Backyard Football '09 Preview

E3 2008 Preview

Electronic Arts may own the rights to all things NFL, but Backyard Football commands the market for kid-targeted licensed football games. They're the only other sports title with an NFL attachment, a move they got away with by using legends, not the newest stars, and by turning those players into kid athletes. That concept hasn't changed and likely never will. With that being the case, let's look into the few changes and/or additions being made to Backyard Football 09.

This year the game will feature a tournament mode, allowing players to engage in a series of football games without having to keep accessing the exhibition screen. The game will also offer a greater number of environments, and include an all-pro game that ups the difficulty a little bit. Not too much -- this is still a kid title with an arcade feel. But it'll be more difficult than the average Sunday game.

New power-ups are most intriguing, especially for fans of the other Backyard Sports games (such as baseball or hockey), which seemed to have inspired these additions. Expect a laser pass that sails past opponents, a Ghost Kid effect that sends the ball straight to the defender, and a Big Crush move that tackles and almost always causes the ball to fumble. One more power-up was mentioned: Grease Ball. As you can probably predict, this coats the ball in a slippery substance that makes it difficult for anyone to catch it.

Backyard Football 09 will also include improved stiff arm functionality, as well as some adjustments to the existing line of power-ups. The developers found that some of Backyard Football 08's power-ups were not fair. By using them, you could automatically win (more or less). By reducing their over-effectiveness the game won't be as cheap, giving skilled players their edge back and leaving the tricksters in the cold.
 

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