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 All
Pro Football 2K8
Developer:
2K Sports
Platform: Xbox 360, PS 3
Reviewer: Robby Ruggles
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Single Player: 2.5
Learning Curve: 4.5
Presentation: 3.0
Online: 5.0
Extra Features: 2.5
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Who said EA Sports gets all the gridiron fun? 2K
Sports and Visual Concepts bring us their first football
release since ESPN NFL 2K5; All Pro Football 2K8. If you
remember, in late 2004 EA Sports signed an exclusive licensing
deal with the National Football League. Thus, rendering
NFL 2K a dead franchise. Well, almost 3 years later, 2K
brings us a new and unique take on video game football.
No, this isn't a Blitz: The League clone. 2K promises
that this is a real football game from a different point
of view. So, without further adieu lets get into All Pro
Football 2K8.
The moment you start the game,
you'll see that this isn't your normal football video
game. Immediately you are presented with what the game's
manual calls "The Ultimate Fantasy Draft". That's right,
your own fictional team that represents how you want to
play football. You are tasked with choosing from a list
of pro football legends to form the core of your team.
Each legend is given a level; gold, silver, or bronze.
Gold legends are your surefire hall of famers, such as
Dan Marino, John Elway, Walter Payton, and Jerry Rice.
 Silver
legends are a mix of hall of famers and other great football
players such as Archie Manning, Roger Craig, and Too Tall
Jones. Lastly, the bronze legends are a group of former
pros, not really hall of famers or necessarily great players
like Tom Rathman, Dwight Clark, and Mike Golic. All told
there are 240 legends in All Pro Football 2K8. After you've
chosen your 2 gold, 3 silver, and 6 bronze legends, you
have to fill the rest of your team with fictional football
players. For each position group you have to choose which
type of players you would like. For instance, in the Offensive
Lineman section you'd choose if you want a group built
for pass protection, run protection, or balanced. The
fantasy draft is the most important part of the game,
because the team you draft is the team you use in the
different game modes. Of course, you can create a new
team if you wish.
Another new feature in APF 2K8
is the way legends are rated. You don't have a ton of
numbered ratings to sift through, but instead each legend
has a group of special abilities such as Scrambler, Mr.
Third Down, Soft Hands, or Speed Burner. There is a long
list of special abilities to cover different types of
players at different positions. This combined with each
Legend's Star Card, which lists career stats and which
NFL team's they played for, gives you a good idea of what
type of player your getting.
After you've set up your team's
roster, you have the opportunity to customize most aspects
of your team, i.e., city and nickname. One flaw here is
that you can not input your own custom team or city name.
They do provide a somewhat extensive list and I suspect
this limitation is there to allow the game's announcers
to say each team's name. You are also able to choose which
stadium you'd like your team to play in. There's a nice
selection of beautifully designed custom stadiums. 
Perhaps the part of team customization that is the most
fun is the ability to change the colors of your uniforms,
logo, helmets, and accessories. Logos are chose from a
set list(they coincide with the list of team names), but
all colors on the logo can be edited. Just about every
aspect of your uniform is customizable, including the
colors of your home and away sets. Really, this is like
a sandbox of customization that I wish was present in
all sports games. The product of your customization shows
up throughout the game. If you change the logo's colors,
you'll see that reflected on the field, in the stadium,
and in the various game screens that display the logo.
The customization doesn't end
with teams, either. You can create your own fictional
legend, assign him a Gold, Silver, or Bronze tag, choose
which Special Abilities he'll have, and which position
he'll play. The appearance of your created player is totally
up to you as well. This is one of the deeper player editors
I've seen, and I'm sure people will enjoy reproducing
themselves in the game. Who wouldn't love the chance to
catch a pass from Joe Montana?
