The familiarity of the 2k series is back and it's still fun, but this game feels like a gimped version of ESPN NFL 2k5
Gameplay:
Playing APF was almost exactly like playing ESPN NFL 2k5. Smooth, elegant, and overall enjoyable. There were a few subtle, but noticeable differences in the game. Passing the ball took a little getting used to. No more 15 yard drop backs that result in a completion. The game forces you to play realistically and either stay in the pocket or move around the defenders to get a throw off. This is good in that the cheese plays of old are gone, but like I said, it takes some getting used to. When you drop back to far, it's simply not possible to throw the ball, you must move closer to your pocket. The running game seemed tighter. Both blockers and defensive linemen react better to your moves.
The most noticeable difference was with the superstars. The game, as we all know by now, features a slew of NFL Legends. You start off by picking two "gold caliber" legends such as Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Barry Sanders, Deacon Jones, etc. You go on to pick four "silver caliber" legends such as Randle Cunningham, Andre Reed, etc. Finally you pick 6 "bronze caliber" legends such as Bernie Kozar, Too Tall Jones, etc. The rest of your team consists of pure scrubs.... and boy are they scrubby.
The scrubs are cannon fodder at best, so make certain you choose your legends wisely. The legends perform much better than the scrubs, and the higher caliber the legend, the more like a true superstar he performs. Unfortunately, what this does is make you rely on throwing to the same guy over and over again, if you only chose 1 superstar receiver as I did, because nobody else on your team can apparently catch a football if there's anyone remotely near them.
The kicking game is also different in that like Madden, you pull the right analog stick back to begin your kick and swing it forward to complete it. Unlike Madden however, there is no meter, you have to rely on timing.
I can't say much more about the rest of the game play other than it's identical to NFL 2k5.
Graphics:
ESPN NFL 2k5 was quite simply the most gorgeous football game ever made when it came out. In my opinion, with some FSAA, it would look better even today than the Madden series. Unfortunately, Visual Concepts added FSAA to the 2k5 engine, but did little else to improve the graphics. In some cases, the graphics look even worst. The faces on the players look absolutely horrible. They look like mannequins that got run over by a truck in the parking lot. They don’t look like the superstars, and overall, they are just creepy.
The stadiums have very creative designs of the kind we will probably never see in real life. The sidelines are full 3D and always animated. One of the nice things is running out of bounds and trampling a player on the opposing team’s sideline.
All in all, for what we know the Xbox 360 can do, the graphics in APF were a huge disappointment.
Sound:
The sound is mostly rehashed from ESPN NFL 2k5. The commentary is identical. The only improvement is the crowds that really get into it and the overall crispness of the sounds. That the sound is identical to 2k5 is not necessarily a knock, since IMO, 2k5 had the best commentary of any football game every (including the offerings of EA today), and the atmosphere is just fantastic. However, I will have to deduct points for lack of effort.
Presentation:
I didn’t want to include this with the graphics because as one would expect in a 2k game, the presentation is simply phenomenal. The half-time and post-game highlights are back. The superb replay angles are as well, and the overall package looks like a professional TV broadcast. The only thing missing was good old Boomer.
Depth and Miscellaneous features:
This is sadly where ESPN NFL 2k5 suffers the most. There simply isn’t much to the game. You can create a team, play a season, play individual games, or play online. That’s it. No you didn’t misread, that’s really it. There is no franchise, no team owner mode, nothing. Online offers more than Madden does, so I'll give them credit for that, but I can't forgive them for not including a franchise mode in a football game in this day and age. Overall:
Overall, I have to wonder what exactly Visual Concepts has been working on since 2004. It certainly wasn’t this game. Though the familiarity of the gameplay, presentation, and sounds from 2k5 was nice, and the game is still fun, it just seems like they didn’t put much effort into it. At least for this year, Madden has no competition.
OVERALL SCORE (not an average) 6.5/10