iPhone; £1.99; cert 4+; NaturalMotion
Hardcore graphics don't have to mean hardcore gameplay, as has been shown by UK developer NaturalMotion's two Backbreaker Football games for iPhone. NFL Rivals can be considered the third in the series, with the most obvious addition being an official NFL licence to include all the real-life American football teams. This isn't a full-blown simulation, though. As before, the gameplay is based on dashing down the field avoiding opponents through a combination of spins, leaps and sidesteps, before a spot of showboating while running into the endzone to rack up a few bonus points. The controls are simple, but the visuals are superb – the phrase "console-quality" is overused and abused in the mobile games world, but here it's justified. A feature that ties in your virtual play with real-life NFL matches will appeal hugely to fans of the sport, too.
NFL Rivals is a play-and-own NFL NFT video game that allows players to compete against other GMs while owning, collecting, and trading NFTs.
Another AUTOMATIC FAILURE incoming! Boy companies super love actively investing in failure.
Agreed. Trash football game to generate profits. The NFL is okay with this. But not okay with having another video game option like NFL 2K.
STP: One of the great things about the Backbreaker Football games is that you don’t have to be a fan of the sport to enjoy them; they’re simply great arcade games. NFL Rivals offers up pretty much the exact same experience, only this time it’s clearly geared towards die-hard NFL fans, not only due to the license, but also in the ways that the license is integrated into the game.
The Appera: We’ve already seen what the engine used in the Backbreaker can do. It can provide a pretty impressive amount of detail, combined with great lighting for the environments and surprisingly realistic and fluent animations for all the players in the game.
