All-Pro Football 2k8

[seanmac31]

My first impression is that I'm unhappy with most of the uniforms. I'm someone who likes a clean, simple style- Penn State, Oakland, the Colts, the Jets, etc- and the uniforms all seem to be hyper modern and overly busy. It's not so odd seeing Johnny Unitas in something other than a Colts uniform, but it is odd to see him in an arena league uni. It's not that the uniforms are necessarily bad, but they all have a similar style to them.

That aside, the game looks like a high resolution, amped up NFL 2K5 with better animations...which is to say it looks fantastic. The animations are all on par with anything that Madden has shown, and in fact they tend to look smoother and more natural. The gang tackles, the midair collisions between receiver and corner, the backs shifting through the hole all look less over the top than the Madden trailer. I also appreciated the signature moves from Payton and Elway, as each player would have been readily identifiable without seeing their jersey number.

Oh, and the stadiums look fabulous. I wasn't big on the concept when I first heard about it, but the atmospherics are terrific.

[JRod]

seanmac,
I don't think they look even Arena Football good. They look like something out of "Any Given Sunday". Great movie terrible uniforms.

[seanmac31]

seanmac,
I don't think they look every Arena Football good. They look like something out of "Any Given Sunday". Great movie terrible uniforms.

They will, ahem, require some getting used to. I'm not normally one to make use of customization options, but I may be forced to remove some of that trim.

I looked at the trailers for Madden and 2K8 back to back and I don't think there's any question that the players in 2K8 move better and that the animations are done better. Maybe it's just the way EA decided to go with their trailer, but every interaction seems overdone. The Madden player models are better (when's the last time you could say that?), but I'm not blown away by the animations. Everything in the 2K8 trailer looks tremendously smooth. (And the HD trailer at Gametrailers looks noticeably better.)

Anyway, I'll be picking up both games, no question.

[XXXIV]

Looks like s*** to me but Im a fan so I will give her a very long look...besides you cant have too much football.

2k5 is still My fav football game ever even with the s*** DBs and the zepplin(for Zep ) like feel of the players....

I dont wanna sound like a Madden fanboy becuase I hate EAs guts but....those that didnt give Madden 07 a chance missed out on one hell of a game....It was VERY good.

[spooky157]

2K Games announced they were closing their NY office. This might change everything or it could mean very little. Looks like there's talk of canceling some projects but APF looks to be safe for now. But I don't think this bodes well for APF's future...

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=25782

[dbdynsty25]

2K Games announced they were closing their NY office. This might change everything or it could mean very little. Looks like there's talk of canceling some projects but APF looks to be safe for now. But I don't think this bodes well for APF's future...

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=25782

Their West Coast office, or at least one of them, is like 2 miles from my office. I should just go work there.

[spooky157]

2K Games announced they were closing their NY office. This might change everything or it could mean very little. Looks like there's talk of canceling some projects but APF looks to be safe for now. But I don't think this bodes well for APF's future...

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=25782

Their West Coast office, or at least one of them, is like 2 miles from my office. I should just go work there.

You're a basketball fan...maybe you can help 2K out with their NBA franchise mode.

http://jobs.gamasutra.com/jobseekerx/vi ... ountno=362

EDIT: Nevermind, it looks like the listing is inactive. Guess they filled that position.

[Danimal]

2K Games announced they were closing their NY office. This might change everything or it could mean very little. Looks like there's talk of canceling some projects but APF looks to be safe for now. But I don't think this bodes well for APF's future...

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=25782

Oh God I have got to get to OS, the circle jerk must be in full on panic over there. Surely will make for a humor filled afternoon of reading.

[JRod]

2K Games announced they were closing their NY office. This might change everything or it could mean very little. Looks like there's talk of canceling some projects but APF looks to be safe for now. But I don't think this bodes well for APF's future...

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=25782

Oh God I have got to get to OS, the circle jerk must be in full on panic over there. Surely will make for a humor filled afternoon of reading.

Yesturday's fun was over Shawn's blog post. He posted a critique of the trailer. Some people at OS responded that the gaming media has gone to far in reviewing trailers. Shawn got pissy because people critized his blog. Then OS locked the thread. You have got to love it.

[Danimal]

Yesturday's fun was over Shawn's blog post. He posted a critique of the trailer. Some people at OS responded that the gaming media has gone to far in reviewing trailers. Shawn got pissy because people critized his blog. Then OS locked the thread. You have got to love it.

Yeah the whole thing is very comical over there. It's a basic mentality that you can have any reaction to the trailer you want, as long as it's not negative. Some of the admins and poster being called madden fanboys is the best part. I really feel sorry for the OS guy who is getting to play it tomorrow.

[seanmac31]

The best of the impressions I've seen:


http://www.vetzballin.com/modules.ph...&p=16762#16762

"
Vetzballin was fortunate enough to be invited today to 2K's NY offices to get a hands-on look at their new All Pro Football 2K8 title. While I wasn't allowed to take any in game screen shots or videos, I did get to spend about an hour watching the game in action and playing it for myself as 2K's PR Manager Anthony Chau walked me thru different aspects of the game.

