Finally an alternative to the Madden football games we've all been forced to play since EA gained exclusivity of the NFL license.

If you were one of the few to pick up All-Pro 2K8 you'll know that, without the NFL logos, the game of American football seems to appear a bit different. While All-Pro 2K8 was a decent comeback for the team responsible for the finest football game to date (NFL2K5), 2K sports just couldn't compete with the Madden marketing juggernaught and, sadly, gamers never got to see an updated version of All-Pro.

Flash forward three years and out comes a new contender in "Backbreaker." Hopes were high, but expectations had to be set low, for this new football game coming from UK developer 505 Studios. You really need to see this game running in all of its glory to appreciate what 505 has done here. Like their marketing has boasted, "there are no canned routines and every tackle IS different." Linemen move realistically, players obey the rules of football and the animation engine never seems to quit giving of itself. Some hits are brutal, some are downright hilarious and some hits I've seen would kill a person if they happened on the field. Sure the crowd animations are limited and the characters look like sculpted-robot-men from the future but, at its core, Backbreaker is a very solid first outing and definitely has the components to build an even greater football experience their next time around.

As for now, at $49.99, you can't find a better reason to stop paying for Madden's inability to innovate every year and start playing football again.

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1st let me say Ive been playing Madden since 2000 and although I have bought one every year since, both PC and PS3 I always been left feeling cheated. I felt as if I were just paying for roster updates and the game play itself I felt always had cartoonish simulation especially online. Real gaming skill became secondary in terms of winning and losing. However, Backbreaker feels and plays more like real football with an "on the field" feel to it. Player control is amazing, espacally playing QB its as real as it gets...you look for passing lanes to throw though and the control gives you a more natural touch feel like in real football. This game isnt perfect but its a great start...Madden is a simulated pac-man pre-canned cartoon compared to Backbreaker. Give it a chance! Ill keep playing Madden for now but Backbreaker is the way of the future.

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Great game!! It way better then I expected. I've been glued to this game since I brought it home. The graphics and sound are amazing. This game is much better than Madden. This game is alot of fun once you get pass controller's layout. So Madden there a new contender to the throne.

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Backbreaker is a solid game built on an incredible core engine. The game offers a new perspective for football and excites you with the promise of realistic player animations and collisions. The physics are truly remarkable. The players react in a very believable way. The game is played a bit differently than traditional football games like Maddden. There is a much higher learning curve--the maneuvers require a bit more finesse. Don't expect to have a big play every down, but its ok--because the energy that erupts when you finally break a big one, is well worth it. There are a few gripes about this game. The replay system seems very basic. The unique camera perspective can make it difficult to 'get your bearings' on the rest of the field. Other little things. But when weighing the minor issues against the major achievement this game has made, it is still 5 stars. Truly amazing, with a teeny tiny bit of room for improvement.

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Euphoria and real time physics is the new wave of the future for all video games. Natural Motion's euphoria engine is also the gameplay engine for The amazing Red Dead Redemption. For a first time effort. Natural Motion has a hit here with Backbreaker. Be warned however. Backbreaker is like no other sports game that has ever come before it. Don't play this game expecting to experience a Madden like game or even expecting the classic NFL 2K5 Game. By the same token, Backbreaker is by no means an arcade style game like Blitz. This game takes time getting used to and can be difficult and really frustrating at first. It takes time adjusting to the new style. I have had the game for a week and like a fine wine. It gets better with age once you pick up the nuances of the game. From the third person camera to the on field player experience. You truly feel like you are a player on the field. That's where the game is most rewarding. The physics, player interaction and natural player motion is second to none. There are some issues and flaws in the game but they are overshadowed by the physics and organic feel to the gameplay. Backbreaker is truly a live action game. It's addicting to play because nothing is scripted. There are no canned animations. It's all based on the user control and reacting on the fly. The game is loaded with modes from the super fun tackle alley to two seperate franchise modes. In one of the modes, You can customize and name your own league. The customization tools are the deepest that there has ever been in a sports video game. You can create any logo or team that you want. The game has alot to offer and there is alot of potential and promise for this game in the future.

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This game will immediately WOW you. The tutorials will leave you speechless at how awesome the game play is.

Then you hop into a regular game and you get worked...so it gets VERY frustrating. BUT....if you can train yourself to forget the years of "training" from playing the same dry football game we've been force-fed yearly...YOU.WILL.LOVE.BACKBREAKER. Even if you are getting destroyed, this game is fun.

Tackle Alley (a mini-game that has you running from one end of the field to the other avoiding would be tacklers) is arguably worth the money alone. Especially when you play it split screen with a friend.

