Natural Motion have announced that a patch is upcoming for their recent football game ‘Backbreaker,’ to be expected sometime within the next two weeks.
Backbreaker hit shelves in June to mixed reviews. Some applauded the physics engine, Euphoria, and the strength of the running game. Others hounded it for its rawness and obvious flaws, including the lack of an NFL license. I bought the game on its UK release date and instantly became a supporter because I believe Backbreaker has put a foundation in place to become a truly special football simulation game and surpass EA’s powerhouse, Madden.
This patch is very promising, and it’s showing a great attitude from Natural Motion to produce a quality game and Backbreaker has taken a huge leap towards its true potential. They took constructive criticism from gamers at their forums and have produced a patch that might improve on the game more so in a month than Madden does from year to year. Can they not be forgiven for delivering a raw product when they were finding their feet, especially when they responded so quickly? They even brought in some of the more committed forum posters to check out the patch for themselves in the developer’s studio. The patch itself has been dubbed “Greathouse” in honour of one of those posters. Imagine EA doing that?
Here are the full details of the patch delivered by Pastapadre. Go check it out. Believe me, it’s huge. Far too extensive for me to include here.
The patch wont be released until Sony and Microsoft give it the OK to go live. Some sources are claiming that Natural Motion has announced that the update is already live, but it hasn’t appeared on my PS3 yet. Try it for yourself. You may have luck.
Either way, when this does go live it should certainly warrant a re-review from those who slated Backbreaker on release. It would be nice to see those ratings go up.
Here is a video of the patch in practice by video game YouTuber Apexisfree. I recommend a subscription to his channel.
The video cannot be shown at the moment. Please try again later.
I believe it’s important to support Backbreaker in its early stages. When EA bought the exclusive rights to the NFL license for Madden 2006, ending competition from a critically adored NFL 2K, it was the worst thing to happen to simulation football. Backbreaker has the potential to be a special series and bring competition back to football gaming. After this update it may already be a true competitor. Natural Motion have shown they’re serious about this game. And I can’t wait for Backbreaker 2.
Even if you’re a die-hard Madden fan, much like FIFA improved it’s game to compete with Pro Evolution Soccer, the worst thing that can happen from supporting Backbreaker is it pushing EA to make Madden a better game. And you can’t be against that, can you?
———————
UPDATE: For iPhone users, Natural Motion have struck a sponsorship deal with KFC and have since released a Lite version of Backbreaker for the iPhone, available for a limited time only. Their mobile game is a version of Tackle Alley, also available in the main game. The full version is currently on sale for 59p, so it’s worth giving a shot if your interested.
