Gameplay
Controlling the action is relatively simple, with just about every basic movement being handled by the left and right analog sticks. Backbreaker has opted to do away with the four main controller buttons aside from the A button being used to select plays, snap the ball, and switch players.
You use the left analog stick for directional movement and the right analog stick to perform jukes, spins, and dives. The left shoulder button is used to focus on specific players—eligible receivers if you’re controlling the QB, nearby threats if you’re running with the ball—and the right trigger is used for “aggressive mode,” which should be pretty self-explanatory.
On offense, the game’s camera system starts to get in the way. If you’re running the ball to the outside, the camera’s position behind you offers little to no peripheral vision so you rarely have any idea of which defenders are coming at you, what their angles of attack are, and how close they are.
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That shortfall pales in comparison to the passing system, though. Instead of being able to throw the ball to individual receivers with individual button assignments, you have to hold down the left trigger and flick the right analog stick to the side to cycle through your potential targets. And the tightness of the camera makes it nearly impossible to survey the field, so you end up either hoping to hell your primary receiver is open or maybe, just maybe, being able to cycle to your second receiver before throwing the ball. Any more time than that, and you’ll almost certainly get sacked.
Defense is actually done pretty well. The camera stays behind you, which is a departure from most other football games, and the overall feel is pretty close to the chaos of playing in an actual game. The fixed camera, though, means that two player games are handled in split-screen. I’m not sure if it’s worth it.
Overall
Taking the presentation style and gameplay mechanics together, the overall experience just seems to fall a bit short. I didn’t find myself finishing a game and then saying, “That was awesome, I’m going to play another one right away!” It was more like, “That was okay. There were a few cool running plays but it’d be nice if passing the ball was fun.” There just didn’t seem to be enough compelling me to come back again and again.
Part of that is the NFL fan in me wishing I could play with actual teams in actual stadiums but the other part is a longing for the strategy involved in being able to survey the entire field at once to set up your downfield blocks or find your open receiver quickly.
I can’t in good conscience write off Backbreaker altogether because I think the Euphoria engine is done really well and the idea of the on-the-field gameplay style has the potential to add another layer of realism.
Everything just needs to be refined and tweaked a bit to reflect the split-second strategizing that takes place on the field when a quarter back is looking for an open receiver or a running back is deciding whether to cut, wait for a block, or run head-on into a defender.
File Backbreaker in the “to rent” category or download the demo first. There’s a lot of potential here—the execution just needs to be refined a bit.
Official Techland Score: 6 out of 10