Not Even A "Made-For-Kids" Approach Can't Mask That This Is Possibly The Worst Football On The Face Of The Earth........
User Rating: 3 | Backyard Football GC
Backyard Football for the PC was released by Humongous Entertainment in 1999 as an attempt to draw kids with relatively no interest in football, to have an understanding of the game and enjoy it for a few games. I loved that game, and completed many seasons of it when it had first came out. It had easy controls, and a great pick up and play feel to it. Sadly, that trend of kiddie games that were actually good, ended right where it started, 1999.... Now it's 2002 (Actually, it's 2005 right now) and the game hasn't gotten better on the next-gen systems, it's just gotten a heck of a lot worse. Even with 3D graphics and some new teams, stadiums, and NFL players, Backyard Football for the Nintendo Gamecube is arguably the worst football game ever made... Gameplay 3/10: BYF (Backyard Football) is one horrendous game. The game of BYF is simple, yet too simple. Play football with about 56 kids to choose from, including 8 NFL players modeled as kids. However, this is a waste of time, since the NFL players are the only decent players in the game? It includes all 32 NFL teams, along with a few fantasy teams for good measure, and about 8 stadiums. Before the game, you can choose your players just like a draft, however, the time it takes to load all of the players is very long, and is once again, "very bad". The gameplay is almost ripped directly from the Madden series, except with different controls. Some of these controls are awkward, and you can tell the game wanted to be its own thing, even though it completely ripped the entire game from Madden. You get your standard game modes such as Practice, Exhibition , and Franchise. Franchise for a kiddie game, you ask? Well, it is very bad. Like really, really bad. In fact, it shouldn't be called Franchise, because it feels nothing like it. In it, you play a bunch of games in a season, get in the playoffs, and win the "Cereal Bowl". You do this for 10 or so seasons, with nothing added in. The players don't change or get old, and they don't get hurt. There is really nothing in franchise mode other than you can re-draft players onto your team each year. The actual game of BYF is horrible in itself. Even though it is a direct copy of Madden, it is horribly done. The players are slow, and they get tired too fast. The passing is lopsided, and long-bomb passes are your only hope of winning. Running the ball is useless, since once again, the players can't run at all. Sure, you have your speed burst, but it does nothing. The pass rush is also poorly done, using the 3 second rule. If you hit the line of scrimmage before 3 seconds, your player will freeze and not move the rest of the play. However, the game does not go by 3 seconds, it actually goes by 6, which is stupid, even with the players on the field are counting the clock down. You also get special plays such as the "Leap Frog" or "Magic Trick" to use after you do something special on the field. The reason I use something is that the game randomly rewards you with these plays. These plays have your DB leaping over the Line of Scrimmage at the beginning of the play, or your receiver disappearing and magically reappearing 10 yards later. However, all of these plays are useless, and I mean REALLY USELESS..... Also, the game includes a tutorial mode which is useless in its all. The commentators (who you'll learn later on in the read are very bad) explain only the basics of football, and after you see the video of gameplay, you play a few rounds of what you are learning. It's very poorly done, and you'll never touch the mode again, simply because it explains everything you already know, and on top of that, makes it a heck of a lot more boring than it should be. The AI in this game is very bad. The game contains set difficulties, but they all revolve around the handicap system. Even when the handicap is set all the way to the other team, it is still extremely easy to blow out opponents 56-7. This makes the game very boring to play.... Also, the stats of players is really off target. I don't think some kid in a wheelchair can vertically jump 5 feet in the air and intercept a pass......the rest is self explanatory, with the Kicking Meter being about the only good part in the game. The tackling animations are very bad, and the players never actually touch each other... The game also includes a play creator, which is nothing spectacular, and you can't create your own routes. It's a pretty boring feature, since the menu navigation in the play creator is horrible, but it's essential, since the original plays aren't really all that effective... especially for a game of 7 - on - 7 football. Graphics 4/10: The graphics are okay, but there are very little reflections, and the game still looks like a WIP game. However, the graphics are the only positive thing in the game....so it can be somewhat over-looked.... Sound 1/10: The commentators are.....well......atrocious.....they talk a lot about nothing, and most of the commentary sounds like they're teaching pre-schoolers. The color commentator is really stupid, and only has about 10 sayings, and the best part is they get cut off every time you go into the play selection screen, so you never actually hear the end of their sentence! In all, the sound is bad, and there are only a few sounds in the game. This developing team should never attempt to make sounds again......ever...... Overall 3.0/10: Backyard Football for the Gamecube is a project that Atari and Humongous should have abandoned a very long time ago. Poor load times, a sound that is the equivalent to a problem in a machine, a boring and event-less franchise mode, and some lopsided and strange gameplay are just a few of the many problems infecting BYF. This is by far the worst football game ever made, and ditching the title to the younglings just puts salt on the wound. I played this game so you didn't have to. Trust me, it's that bad... Final Word: If you want a football game for your kids, just stick with the newest version of NCAA or Madden, it won't save you any money, but you'll be glad in the long run... 
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