Backbreaker Previews and Gameplay Videos

by pastapadre
Posted March 3rd, 2010 at 10:42 am

IGN and Gamespot have posted the first hands-on previews for Backbreaker. The Euphoria driven football game is slated to release on May 18th and this is the first opportunity the media outlets have had to actually play the game.

Gamespot: Camera angles aside, developers are aiming to make Backbreaker an easy game to pick up and play.

IGN: The actual football itself hadn’t changed all that much in the last year, which is surprising given the amount of time Backbreaker has been in hiding.

The first gameplay videos have arrived courtesy of IGN showing off the passing game, running game, and the defensive side of the ball. Based on reactions it seems as though they have brought expectations down to a more reasonable level. Take a watch of the videos and leave your thoughts in the comments!

More Backbreaker Info

More Backbreaker News & Previews

Tags: latest news, Videos

Amen Ra

Man this game looks like shit!!!! LOL, just like I thought….
mxpxboy

Looks more fun than Madden. Just wish it had the NFL license.
Bagel

The camera angles are pretty much what you'd see in the superstar modes. It's interesting as it brings you much closer to the action and tackling. However, it looks like it can be a real pain. I'm still excited for this game, though.
J-Kits

Maaaaan, I think every sports game needs to use the Euphoria engine. But looks damn good and pretty fun for its debut
yardz23

holy S, that defensive video just put this game into a whole other level for me. Wow, can't wait.
ABC12Three

this is why i avoided getting my hopes up for this game. thanks for the news yesterday about the tecmo bowl remake because that now is what im looking forward to
Chris

The thing thats funny is everybody is expecting this game to be the end all be all and its this companys first game at recreating football. The madden heads are holding this game to a higher standard when madden its self isnt a great representation of the game of football. People complaining about the OL/DL interactions act like madden has this down in their games and they havent. The fact that this company has the vision to try something different and thinking out the box is more than enough for me to play the hell out of this game because it looks AWESOME!!!
Steve Anigav

Looks horrible. Tackling looks good though. Definitely not buying it full price.
bbb

Haha the sound effects are terrible. Having seen three minutes there Im already sick of the whistle and player sounds. Can also tell the makers arent from the US (-1 YDS)
banks

I like how they tackle. The game looks solid… If they could just bring the camera back a little bit .
Qnert

pretty much what i thought it would be. cool tackling but everything else is shit.
848

No customization sharing? That kills it for me. Like the IGN guy there is no way Ill be able to create what I wanted to use I was counting on others putting up their designs. Backbreaker has gone from possible buy to no thanks.
Mykal94

This game has a lot of what Madden has wrong, right. Tackling, DB/WR and Lineman interaction, etc. Unfortunately, it looks as if that is about all it has right. Combine the 2 (and it seems Backbreaker wants to) and you might have the perfect football game.
King206

The tackling looks 100X better than Madden. Don't really like playing on the Cam. I hope the retail version have more angles to choose from.
lynn

Man, those camera angles gave me a bit of vertigo. Think I'll pass.
http://pastapadre.com/ pastapadre

There are no options to change the camera angle unfortunately.
lolwat

What happens if its CPU vs CPU simulation then?
…..

looks awesome……can't wait to get it!
steamedsoup

Meh, I'm finding myself less and less interested in this.

For the longest time, anytime I heard people name-dropping this project, it was almost always in relation to the physics engine which was supposedly going to be innovative and realistic. So slapping what looks like an arcade-style cartoonish game around it completely kills it for me. (Not to mention the apparent lack of anything resembling a franchise mode — it's been almost a decade since I got into any sports game that limited me to single-serving season mode.)

I suppose I hope they sell enough to warrant further investment and an opportunity to build on what they've started with this. But I also wouldn't mind terribly if they flopped (for fear that EA would view any success by this game as a sign that they need to make their own game even more dumbed-down and accessible to the casual arcade-type gamers).
steamedsoup

I'd think it'll still be fairly easy to share custom uniforms/rosters, etc. It's just a matter of knowing where to look online to download it (and having enough basic tech savvy to figure out how to get the files onto your system), I'm thinking.

Like the way people shared NCAA rosters back in the day (before EA set it up so we could share them in-game on the EA Locker).
Boobie Smoove

if this game had 11 on 11 multiplayer i'd buy it
vegastwan

why doesnt anybody understand if madden TOTTALY REDID there whole game… it would fail… maddens the closes thing to real nfl style… only thing there missing is this Euphoria Engine… lets be honest the gameplay of backbreak looks ok but not as as real as madden… and the graphics in backbreak look too much like blitz the league. im telling you add the engine to madden upgrade graphics,stadium atmosphere, and fix the way the OL and DL block, fix the physics of the game basicaly and you got the number 1 football Game ever… not to mention update the players regularly the way they should be lol.
lol

bwahahaha

So all you have to do to make madden the #1 football game ever is add euphoria engine, better graphics, stadium atmosphere, OL/DL interaction, and physics of the game, and make the players how they really are

Dude you just named everything you idiot.

