Home
Backbreaker REVIEW

Backbreaker Review (Xbox 360)

When you see the number 12, what do you think of? A dozen eggs? The months of a year? Well, how about my first 12 possessions in a Human vs. CPU game of Backbreaker: fumble, fumble, fumble, interception, interception, field goal, interception, interception, interception, interception, fumble and interception.

Simply put, Backbreaker has turned a sports gamer’s nightmare into a reality by failing to live up to its hype.

During the last couple of years, everyone in the football universe has been talking about whether or not Backbreaker would serve as a solid alternate to the EA franchise. The game was delayed multiple times while wars were waged on message boards all around the world, but now that the game has finally been released, it is clear that not even an extra year of development time could have fixed this title.

I say that because the gameplay in Backbreaker is its biggest downfall by far. It does not even feel as realistic as an old NFL Blitz title. Yes, the game is something new, but it cannot hide its major flaws.

One problem deals with the amount of turnovers that are committed in each game. I’m not talking about three turnovers a game. No, I’m talking about turnover numbers that can range from 10 to 20 per game. Here are just two quarterback stat lines I have witnessed:

(5-28), 7 INT
(1-16), 12 INT

That's really bad.

The game feels like it is moving at a lightning fast speed, which can very frustrating when you first start out. However, after you get the hang of the speed, you will start to understand how to cope with it much more easily. The camera angle also adds to the initial confusion. (For those who have not seen any media for the game, the camera zooms in on the player you are controlling.) Since the camera is so close to your player, it is hard to see what is going on around the field, which is both good and bad. It adds to the realism of an actual football game by giving the AI a chance to blindside you, but when you’re on defense, the camera angle makes it tough to keep up with the ball.

 


On offense, passing the ball is easy right up until you throw interception after interception. And if you don’t throw an interception, then you’ll get sacked and drop the ball while attempting a forward pass -- but have no fear, that forward pass will be ruled a fumble. When running the ball, expect a loss of five yards or a 50-yard touchdown.

While playing defense, the general issue is the aforementioned camera angle. I do enjoy the camera angle to an extent on defense because it really feels like a brand new experience, but again, it is hard to see what is going on during a play.

The graphics in Backbreaker are nothing special. All the stadiums and player models seem identical sans a few different traits. The players do not really stand out as individuals because they are just a bunch of athletes running around with visors. Basically, the graphics do not really hurt the game, but they do not help the game either.

Beyond the experience on the field, there is actually a reason why Backbreaker will be a huge hit one day: the customization options. If you have the desire and patience to create anything, from your high school team to a college team to even the entire NFL, then you have tapped into what Backbreaker is all about. You get to create and re-create anything you want. When you start a season, you create your own league, add in your own teams or the pre-made ones, and then you place them however you see fit. It is hard to give the customizable features just one short paragraph in this review, but this is one area of the game you just need to appreciate and explore. Make sure you call in sick to work or skip class to toy around with this element of the game.

The other mode in this game that will make Backbreaker a force to be reckoned with (assuming the gameplay gets overhauled in the future) is Tackle Alley (TA). TA is one of the most intriguing and addicting game modes I have ever played. You are faced with the challenge of reaching the end zone while using various dodge moves to avoid your opponents. There are 100 waves in this mode, and these waves begin to get very complicated once you make it to wave 50. If you beat the final wave, you unlock a hidden team, which is presumably the best team in the game. (For those of you with the Backbreaker iPhone application, TA is identical to it -- this version just has a ton of added flare.)

Beware of playing Backbreaker online because it has already turned into a big cheese fest. While the servers are very impressive and stable, the opponents really ruin the online experience. "Cheesing" in Backbreaker is very easy to do because of the game speed. After you snap the ball online, you will be sacked early and often. However, turnovers are not as rampant online because you are playing a real person rather than the unintelligent CPU-controlled teams.

 


Final Thoughts

Overall, Backbreaker is another game that had all the hype in the world, but now that it is out, it cannot get out of the way of its own hype train. I do think the game could be a great game in time, but the little errors and glitches really add up in this one. In addition to that, TA is one of the best mini-games I have ever played. But even with that mini-game and all of the customization options Backbreaker has to offer, the lack of quality gameplay really knocks it flat on its back. If you want sim, do not even look at this game. If you simply want to play a fun football game that is emulating an arcade experience, just boot up NFL Blitz again.

On the Field
: Don’t remind me how terrible it is.

Graphics: Not good or bad, just bland.

Sound: Awesome at first, but by the third game, you will be sick of P.O.D.

Entertainment Value: It can be fun with a friend, but the frustration will take hold sooner rather than later.

