New first hand impressions of All-Pro Football 2K8

Operation Sports has checked in from the media event they attended today with impressions from their hands-on with the game.

Some of the details are going to be tough for those anticipating the game to swallow. Overall it seems that the game will cater to those who enjoyed 2K5 but many of the elements of what made it a success are missing.

Below are some of the highlights (continue through to the full article for all of them):

One negative is the presentation. There is a very barebones halftime show, no pregame show or intro and the stat overlays are very infrequent and have look bad. The biggest presentation feature is the Field Pass. The Field Pass is a closeup of a player while they shout out instructions or talk trash on the field. It’s a decent feature but it kind of reminds me of those cutscenes in Madden that get repetitive after a while.

My first impression is that this game feels like an improved 2k5. Many of the animations are from 2k5. Many of the after play celebrations are from 2k5. The controls are from 2k5.

Chau stated that lack of time was the only reason that they did not include a franchise mode.

Demo: Expect one sometime during the week before the 16th.

Number of teams: 20 plus the team you create. 21 total.

Once you select your groups of players for backups and unfilled starter positions, you can edit your team. You can edit the team name, logo, uniform, city and helmet for your team. The key words here are YOUR TEAM. You can only edit your team not any other players or teams. So for the few people that were hoping that you could turn this game into a mini NFL…its not happening.

One note about editing your logo, you cant create a logo but you can select one (there are about 200 total) and edit the colors.

Once you are done editing your uniform, your season starts and its very basic. No NFL primetime like show. No multiplayer seasons.

There are 30 stadiums to choose from (20 are over the top and team specific and 10 are basic real life stadiums).

One point i forgot to mention was that the commentary seems exactly like 2k5. I dont think I heard a new line during the time I played it.

The only new control feature is in the kicking game. In APF, the power of the kick is controlled by the right stick. The harder you push forward on the stick, the further the kick will go.

One great new feature is the ability to throw while being sacked. This all depends on the ability of the QB and the position of the tackle but I love this addition.

The game looks much better in action than in the trailer. I asked Chau about the trailer and he said it was a mix of two different builds and that’s why the player models look poor in the trailer. He stated that 2k is still working on the player models as we speak and is looking to make players like Okoye and Woods bigger than they appeared in the trailer.

Online: No fantasy draft but online leagues. Can only play with your created teams. The leagues will allow users to have the same players on different teams.

OJ Simpson: 2k knew that they would get some flack for signing him but they feel this game is about having the best players in the game and about what the players on the field not off of it.

The Signal stealer ability will only work a few times a game depending on the defensive players on the other team and how often the defense calls the same play.

I like what I saw but I liked 2k5 so thats expected. I like the game but the lack of features makes this a rental for me.

Well nothing really coming out of this to improve the perception of the game, actually it sounds as if this could make it even worse even. The positive seem to be that 2K5 fans will be familiar with the game and enjoy it because of that. However the lack of presentation has to be a surprise and that was a huge part of what made 2K5 so popular.

Look, coming at this from an average consumer perspective. You've got a game that will be remembered as being $20 in 2K5. They then return with a $60 game that offers less than what that game did. There is no NFL license. There is no franchise. There is no presentation. Replay value seems to be non-existant. Where is the depth? Anyone left behind on the PS2 is ignored. 

What about the game is compelling enough to convince consumers to jump in and spend their $120th or $180th dollars on it? It just doesn't seem to be there.

You can read up on the full thread in the OS forums by clicking here.