I am an ESPN NFL 2K5 fanatic, but with this I have mixed reactions. *Long Review*
I throw in the game and automatically am excited to hit the gridiron and duke it out with some legends. Alot of great players to choose from to create the backbone of your team. Many past legends along with many great players of the last decade that have proven themselves amongst the greatest. All from you to choose from!
Gameplay is great, all the simulation style play of 2K5 is back. No off-balance, back step, cross body passes will be perfect. You're risking some serious problems for your chance of gaining some offensive ground. It's all about patience and precision to get off a good pass, or see the hole through the defense to get off a good run. And with that patience comes reward with some awesome moves to thwart off any defenders trying to take you down, though you're not going to be invincible. Defense is the same. You get your chance to bat down passes, stop the runner from getting that all important first down, and the occasional interception of you time the catch right. The game really makes you sit down and learn it, which is what any sports game needs. At the end of the plays, you can get a close in NFL Films-like camera of the players chit-chatting, talking to teammates and opponents alike.
Graphics are good, but not up to par with current-generation graphics. You can tell they brought over some pages of the older games to this one. But playing this on a HDTV like I have the chance to, the game still can look great. You can really get up close on the replays and see the individual holes on the jerseys.
Sound is also pretty good, alot of player chatter on the field and various sounds pre and post-snap. Crowd chatter is good and commenting is colorful and flows well.
Now...with value comes the line of alot of current and past 2K football fans. The Great Stuff - The team customization is great. You can change the tendancies of all your main offense and defensive squads that aren't legends to adjust to your playstyle. Many different names, colors, logos, towns, stadiums to you to choose from to make your team much like your real favorites. Half time and post-game show is a personal favorite that made it alot more immersive to me. Instead of just going to half and going right into the next...you get to see some highlights of the first half, along with some player stats at the bottom. Multiplayer is also good, getting to play with people's mixes of the many legends makes the games pretty competitive and balanced, though there might be some games that you just can't catch up, but don't be discuraged to leave, losing and learning is part of the game. Getting to see your own tendancies and stats in the VIP is also great.
The Bad Stuff - I have never been a great online player..and 2K5 was really great on keeping me going with franchise mode. Unfortunately this is where 2K8 falls behind. You can play only one season with your team, and whether you win or lose the championship game, that's it. You'll be asked to leave the season and returned to the main menu. Though with that it leaves you to try out different legendary players, it still leave you wanting to play on in some kind of franchise mode. If you are wanting single player replay value, well it's more in the eye of the beholder. If you want control over a team for many years, well you read about where it ends. But if you want to try to reach the top with many different players, you are really in for a treat.
Some graphical glitches you can see while playing, like flashing graphic overlays when you take a look at what play you are running before the snap, and clipping on some parts of players during movements. And to me the graphics are aged.
My Tilt - I want to love this game, and many things bring back the great days of NFL 2K5. The great gameplay and overall tilt toward the simulation side. The many legendary players you can create your team from, and the game still looks pretty good during the HD gaming age, even with some reminants of last gen in it. Personally, I would have loved for them to have brought over the same elements of 2K5's franchise mode. I loved playing through mulitple years...through the player progressions, trades, drafts, post seasons, ect. It will really hold me back from playing it much after I get burned out of making other combinations of legends. Multiplayer is not my strongpoint, but I might try it more.
Summary - If you are a 2K Sports loyal, I'm sure you'll be picking this up soon. And with the good new view of playing football, it will keep you going for a while. And if you're a online fan too? Well you're going to be hooked for a long time. But if you lean a bit more to offline play and replay value, you're not in for much. This game is good in my eyes, and is a good re-start for the 2K football franchise. But for me this year, it leaves me with something to desire for next year.