So much wasted potential as 505 games continues the trend of releasing sub-par games which COULD have rocked!
As an Australian I don't care at all about the NFL license, and the fictional teams found in Backbreaker as decent enough. So the game loses no points simply because of its lack of an NFL license.
Where the game fails is gameplay. But first some good points.
-Euphoria makes for the most natural movements and looks brilliant, there's definitely an argument here that euphoria is the way of the future.
-Customization is fantastic, truly a game designed for those who love to personalize everything.
-Wow factor! That wonderful sound of crunching tackles and shiney things.
Sadly, none of these actually impact on the gameplay to any great extent. Essentially they feel like a novelty. And while cool and amusing they don't provide any lasting fun.
While the physics looks sooo natural and amazing its still shoddy with ball carriers tripping over their own feet, team mates knocking each other over and any contact with another player results in a human jet crash sequence the likes of which are just not seen in real life. Much like in GTA IV when you drive your 2 tonne truck over a tiny plastic roadhat and the massive truck does a flip. You've given the game physics, but they ain't 100% correct and make for stupid events.
Furthermore the game is easy, and I mean easy. Even with the silly control scheme and the ridiculous up close in your face interface which means you lack peripheral vision the game remains easy. Easy...and shallow. There's no tactics and no strategy there are 100 total plays, which EVERY team shares. So you won't need to think about tactics or strategy, just pick a random play and smash and bash the controls for an easy victory.
And the AI never adjusts pre-snap so... An easy game gets even easier.
The game feels and plays like a giant bluff, with so much in your face action, noise and showboating. Only when you scratch a little deeper you find it's soooo easy and sooo shallow. The physics are a mixed blessing, they look fantastic but there's still some BS that occurs which IS IMPOSSIBLE IN REAL LIFE!
Large group tackles look like someone has a ragdoll cannon shooting at a rock with huge guys just toppling over for even barely touching another player.
It's sad really because the game isn't exactly 100% arcade and is nowhere near a sim at all. Instead it's a mix of both arcade elements that are trrryyying to behave like a sim, only they don't.
In the end Backbreaker will be remembered as the game which brought euphoria to sports and changed the dominant paradigm of pre-rendered animations. But it'll be forgotten with it's shallow gameplay and budget feel.
A great weekend game with a friend, but not something you'll play for more than 20 hours. 6/10