Learning Curve: There is a surprisingly steep learning curve to the game. Getting used to the camera angles is a big part of that curve.

Online: Great servers, but bad opponents.

Score: 5 (Average)


Backbreaker Score
Customization.
Tackle alley.
Tackle animations.
Gameplay.
Turnovers.
Rushing offense.
5
out of 10
Backbreaker Videos
Member Comments
# 141 Tyrant8RDFL @ 06/10/10 05:29 PM
This is why reviews are nothing more than the persons opinion on a game. You have to find out for yourself.

This game is a 7 out of 10 easy, and the camera on defense allows for you to see everything with no problem. You just have to know all the controls. There is no way the person who reviewed this game knew that or he would have not mentioned it.
 
# 142 swaldo @ 06/10/10 05:42 PM
Just got the new 'Game Informer' magazine in the mail and Matt Bertz gave BB a very fair and honest review. He played a whole season and covered the high & low points very accurately and professionally - and his final score was also a 5.

My point is that I think it's not so much the score but how the OS review came across. Sure I'd like to see a 6 but I think even dedicated fans cans agree that 7 would really be a stretch pre-patch.

Also, the GI issue is chocked full of sports info - including an interview with the 2K10 baseball million dollar winner.
 
# 143 veritas1 @ 06/10/10 05:54 PM
From the blog on main page:

Talking about lessons to be learned from BB.....

Lesson #3: Gameplay isn't the factor it used to be. Backbreaker has a new and interesting type of presentation, and a lot of people love the game overall. However, Backbreaker's gameplay is average at best in multiplayer settings -- and absolutely atrocious in single player. I've been saying it for awhile that if a game can nail the presentation aspects, gamers would be enamored with the game. Why do you think NFL 2K5 has such iconic status still in 2010?

I LOL'd hard at this. In my eyes, not a very credible reviewer. Just IMO.
 
# 144 TexasBorn1 @ 06/10/10 06:40 PM
Lol another Backbreaker review where it gets bashed just because the guy playing it sucked at it
 
# 145 shh @ 06/10/10 07:20 PM
Good review! Gameinformer gave it a 5..Impressive takling don't make a game..Gameinformer had the same complaint's...
 
# 146 gridironjunky @ 06/10/10 11:07 PM
I'm not gonna give my opinion on the review or the reviewer but I was wondering if anybody out there has experience excessive cheesing online like what was mentioned in the review? I have logged a great deal of online games now and I can honestly say that I have not seen much cheese at all. I ran into one guy who used the onside kick every time but once I figured out how to stop it I haven't had anybody try it on me again. With the exception of the fg block which can be countered, I haven't seen anybody with gaurenteed money plays or any exploits that have ruined online in so many other sports titles. He stated you'll get blitzed online, and that's true, beating the blitz is far from impossible and you can mount just as dangerous of a pass rush with just your d-line especially if the other user doesn't stand strong in the pocket. Has anybody out there experienced any excessive cheesers?
 
# 147 Buckeyes_Doc @ 06/10/10 11:27 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasBorn1
Lol another Backbreaker review where it gets bashed just because the guy playing it sucked at it
Another rational at a poor BB rating.

I do not see what was wrong with the review nor why the skill level of the reviewer would even matter.

Quote:
Originally Posted by spankdatazz22
Wow, that was an atrocious review. And thus does OS's sports reviews spiral ever closer to IGN's sports games reviews. The game "failed to live up to the hype"? Who was hyping an unlicensed game other than users that wanted an alternative to what was currently available in Madden and NCAA? And that's ALL the game could be - an alternative. Yet the review is written by someone seemingly expecting the game to play like NCAA or Madden, of course without the many benefits those two games enjoy. It touches on none of the game's positive aspects - surprisingly other than customization, which I guess was important for the reviewer so he could remake the NFL or NCAA. IT'S NOT THE BACKBREAKER DEVS FAULT BB CAN'T BE AN NFL OR NCAA GAME - yet reviewers seem intent on holding that against the game.

Still shaking my head at the "fails to live up to the hype" lol
You really do not think BB had hype?
 
# 148 tswiatkowski @ 06/10/10 11:35 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by shh
Good review! Gameinformer gave it a 5..Impressive takling don't make a game..Gameinformer had the same complaint's...
I know man....I was impressed with the tackling animations, but I thought they were a bit too overdone (first attempt, I will give a pass) but the rest of the game (besides tackle alley) was horrible. Not realistic, the player models looked dumb, and I felt the gameplay was clunky.

