This really feels like a diet NFL 2K5; somewhat disappointing. . .
APF 2K8 immediately reminds you of its famous older brother, in terms of its on-field beauty (well, when you can FINALLY take to the field). The gameplay feels very familiar to NFL 2K5, & looks familiar to 2K5. For those are familiar, & fell in love with the phenomenal gameplay, graphics, presentation, & stylings of NFL 2K5, the mere thought & initial feel of tis game will make you salivate. The on-field character models are STILL better than the upcoming Madden 08. The gameplay still feels the most realistic of all of the existing football games. For those that are fanatics of the sport, its gameplay is fantastic. The halftime show is pretty much the same, minus ESPN's Boomer. I can easily live with that. Not that Boomer wasn't a lovely addition to the 2K5 game; but, the circumstances are quite understandable. The audio commentary is great, & nowhere near as repetitive as Madden. However, there are plenty of vocal "hiccups" where it's concerned (ex. - when comin' to the line, the announcer hits the 2nd and . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 yards to go" . . .). That becomes extremely annoying after a while.
The game engine IS the 2K5 engine. Hands down, no debate. That's a blessing AND a curse. For, as gorgeuos as the game is while playing it, the differences from that same engine, albeit somewhat minor, when there are so many small things, become too loud to ignore. For those of us that could NOT WAIT 'til this game dropped, we wanted the "plug & play" factor to exist, just to get a feel for this game; allowing time to GO BACK & customize at our leisure. Well, plug & play does NOT exist here. You're literally FORCED to create a team. THAT FORCED team will determine your feelings on your experience with APF 2K8. At times, this game feels like it was months in the making, instead of years. A major example of that, is the kicking schematics. Plain & simple: THEY SUCK!! Although a noble gesture to try to create the experience of becoming a kicker, I just don't have that desire. The motion movement is ONLY successful on 2K basketball games, at the free throw line. On this game, you barely make the extra point. So, field goal kicking is next to nothing. They truly need to change that for the next edition of this game. There is no more camera-panning when at the line of scrimmage. That would bother me, if the entire field was in sight, when you pan the camera back. This is something they removed from the 2K5 engine. PUT IT BACK!!.
On the defensive side of the ball, you can no longer shift/move the defensive line. That was also removed from the 2K5 engine. PUT IT BACK!! For as good as the graphics are, they did not include a first-person version of the gameplay. This was also removed from the 2K5 engine. That was an extremely stupid move, considering the fact that you no longer have the league access to your game, & the only things that you have goin' on for your game IS gameplay & graphics. PUT IT BACK, & I DEDUCTED AN ENTIRE POINT FOR SUCH STUPIDITY!!! Since you're forced to create a team long before you can take the field, you're also forced to notice that most of the players look more like boxers AFTER the fight that they lost!! It seems like all of the players are high! LOL I'm glad they don't look that way on the field. I'm not bent out of shape about the lack of a 'franchise' mode, because of the nature of the game. However, I do feel that Sega/VC/2K Sports have stripped this game FROM its essence. It feels like they came up with this concept for the game a few months ago, as opposed to a few years in the making. With me being a PS3 owner, I feel as though 2K didn't take full advantage of the system's alleged capabilities. To be honest, very few games have, thus far. 1 thing that I'll NEVER be able to get beyond, is the fact that multiple people can have THE SAME NUMBER ON THE FIELD!!! As an example, I have William Perry on my D-Line. On the generic side of the line, there's also a #72. When tryin' to figure out who was actually tired, that became a huge problem. There should be something in the program to maintain the integrity of ANY sport & not allowing this mishap to take place. So, if you get Billy Sims (great runner) AND Barry Sanders (both ex-Lions), THEY'RE BOTH GOING TO HAVE THE SAME NUMBER!!! Something has to give, & this MUST be fixed by the next game!! Otherwise, that will severly compromise the integrity of the game. For those that consider the generic players to be straight fodder, think again. Due to the calibur of players they're takin' the field with, they have indeed been trumped. I scored my 1st touchdown with a reggie (translation: generic) player, before my superstars have actually scored. They're somewhat trumped up, which is kinda hard to accept for a no-name player. Overall, APF 2K8 is just an average experience/alternative to Madden; which, in itself, is a huge disappointment, due to the legacy its younger brother (ESPN NFL 2K5). I would NOT be in a rush to stock away the NFL 2K5 as of yet. Maybe in another year or 2; depending on how soon/quickly Sega/VC/2K Sports correct their problems. I REALLY HOPE THEY START READING THESE THINGS, IN ORDER TO KNOW WHAT WE THINK & WHAT WE WANT!!!