esmeet
July 18th, 2007, 08:01 AM
I got the game on my way home from work last night, and I played 2 games off-line. I hope you'll all read this with an open mind and understand that I'm a football fan first and that I generally prefer 2kSports games to EA Sports games.
Here are my initial impressions of All-Pro Football 2k8:
1) The gameplay feels a lot like 2k5. I did notice some player momentum problems and felt as though the game was a bit less responsive than 2k5, but I felt like the game played pretty well overall. I like the new kicking mechanism and feel like it will be a challenge.
2) I played my first games in Legend difficulty mode and did not score in either game. I feel like the AI is pretty good, and the DBs really play well. I'm sure becoming more familiar with my team and the playbook will help this, but I was glad to see the Legend level of difficulty kicking my butt the first time I played.
3) I'm really upset that you can only have 11 legends (2G, 3S, 6B) on your team. As I looked through the roster, I was wishing I could have more legends and became really frustrated at knowing that the three players on the cover of the game (Elway, Sanders, Rice) can never play on the same team. I think 2k should allow you to have some more options in terms of the number of legends you can have on your team. -- Since a lot of the players in the Bronze level really aren't "legends", you could fill your team with Bronze players and still have a team with a normal skill level. -- I like the challenge of picking a team with limitations, but I also want to try playing some games with all of my favorite players. They need to find a way to allow more flexibility with creating teams.
4) I'm seriously underwhelmed with the presentation of the game. I think the Field Pass function was a waste of time. I would much rather have had some better graphic overlays or some more depth in the stats department.
5) I'm really disappointed in the ability to substitute players. I originally added 2 MLBs to my team, and the 3-4 defense wasn't an option in my playbook. I went to try and sub in my 2nd MLB as an OLB, and this wasn't an option. Players can't play outside of their primary position, even if it's in a similar position.
6) I can't believe how bare-bones the menus and game modes are. The lack of a Franchise is one thing, but this honestly looks like they started working on this game less than a year ago. Compared to the menus and game modes of 2k5, this is a serious letdown.
7) The create-a-player mode isn't bad, but it doesn't really impress me either. I created Lawrence Taylor and Deion Sanders, and I didn't really feel like either one looked like his real-life counterpart. They need a lot more accessories (e.g., Sanders' doo-rag, tape on fingers for defenders) to allow you to really make your players look like the real thing.
8) The sound in the game is generally excellent, but the graphics are - again - underwhelming. For a game that spent what looks like very little time on player faces - don't get me wrong, some of the players look very recognizable - they spend way too much time in close-ups and looking at the players talking with ridiculously generic voices (see my comment above about the Field Pass option).
9) I haven't played on-line yet, and I haven't joined an on-line league. This is why I bought the game, so I have to reserve much of my replay value judgment until I get into the league functions and see what the presentation and depth of on-line leagues has to offer. I doubt, however, that we'll see anything as extravagant and impressive as the old ESPN-style league pages with the depth of statistics and presentation style that comes from an ESPN license. Let's hope 2kSports put something nearly as impressive together for 2k8...if not, I suspect a lot of league players will be disappointed with the league presentation. -- Not having on-line drafts for the league and no allowing the commissioner to determine how many legends each team can have is a sad omission, in my opinion. I'm not a fan of "cloned" players in the game, but I suppose this was caused by the lack of legends available in the game.
10) The custom stadiums look very cool. It looks like somebody spent an awful lot of time working on the stadiums, and they deserve a lot of credit. I do wish, however, that some of that time was spent on developing the menus and additional game modes (like Franchise mode) instead.
11) The ratings system is a nice idea, but it was done poorly. Knowing only 1, 2, 3, or 4 things about players is not enough information to differentiate them and make player personnel decisions. I think EA Sports' use of the Weapons system is a much better approach. They give you the 1-100 numbers system like always, but then they also award players a "weapon" if they're in the top X% of players in his position. Thus, a WR would need to have a 95+ speed to have a Speed Burner weapon, but an Offensive Lineman could have a Speed weapon for his position if he has an overall speed in the 60s or 70s. When in doubt, give the user more information - not less. 2K told us they have more than 80 attributes that players are rated on, but we only see a handful of ratings for even the best players in the game. How are we supposed to pick players without seeing their attributes?
Conclusions:
Overall, I'm impressed with the gameplay and the AI of the game, which are - in my opinion - the two most important aspects of a game. I'm unimpressed with just about everything else about the game - except for the creativity in teams and the custom stadiums.
I'm reserving judgment of on-line leagues until I get into a league and play, but I'm trying to keep my expectations far below the 2k5 presentation that benefited from the ESPN license.
Overall, I'd recommend buying this game (1) if you like on-line leagues where you don't have to write down your stats and manually post them into some cheesy site, (2) if you're a real fan of the strategy and pre-snap adjustments of football, (3) if you prefer a slower-paced football game that focuses on strategy, AI play, and excellent animations, and (4) if you want to support 2kSports and push for a better version next year. If you're really into deep game modes, NFL-licensed players, or really strong visual presentation and graphics, I think NCAA 08 or Madden 08 may be your better bet. I, for one, am planning on buying all 3 games and think there's a place in your collection for all 3 games that each offer something unique.