I'm pretty sure the QB stat lines for the reviewer were coming from the computer, not him. The fumbles probably came from him, but not the INTs. I literally have never thrown a pick in this game, and I never will considering I will not play it again after renting. My QB stats, while good, were extremely conservative, and I can't see the reviewer being a terrible gamer.
 
# 149 mgoblue678 @ 06/11/10 01:25 AM
Quote from the review "On offense, passing the ball is easy right up until you throw interception after interception." Sounds like a user skill issue to me. Not everybody with the game is throwing interception after interception.

There were also an couple of other quotes that were pretty inaccurate based on what I have experienced, like the one in the same paragraph about every running play being a 5 yard loss or 50 run. Not sure if he was running outside runs all game or something, because I have had plenty of runs that don't fall into those two categories, and only a couple of runs here and there for anything close to a 5 yard loss.

Also as I said before the claim of cheese being rampant online is pretty meritless to me, considering I have played about 30 online games against mostly randoms and noticed the opposite. Not to mention even if he did expierence cheese, how can you rip Backbreaker for something that you find in every sports game?

Also the not being able to follow the ball on defense complaint sure seems like an individual issue to me because myself and many others with the game have no problem following the ball when on defense. Was he switching players on defense constantly or something?
 
# 150 spankdatazz22 @ 06/11/10 01:53 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Buckeyes_Doc

You really do not think BB had hype?
Hype from people on the boards, yes. But because some wanted the game to be a legitimate option to Madden/NCAA that shouldn't be held against it. The BB devs never said they were setting out to make the most realistic sim football game ever, or whatever standard this reviewer was holding the game to. In fact they said specifically that they were trying to do something different than had been done or was being done, they were trying to give gamers a different experience. Which in large part they succeeded in doing. No one's running around saying the OL/DL interaction needs to be scrapped, or that the WR/DB interaction is broken, etc. It's a first year title and many of it's issues are AI and balance related.

Hell, Madden had turnovers issues well into it's THIRD year - and they were mostly being brushed aside by reviewers. This is a poorly written review from a silly perspective, pure and simple. I don't mind the score, but at least be cognizant of the fact they were trying to do something different. That they HAD to do something different because of the exclusivity situation.
 
# 151 ForUntoOblivionSoar∞ @ 06/11/10 02:45 AM
It seems to me the reviewer just didn't learn how to play the game. "Surprisingly steep learning curve" says it all.
 
# 152 TombSong @ 06/11/10 03:46 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ForUntoOblivionSoar∞
It seems to me the reviewer just didn't learn how to play the game. "Surprisingly steep learning curve" says it all.
This is the review summed up in a nutshell. The poor guy does not know how to play the game. NONE of the reviewers on ANY of the gaming sites knows how to play the game.

When you talk to a guy who has built cars and one who has read about building cars you can immediately tell whose words carry more weight. ALL of the reviews reek of people who picked up the game and proceeded to try and play madden. You need at least a good week with this game just to become average with it. I think this is the problem most have with the game, its not pick up and play. However THAT ain't a game flaw, thats a human flaw. We all have to adjust to the speed and style of the game.

If going down that road of learning how to play the game is not for you, they yeah, I can perfectly understand you not liking it. However to have driven a Ferrari and say I dont like it because it goes to fast is not the cars fault. It was built to go fast. BB was not built to play like Madden. What they made works and works well within the scope of what they set out to accomplish. It needs some cleaning up , balance and polish, but what do you know, so do the other games.

Its amazing to me how year after year, the reviewers can put up with broken game play and broken promises from other games and rate them 8,9 but can hold utter disdain for a game that has brought something unique to the football gaming world.

This is a VERY playable 3rd person football game. It has "THE" best team creator on the planet. 2 ways to build up your team through 2 types of seasons. (Have you seen the detailed game analysis they give you after each game in RTBB ?) The running game is a thing of beauty(quit running full speed into the LOS and you will see that) A challenging passing system that once its learned is a LOT of fun. I know it ain't fun for you guys that think having 10 seconds in the pocket and being able to see all your WR's is the cornerstone of football.

This was a good first release and the game has a lot of upside to it if they patch it and give it the added features other games have.
 
# 153 Bellsprout @ 06/11/10 04:06 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by TombSong
This is a VERY playable 3rd person football game. It has "THE" best team creator on the planet. 2 ways to build up your team through 2 types of seasons. (Have you seen the detailed game analysis they give you after each game in RTBB ?) The running game is a thing of beauty(quit running full speed into the LOS and you will see that) A challenging passing system that once its learned is a LOT of fun. I know it ain't fun for you guys that think having 10 seconds in the pocket and being able to see all your WR's is the cornerstone of football.
You realize that's all opinion, right? Just like a review is all opinion.
 
