Last week, I bought a new game for my Xbox 360. A football game called Backbreaker (Backbreaker web site).

I’ve played quite a few different football games over the years. On the Atari 2600 (aka VCS), NES, Commodore 64, Xbox, Xbox 360 and other systems, not to mention playing in the arcades. The games have naturally evolved. Backbreaker is a further and better evolution of the genre in many respects.

NaturalMotion and 505 Games teamed up to make Backbreaker. NaturalMotion has an 3D animation engine called morpheme that is used in combination with their euphoria engine to define how players react to hits. The euphoria motion synthesis engine tries to simulate how a body’s nervous system would react to contact.

The result of the above combination? Every hit is unique in this game – there are no motion-captured animations during tackles. There are animations for throwing and catching the ball, plus a few other things. Otherwise, it’s based on the physics of contact. This allows for some great hits and is very entertaining to watch. I love rushing to cover a punt and slamming into a couple of the lead blockers – it’s like human bowling! It’s scary seeing your QB’s head snap back after a lineman hits him from behind.

Players have weight and momentum in this game. You can’t make some of the cuts you can in other games. You can make some quick cuts, but don’t expect to suddenly be running full speed right away as you have to build up your momentum again so you can take on the defenders.

2K Sports had a nice football game that featured a First-Person Football Mode. That was a lot of fun because it let you see things from a player’s perspective. You could scan the line, look for defensive tendencies and call hot routes based on what you see. Backbreaker is the closes thing to that; it used a third person view, but you’re situated very close to the player you’re controlling. It makes you feel like you’re on the field, especially when you’re playing a safety and jump to cover a run 30 yards away only to get burned by a play-action – and watch the ball fly over your head and into the arms of the receiver who just beat your teammate on a fly pattern.

This game is a pretty bare-bones game. No referees on the field. No injuries or fatigue. No individual hot routes on the fly (I used them a lot in the 2K Football games). Very limited replay (same view as the player you were controlling) and you can’t save replays. Penalties are a bit strange at times (I got dinged for pass interference after hitting a receiver who dropped the ball). But, you know what? This game is FUN!!!

It’s fun because it’s the closest thing to being on the field. I was dying for a replacement for NFL2K4’s First Person Football. It was in NFL 2K5 (playable on the 360), but the developers screwed up some of the controls so you can’t transition properly in some areas. Backbreaker gives you a perfectly acceptable substitute and probably is a little better than FPF.

This game can be a tough game to play. The controls are a little bit different and there are lots of little things you can do to run the ball better, or throw passes better, or whatever. If you go to the Backbreaker web site, they have a forum that gives a lot of tips. I just read them today and I’ll be sure to try them out tonight!

It’s also CRUCIAL that you go through all of the training drills. Those teach you the basics of how to play the game. From there, you can work on improving your game. There is also something called Tackle Alley, which is where you have to run through waves of players to get to the end zone. This is good for practising dekes and jukes. Play with some of those and then go into Season or Road to Backbreaker mode!

Because of the proximity to the play you control and the realism, this game can be a bit intense at times. You find yourself wanting to make a bit hit because you know it’ll be unique. On the other side, when your QB gets hit, sometimes the players will come right at your camera – it can be very visceral at times.

When you buy this game, you may get frustrated when playing, but keep at it and you’ll be enjoying yourself in no time. After watching the realistic tackles in this game, other football games just seem so blah. I was never a fan of Madden – the 2K series was so much better in many respects. When you make plays in this game, you feel like you’re making the play, not being some god-like being looking over the field. After playing this game, I can’t imagine going back to games with canned animations and a less-intense view.

I didn’t even get into the Xbox Live side of it or how the season works (including drafting). I didn’t discuss the fun I’m having with the Road to Backbreaker mode, which allows you to earn money and buy better players as you win and try to move up into tougher leagues. I didn’t talk about creating a team, including the logo creator – I made a quick approximation of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ logo, but could make a better one if I tried harder.

I didn’t get to discuss the feeling you get when your receiver catches the ball and you take control, chugging along while straight-arming opponents as you continue your journey to the end zone. I didn’t get to discuss the amazing spin move my QB did without my prompting that allowed him to get outside the pocket – one straight-arm later, I finished a 35-yard run to paydirt. I didn’t talk about some of the interceptions I got because I played my position the way it’s supposed to be played.

Will this game make the developers money? Probably not because it didn’t sell very well the first week (less than 18,000 copies). I get the impression that it’s a tech demo to show how great the combination of morpheme and euphoria can be. It’s one heck of a tech demo!

Despite the low sales, there’s good news. The Backbreaker app for the iPhone has sold 1.5 million downloads. That helps when it comes to brand recognition.

The day Backbreaker went gold (released for production), the developers indicated that the team had been transitioned to working on Backbreaker 2. I look forward to writing another post about that game!

Jim Wolf is a member of the Clique Canada team and dreams of being a CFL All-Star.