Since the U.S. launch for BackBreaker for the Xbox 360 and PS3, reception has been mixed. Many players have very openly shared opinions on how the football game had great realism but other flaws in depth, passing and other areas of gameplay. Lucky for gamers, NaturalMotion and 505 Games have taken all of this in and are now releasing a huge update called CodeName: Greathouse. Here is the official statement released today:
“We are lucky to have such a passionate community who have supported us throughout the development of Backbreaker and continue to do so post-launch,” said Todd Gibbs, Head of Game Development, NaturalMotion Games. “Greathouse will give them what they have asked for, packed as it is with additions, changes, tweaks and requests taken directly from our online forums, reviews, as well as from individual players who spent time at our offices testing the latest features. I am extremely proud of what the team has managed to achieve in just a month.”
Major features in Greathouse include:
- Brand new replay system with the addition of seven fully functional cameras, including free flight mode and a cinematic ‘ball-lock’ option.
- More than 100 new plays added, including an additional nine formations.
- Improved Quarterback camera view and passing game.
- A user-catch system, giving the player a much greater level of control over the on-field action.
- Interception control, the user is now given full control over interception attempts when controlling a defensive player.
- Comprehensive review of the penalty rulings following an analysis of reported errors.
“We were stunned by the sheer volume of user videos that were posted on YouTube following the release of Backbreaker,” said Ant Lewis, Lead Designer, NaturalMotion Games. “It is obvious that the community loves the realism and live nature of the game and wants to share their unique moments. The new suite of cameras introduced with Greathouse will give them complete creative control over their footage and we are excited to see what appears as a result.”
To me it seems like almost a whole new game. This is what all developers should do. Listen to the players and deliver a better product if needed. I am extremely happy to see this news as maybe more companies will take into consideration the people who purchase the product and worry less about profit. If two smaller companies can make huge changes to a product like BackBreaker, now there really isn’t any excuse for all others to follow suit. You can pick up BackBreaker right now wherever video games are sold for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
