I decided to purchase ALL-Pro 2K8 since I was an avid NFL 2k5 and Madden 05 fan. Well I was not disappointed! The game plays about as realistic to a real game of football as you can get. 1st and foremost, you MUST create a team in order to even play an exhibition game. So I sought out to do just that and I must say that the customization is so deep it is almost scary on what you can change about your team from the uniform down to the stadium. Any videogame enthusiast will enjoy this process thoroughly. Picking your 11 legends is also a blast because you have to make the choice as to what type of team you are building for the season. Do you want an offensive juggernaut with the likes of Elway and Jerry Rice? Or do you want a vicious defense with Hard hitters like Ronnie Lott? The possibilities are endless here.
Now as far as the actual gameplay, the most impressive sight is seeing each Legend play and MOVE as they did. That means no scrambling with Dan Marino as if he is michael vick. No throwing off your back foot and hoping to hit a money play. Roger Staubach and some of the "older" Legends are a bit tougher than the more current ones such as Troy Aikman when it comes to taking a sack. The AI is incredibly smart. If your corners are shutdown corners, then they will make plays like one. If they are creampuffs, then I hope you are ready for a shootout. The other impressive thing about the gameplay is how the players move. The way that they run is ultra-realistic. No ice-skating or gliding across the field. If your linebacker intercepts a pass he is not gonna run like he is a speedy wide receiver....he is going to run UGLY! And if a speedy corner gets the ball...he runs like a speedy corner and not the ugly lineman run! The individual strengths of each player come into play in key situations, such as if you have a QB who specializes in 4th quarter comebacks he will inspire his team and make great plays. Playing this game is really like a chess match, which is what football is all about. The kicking game has changed and operates much like the free-throw system in NBA 2K7. You must wait until the kickers leg is almost making contact with the ball in order to make it effective. And of course the angle at which you push the R stick foward matters as well.
Animations on the sideline and the crowd are very much up to date. There is no zombie effect. If you are run out of bounds then the team will stop you from running over anybody, including the line judges. OH late hits are done phenomenally well! There are several tackle animations that make the real time injuries worth the while. The Commentary is light years ahead of Madden and employs a situational point of view. Meaning the commentary makes sense for what is currently happening on the field.
Overall it is an excellent game, the only needed improvements are the graphics and the options. The graphics are great up close in the faces, however if you look at the game in motion, for next-gen you EXPECT BETTER! There's no excuse for us as gamers not being mesmerized at this point and the lack of polish hurts the great animations that have been implemented by 2K. The lack of a franchise mode, and just anything beyond one season is just disappointing. This is the short version of what I really feel about the game but realistically, for a game with fictional teams....it does a damn great job showing the NFL why the license should not be exclusive to EA. BIG difference. And I am pretty sure I will be playing this game longer than Madden 08'.
Gameplay 9/10 Graphics 7/10 Presentation 10/10 (espcially for a game with no license) Replay Value 9/10 Difficulty 8/10 Sound 9/10 Overall 8.6/10
While I feel you on a lot of what you said, I couldn't get into this game becaue there are SOME players (scramblers like Steve Young and Randal Cunningham in my experience, who i chose because they were scramblers) who should be able to throw off of their back foot and have a pass go in the right direction. Any time I tried to throw without setting my feet, the ball would go 10 yards away from anyone and would be terrible, not what you'd expect from a scrambling quarterback. Not only that but I had several times where "Legend" wide recievers would just drop balls, even if they had the soft hands ability. Jerry Rice shouldn't drop balls regularly, nor should he get beat by a computer generated, random cornerback on every play. I feel like the AI in this is a little slower than I would have liked and the options as far as things you can do with your season and with the game are lacking. I enjoyed online play because it was cool to see how other people set up their teams and how your team matched up, but in the season mode, you frequently go up against teams who have 5-6 gold star players which makes it clearly unbalanced and unfair. I thought the game was good but not great and so I exchanged it for NCAA today so I can take advantage of the rich dynasty mode and get ready for Madden, which better be good this year. Good review but doesn't touch on a lot of the nuiances of the game as much as someone who was curious might like.
its good to hear an unbiased review on this game. this game is definetely going to go in my game library. I didn't like the Madden games and I think this will certainly satisfy me. It's too bad that GameSpot hasnt posted a review yet, with all the hype that they have been building so far with shows On the Spot and the E3 Preview Hands on Demo. I hope they post one soon though.
its definatly on my "AVOID" list, i dont wat 2 play with players who i saw on tv when i was 4, thats ancient history. football games are only fun when ur either using NFL teams or purposly throwing out crippling injuries at people (blitz)
its definatly on my "AVOID" list, i dont wat 2 play with players who i saw on tv when i was 4, thats ancient history. football games are only fun when ur either using NFL teams or purposly throwing out crippling injuries at people (blitz)kyle_1865
I'd like to nominate this as the dumbest post of the day.....
[QUOTE="kyle_1865"]its definatly on my "AVOID" list, i dont wat 2 play with players who i saw on tv when i was 4, thats ancient history. football games are only fun when ur either using NFL teams or purposly throwing out crippling injuries at people (blitz)DMBcard
I second that
I'd like to nominate this as the dumbest post of the day.....
its got the 2k engine. with historic players and made up teams. graphics look decent. but the problem is its really the same thing that madden 06 was. and i dont plan on spending more then 8 bucks on this game (renting). not spending 60 bucks on madden 06 whoops i mean all pro 2k8.
i just bought the game and although it def plays good one thing that bugged me is that throwing the ball is a joke, i didn't know no quarterbacks can throw on the run, i mean i can understand marino, but randal should be able to. It's annoying to run out of the pocket and throw a pass just to have it drop after lofting 5 yards, unless you are a pocket passer, which i am not, this game will be somewhat aggrevating at times so i would reccommend renting it first before you make a decision
I dont know what u guys are talking about I throw with Randal on the run all the time. The only problem I have is the turbo I tap the button but it doesnt seem like hes running any faster......lol. LOVE the game though and starting a DRAFT LEAGUE if anyone wants to join send me a PM for details.
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