06:59 PM - April 2, 2010 by Steve_OS
Gameinformer has posted their hands-on preview of Backbreaker.
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Backbreaker News Post
06:59 PM - April 2, 2010 by Steve_OSGameinformer has posted their hands-on preview of Backbreaker.
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Member Comments
That was a pretty rough write-up. It seems that the game is extremely shallow.
One thing that really bugged me was this comment, "Like All-Pro Football, Backbreaker lacks split-second responsiveness, so to properly juke past defenders you must activate the move well before you’re in the position to perform it."
Using the word, "lacks" gives the impression that the writer assumes a football game should allow your moves to spring out at the touch of a button. They shouldn't. While a game like Madden does give you that twitchy responsiveness, it's that very lack of momentum that often gives the game a very arcade like feel.
One thing that really bugged me was this comment, "Like All-Pro Football, Backbreaker lacks split-second responsiveness, so to properly juke past defenders you must activate the move well before you’re in the position to perform it."
Using the word, "lacks" gives the impression that the writer assumes a football game should allow your moves to spring out at the touch of a button. They shouldn't. While a game like Madden does give you that twitchy responsiveness, it's that very lack of momentum that often gives the game a very arcade like feel.
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Not enough customization (height, skill ratings, etc), just missing enough little things that people will expect.
"The skill ratings feel rather empty considering the depths to which Madden credits attributes. Each player, no matter the position, is rated in four areas – focus, agility, speed, and strength. While these ratings may be fine for creating basic skill sets, there is no way to deduce what ratings affect abilities like quarterback accuracy, zone coverage, man-to-man coverage, etc."
wat
wat
"You can edit the name and number of each player, but have no control over their skill ratings, size, or weight. The only way to get better players on your roster is to move the slider that controls how many gold tier players are on your roster."
"You can throw the ball without using focus, but I found the accuracy was severely compromised; balls flew all over the place with no rhyme or reason as to why they would be so unruly."
"How the receivers react to a pass seems to be intrinsically tied to whether or not you used the focus button to throw the ball. When I used the focus, the quarterback tended to throw the ball in a location that made it easy for the receiver to aggressively make the catch. When I didn’t use the focus throw, oftentimes the receivers would just stand there and not challenge for the ball if a defensive back was nearby. This was most evident in curl and comeback routes. The receivers also demonstrated a lack of awareness when negotiating the sidelines, and one ball ghosted right through the receiver and into the defenders hands – both problems that have plagued Madden for years. "
"The defensive zone coverages tend to sag, so your best bet for large gains is to scramble on a play that sends everybody upfield with go routes. With half the defenders playing 30 yards downfield, once you get past the line of scrimmage nothing is stopping you from making huge gains. This is compounded by the general lack of awareness in the defensive backs, who frequently stayed in coverage instead of pursuing a quarterback scrambling up the field."
"I saw several instances where the quarterback tripped on an offensive lineman before handing the ball off. I also witnessed more than one fumble where the quarterback pitched the ball into the side of the fullback when it was intended for the tailback, resulting in a frantic scramble to recover the ball. The AI hardly fared better in the passing game, with most plays ending in a sack or an incompletion after the quarterback scrambled around indecisively. My opponents’ highest completion percentage in all the games I played was around 30 percent."
"Player chatter is nonexistent, and the crowd basically sounds like a blanket of white noise, hardly reacting to big plays. Natural Motion says it’s still working on fine-tuning the crowd noise to make the stands come alive during key moments, and the music hasn’t been integrated into the on-field experience yet, which should go a long way toward livening up the field."
"The instant replay option could also use some work. In its current state, you can rewatch any play, but the camera angles are not adjustable, meaning if something happens away from your defender you can’t get a better look at it."
"I did notice there wasn’t an option for making player trades, a peculiar omission."
Totally killed my boner.
"You can throw the ball without using focus, but I found the accuracy was severely compromised; balls flew all over the place with no rhyme or reason as to why they would be so unruly."
"How the receivers react to a pass seems to be intrinsically tied to whether or not you used the focus button to throw the ball. When I used the focus, the quarterback tended to throw the ball in a location that made it easy for the receiver to aggressively make the catch. When I didn’t use the focus throw, oftentimes the receivers would just stand there and not challenge for the ball if a defensive back was nearby. This was most evident in curl and comeback routes. The receivers also demonstrated a lack of awareness when negotiating the sidelines, and one ball ghosted right through the receiver and into the defenders hands – both problems that have plagued Madden for years. "
"The defensive zone coverages tend to sag, so your best bet for large gains is to scramble on a play that sends everybody upfield with go routes. With half the defenders playing 30 yards downfield, once you get past the line of scrimmage nothing is stopping you from making huge gains. This is compounded by the general lack of awareness in the defensive backs, who frequently stayed in coverage instead of pursuing a quarterback scrambling up the field."
"I saw several instances where the quarterback tripped on an offensive lineman before handing the ball off. I also witnessed more than one fumble where the quarterback pitched the ball into the side of the fullback when it was intended for the tailback, resulting in a frantic scramble to recover the ball. The AI hardly fared better in the passing game, with most plays ending in a sack or an incompletion after the quarterback scrambled around indecisively. My opponents’ highest completion percentage in all the games I played was around 30 percent."
