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Backbreaker (PS3/XBOX 360) - Natural Motion

Backbreaker uses High definition graphics combined with Human body science to make the game more realistic than any other Football game before it.

Backbreaker has some similarities with Madden but has a third person camera to give you a more authentic experience of actually being on the pitch rather than the Madden one which is above the players and intended to be like a T.V camera.  

The main menu is easily navigated using the analogue stick and the X button and the circle button to go to the previous menu .

The game modes are:

Training Camp (tutorial) which teaches you all of the controls  by putting you through a sereis of different excersises and is a very easy way to learn the game.

Exhibition where you can play games as any side in the game as your favourite team however the creators of the game do not have the liscence to an of the names of teams or players in the NFL of AFL so all of the players names, team names and logos are made up although they are all based on real teams and players e.g. the New England Patroits are the New England Militia instead and L.Maroney is I. Maconey etc...

Split Screen where you can play any mode in the game apart from online and Training camp with a freind.

Leagues lets you manage your team and play in a leaugue with as little as 8 teams to as large as 32.

Online where you can play against anyone in the world at exhibition and tackle alley.

Tackle Alley last but not least the game that started the whole backbreaker craze on I phone, in tackle alley you start of in your endzone and have to beat one defender to score a touchdown to complete level one, but as you advance you must defeat more challenging defenders and avoid obsticles.

Also on the menu is My Teams were you can create and customise your own team from their strip and their helmets to the colour of the endzone in your stadium or just edit an existing team. Locker Room were you can change the game settings and view bonus content such as videos and concept art.

Controls
The controls may seem offputting at first but as you play you do get used to them. There are five different sets of controls for differnt areas of the game. They are: Quarterback control, Running with the ball, Running without the bal, blocking and defense.

OFFENSE: First you must pick a play. you can pick from the playbook or pick from the coaches selection. 

Quarterback Control. For those unfamilliar with the rules of American football, when you have the ball on offense your aim is to beat the oppositions defense  by passing and running with the football  to make ten yards, you have 4 attemps to do this called 'downs' and if you use up all of your downs without making 10 yards then it is a turn over and the other team has the oppurtunity to attack you. When you reach the ten yard marker you have another set of 4 downs to make the next ten yards and so on until you get to the opposition endzone and score a touchdown.  To control your quarterback in offense you use the right analogue stick to look around the line of scrimmage before play has begun, you can then attempt a fake hike or a pump fake to try and make your opponent false start and therefore gain a penalty for your side, X is to hike once you are satisfied with your chosen play and your runners will do their best to get into open space and then it is your job to either give them a bullet pass, lock onto the desired reciever using L2 and then push the right analogue stick up, the advantage of a bullet pass is that it is very quick , precise and will go a long way and therefore is less likely to be intercepted, if the ball is intercepted the oppisition will have chance to attack you, The bullet pass doesnt give your reciever a very long time to run onto the pass. To give a lob pass lock on using L2 and pull the right analogue stick down and this will give your reciever a long time to run onto the ball but it is easier to intercept. If your pass falls incomplete ( no player doesn' catch the ball) then you will lose a down and have to start from the same distance away from the 10 yard line. If the pass isn't on you can either scramble (run) with your quarterback using R2 and which risks the chance that the defense will tackle you behind the line of scrimmage and you will lose yards or you can throw the ball away which means that you will lose a down but not lose any yards.

Running with the ball.
Normal mode:
Wether you have just recieved a ball or  you are running with your quarterback, you can manipulate the movements of the player to beat defenders, make first down and score touchdowns. It is easier to beat players by holding down L2 to lock onto them,  Move the left stick to move, you can juke left or right by  moving the right analogue stick left or right. press the right analogue stick up to jump, hold the right analogue stick up to  dive onto the floor, hold the right analogue stick down to slide on the floor., diving on the floor before you are tackled is a good way to avoid injuring your quarterback.
To spin right move the right analogue stick down and rotate it right, and rotate left to spin left. Press X to swap the hand that your player is carrying the ball, this is helpful if you need the other hand to hand off.

Aggressive mode: In aggressive mode using the left stick will make your player charge the opposite player as well as increasing your players speed slightly and reduces the risk of dropping the ball. The lock on button is no longer used, the right analogue stick is used to shoulder barge, you cannot dive in aggressive mode holding the right analogue stick down the player in control will protect the ball so that it isn’t fumbled.

DEFENSE: to stop the opposition scoring you can pick plays from the playbook or use the coaches selection.

Running without the ball.

As in running with the ball there is normal mode and aggressive mode.

Normal mode: To move use the left analogue stick and to focus on the ball carrier press L2 move the right analogue stick left and right to juke and move it up to jump, move it down and rotate to spin and press X to swap player. When you swap player it will immediately swap to the player neatest to the ball.

Blocking: To block move in the desired direction  using the left analogue stick, there is a line guiding you were to move to and if you don’t use it, it may end up with your quarterback getting sacked. In aggressive mode use the right analogue stick to shed a defender (it doesn’t really matter where you move the stick) but don’t move it up. Up is to block.

Overall it is a good game because it engages the player more than any previous Football game such as madden, due to the body science and high definition gameplay. However, Madden players may find this difficult to adapt to because of the different controls. It is also challenging because the plays must be picked from a playbook by the player, whilst in Maddden NFL there is the option to ask the game for the best play if they are struggling.