Backbreaker is an American football video game developed by technology developer NaturalMotion.

One of its highlights is the use of the Euphoria engine; a dynamic physics engine that calculates physical interactions (including tackles) on the fly, rather than depending on canned animation.

Because Electronic Arts has an exclusive license to produce NFL games in its Madden series, Backbreaker does not use teams from the National Football League in its game.

Game Modes

Training Camp – This mode is designed to get the player used to the game controls of Backbreaker while also teaching a novice player how to run plays on offense, defense, and special teams.

Exhibition – This mode is a single game with one or two players (via split screen). Both existing and custom teams can be used.

Leagues – This mode consists of two kinds: Season play and Road to Backbreaker (RTBB). Season play allows the player to play as an existing or custom team for multiple seasons. The player can deterimine how many teams make up the league (8, 16, or 32). The league name, conferences, and its divisions can also be named by the player. This mode can be played by a single player or multiplayer. RTBB mode allows a player to take a custom team and work their way from a small league to a major league. The mode is similar to the English Premier League set-up.

Tackle Alley – This mode pits a ball carrier against multiple defensive tacklers who attempt to stop you from getting to the endzone. The player can score points by pulling off evasive moves or power moves, starting a combo chain. The chain will stay active so long as the runner continues to execute moves or showboat without getting tackled to the ground. The points gained during each wave are added to your total when the player successfully scores a touchdown, ending the wave.

This mode was actually a demo for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch.

Online Play – This mode allows the player to play Exhibition and Tackle Alley games online. Custom teams can be used to play other players, but cannot be exchanged due to the exclusive agreement between EA and the NFL. Custom teams and players named after NFL teams also can’t be used unless the player allows the game to change them for online play (although they can still be used offline).

My Teams – This is where a player creates teams from scratch. All of the logos used in the game were designed with the same engine available to the player. The creation tools are very similar to Forza 2 for Xbox 360.

Locker Room – This is where you will find the game settings and bonus content, such as videos and pictures of the game during its development cycle.

Video Review

Game Specs

Developer(s) NaturalMotion

Publisher(s) 505 Games

Engine Euphoria / Morpheme / PhysX

Platform(s) PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, iPhone OS, Android OS

Release date(s) PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, NA June 1, 2010, EU June 25, 2010 / iPhone OS, NA September 29, 2009 / Android OS, NA May 5, 2010

Genre(s) Sports

Rating(s) ESRB: E

Input methods Gamepad – Keyboard and Mouse