Unofficial OS Media Day APF2K8 Preview

[TheLetterZ]

     I had the opportunity to attend a demonstration of All-Pro Football 2K8 with Operation Sports' own Aaron Holbert and 2K Sports’ Anthony Chau. The event lasted for about two hours Friday afternoon.

     After firing up the game and watching the introduction, the game immediately presents the team creation screen. You start by choosing 11 legends - 2 gold, 3 silver, and 6 bronze - to form the foundation of your team; the rest of your squad consists of fictional players. After building your roster from the pool of approximately 240 historical players, you shape your team by selecting a team name, city, logo, and stadium. The game boasts an extensive selection of cities, team names, and logos to choose from. You find a home for your new team by picking one of the game's 30 beautifully rendered stadiums, many of which go to new lengths to immerse fans in the action. Wayne County Stadium, for example, hosts a giant firebird, whose wings make up the stadium's retractable roof. For those who prefer a more traditional place to play, have no fear: 8-10 contemporary stadium designs can also be called home. But while these options serve to give your team a unique identity, the game’s customization absolutely shines at the next screen. The team package editor allows you to modify your team's uniforms with an unprecedented level of control, permitting you to create an unlimited number of diverse uniforms. From shoulder designs, to stripes or designs running down the sides of the jerseys or pants, to tweaking the fonts for player names and numbers, you can customize your team's jerseys - and helmets, and pants, and socks, and shoes, and equipment - to your liking.

     Once you jump in to play with your new team - or if you opt to just select players for one of the pre-built teams - you will quickly realize that this game is a step in a different direction from NFL 2K5 in the presentation department. Joining the familiar announcing team of Dan Stevens and Peter O'Keefe in boosting the immersion is the new Field Pass, which brings players closer to the action. Field level camera angles put you on the field and in the huddle; player chatter and (frequent) taunting put you in the game. You will be standing there with the referee and team captains for the coin toss, in the huddle when the quarterback calls the play, on the other side of the line of scrimmage when the defense prepares to make adjustments, and on the sidelines to take in all the action. The sidelines themselves have more personality this year, as these active sidelines possess their own artificial intelligence. Ball carriers forced hard out of bounds near the own sideline will have their teammates come to their aid, helpfully slowing the runner down if his momentum is too great. Players running headlong into their opponents' sideline should not expect the same kind of assistance. Referees and other officials are also willing – and sometimes unwilling – participants, as they too have their own AI and can accidentally interfere with the play. These additions help give you the sensation that you are on the field and a part of the action, which is crucial because the game now lacks much of the front-end presentation that endeared NFL 2K5 to its fans. The pre-game and post-game shows have vanished while the half-time show now occupies a reduced role. The aforementioned additions attempt to help you forget about the departure of these pieces; how well it succeeds at this purpose will depend on how soon these innovations grow stale. From what I’ve seen, there’s something good here, and it would be more accurate to say that they have shifted focus from the broadcast to the field, as opposed to just drastically scaling back presentation overall.

     The new kicking system will strike you first as a change from the last iteration in the series. The moving yellow arrow returns from previous games, but the right analog stick now controls the kick itself. Pulling back on the right stick starts the kick; how you push the stick forward determines the power and direction of the kick. On a similar note, keep in mind the tremendous gap in ability between legend kickers (and punters) and their generic counterparts. The game's new player ability system, which replaces the commonly used numeric attributes, differentiates legends both from themselves and the generic players. You will quickly notice the difference between a generic punter and Ray Guy, who possesses the Coffin Corner ability. Some player abilities derive from traditional player attributes, such as Jerry Rice's Route God ability, while other abilities give the players more personality, like Walter Payton's trademark Scissor Kick and Steve Young's Tough As Nails ability. Joe Montana holds the Sign Stealer ability; when activated before the play by pressing ‘X’, the offense has a slight chance of seeing the defense’s plan of attack. Generic players do not have these abilities, but you choose a style of play to tailor their talents for (usually pass-oriented, run-oriented, or balanced).

