple decisions were botched(player size,uni's,visors and apparently gameplay elements).

I think everyone should try this game out but putting down $50 blindly at this point is another story.

[TheWatcher]

Re: Backbreaker Hands-On Preview (Gameinformer)

^^^ I get the impression that this wasn't going to be a game at one point. It looks like that changed course and they wound up on a no-turning-back road.

I don't think the preview was brutal for no reason. It just felt like the writer wanted to love the game but he just couldn't get past some things. He didn't sound like an NFL-or-bust guy, he just didn't love what he saw.

I'm still buying this day one, so it wouldn't have mattered what the preview said. I bought APF new, I'm buying this new, Tecmo Bowl Throwback, and I just got BCFX new not too long ago (which is fun despite its issues). I'm supporting whatever comes out with the understanding that these games are going to have holes, but I'm looking for the positives. I'm not telling anyone to buy or not to buy, that's not my decision to make for others. However, when we don't buy we actually don't help the market issue at all. I want this thing to open back up again and for there to be more choices than just Madden for Pro Football. Buying other football games is the only way to make other companies take notice and want to throw their hats in the ring.