Backyard Football '99

I have to give this 5 stars because of the immediate nostalgia playing this game. Steve Young throwing to Pablo Sanchez again, what more could you want? The controls are a bit clunky. Especially for quarterback runs. It’s very easy to accidentally throw the ball when trying to cut up field. You have to tap behind the line of scrimmage and then drag. But this means your hand will be obscuring the screen. It’s doable, but I had to practice for a bit to get the hang of it. In general, the idea of tapping where to run off leads to your hand obscuring the screen quite often. This game would probably benefit from a joystick style of controls, at least as an option. Compared to a game like retro bowl, the gameplay will never live up to that. However, I didn’t download this game expecting modern fast paced gameplay I downloaded it for nostalgia’s sake. And in that way it delivers. I doubt I’ll play this much beyond one season though.

I just picked up the new Backyard Football and I’m glad to say it’s every bit as fun as I remembered. The gameplay is smooth, easy to jump into, and full of those classic 5-on-5 plays and power-ups that make every game exciting. What I love most is how much my kids enjoy it. They picked it up right away and now we’re all playing together. It’s simple enough for them to have fun, but still competitive enough to keep me engaged too. The new fictional teams add a fun twist, and it feels like the perfect mix of nostalgia and fresh energy. If you’re looking for a game that’s family-friendly, easy to play, and just plain fun, this one is a winner. Backyard Football really proves that some classics never lose their magic.

I am very excited that they added mouse control so I can actually use the Magic Keyboard mouse and see where the cursor is. The reason it is not 5 is because the cursor is still missing everywhere but the actual plays (the clubhouse and playbook the cursor is missing), but the game plays very similarly to how I remember from back when, and will revisit the review if the cursor gets added so that it shows everywhere, not just on the field.