     Familiarity with NFL 2K5's play calling will serve you well here, as the system retains the same look and mechanics. The play calling screen has undergone only slight changes, with features such as defensive line stunts and on-the-fly substitutions making their return. From what I could tell, audibles and hot routes, on both sides of the ball, remain unchanged in terms of mechanics; pre-snap play underwent few alterations as a whole. New on offense, however, is the ability to select plays based on which player the play is designed to run for. Want to throw Jerry Rice the ball? Just choose him at the play calling screen and up pops every play in your playbook designed to get Jerry the ball. On defense, the capacity to choose plays by type is now available. On the lookout for a short pass? Just pick a short zone and you'll have all such zone coverage plays at your disposal.

     From a purely graphical standpoint, the game does not set a new standard, but it more than holds its own against the competition. The stadiums' creative designs add a substantial amount of flare to the experience without becoming intrusive. The player models in the 80% build we played have improved a great deal since the versions displayed in the trailer; Chau told us that the trailer actually featured separate builds that were approximately 2 weeks apart. In the build we played, linemen have an appropriate amount of bulk and look well-proportioned. Most people will be pleased with how the player models turn out, especially the textures. Player faces – for the legends, at least – look great and the jerseys are simply phenomenal up close. We’ve already seen the stitching in screenshots, but the jerseys seemed to crease and fold as the players contort. The weather effects in the one rainy game we played looked great, with rain bouncing off players’ helmets. You’ll be able to see lightning in games played during thunderstorms for the first time in a football game, as Chau pointed out. He let us know that the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions will look nearly identical. The Sixaxis controls (for special moves such as jukes and spins) in the Playstation 3 version serve as the only major difference between the releases.

     While the visuals alone won’t blow you away, the animations and player interaction that this game brings to the table certainly will. Chau revealed the new real-time injuries, in which a player can be hurt during a play and yet still make an effort to finish out the play. Although we did not see any injuries in our limited time with the game, we saw plenty of potentially injury-inducing hits. Gang tackling has not changed significantly since NFL 2K5, but we soon discovered new animations in this area and noticed that it was much easier to initiate gang tackles. Running back animations have taken a step forward, with more seamless transition between different animations and a greater variety in style between running backs that made every carry a fresh experience. Overall, the animations and player interaction have improved greatly, and these improvements made themselves most evident in the secondary and in the trenches.

     The competition between receivers and defensive backs takes on a new type of physicality as they bump each other realistically within the first several yards of the line of scrimmage. Downfield, the catching animations are extremely well done and wide receivers attempt to adjust to poorly thrown passes, while defensive backs stick close to their assignments – I didn’t notice any issues with defensive back intelligence in my time playing. Back by the line of scrimmage, offensive linemen form a realistic pocket and they did a good job picking up the right assignments, as we saw sacks due to blitzes off the edge and the ability of the defensive linemen, rather than offensive linemen ignoring their man. Interaction on the line has improved to the point where you will feel the struggle much more easily between offensive and defensive linemen; the offensive linemen use their hands to try to control their defensive counterparts as the battle moves around, shifting the pocket. The defensive linemen have a new tool this year to combat this offensive with the advent of reach tackling. Reach tackling operates on the right analog stick and is named appropriately, as defenders reach – sometimes desperately - to grab onto the ball carrier. When you are near the quarterback or runner and engaged with an offensive lineman, simply move the right analog stick to the left or right and the defender will reach out in that direction to try to grasp the ball carrier. You can also utilize this technique in the open field, but I would recommend it only as a last resort, for you can not count on it to produce a desirable result. I tried it a few times when engaged, and the best outcome I achieved was to grab on to the running back, who easily spun out of my arms – but right into the path of two linebackers.

     When you pick up the controller and start playing All-Pro Football 2K8, it will only take you a few plays to feel like you’re playing an improved version of NFL 2K5. The controls have remained almost entirely unchanged. You still tap ‘A’ for speed burst and hold down the button for the charge. That is not to say, however, that the game controls and moves exactly the same. This game had a slightly slower, more deliberate feel to it than NFL 2K5. The controls are still exceptionally responsive, but I had the sensation that each step I took was important; this is true for playing defense too. I attributed part of this sense to the defense’s pursuit logic, which impressed me a great deal in my brief time with the game. The first couple times I tried running a sweep, I took a subpar angle to the outside, and the defense rightfully gobbled me up for a loss. I didn’t notice any poor pursuit that would result in defenders just running right past ball carriers or inexplicably running in the opposite direction of the ball carrier, as I’ve seen too often in past football games. Even on plays that finished over the middle of the field, there were usually several defenders around the ball by the end of the play. As a result, having a successful running game was more dependent on following your blockers and carefully shifting direction than it was on beating the defenders to the outside (or even straight down the field). These techniques play a key role in the return game too. Blockers form a proper wedge on kick returns, making smart cuts a necessity. On one kick return; though, I noticed a troubling issue: the return man fumbled the ball upon being hit, and rather than a player jumping on the ball for the recovery, at least five players attempted to pick up the pigskin and advance it before one finally succeeded.