"Player chatter is nonexistent, and the crowd basically sounds like a blanket of white noise, hardly reacting to big plays. Natural Motion says it’s still working on fine-tuning the crowd noise to make the stands come alive during key moments, and the music hasn’t been integrated into the on-field experience yet, which should go a long way toward livening up the field."
"The instant replay option could also use some work. In its current state, you can rewatch any play, but the camera angles are not adjustable, meaning if something happens away from your defender you can’t get a better look at it."
"I did notice there wasn’t an option for making player trades, a peculiar omission."
Totally killed my boner.
# 7
SemperVictoria @ 04/02/10 08:06 PM
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I have no idea yet how the abilities will play out with Backbreaker. What I do know however, is that 99% of player's ratings in Madden mean zip, ziltch, nodda. They're simply for show and that's it.
# 8
TheWatcher @ 04/02/10 08:13 PM
Wow, a thorough and brutal (without being intentionally brutal) hands-on article. Lots of bad news items there for BackBreaker.
Some of this stuff is going take some major heat when this game reaches the public.
Some of this stuff is going take some major heat when this game reaches the public.
# 9
TheWatcher @ 04/02/10 08:17 PM
^^^ No matter what, any football game that comes out is going to be matched up against Madden by the media and by fans, too. That's just the way it is. The same thing happened with All Pro Football when it came out.
# 10
kjcheezhead @ 04/02/10 08:19 PM
Kind of left me with mixed feelings. A lot of disappointing things, but he sounded like some of them could be tweaked and the game still has potential. Defense sounds like it will be fun to play.
Some of the ai concerns could just be the level he was on too, just like he said. It's easy to hold the cpu to under 30% completion when you play on rookie or pro in other games.
Not being able to take NFL teams or players online really sucks, no other way to put that.
Some of the ai concerns could just be the level he was on too, just like he said. It's easy to hold the cpu to under 30% completion when you play on rookie or pro in other games.
Not being able to take NFL teams or players online really sucks, no other way to put that.
Either EA paid Gameinformer $50 million or Backbreaker has a he!! of a lot of work to do. I was about as optimistic as anyone about this game, but this preview is not encouraging.
# 14
Crimsontide27 @ 04/02/10 08:41 PM
I like having good and negative previews to read as it allows me to decide what is more important to me. Some issues in Madden are huge issues to some, while those same issues dont mean anything to me and vice versa.
This actually sounded like a pretty honest assesment of the previewers experience with the game. The fact that he mentioned both positive and negative aspects are a breath of fresh air since I dont feel that there may have been an agenda , one way or the other.
It answered a lot of questions to me though.
What stands out to me the most is the issue of a lack of AI in the game. This can really make or break an experience no matter what type of game or genre you are playing, not just sports.
This game introduces new concepts and I appreciate the fact that another company is trying something new. However, I feel if they ignore some of the problems mentioned in this article, then all the good will be overlooked in favor of the bad. All the amazing graphics and tackles in the world mean nothing if the offense and defense dont play properly.
This actually sounded like a pretty honest assesment of the previewers experience with the game. The fact that he mentioned both positive and negative aspects are a breath of fresh air since I dont feel that there may have been an agenda , one way or the other.
It answered a lot of questions to me though.
What stands out to me the most is the issue of a lack of AI in the game. This can really make or break an experience no matter what type of game or genre you are playing, not just sports.
This game introduces new concepts and I appreciate the fact that another company is trying something new. However, I feel if they ignore some of the problems mentioned in this article, then all the good will be overlooked in favor of the bad. All the amazing graphics and tackles in the world mean nothing if the offense and defense dont play properly.
# 15
kjcheezhead @ 04/02/10 08:42 PM
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# 17
mr_president @ 04/02/10 09:05 PM
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you see the same kind of complaints(game is to easy;defense has holes and doesn't react; the game is a slug fest;etc..) with 90% of game demos, especially sports games when the settings are on easy/rookie.
...and it definitely doesn't make things better playing the game on arcade.
judging from what i have seen i'm sold.
# 18
Crimsontide27 @ 04/02/10 09:10 PM
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On the other hand, I have read a ton of reviews about all sports games that follow the same line of thinking.
A reviewer will get a copy of the game, post their impressions, and then everyone picks them apart. It " could " be the level of play, it could be the "lack" of the reviewers skill, it " could " be an earlier build etc etc.
For the most part...and its been proven on numerous first looks spanning every sports game genre Ive played...what you see is usually what you get.
This has never been proven false I dont think.
I hope the developers take this preview in stride and start tightening this game up. There seems to be some great innovations here and I think we would all hate the game to be unplayable due to some of the problems mentioned here.
Ouch, after reading that review my hype went from 100 to 30$ :/
The AI sounds very stupid.. oh well.. ncaa is getting closer.
The AI sounds very stupid.. oh well.. ncaa is getting closer.
# 20
SouthernBrick @ 04/02/10 09:34 PM
Man I had a feeling something like this would happen but, they could of at least gave us something. Also looks like the whole name editing rumor wasn't so far fetched after all. Smart move by NM.
Very disappointed in some of things I read but, I guess there were some some good things in there but, nothing really that grabbed my attention.
SMH at no customizing player heights and weights at ALL!
Very disappointed in some of things I read but, I guess there were some some good things in there but, nothing really that grabbed my attention.
SMH at no customizing player heights and weights at ALL!
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