PS3 Review – Backbreaker
The controls are completely different than other football titles on the market. It will definitely take some time to adjust to them, mainly the passing. Rather than pushing a button to pass to a receiver, the right analog stick is used to deliver a pass. After a while, you do get used to the controls, however, the problem is that sometimes they feel a bit over-sensitive. This can lead to overthrown passes in clutch situations. But then again some of those passes also stem from the quarterback’s feet not being set, throwing off his back foot, etc. again, adding to the realism.
If you are turned off by the thought of playing with mainly the analog stick there is something you should take into consideration. When Tony Hawk first came to the market it used face buttons for years, and was the king of skateboarding games, that is until Skate came along. The new controls offered by the new title revolutionized the genre. This in turn forced Tony Hawk to go back to the drawing boards and essentially reinvent themselves. Madden football games have pretty much been sticking to their bread and butter for years. Backbreaker is the football version of Skate, it’s here to shake things up.
The camera and viewing options draw similarities to Madden’s Superstar mode. It has a much closer vantage point when taking the snap from the quarterback position. While this doesn’t allow for you to see the entire field, it does offer a more realistic feeling as if you are the quarterback yourself. To see which receiver is open you have to scan the field and make sure you know exactly where the defensive players are located, because one wrong placed pass will easily result in an interception. Also for those that are fans of dropping back 15 yards and throwing the ball deep to a receiver that will automatically catch it. It doesn’t work that way in Backbreaker, this will once again result in a terrible throw. The runningback position is set up the same way with the camera directly above your player. Running around in the backfield trying to make too many cuts will get you nothing but negative yards. One must adapt to have a more realistic approach to the game, make one cut and hit the hole with the runningback. This will result in positive yardage as long as your linemen do some form of blocking.
The game works well for what it is trying to accomplish, and that is to really make you feel as though you are right there on the field, standing in the players cleats. Those that are trying to get this as a replacement for Madden will be sorely disappointed. While they are both the same sport in the football genre, they are two completely different titles. However, for football fanatics looking to try something that takes a totally different approach than Madden, they should definitely give Backbreaker a chance.
PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score
The physics deliver as promised, no two tackles are the same The multiple game modes will leave you entertained for hours on end |  |
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5 Responses to “PS3 Review – Backbreaker”
pretty sweet review, i need to check it out someday
you guys reviewed back breaker before a lot of others, that’s cool. good review, except im one of those people who have to play with authentic players and vehicles when i play sports or racing games. there are exceptions but that’s only if the said game has great reviews or catches my interest.
oh. i also liked ya 1-5 review scale
I thought about this game for awhile this is what I came up with. without Authentic Players its left up to the developer to create players and which team is rated higher than the other. so without authentic teams I think players will always use the highest rated team, so how would the developer prevent this? make all the teams equal which would make every team identical to each other, 40+ teams lol …. either way I just think the team balance is gonna be a problem and get pretty boring fast
@kick_in_ur_face
now don’t take my word for this cause i may be pulling it out of my ass, but the since this is focused on the physics they could just randomly size players, with the size of a qb’s arm for example affecting his throw power. that way you could have teams overall ratings near equal without identical teams
And about the skateboarding game comparison, madden already has stick controls coming next game so there you go