GC 2008: Backbreaker Hands-On

Brian Ekberg has posted his hands-on impressions of NaturalMotion's new football title, Backbreaker. Here is what he had to say:

Consider Tackle Alley, a small feature that was the only playable part of Backbreaker today. Initially meant to be a simple tech demo, the feature grew in popularity and now will be included in the final game as an additional minigame. The idea is that you play as a lone runner, whose goal is to make it from one end of the field to the other while avoiding a host of psychotic defenders looking to cripple you at every turn. The running controls in the game are simple as can be--left stick moves the player and right trigger controls turbo. Juke moves and jumps are controlled by moving the right stick left, right, and up.

Throughout our time with Tackle Alley, we tried every juke move we could think of to get away from the defenders, from sidesteps and running backward to trying to leap over them. While we managed to avoid a few, it wasn't long before we were leveled by one or more defenders. It was impressive that no two tackles ever seemed the same. We saw a full-on blast that would knock the helmet off a real NFL running back and two-man tackles that sent our runner's body twisting at painful angles. We even managed to elude a few tackles or step out of a few ankle grabs to continue our march upfield. We never found the end zone, mind you, but we enjoyed trying.

You can read his full impressions, along with new screenshots over at GameSpot.com. Then head over to our forums and discuss the full article.