The Jolly Gamesman and His Many Toys
Backbreaker Football for the iPhone & iPod Touch
I’ll get this out of the way early: I don’t know a lot about football.
Some years ago, before the Nintendo Wii was launched, I was asked to do some beta testing for Electronic Arts on their new Madden game. My excitement turned to fear as I realized that I had filled out the survey as having a “high” knowledge of the sport that we would be playing. Actual knowledge? Extremely low. But, a quick trip to Wikipedia and a 20 minute read on the way to the testing area, and I figured I could handle this. Luckily when I arrived, the only knowledge I needed to know was that flailing your arm forward threw a ball, and throwing your arms in the air made your guy dance.
Of all the reading I did, to this day the only bit of info I retained is that most football teams have 53 players.
The rest of my football knowledge only temporarily exists when I am in a room, watching the game, surrounded by the insights of others. I’ll generally ask which team to cheer for, then using my cat-like reflexes, react the same as those around me when they cheer or jeer. That all being said, I had a really good time playing Backbreaker Football.
Here’s the gist of how the game works:
You have the ball. You run forward towards an area on the field to get points. The opposing team runs towards you in various patterns trying to tackle you and get the ball. Using the device’s accelerometer and on-screen controls, you weave and juke between players and target bonus-point paths laid out on the field. At your disposal is a turbo button to get a bit of a headstart, and a showboat button to jack up your score. Depending on your evasion skills, points will add up, and combo multipliers are added as you progress down the field. There are a series of challenge modes that will steadily increase the amount of players after your ball, while at the same time limiting the amount of field that you have to evade them in.
While this may sound repetitive, the real draw of this game is the awesome physics and graphic engine that is in place. If you happen to get caught up by an opposing player, the Euphoria engine takes over and animates with great detail the take down. People familiar with the character animations in Grand Theft Auto IV and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will be accustomed to the Euphoria engine’s ability to animate 3D models beautifully.
What started its life as a next generation physics tech demo, Backbreaker Football has materialized as a very entertaining iPhone / iPod game. While not a football simulator by any stretch, Backbreaker is more a mini-game / tech-demo that will keep you entertained for many bank line ups or transit stops.
~The Fine Print~
0.99$ / A Lite Version is also available
