New football game Backbreaker uses euphoria tech

by Justin McElroy on Aug 23rd 2007 2:25PM

You've heard a lot about euphoria lately, especially from LucasArts, which is using the real-time animation generating software on everything from Indiana Jones to The Force Unleashed. You're even going to see it (someday) in Grand Theft Auto IV. Now, NaturalMotion, the company behind the software, has announced that they're working on a football game called Backbreaker utilizing the euphoria technology.

Predictably, the tackling looks great, and we're assured that the the footage in the video below the jump is generated on a next-gen console with euphoria, so we're pretty confident that they've got the tackling down. In fact, if creating a football game were just about how good your tackles looked, NaturalMotion would have a blue ribbon in their future. Unfortunately, there's passing and catching and stuff, so we have to withhold judgment. (On a side note, this is one football game that can't blame EA for their lack of a license. We think the NFL would have a hard time giving their blessing to a game named for the breaking of backs.) Anyway, check out the trailer and let us know what you think.

[Thanks, Christian]

Source

Tags: backbreaker, eurphoria, lucasarts, naturalmotion, PC, PS3, Xbox-360

Reader Comments (42)

Looks like a shitty madden rip-off :/

I'm glad you've made that assumption based on a tech demo for the game. Seeing as how Madden is such a stellar football title, year after year, this must have been an easy assumption.

Really, a football game looks like Madden?

You must be some sort of wizard, because I couldn't make that correlation.

You mean like how Madden '08 is a shitty ripoff of Madden '07??? Or does EA own the copyrights for tackling in a videogame?

Actually, guys, Madden is a pretty stellar football title. You can say something over and over again and it doesn't make it true. Madden is not a shitty game. It's really well executed, and that's why it's been so popular for years and years. You guys act like they've had the license since the early 90s and they brain wash people into buying it. Get real.

It's an ok football game... but that isn't the reason people buy it each year. There has been no competition and people like to play football with their real teams.

Madden hasn't done nearly enough to innovate and it bums me out.

Plus, you do have to admit that the Madden tackling is the least exciting graphics in the game. This looks awesome. If it convinces Madden to get their game on an innovate, I'm willing to entertain Backbreaker.

Actually, I think the catching and ball carrier cuts are the least exciting animations in the game. And the ball physics. Those suck. I'm not sure how the NCAA series gets the ball so perfect, but it's so fake and boring in Madden.

But that's all beside the point. The tackling in this tech demo does look pretty damn awesome.

I say "Varsity Blues" themed football game.
I say that because I really just want a cutscene of CGI Van Der Beek saying "I dunt wunt ur life". He's so dreamy.

If that doesn't sell systems I guess you could perhaps go for "Any Given Sunday"...but my first idea would be better!

actually that's not a bad way to break into the market. the southern demographic would EAT UP a high school football video game. no licensing problems. and campus legend mode could involve bumming rides to school off your big sister.

but backbreaking tackling would crush some of the littler guys. YOU WEREN'T BUILT FOR FOOTBALL

:steps out to reveal whip cream underwears:

Wow that looked impressive.

And for anyone bashing on the graphics, it's a fucking tech demo. The real game will look a lot better.

The tackles do look nice, but at the end, where they fall on the ball, you can see that they haven't quite gotten everything figured out with the hands and the ball. No one's grabbing at it. I want to see eye balls being gouged out. I mean really, it's a game of inches.

The game concept sounds awesome. WE need more Madden rivals... it will create competition and therefore raise the bar. Anyone that calls this a "Madden ripoff" must be getting paid by them. Do us a favor EA and stop the monopoly.

Als,o promoting more violence in footbal, not good. The game has become too violent and it really bothers me when a team's top players are hurt during pre-season games. The goal should be to tackle the other guy, not hit him so hard that you hope it will injure him. IE: It should be illegal to hit a receiver when he's not looking. And it should definitely not be celebrated like the idiots do in the NFL. Whatever happened to the unneccesary violence penalty. Please start enforcing it!!!

Sadly that is actually the most entertaining part of the Professional Football games. Take out the violence and it becomes as boring as soccer.

I mean no one wants to get hit while playing the real game but c'mon every couch potato watching the NFL wants to see blood, is like Hockey the crowd wants to see Blood and Violence.

See real sports violence is worst than Videogame violence because is real and no one is doing crap about it.

"It should be illegal to hit a receiver when he's not looking."

Man, are you serious? So you're saying a reciever should be able to look away from the defenders and they have to wait for him to see them before they can make a hit?

You may think the game is too violent, but rule changes in recent years have really done a lot to protect the players.

Please, the concept of personal fouls should be removed, if anything, although that's just me. Pass interferance is the stupidest rule in the game

Although that's mostly me, when you're a foot shorter than everyone else playing, you can't block passes in a traditional way :(

wordof-
soccer generally boring to people that: 1. don't play any sports, 2. don't understand the sport, 3. have an attention deficit disorder. get out more and start taking medication. life is more rewarding with soccer.

Everyone is constantly bitching that EA had ruined football games because of the NFL license. Here's a widely known fact that that no one seems to acknowledge: THE NFL ACTIVELY PURSUED A SINGLE LICENSE GAME!!!!!

Everyone makes it sound as if the big giant EA made them an offer they couldn't refuse. Yes, they bid the highest, but if they didn't 2K or some other company would be making the ONLY NFL licensed football game.