# 154 veritas1 @ 06/11/10 05:11 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by WeAreAllWitnesses
You realize that's all opinion, right? Just like a review is all opinion.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion. BUT as a reviewer you have to be open and fair and represents the wider audience. You may not personally like some aspects but you have look at it from another to see if others might. This reviewer took his own personal expectations of the game into the review and got upset when they weren't met. Which is obvious when you look at the average user review.
 
# 155 DirtyJerz32 @ 06/11/10 10:35 AM
It's amazing how people are all over the reviewer. I just don't understand how some of you guys are so upset and saying he has no idea what he's talking about. It's his opinion! You have yours! If you have a problem with it write your own blog review and move on. I just don't get it...
 
# 156 coogrfan @ 06/11/10 10:47 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by TombSong
This is the review summed up in a nutshell. The poor guy does not know how to play the game. NONE of the reviewers on ANY of the gaming sites knows how to play the game.
Did it occur to you that maybe, just maybe, there simply isn't enough there to make them want to learn the game?
 
# 157 TombSong @ 06/11/10 11:28 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by coogrfan
Did it occur to you that maybe, just maybe, there simply isn't enough there to make them want to learn the game?

That's fine, SAY that. Don't besmirch the game however because you don't know how to play it. I have said myself the game is lacking in presentation, depth of playbooks, and the AI needs work. However, the game as designed plays a pretty good game of football once you learn how to play it.

I KNOW why I am throwing INT'S in BB. Its because I am throwing into double coverage or hurrying my throws and trying to force them to a covered man. In Madden I throw to a wide open man, only to see the defender WARP and intercept the ball or a LB super leap and snag it out the air.

Its a beautiful thing to play as safety and charge the LOS when you see a HB about to break free and your momentum nails him and causes him to go backward....or see him run you over. I can add on to a tackle in this game and effect how the play finishes. I can mount a pass rush with a 4 man line and not have to worry about the qb having FOREVER in the pocket for the zones to break down.

I actually HAVE to field the punts and kickoffs. That adds a dimension to special teams thats NOT in any other game. I dont have to watch the same canned animations playout over and over again and determine the failure or success of what I do.

I can play college, High school, NFL, XFL, Whatever league I want to create in this game.

So yeah, you and the reviewers can not like it for whatever reason but dont scream on the game because of lack of "user skill" Learn to play the game first.
 
# 158 spankdatazz22 @ 06/11/10 11:30 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by DirtyJerz32
It's amazing how people are all over the reviewer. I just don't understand how some of you guys are so upset and saying he has no idea what he's talking about. It's his opinion! You have yours! If you have a problem with it write your own blog review and move on. I just don't get it...
Because it's OS's "official" review. It's going to be more noticeable/carry more weight than Joe Nobody's review or opinion. For a site that's supposedly all about sports gaming and doesn't appear compromised in the same way sites like IGN, TeamXBox, etc., it's a poorly written review imo. But given how the football games have been reviewed this gen on most sites including this one, this isn't that much of a surprise. As others have noted in the thread, the GameInformer review is actually more in depth and they gave it the same score. So it's not people just being "angry". I guess it's asking too much but I would've expected a site dedicated to sports gaming to take a broader approach in reviewing the game given the circumstances (exclusivity).

It's arguable this game has the single most important videogame football innovation that's occurred this generation in realtime physics. I personally can't think of a single significant innovation that Tiburon has brought to the table this generation myself, when pretty much every other sports game has done something of note. And this is on their first attempt at a football game. It should count for something if we want to see videogame football move forward, and not just to the point where we're overjoyed at the football games getting near/at a level they were 5yrs ago.
 
# 159 Gibbz @ 06/11/10 12:47 PM
Even though the game has released and has turned out to be garbage the Backbreaker supporters are still angry if anyone calls it less than stellar.

A shocking turn of events.
 
# 160 spankdatazz22 @ 06/11/10 01:10 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ABrooks111
Even though the game has released and has turned out to be garbage the Backbreaker supporters are still angry if anyone calls it less than stellar.

A shocking turn of events.
That's silly statement, no one's saying the game is "stellar". But reviewing it [seemingly] from the perspective it needs to play like something else isn't the correct approach. And especially when that "something else" wasn't getting knocked nearly as hard for the same issues at the same stage in it's development. Either way, the BB devs weren't trying to make another Madden or NCAA; they can't make an NFL/NCAA game. That shouldn't be held against the game imo.
 


Post A Comment
Only OS members can post comments
Please login or register to post a comment.