All-Pro Football 2K8 heads in the right direction, but doesn't do enough to keep you fully satisfied like NFL 2K5 did.
To start with the pros (no pun intended) of the game, it feels like you’re playing NFL 2K5 again. That is a very good quality. The core gameplay still maintains that awesome realistic feel. The physics vividly resemble real life football. New mechanics entail huge hit tackles with the right analog stick, which is basically the Hit Stick feature used in Madden. Flicking down on the right stick will have the defender you’re controlling dive for the ball carrier’s legs, while flicking up delivers a huge hit to the upper body. Additionally, a new gang tackling system is introduced in 2K8 and it gives the game play even more authenticity.
The charging system which was the key trademark mechanic from 2K5 makes a return in APF 2K8, and this time it’s utilized in even more situations. By holding down the A button (tapping the A button allows for sprinting), you’ll see an illuminated blue colored vector appear under the player your controlling, which signals the charge. If you’re on a run play, charge your tailback and release running near a defender to indefinitely break a tackle. The same gameplay feature has now been extended to quarterbacks. In the pocket, use it to give your quarter back pin-point accuracy or to throw a bullet to your receiver. When playing as a defender, charge and release to ensure a big hit. While APF conceptually plays like the most realistic football game out there, you may feel ripped off by the plays. Hands down, the playbooks seriously lack daepth. You get your standard run and pass plays, and that’s it. The playbooks remain tremendously similar between all teams, which significantly takes away from strategy, intensity (especially if you’re playing against a physical or online opponent), and the overall fun factor.
Past that is the game’s primary focus, customization. It’s highly emphasized to create your own team. In fact, it’s a requirement in order to play the season mode. Creating your squad is pretty simple. There’s a respectable amount of icons to choose from, and all the standard procedures of creating the uniforms and team colors are present. New and unique to the 2K football series are player attributes. There are no traditional numerical stats implemented into the game. The skills of the 240+ legends are classified by stars and distinct icons. Gold stars are given to the greatest players of all time, for instance, Walter Peyton. Those who nearly reached legendary status, like Billy Simms, hone the silver stars and the plain ol’ good ones acquire bronze stars. The amount of superstars allowed for your team is of course limited (2 gold players, 3 silver, 4-6 bronze players). The remainder of your team is chosen in a simple package under the options of balanced, run and gun, etc. The iconic attributes are very distinct. Let’s say you selected Dan Marino as your gold star quarterback, one of the attribute icons he possesses is “laser arm.” Each of these comes with a small description giving you more information on who to pick up for your roster. The skill system is definitely one of the strongest points of All-Pro Football.
Another quality aspect of APF 2K8 is the presentation. Dan Stevens and Peter Okeef return as the commentators, and their colorful and witty remarks and analysis are mostly always on queue to the action on the field. The soundtrack has some so-so hip hop instrumentals and weird alternative tracks. You’ll find a few Eric B. and Rakim songs, which is always a plus. I do recommend that you modify the rotation of songs on your own merit however. Even without the NFL license, APF delivers the solid presentation it always had.
Graphically, APF does decent. During the momentary cutscenes, where the camera is zoomed in on the players, the visuals just shine. However, when you control the action on the field, it looks more like a football game for the original Xbox. The best looking things you’ll see in APF are the stadiums. Each one is very distinct for each team. For example, the FireBirds stadium sports a huge phoenix statue on the side, which separates the bleachers sections. Faces on the player models are pretty accurate. It’s nice to see Jerry Rice’s face in the game before the days of his grey five o’ clock shadow on the Oakland Raiders just a few years ago. It’s even cooler to see O.J. Simpson’s likeness precisely rendered in his glory days, you know, before the whole murder situation.
All-Pro Football 2K8 definitely heads in the right direction, it just doesn’t do enough to take you along for the full trip. The use of many NFL legends, solid presentation, a unique attribute and skill system, and the sheer realism are what APF does best. What it lacks is the saturating amount of features that NFL 2K5 had. As previously mentioned, the weak playbooks hinder the game’s fun factor. You are only allowed to play one full season, which is not acceptable for any fan of football games. The awesome franchise and dynasty modes that 2K5 shined for is nowhere to be found here. The online play does enough to add some replay value along with the achievements, but you just don’t feel like you’re getting enough bang for your buck. Nevertheless, now that 2K has established their football game in a new light, 2K9 will hopefully be very promising. An addition of some legends and more features will give APF the credibility to beat Madden’s review scores next year. For now, you can enjoy the decent APF2K8--for the temporary time that it’ll keep you busy.