Before I go any further, Anthony wanted me to explain exactly why there is no Franchise mode, and to clear up any misconceptions that 2K has been planning this game for the last three years. According to him, the idea for this game was born about a year ago and as it began to go into development, there was just no time to add a robust franchise mode. The producers also wondered just how feasible it would be to have a franchise mode with teams made up of legends. 2K has not ruled out future iteration of the series having added franchise mode as they are exploring ways to do it, but for this year the focus was strictly on gameplay and delivering the best football product that they could."

"
From what I saw with my own eyes, they are well on their way to delivering on that. Fans of the last ESPN NFL 2K5, will have no problem picking up this game and playing it like they haven't missed a step. In fact the game moves identical to 2K5, granted with major next-gen upgrades, has some of the same moves (jukes, turbo charge), and all the defensive adjustments you were used to in previous versions of NFL 2K have made their return.

They tinkered with the kicking game a bit. Instead of it being meter based, the power of your kick will depend on your fingers. You'll see the familiar arrow which shows the direction the kick will go in, but that's where the similarities end. Instead you pull back on the right analog stick and quickly swing the stick upward with the distance being determined how fast you can swing the stick. At first I didn't dig this mechanic but as I played more, I got more used to it and eventually it becomes second nature.

One thing that stood out to me was the player control, it was really responsive. I had no problem skating Barry Sanders thru the hole or turning him on a dime upfield. The run blocking was well done, you could see the lineman surging forward on runs and standing defensive ends upright when pass blocking. Another wrinkle 2K added, and this was to combat the suction blocking that infuriates us all. When your defender engages in a block, by flicking the analog stick left or right, he can reach his arm out and try to trip the ball carrier as he goes by. Of course this animation will depend on how good the defensive player is, or how good the offensive player blocking is, but at least you have a chance in all situations to make a tackle while blocked. An element like this adds a great dimension to the gameplay.

The player models were well done and some of the 30 generic stadiums looked really hot. 2K since they weren't bound by any NFL restrictions, really went over the top on some of the stadiums. One stadium had this huge bird at one end and it's wings acted as the stadium's retractable roof. Hot! Anthony couldn't confirm that we'd be able to see the roof retract during gameplay, but the design was outstanding. The graphics on the players were tight as well and they really nailed some of the player faces like Jeff Hosteler (yeah he's in the game and not LT..BOOOOO!), Jerry Rice and Johnny Unitas. I asked why certain Legends were not in the game like Lawrence Taylor and was told generally it was a money issue. Some ex-NFL players wanted a bunch of loot for their likeness and 2K had to pass.

Just because the game is centered around legends, not everyone in the game is on the same level and 2K stressed that sim gameplay was still a priority. So any fears that APF was going to play NFL Blitz style can now be put to rest. You have different tiers of legends, gold tiered (Rice, Unitas, Sanders), silver tiered (Willie Gault) and bronze tiered (Hostetler, Jim McMahon). When you first start up a game, there are no set teams, so you have to pick your squad before you play. You get a choice of 2 gold tiered players, 4 silver tiered players and 5 bronze tiered players (forgive me if I'm a little off with the numbers, this is all off of memory). The rest of your squad will be filled out by generic players which break down like this:

OFFENSIVE LINE:
RUN BLOCK, BALANCED, PASS BLOCK

DEFENSIVE LINE
RUN STOP, BALANCED, PASS RUSH

DEFENSIVE BACKS
COVERAGE, BALANCED, RUN SUPPORT

WIDE RECEIVERS
SPEED, BALANCED, POSSESSION

RUNNING BACKS
SPEED, BALANCED, POWER

So you fill out your squads based on what strengths are a priority for you. When playing online you won't know what kind of team the opponent has until the matchup screen or you look at his VIP. So you may build a team that's strong against the run, but weak against the pass, while the opponent's team is a great passing team but has a weak running game. Should make for some interesting matchups online.

One thing I almost forgot to note, 2K did away with player ratings, instead the stars have certain abilities specific to them (about 4 catergories). For instance I saw Dan Marino had, Quick Release as one of his abilities, Walter Payton had Scissor Kick (for that high leg kick juke he used to do), Rice had Route God (no explanation needed) and Joe Montana had one listed for Signal Stealer for his ability to read and know exactly what the defense was doing. Quarterbacks with signal stealer as one of their attributes will be able to see what play you called on defense by pressing the X button.

The on the field action was done really nice, there are interactive sidelines (you can run into people standing on the side) and they have a camera shot called Field Pass that takes you right onto the field and you can see the offense or defense calling out plays. The familiar voices of two-man team Dan & Peter are also back calling the action.