Here are my initial impressions of All-Pro Football 2k8:
1) The gameplay feels a lot like 2k5. I did notice some player momentum problems and felt as though the game was a bit less responsive than 2k5, but I felt like the game played pretty well overall. I like the new kicking mechanism and feel like it will be a challenge.
2) I played my first games in Legend difficulty mode and did not score in either game. I feel like the AI is pretty good, and the DBs really play well. I'm sure becoming more familiar with my team and the playbook will help this, but I was glad to see the Legend level of difficulty kicking my butt the first time I played.
3) I'm really upset that you can only have 11 legends (2G, 3S, 6B) on your team. As I looked through the roster, I was wishing I could have more legends and became really frustrated at knowing that the three players on the cover of the game (Elway, Sanders, Rice) can never play on the same team. I think 2k should allow you to have some more options in terms of the number of legends you can have on your team. -- Since a lot of the players in the Bronze level really aren't "legends", you could fill your team with Bronze players and still have a team with a normal skill level. -- I like the challenge of picking a team with limitations, but I also want to try playing some games with all of my favorite players. They need to find a way to allow more flexibility with creating teams.
4) I'm seriously underwhelmed with the presentation of the game. I think the Field Pass function was a waste of time. I would much rather have had some better graphic overlays or some more depth in the stats department.
5) I'm really disappointed in the ability to substitute players. I originally added 2 MLBs to my team, and the 3-4 defense wasn't an option in my playbook. I went to try and sub in my 2nd MLB as an OLB, and this wasn't an option. Players can't play outside of their primary position, even if it's in a similar position.
6) I can't believe how bare-bones the menus and game modes are. The lack of a Franchise is one thing, but this honestly looks like they started working on this game less than a year ago. Compared to the menus and game modes of 2k5, this is a serious letdown.
7) The create-a-player mode isn't bad, but it doesn't really impress me either. I created Lawrence Taylor and Deion Sanders, and I didn't really feel like either one looked like his real-life counterpart. They need a lot more accessories (e.g., Sanders' doo-rag, tape on fingers for defenders) to allow you to really make your players look like the real thing.
8) The sound in the game is generally excellent, but the graphics are - again - underwhelming. For a game that spent what looks like very little time on player faces - don't get me wrong, some of the players look very recognizable - they spend way too much time in close-ups and looking at the players talking with ridiculously generic voices (see my comment above about the Field Pass option).
9) I haven't played on-line yet, and I haven't joined an on-line league. This is why I bought the game, so I have to reserve much of my replay value judgment until I get into the league functions and see what the presentation and depth of on-line leagues has to offer. I doubt, however, that we'll see anything as extravagant and impressive as the old ESPN-style league pages with the depth of statistics and presentation style that comes from an ESPN license. Let's hope 2kSports put something nearly as impressive together for 2k8...if not, I suspect a lot of league players will be disappointed with the league presentation. -- Not having on-line drafts for the league and no allowing the commissioner to determine how many legends each team can have is a sad omission, in my opinion. I'm not a fan of "cloned" players in the game, but I suppose this was caused by the lack of legends available in the game.
10) The custom stadiums look very cool. It looks like somebody spent an awful lot of time working on the stadiums, and they deserve a lot of credit. I do wish, however, that some of that time was spent on developing the menus and additional game modes (like Franchise mode) instead.
11) The ratings system is a nice idea, but it was done poorly. Knowing only 1, 2, 3, or 4 things about players is not enough information to differentiate them and make player personnel decisions. I think EA Sports' use of the Weapons system is a much better approach. They give you the 1-100 numbers system like always, but then they also award players a "weapon" if they're in the top X% of players in his position. Thus, a WR would need to have a 95+ speed to have a Speed Burner weapon, but an Offensive Lineman could have a Speed weapon for his position if he has an overall speed in the 60s or 70s. When in doubt, give the user more information - not less. 2K told us they have more than 80 attributes that players are rated on, but we only see a handful of ratings for even the best players in the game. How are we supposed to pick players without seeing their attributes?
Conclusions:
Overall, I'm impressed with the gameplay and the AI of the game, which are - in my opinion - the two most important aspects of a game. I'm unimpressed with just about everything else about the game - except for the creativity in teams and the custom stadiums.
I'm reserving judgment of on-line leagues until I get into a league and play, but I'm trying to keep my expectations far below the 2k5 presentation that benefited from the ESPN license.
Overall, I'd recommend buying this game (1) if you like on-line leagues where you don't have to write down your stats and manually post them into some cheesy site, (2) if you're a real fan of the strategy and pre-snap adjustments of football, (3) if you prefer a slower-paced football game that focuses on strategy, AI play, and excellent animations, and (4) if you want to support 2kSports and push for a better version next year. If you're really into deep game modes, NFL-licensed players, or really strong visual presentation and graphics, I think NCAA 08 or Madden 08 may be your better bet. I, for one, am planning on buying all 3 games and think there's a place in your collection for all 3 games that each offer something unique.