This game is gorgeous, no other sports game comes close. The tacklers are amazing. If you can get past the steep learning curve (which is mostly just being able to over come your previous football game knowledge) and learn to play this game for what it's meant to be you will enjoy this.

The team creator will cause you to lose sleep as you stay up till the wee hours of the morning creating your own team!

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Let me first say i have played Madden,NFL street,Blitz series and 2K football so you know my history it dates to 2004. Essentially let me get to the point Backbreaker is a fun game, and it is TOUGH, but it provides a fun football experience for those who love football at it's core.

My first impression was how stunned the graphics, sound and presentation where, it comes as advertised. As i played more into the game(tutorial,Tackle Alley, etc) i began to understand what 505 and Backbreaker could do that other games could not. For the first time i auctully could not complain about bad controls, or players floating through players, or the incredible throw into triple or double coverage and magically get the ball throwing passes; instead you will be punished and the replays do not lie, they show how and when you were tackled. There were small glitches but they were rare. Even the stadiums are unbelievably amazing, they feel like a coliseum full of hyped up fans. One thing i will mention is in Road To Backbreaker, you can build your own team, and draft free agents(even in season mode) which to me is a huge plus and instead of paying money, you have to earn it on the feild each game and you get points on how well you played which is a double plus and a great challenge to any football fanatic.

If there was a small bit of complains and the reason why Backbreaker does not have a 5/5 is for the few things that hold this game back. One was the awkward QB to wide reciever, i mean yes it is still awesome to throw and the controls flow, but the animation or the Euphoria does not look to real more like a little bit played out in the passing game somewhat. Second the soundtrack, i believe the game should have a little bit more instrumentals and player sounds, for me it suits this game very well(instead of playing P.O.D every kickoff). Third and final of all which are two small complaints was the online not working properly and Tackle Alley. I love Tackle Alley and i understand what it is teaching me, and how i should approach the game, but i truly do believe there should be small checkpoints(Wave 45-70-90), instead there was none to me this needs to change and i understand that it is challenge, but the devolopers need to honor the fact that nobody can pass 100 waves unless they have checkpoints which to me is fair.

Other than that i believe the media and megazines have this game painted wrong, yes it does take time to get use to, it has it's flaws, but it is a first year title and i believe this is a step in the direction. Also no it is not third person football game like your god looking down on your men, but like all games you will get use to the style, and once you are use to it, you might not ever consider buying another game again.

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Can Backbreaker Football possibly unseat the undisputed king of sports video games, EA's Madden NFL? Stay tuned kiddo's, because the first entry has more promise than any game since 2K5. The first thing that needs mentioned is the already talked about Euphoria game engine, which has situational reactions to the action happening in real time, and let me tell you something, it is a beauty to behold. I went through "Training Camp" and played one game because I just received the game yesterday, and some of the tackles / animations were just awe inspiring. The gameplay and camera angles take some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it you feel like you are right there on the field in the middle of the action! What more could a football lover want?! The controls may take some getting used to as most of the action is controlled with the left and right toggle sticks on the controller, but never fear as there are alternate controls for some classic "button mashing" if that's your thing.

A major criticism will probably be the fact that actual NFL players, teams. cities, etc....are not here due to licensing, but frankly the vast majority of options you have at creating your own team and league should rectify that if you so desire. While there will undoubtedly be some bugs to work out (the QB barks out signals with an English accent, for example), Backbreaker has definitely done more right than wrong with this initial installment, enough so to hopefully get the Madden franchise a little jolt (let's face it, I still love Madden but with no competition it had become pretty stale), which in the end should benefit all gamers.

All in all, a solid 4 star outing for this game. If your looking for a change of pace from the same old tried and true (I'm looking at you EA), then give Backbreaker a shot. Highly recommended.

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The good:

Tackling and physics are incredible. The player interaction is more organic and the whole game just feels far more realistic than any of the animation driven games like Madden.

The logo creator and custom team creation. The logo editor is very similar to what's used for decals in Forza, and basically allows you to create any logo you can dream of (or you can copy the NFL).

The running game and playing defense - both very fun - but don't try switching players on Defense, just stick with one guy and play your assignment. Switching will disorient you pretty badly.

Passing game - the mechanics of the passing game and the idea behind it is the most realistic I've ever seen in a video game. You actually have to read the defense and know which receiver you want to throw to before the play - and you have a blind spot - you're forced to look at your receivers before you throw it to them. None of this scrambling to the left then jump/spin/fling the ball to the right crap that Madden has.

The bad:

The offensive AI for the CPU can be incredibly stupid sometimes. There is a patch in the works though so this may be fixed in the future.

The playbooks are far too limited when compared to other football games.

The passing game - while I love the mechanics - there is a bit of an issue with defenders seeming to have hands of glue. Both you and the CPU tend to throw just a few too many INTs.

