2K Returns and Scores a Touchdown

Published July 30, 2007

The loss of the NFL license and subsequent two years without a football game from 2K Sports left fans wondering if their beloved football sim would ever return, so this past winter's announcement of All-Pro Football 2K8 caused both celebration and assurance that 2K had not abandoned the gridiron.

Joe Cool's sweet release.

Now All-Pro has released to fans and with it come legends like Joe Montana, Dick Butkus, Deacon Jones, and Walter Payton, all brought to life in next-gen glory. How has the series changed, and what can you expect from 2K's first next-gen football effort?

Team of Legends
All-Pro Football 2K8 is focused on building teams founded with legendary, Hall of Fame players and notable All-Pros. To maintain balance, the players (and their relative skill) are broken into three tiers of stardom:

• Gold: Within this category lie true game-breaking legends like John Elway, Barry Sanders, Mike Singletary, Ronnie Lott, and many more. You're only allowed two gold-rated players per team, so choose carefully.
• Silver: Though less sterling than gold players, the silver category is still littered with top-notch talent. Here, you'll find the likes of Bart Starr, Andre Reed, Roger Craig, and the stickum-happy Lester Hayes. Three silver-rated players can be on the team you create.
• Bronze: You may not find their busts in Canton, but bronze players are still high-caliber talent. Game changers like Dwight Clark ("The Catch"), Solomon Wilcots, Ken Norton Jr., and Rocket Ismail are found among the bronze players. Six bronze level players can be chosen for each team.

The Field Pass feature takes you onto the gridiron to get
a taste of the competition and camaraderie on the field.

The Talents
Picking among two gold-level halfbacks isn't just a study in name recognition, but their individual Special Abilities must be considered. Each legendary player boasts one or more Special Abilities that speak to the unique skills they bring to the field. For example, a Rocket Arm ensures lightning quick passes, Speed Burner nearly guarantees receiver separation over lesser defensive backs, and Signal Stealer offers an opportunity to correctly guess your opponent's chosen play.

Trigger your own celebrations.

Special Abilities play an enormous role in in-game strategy. For example, running Barry Sanders between the tackles full steam ahead may net you a few yards. But Barry's true talent lies in running outside, juking would-be tacklers out of their jocks, and tearing down the field with his electric speed.

The Mechanics of Football
Those familiar with the 2K franchise will feel comfortable with All-Pro's almost fanatical focus on simulation football. If it works in the real-life game, it will work here. You can flip plays, call audibles, double wide receivers on the fly, adjust your pass protection, call for a QB Spy, work your coverage with inside leverage and much more. Simply put, all the pre-play and pre-snap adjustments you would expect are present and accounted for.

Poetry in motion.

News and Notes
Beyond the core gameplay and legendary players, there is a series of little tweaks and features worthy of notice.

• Field Pass: From the quarterback rallying his troops to the gritty smack talk of a linebacker after a vicious hit, the Field Pass feature takes you onto the gridiron to get a taste of the competition and camaraderie on the field.
• Premeditated Celebration: Whether you want to break out the dirty bird dance or just spike the ball, select from a series of classic celebrations and map them to the face buttons. They're not just for use after a touchdown either. You can trigger them after sacks or in other game-breaking situations.
• VIP, Leagues and Tournaments: 2K Sports fans can rest assured that the VIP system, which tracks your gameplay tendencies (you can download other player's VIP data to play "virtual" versions of them) are intact, as are the online leagues and tournaments.
• Tackle Stick: While using the right control stick to lay down thundering hits has been done to great effect before, its use in All-Pro Football 2K8 is more context-sensitive. You can still level the ball carrier, but you can also use it to stretch out for a "reach" tackle, making containing the running game both more balanced and realistic.

All-Pro Football 2K8 is a big plus for fans of the NFL 2K series, and its critically acclaimed pedigree can be seen in every aspect of its gameplay and presentation. More than that though, it's an important shot in the arm for the industry as quality competition in the football genre can mean only good things for football fans.

Article by Ryan Treit