A few weeks ago, I was invited by 505 Games to check out a preview of their upcoming game, Backbreaker. I also had a chance to speak with Associate Producer Rob Donald, who previewed the game.

For those who don’t know the story behind Backbreaker, it’s been in development for several years. It originally started off as a tech demo, showing off the Euphoria Engine, which was used in Grand Theft Auto IV.

The game does not feature the NFL license, as most would suspect. It does feature a robust editor that will allow you to change player names, team names and create custom logos. The options there are very impressive, with shapes, animals, letters and more present. Donald mentioned he expects to see end zones that look like works of art a few weeks after the game releases.

Sadly, users will not have the ability to share their rosters online, for legal reasons. However, you will be able to take your team online, and your friends can see what you’ve created.

As for online play, the features are very basic. There’s online versus mode, with 1-on-1 action. You’ll also be able to play the Tackle Alley mini-game online, as well as locally. For those who don’t know, Tackle Alley debuted as an iPhone game, with users trying to juke and juve their way around would-be tacklers en route to a touchdown.

For single players, there are two ways to play the game. There’s the traditional franchise mode, which is complete with trades, scouting and drafting of players. You can have 8, 16, and 32 team leagues, with either pre-existing or custom teams. What’s nice is that other users can drop in and play as the other team team during your franchise.

The other mode is very intriguing. Entitled “Road to Backbreaker”, users will take their teams and try to conquer an eight team league. After finishing at the top, the team moves up to a 16-team league. The goal is to make it to the championship game of the 32-team league, with 150,000 fans cheering you on. A nice touch is that the crowd picks up on things happening in the game, and the fans are individually animated.

There are 13 stadiums, with 3 being unlocked upon winning championship games in Road to Backbreaker. You can also take these online, sort of like a badge of honor. Team playbooks are unable to be customized due to balancing issues, but it is something that Donald said they might look at in the future.

There are two ways to play each mode, Arcade and Pro. Arcade was described by Donald as “giving the user training wheels”. What that means are things like the ballcarriers being highlighted. The idea is to work your way to pro mode.

The player rating system seems to be different from other games. Said Donald, “Our attribute system is not as in your face. We’re not presenting a massive grid of players. There are gold, silver, and bronze players. The attribute system works hand in hand with euphoria, takes it away from becoming a dice rolling system.”

On to the most important aspect, the on field play. All the customization and modes in the world can’t help a game if it doesn’t play well, and I can tell you that in my time seeing it in action, the game plays very sharply.

The first thing that people will note being different from other games is the on-the field view. Whereas Madden puts you in “God view” as Donald put it, Backbreaker puts you on the field, in the thick of things. On defense, you’re placed on the defensive side of the ball, which makes alot of sense.

The game plays as one would hope. As the wide receivers takes off from the line of scrimmage and starts to run his route, the defensive back covering him will backpedal with him.  When the receiver breaks, the defender will break with him. He’ll then keep one eye on the ball, and the other on his man.

Speaking of passing, tossing the pigskin is mapped to right stick. You scan the field with the right stick, and when you find an open receiver, you flick up to pass. You can also pre-select receivers in focus mode.

When you’re running the ball, pulling the right trigger will put the user into “Agressive Mode”. What this means is that you gain a slight speed boost, but your agility decreases. Crowd noise is reduced, allowing you to hear footsteps. It’s almost as if you’re wearing blinders, as even the screen pulls into focus. The right stick gives your runner some options. Down allows you to protect the ball, up pulls of a truck move, while right and left triggers the stiff arm in the appropriate direction. Pressing A allows the user to switch the ball carrying hand.

One play in particular stood out. The quarterback dropped back to pass, and found himself in trouble. Scrambling right, he evaded a tackle and started scrambling right. He then pulled off a spin, and switched to aggressive mode, picking up 5-10 yards on the play. What was remarkable about it was how natural the whole play looked from start to finish, from the quarterback escaping pressure to the defensive players pursuing and attempting to tackle him.

One nice feature is that when on defense, switching players won’t take you to the closest player, but rather the most intelligent player. What this means is that you’ll be put in control of the player with the best chance of making a play on the ball. Seeing this in action, it makes a bit of sense. Defensive players will also have the ability to juke and spin.

All in all, Backbreaker is shaping up to be a very solid game of football, and could provide some competition for Madden. The level of customization will keep players engrossed. As Donald put it, “you can create your high school team, your college team, or even your pro team. You can make the team you always wanted to make.”

Backbreaker comes out on May 18 for Xbox 360 and PS3. To see more images of Backbreaker and join the discussion with other gamers, become a fan of us on Facebook.