Madden blows
backbreaker

Backbreaker is da sickness
Lafayette

Looks good but just not sold on an ARCADE football game. I wish EA would learn from this game. This game has great graphics and is giving us something new but just to arcade feel to it.
tunes522

love the idea of the QB only being able to see that part of the field that he is actually looking at…i was actually a BIG fan of the passing cone in Madden…though, if they were going to go all out…they should've gone with the “looking out of the helmet view” that they had in NFL QB Club WAAAY back in the day…the tackling looks quality…the actual football is questionable thus far…i do like the way the guys move…though all of the players appear to have the same body structure, i would be interested to see how the game would look if there were different body types and different styles of movement…i wish they would just sell the engine to EA and Madden already…haha…
gusto1

This is the first venture for backbreaker it would be sad if all this potential died becuase people dont give the game support. Not buying this game this year will kill a masterpiece two or three years from now. This is why many real NFL teams never become champions they fire the coach before he has a chance to build his vision.
Madwolf

The animation looks nearly spot on real life. The tackling, movement, etc. is already more realistic than Madden's motion capture system. I love Madden, and I have no doubt that Madden 11, and even 10 will be better than Backbreaker in terms of actual gameplay. However, no one can look at those videos and tell me that animation wise, Backbreaker won't offer the more realistic looking experience.
Jd

this looks and plays like football nothing like that madden garbage.
carlisle2033

Dear lord this looks horrible. Players don't even move like football players so stiff and lifeless.

But I'm sure some people who still force their eyes to see gold because they hate EA so much.

I could take a dump in a box and mark it “Anti-Madden 2011″ and people will say it looks pretty good.
Lafayette Azevedo

i don't think people hate EA when it comes to Madden I just think EA doesn't see it's own faults with the game and think they've got the perfect game. The game feels just way to canned, almost predictable all the time.

I think that MADDEN needs to make the players bigger, animations looser, and hits needs to feel more organic (if that makes sense). I want to feel the hits like the old XBOX version with the TRUCK STICK, make a bit more arcade like just for the sake of fun. I know I've said BackBreaker is an acarde game but that just means it'll be FUN for anyone to play and not just a stiff adaption of the game.

MADDEN lacks – BIG PLAY MOMENTS (That are realistic, not running up of the middle and breaking tackles without actually doing so and running for 80 yards), REALISTIC TACKLES (Not dive tackles that knock someone over, canned crap), IMPROVED ANIMATIONS (QB's still can't release the ball right and have ZERO momentum. Receivers still look like there running standing straight up, linemen still slide there feet…. too much in this department). PRESENTATION (They'll never get this right and the cut scenes are so bad, ha, man, this is something this company has always sucked at).

I've aways bought MADDEN and will continue too because it's positives still outway the negetives but the game is so far behind what it can be. It's as if EA is afraid to mess up something that seems to be working without realizing that the game is BORING and not that realistic with it's on field action (GANG TACKLING, that's all they ever talk about, ha, how about they ad some freaking MOMENTUM into the game) and presentation.

BackBreaker will change the way football games are made and I think if this company is just 1% succesfull in sales you'll see a 2nd version that will vastly improve over it's first rendition.
Frodo

“(Not to mention the apparent lack of anything resembling a franchise mode — it's been almost a decade since I got into any sports game that limited me to single-serving season mode.)”

Please sir, you have been falsely misinformed. The game will have a multi-season franchise. If you want the game… cool. But don't go around misrepresenting facts.
Greg

only thing i like over madden is the ability to add on a hit with the player you are controling during tackles, being able to dynamicaly add to a tackle and drive it a different direction is awesome, like when a player is being held up so you can make a hit high and really punish the offensive player. Madden is screwed up cause when you try to add on a hit your player does some crazy ass dive in the wrong direction or bounces off like a 80 pound grandma. I couldnt tell you how many times in madden I have a bead on someone to punish them and the damn player I control just whifs on by!! I do like this backbreaker for showing off what defensive tackling and add-on hits are suppose to look like. Other than that, the QB animations, running animations and the silly lit up passes are blah at best.
CLEfan23

this games camera angles might have ruined it for me. they need to zoom them out just a little. the tackling looks real good n the physics r sik. the players when they run dont really run low to the ground when they cut or lean forward when there about to get hit or running through tight spaces. if madden bought this engine then madden would be the best football game around
steamedsoup

Ah, I hadn't heard that. I was going by IGN's hands-on piece (linked to in the original post) where it only mentions exhibition games and 16 or 32-team season mode.

If it does indeed have a franchise mode, that's obviously a good thing.
robot jordan

this game is goin to really suck… but the tackling is great
Lemmon

How does offline 2 player work? Or doesn't it?
Lemmon

How does offline 2 player work? Or doesn't it?
toronto1

I will be purchasing this game! I will not be purchasing Madden first day, I may rent it before I decide to buy. That really depends on what they have done over the past 12 months.