There WILL NEVER BE competition amongst football games as far as the NFL license is concerned. This is NFL's decisions. Bitch to THEM if you want.

you think they'd try to get with 2K games with something like this instead of trying something there selves, cause 2K does have somewhat of a base or maybe even EA, but if they got together with EA, they'd just end up buying it and ruining it for other developers

More football competition is great...problem is that after the first year of the game, EA will buy out the technology, slap it sloppily into Madden, and call it a revolution.

The screen shot looks crappy but the video looks awesome,that Tech demo is indeed impressing.
Huh the first time I'm interested in a sports game.

I wonder if someone else noticed the related video of the 2 hot chicks....nevermind.

I would love to see a new NFL Blitz game made with this tech.

My god man! That would be awesome! Too awesome for our tiny brains to comprehend!

Come on Retro Studios! Your Mario Retro NFL Football game has such promise.

If madden had this type of engine, it would be unstoppable. THIS IS NEXT GEN people!

Next Gen?

THIS. IS. NOW-GEN!

I'm sorry for that...but it had to be done...

Word on the street and Rare Hare:
I dont know about you, but I find the actual game more entertaining and not some over-paid moron dancing around because he hit someone really hard that wasnt looking. I'm pretty sure the football players that are now paralyzed would not appreciate the name "Backbreaker". Whatever happened to names like "Touchdown football". That is the actual goal in the game... not breaking someones back and ruining their lives. (Sorry about the rant, I keep forgetting I'm 30 years old and everyone on this site is 12)

Yes, such events are tragic, but the people know what they're getting into playing the game, they know the risks involved

But violence sells, awesome touchdown passes sell too, but are much rarer than tackles (duh), and in a world dominated by madden, it does have to be tempting to resort to such brutal gimmicks in order to try to get ahead

Yes, but you can take away the unnecesary violence and the NFL would still sell. It really is not enjoyable to watch people get hurt.

Sure the NFL would still sell, it is America's game

I was talking about this game, specifically, and its efforts to make a splash in the market

Frank, for all we know the name "Backbreaker" could be nothing more than a code for the game at this stage in its life. That is to say, little more than a tech demo.

Games and hardware get code names. Ever hear of the Revolution or Project Offset?

Sign me up. This is the kind of tackling we should be getting with the current gen football games. It's also the reason why exclusivitiy is bad for sports games. This type of gameplay would be sweet with NFL players.

Actually using Euphoria is a no-brainer for a football game. It's totally ingenious and, if marketed well, could be a major competitor with Madden.

I'm liking what I saw.

finally was wondering when they where gonna use this engine since i first saw the demo on the physics this awesome but i guessing the game will basically just show how the engine would do and sell the engine to 2k or ea

I've been waiting for a sports title (read: madden) to use real physics in tackling for SO long now. I expected EA to impliment this into there first Madden game for 360, seeing as how the 360 and other next gen...ahem "now gen" consoles can handle calculating that kind of physics...but they went with animation...again, and I still haven't figured out why.

I seriously don't know why EA hasn't done this...It is the most boneheadedly easy decision to make. Now that you have consoles and PC's that can calculate all that physics, PUT IT IN THE GAME!

I'm glad someone is finally doing it. When does EA's NFL exclusivity end?

Ugh...editing my own stupidity..
*THEIR* not there.

Now THAT is next-gen right there. That is the best animation I've ever seen in a sports game. Hands down. Now if EA would wise up and license this technology, maybe we would have a Madden on our hands worth buying...

I want this game right now. Those tackles were ridiculously awesome. ^_^

Looks pretty sweet...now give it the option of fully customizable playbooks on both sides of the ball and we may be talking about a football game that could relegate even Madden to second-string.

Code name or not, it is irresponsible to glorify the worst and dangerous part of the sport. By the way "TK00", do you actually believe the NFL wanted a single license? that deal was made on the golf course by two rich men wanting to create a monopoly. There were no other real bids because no other company could put up as much money as EA. STOP LYING TO THE CUSTOMERS! How much is EA paying you to write comments on these video game blogs?

Dont knock Madden 08, its awesome. Really, and this is coming from the biggest Madden 06 and 07 hater alive. I think these Natural Motion guys should work out a deal with 2K sports or EA, because this Backbreaker wont have a chance, and itd be better off with just partnering up with EA or 2K to give thier great tackling to a football game that will sell big.

On a side note, those stands are ridiculous.

Here's the deal. Madden is a great game for casual gamers. The 08 version stepped up the game play just enough to make it better than All-Pro. Though the real problem is with the hardcore gamers. I'm 18 and I have been playing madden since I was 8 and ever since 03 or or 04 madden's been going down the drain. The game doesn't offer simple football moves that are present in real life and that really annoys me because I'm a hardcore fan of the game as well. And after playing the game for few months you'll start to see the AI and animation problems that plague each version. In my opinion, EA's best move would be to part ways with Tiburon(which will never happen) and buy the rights to the Eurphoria engine and team up with a smaller 3rd party company. It seems like the small compaines allways put out the most spactacular games anyway. The people over at 2k Sports will come back with a better game next year. They're great at listening to their fans and improving on previous titles. I'd expect better games from 2k and EA next year.

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New football game Backbreaker uses euphoria tech

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