Okay, I will say this first...I have been a Maddenite for a loooooooooong time. There, that's out of the way. Now I can say that, I've played and owned some VC football games too. I decided to buy NFL 2K3 for the PS2 along with Madden so that I could see what the hype was about. Two totally different games. But Madden swayed me that year. Two years later, it was ESPN NFL 2K5, and that year I eschewed Madden to go with the $20 experience. I returned it though, and bought Madden again. But this year, well...let's say that Madden has gotten old and stale, whereas APF 2K8 has interested me in the many combinations of players you can make. Ever dreamed of having Joe Montana throw the ball to Andre Reed? Or how about Bill Curry blocking for Barry Sanders? Or Lem Barney and Solomon Wilcots in the defensive backfield? You can!! But don't expect to do more than one season. There is no dynasty/franchise mode...no in season trades...no stadium creation mode...and you are only allowed so many gold, silver and bronze legends on your team. Now the graphics, well, they're not the best, admittedly. I hoped for more that a re-tread of the old NFL 2K5. Maybe an upgrade was too much to hope for since it was a return the the field for VC. I do have an HDTV with HDMI cable hooked up, so it does look better than on a standard TV, but it definitely is missing that pop.
The audio too could have used more. Many lines were re-used from the other games, but they also added some in that were pleasantly surprising to hear.
Control is solid, but not tight. I have had many moments when rushing the passer where my guy, even though I took the right line to the QB only to watch my DE run off in the other direction. On offense, rushing is good until your RB launches himself in the air when no one is around. I've never seen that happen in real life, and don't expect it in a game either. Passing the ball works well, but don't expect to complete passes over the middle unless your WR is completely by himself.
But for all the bad, the good is that it's a change of pace. It's fun, as long as you can overlook these few hiccups, of which I believe the developers will overcome next year. But for this year, it's still a good game that will keep you entertained.
If it werent for losing the NFL license to EA a number of years ago, the 2K football franchise would have been head and shoulders above the competition by now... wait, it already is. If you've played Madden 07 for the P... Read Full Review
After EA inked a five year deal locking up the NFL license back in 2004, Visual Concepts was shunned from anything that had to do with the NFL. Take-Two then reacted by saying it was a "tremendous disservice to the ... Read Full Review
