Backbreaker kicks off in '08

While 2K Sports' All-Pro Football 2K8 didn't pan out to be the second coming of Vince Lombardi that many gridiron fans had hoped for, it did mark the return of competition to a genre dominated by EA Sports, who still maintains the exclusive NFL license. It now appears the football genre will resemble a league somewhat, as NaturalMotion today announced it would be taking the field in 2008 with Backbreaker.

NaturalMotion is best known for being the purveyor of the euphoria, endorphin, and morpheme animation tools for in-game animaton. The middleware is being featured in many high-profile games, such as Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV and LucasArts' Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

NaturalMotion's euphoria animation engine is the impetus behind Backbreaker. Diverging from scripted animations found in other football games, Backbreaker will utilize NaturalMotion's proprietary "motion-synthesis" technology to create individually calculated and executed tackle animations.

According to NaturalMotion CEO Torsten Reil, "Backbreaker is the first football game with truly interactive tackles. By utilizing our motion synthesis engine, euphoria, players will never make the same tackle twice, giving them an intensely unique experience every time they play the game."

Backbreaker is in development for unnamed "next-generation" consoles. It has not yet been rated or priced.