Will Backbreaker Replace Madden as the Best Football Video Game?

One of the newest football video games available on the market that is quickly becoming a favorite is Backbreaker. NaturalMotion is one of the developers behind the game that had a hand in games like Tekken 5 and Metal gear solid. Backbreaker has been highly anticipated and many people have wondered if it is going to be a Madden killer and take the top spot as the best football video game.

First off the game is very comprehensive and you will likely get lost unless you go through the beginning game tutorial. The demo is easy to go through and after you go through it you will have a lot better understanding of the game functions and controls. Another reason the tutorial is good is because unlike other football games the controls are slightly different. As for if Backbreaker is like Madden, you really can't compare the two besides the fact that they are in the football category. Now we will take a more detailed about the different components of Backbreaker.

First up is the perspective of running in the game. It is done from a first person point of view so it can be good to see everything in front of you but isn't ideal for full field view. This means that sometimes defense will creep up on you out of no where. It is definitely challenging when you are executing running plays because it can be difficult to get a lot of yardage on plays. While it is frustrating at times, it forces you to be precise and run better plays with your team. With this factor you will either love it or hate it as it will be something to challenge you or you will get tired of not gaining yards and you will want to put the game down.

Passing is another feature that can be hard to get a grip on and is not as easy as just pressing the control to pass to a certain player. One of the reasons it is a little harder to throw a pass is because there is a multiple button function to pass to your intended receiver. You will likely find yourself trying to remember the right combination and wasting to much time trying to get the ball off or you will end up passing to the wrong receiver. This too will be a play you will have to truly master before you can pass like a pro.

When it comes to defensive plays the controls are a little on the easier side compared to offense. One cool feature that Backbreaker has put into place is that it shows a different tackle each time you sac someone. This makes it fun to watch the tackles and you don't get bored of the same tackle animation over and over. However the tackles can seem a little odd at times and they leave you wondering if they were even possible in a real football game. For all of you that like to pick off passes, there is no designated control to make an interception. It happens according to your defensive players position. You just have to be in the right place at the right time, but after playing defense for awhile you start to learn where you have to be positioned in order to intercept the ball.

One feature you will thoroughly enjoy over playing single player with the computer is the online game play. You will really enjoy playing other people as long as they are at a similar skill level.

Overall Backbreaker is fun to play and has some amazing graphics but it might not live up to the hype. Madden has a lot of history and has set the bar very high for what game players expect. There were a lot of things that NaturalMotion tried to put into the game that were good ideas and meant to differentiate it from other foot ball video games but they end up coming up short.