I did see a few quirks, but keep in mind this was an 80% build I was playing. One instance I had a player running around with no upper body, only was his torso and legs running around on the field and a couple times the screen would go completely black for long periodds of time. I also saw some clipping of players. All this I was assured would be fixed.

In summary, I think fans of the old NFL series will be right at home with this game as 2K has it headed in the right direction. It has enough qualities to lure in new fans who have never played the series before. In a couple weeks Vetz have a more thorough review as the completed game makes it's way to us. July 16th is right around the corner."

[Danimal]

The best of the impressions I've seen:

Just curious why do you consider these the best impressions? I've never heard of this site before today.

EDIT: maybe I misunderstood, perhaps you meant most positive impressions to date.

[seanmac31]

The best of the impressions I've seen:

Just curious why do you consider these the best impressions? I've never heard of this site before today.

EDIT: maybe I misunderstood, perhaps you meant most positive impressions to date.

Just in as much as they provide more information about the design philosophy than I've seen elsewhere. That and it's written coherently.

[Danimal]

The best of the impressions I've seen:

Just curious why do you consider these the best impressions? I've never heard of this site before today.

EDIT: maybe I misunderstood, perhaps you meant most positive impressions to date.

Just in as much as they provide more information about the design philosophy than I've seen elsewhere. That and it's written coherently.

Yeah its written well, just kind of curious on where the information is coming from. Seems like 2K is going to a lot of lesser know places. All the podcasts this week, I never heard of half those places.

[Brando70]

That's a very good, very detailed write up. It also made me think I'm passing on this.

The player ratings and team selection process are really disappointing to me. It's like they decided to go back to Joe Montana Sports Talk football, where the star players had full ratings and all the other players were more or less the same. I would be fine if they tried something different than Madden's system, like just using combine scores or scout notes. But this makes an already generic football game sound even more generic.

The lack of a franchise mode also hurts. I respect them for not inserting a buggy franchise mode (like they did with 2k5), but to me that would make the lack of the NFL license much easier to deal with.

I just don't see $60 worth of value here. Good gameplay is important, but judging from past NFL 2k experiences, I don't think the gameplay is going to be so amazing as to justify stripping out this stuff.

Thanks for posting this, seanmac.

[sportdan30]

I agree the player ratings seem a tad generic. Seems playing with Joe Montana is almost like cheating if in fact you can press the "x" button to read your opponent's defense. Gonna get a lot of online gamers using him I imagine.

[seanmac31]

I agree the player ratings seem a tad generic. Seems playing with Joe Montana is almost like cheating if in fact you can press the "x" button to read your opponent's defense. Gonna get a lot of online gamers using him I imagine.

We'll see how it's implemented. Madden is doing something very similar with quarterbacks like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady being able to see the defensive play diagram after the same defense has been called a few times. At least there will be defensive hot route adjustments in both games that will give the defense some chance at confusing the quarterback.

[Danimal]

OS Impressions are up.

I think this just went to a rental first for me. Ugh I wasn't expecting to hear some of those things. Presentation is the most surprising.

http://forums.operationsports.com/vBull ... p?t=208780

[seanmac31]

I'm surprised about the lack of presentation- it's something that 2K games are traditionally strong at and is a clear area where they could provide something that Madden hasn't-but it's not that big a deal for me. After seeing what there is to see, I generally turn all the replays off and just concentrate on the game experience. And the game experience sounds pretty good.

[MizzouRah]

Ugh is right.

[pigpen81]

Sorry guys but this game sounds like a blast. I don't have time for a franchise and I love the new ratings system.

If the gameplay is improved over 2K5 we will have a sweet football game.

[Danimal]

Ugh is right.

There are going to be a lot of people who are going to love this game no matter how featureless it is because it's not Madden. Only a few I can think of here, but many at OS.

I could list the guys off in my mind who would be justifying things after these impressions and they have already started.

You can literally go look in the madden threads and these guys are saying that Madden is still s*** because they are just now implementing game play features we have wanted and they still won't buy the game because of lack of presentation.

Then when they get the bad news on APF presentation they say well you just skip that stuff anyway. It's comical.

Having said that, I am pretty disappointed. I was really looking forward to this game, I've decided to keep my pre-order and give it a fair shake. But this is a big let down for me. I was expecting something that would really knock my socks off, I'm getting a striped down 2k5 with legends.

[XXXIV]

There are going to be a lot of people who are going to love this game no matter how featureless it is because it's not Madden. Only a few I can think of here, but many at OS.

.

That works both ways ...always has...always will . 2K fanboys are no worse than Madden fanboys.

[Inuyasha]

I think it's nice just to have an alternative, any sport.

But this game should sell for $20, not $60. Any confirmation on the price as of yet?

[XXXIV]

I think it's nice just to have an alternative, any sport.

But this game should sell for $20, not $60. Any confirmation on the price as of yet?

Yes it should...$60 without the license just seems insane...Game stop has it listed at $60.