Penalties seem to be a bit sporadic at best, and there are some odd rule interpretations. It isn't NFL football.

No injuries or player fatigue. Not a game killer, but definitely a bit disappointing.

The other:

The game has 2 different season/franchise modes - one where you work your way up through a tiered league system, and one that resembles a standard multiseason franchise mode, though it's rather bareboned. I haven't played either mode enough to really have an opinion on them yet.

Overall it's a very very solid foundation for a football game.

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It seems to me every website you go to this game is getting bad reviews from the critics, but good reviews from the players, and my conclusion is that most of the good reviews are from people who hate EA, or hate that NFL 2K series was taken away from them. Backbreaker isn't a terrible football game, but its not a good one either. The things that jumped out at me when I played on the 2nd from hardest difficulty was I played 4 season games, and allowed a total of 7 points, I went up to the hardest difficulty and only could score 7 points. The controls are new compared to madden, but they dont always work when you want them too, spins dont spin, and due to the fact that this engine is nice ( and I'm hoping EA buys them out and uses it later ) its non scripited which means you dont see a random animation start like in madden, but you have way to many finger tackles, bump into tackles, and other quirks. Its a neat system that should be left off the football field, I find that in madden I have way more control over my team, the AI is much better.

If you really hate EA or you never liked madden since they purchased the NFL licenses, go ahead and get this game, I'm sure you'll find alot of used copies here on amazon pretty soon. I just got it as a stop gap until August and I got my Madden 11, and it wasnt even good enough for that.

To summarize, its a game with great ideas that just doesnt materialize on the field, the AI is weak especially in pass defense and offense never scores. I never even gave it a chance online, so I cant give any of you guys a heads up on that, I will stick with NCAA 10 and Tecmo Bowl until Madden 11. If you hate Madden you'll like it, if you love Madden you'll see it for what it is.. a bad developed game.

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I have a lot of good things to say about Backbreaker. Most importantly, i'm glad someone is competing against Madden. The exclusive NFL rights is killing me. On the other hand, Backbreaker has something very annoying in my opinion. Practically ever pass is intercepted. Not just my passes, the cpu also. It also lacks replay features - You can play a replay from one view (unless i'm missing something). The models and textures are great and the tackles are fantastic. The movement is a little confusing but you kind of get use to it.

Overall i'm disappointed with the game. I really had high hopes. Hopefully a patch comes out or something.

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This is my first time ever writting a review, but I think people should know that this game is not what everyone says it is.

1. When I first got the game, it was frustrating trying to play when you are so used to the controls from other football games, but I fought through this learning experience and now I actually like the controls. It does take some time to get used to them though.

2. It seems that everyone is claming that this is "real football" and unless you know real football you will not appreciate it... Well, that is true to some extent. The camera angle does make it much more like real football in that you can not see the whole field all the time, but to me that is where the "real football" experience ends. The gameplay is nothing like real football. While playing games, I notice that there are WAY TO MANY SACKS AND INTERCEPTIONS! It happens all the time, not just to me (I could understand that because it takes time to learn the game), but the computer throws interceptions all the time also. You will probably get at least 3 interceptions per game (5 min quarters), and possibly many more... Now, in "real football" it is rare for 3 or more interceptions, but not in this game. Also, you will probably get at least 10 sacks in a game, and get sacked many more depending on your skills. How many games of "real football" do you see a team get 10 sacks in? And that is not from me, I play the safety position, so those are coming from the computer vs computer on the line.

3. I have run into several issues with returning a punt. For 1, I am probably not exagerating when I say 25% of the punts result in a roughing the kicker penalty from my guy running into the kicker (and I'm way back controling the returner) This happens way too much and I end up having to take control of the ends to keep them from running into the kicker for a 15 yard penalty. Not much like "real football" to me.

4. The computer AI is terrible. I was in a game where I was trailing by 2 touchdowns with 3 minutes to go... The computer did not try to run the clock down to win the game... The computer repeatedly threw passes and did not let the play clock run down... I was able to stop them and score, then stop them again inside of 2 minutes and tie the game. I didn't even have to use my timeouts because the computer was throwing the ball and not letting the play clock run down. This isn't "real football"

5. One final point. Your player falls down way too easy. If you run into the back of your lineman you will most likely fall down backwards. I haven't seen (that I can recall) my player bounce off the back of my own man to hit the hole once.

Summary: There are several GREAT things about this game, but after giving it an honest try I would not recommend it and would not buy it again if given the choice. The physics are great, the new controls are actually good once you get used to them, and I even have grown to appreciate the camera angle. BUT, there are way to many BAD things about this game to make it a "real football" game. I have come to the conclusion that people are just saying that to make themselves feel like they know football more than others.

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