The in-game experience in APF 2K8 isn't
that much different than other Pro Football games out there. The game
has what has the same basic control scheme that has become standard for
console football games. As you would expect, you can call audibles and
hot routes, shift your LB's or DB's, or put a player in motion. I do
think that the game “feels” better than recent versions of EA Sport's
Madden Football. The gameplay's pace does a good job of resembling that
of the NFL. Visually the in game experience is a treat. The stadiums I
mentioned earlier are amazing, each custom team in the game has a
stadium that coincides with it's team's scheme, for example, the
Sailors franchise has two massive Naval Ships built right into the
stadium. 2K sports also brings us Field Pass, which is short cut scenes
of players on the field making various comments. It's a nice addition,
but just like most voiceover work these days, it gets old pretty quick.
Field Pass could use a little more depth and content before I would
call it an enjoyable feature. Also available during an actual game is
the 2K Sports Ticker. The Ticker runs at the bottom of the screen and
provides real time updates of all sports, not just football. The Ticker
is also available from the game's various menus and can be customized
to include only the sports you want it to. I found the ticker to be a
very useful feature, and might keep me in front of the game for longer
periods of time.
One of the biggest disappointments with APF
2K8 is the lack of a franchise mode. There is a season mode that allows
you to play out one season in a 24 team fictional league, complete with
playoffs and a championship, but you cannot trade, sign free agents, or
progress past that season. So, you only have a few choices when it
comes to game modes: Quick Play, Season, and Practice. While in season
mode, you have the option to play out the game, or to use what they
call Visual Sim. If you've ever played a Text Based Simulator you have
seen this before. It is a simple screen that gives you the play by
play. You see a football field that tracks the drives, and you can sift
through stats while your watching the game. You can, however, jump in
and take over the game at any time. Losing to the last place team, and
feeling embarrassed? Just take over from that spot, and finish the game
the way you want to. To get your team to perform the way you want when
your simming, you have to set your game plan. Sliders are provided for
different areas of the game, i.e. Run or Pass Offense, Run outside or
inside. The game does a good job translating those settings into what
happens on the field. This Visual Sim might be one of the quietest, but
most well done features in the game.
2K Sports always includes a well
designed Xbox Live interface, and this game is no different. Over Xbox
Live you can play ranked matches and friendly matches or participate in
leagues and tournaments. You have a 2K player card that tracks your
online specific stats and tendencies. When your offline you have a VIP
profile that does the same as the player card, but only tracks games
played offline. After you have completed a game you are presented with
a few questions about your opponent. Things like, “How was your
experience playing with 'insert gamertag'?'” The info you provide here
allows 2K to develop a rating for all it's players, much like Xbox
Live's reputation points. Also, 2K Sports provides an Add-on via the
Xbox Live Marketplace called 2K Sports Reel Maker. With this utility
you can create highlight packages that include sound and graphics. The
downside is that this will cost you an extra 400 Microsoft Points.
Overall, APF 2K8 delivers on it's promise.
It's a real football game. The actual football played is realistic, and
you don't get the feeling you can score at will. Based just on that,
this game is fun and worth the purchase. But if your looking for
something deeper than just a football game, APF might not be for you.
There is no franchise mode, and you can't even act as the GM during the
one season you play. The simple nature of APF is very appealing, and
the customization let you make it your game. I think APF is a great
step toward would could be a promising franchise. Lets hope it sells
enough games to provoke 2K Sports to create it again next year.
Discuss
this Review
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Single Player - 2.5
-APF lacks a true career mode, although there is a limited season mode which is fun for the short time it lasts.
Learning Curve - 4.5
-The controls are simple and consistent with previous versions of 2K
sports football. If your new to the franchise there is plenty of help
available in game and in the manual.
Presentation - 3.0
-The games presentation is amazing. From the fictional stadiums, to the
games various menus. Unfortunately, the sound leaves something to be
desired. The commentators get old, and so does the game's soundtrack.
Online - 5.0
- The online environment is very easy to access and use. You can join
leagues and tournaments with very little effort, or jump right into a
quick match against someone of your skill level.
Extra Features - 2.5
- The only true extra feature in this game is the 2K Sports Ticker,
which is well done and easy on the eyes. You can, however, buy the 2K
Sports Reel Maker to edit your own highlights for 400 Microsoft Points.
Overall - 3.5
- If your a fan of football, especially football's history, then this
is the game for you. This game is also worth trying if you want a
change from the standard Pro Football game available on the market
today.
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