     But although I enjoyed the improvements to the running game, the passing game doesn’t seem to have undergone the same upgrades. I appreciate the differentiation between different calibers of quarterback, wide receiver, and defensive back; you can clearly tell the difference between the Troy Aikmans of the world and the Jim Harbaughs, especially in terms of accuracy. The different player abilities for quarterbacks should allow for a different experience with each passer. The mechanics of the passing game have stayed the same, but I was frustrated at times with the velocity of passes. The game as a whole felt slower, so perhaps the slower passes just come with the territory, but I was unable to put as much speed on passes as I would have liked. It’s not so bad that passes “float” to the receiver as they have in some football games in the past, and the ball definitely travels fast enough that completing specific patterns (outs for instance) won’t be an issue; however, I didn’t get the feeling that I was an All-Pro quarterback gunning the ball to a receiver. Marino’s Rocket Arm allowed him to throw the ball sufficiently fast, but quarterbacks lacking this ability struggled to throw bullet passes. Airing it out downfield was a different story; I succeeded in completing a roughly 25-yard post down the middle of the field and converting it into a 70-year gain, before finally being tripped up inside my opponent’s 10. I didn’t play enough to make a judgment on whether it’s too easy or too difficult to complete deep passes, but I noticed that corner routes are not nearly as dependable as in previous games. Of the three such passes I saw thrown, one was overthrown and off the receiver’s fingertips; the others were underthrown and batted away by a defensive back.

     The lack of features and game modes, unfortunately, becomes as disappointing as the gameplay is refreshing. With the absence of a franchise mode, season mode must fill the need for offline replayability. Season mode – which consists of just a typical 16-game regular season and the playoffs – serves as as much of a reminder of the season mode that we played back on the original Playstation as it does to remind us of the franchise mode the game lacks. Further reducing season mode’s replay value is the fact that only your team can be customized; none of the other teams in the league can be edited. On the other hand, you will be able to create custom playbooks and use them in your season

     The game will have to draw replay value out of its online modes. The online leagues introduced earlier in the series and built upon in other 2K Sports titles over the last few years will make their return, albeit without the option for a fantasy draft, which means that the same legend can appear on multiple teams’ rosters in the league. Typical online games will also follow this general rule. The VIP system and customizable celebrations, of which there are over 30 for touchdowns and sacks, return to headline the features list.

     Whether All-Pro Football 2K8 can overcome its shortcomings in options will be determined almost solely by how the game ends up playing on the field. In addition to the advancements made to the gameplay engine, the legends and player abilities will help provide a fresh experience every game. Will it be enough? We’ll find out on July 16.

[Brandwin]

Good stuff Z, thanks!

[rm217]

Great write-up the LETTERZ. It's much appreciated and vey informative. From what you had to say about the game my anticipation has gone up drastically especialy after hearing that we wouldn't be able to edit every single team and the fact that there is only 21 teams and not 31. I think the gameplay will more than make up for the short comings and I can't freakin wait to have some fun palying this game! Thanks again.

[TombSong]

Did anyone notice if QB spy was fixed ? Or do they have plays with QB spy assignments ?

Good preview by the way.

[marshallfever]

Goood Preview, this game is defiintly a rental, can't wait

[pistonpete]

well written, insightful, and balanced
thanks for the preview(s), Z and AH

at $60 i'm still on the fence, but this preview and AH's impressions thread and Q&A are helping me make a more informed decision. Keep up the good work guys.

Pete

[spankdatazz22]

Great extensive right up; I think that's the most detailed preview to date and very informative. Kudos to both you and aholbert (again) for the information. Thx a ton for taking time out to write the lengthy preview.

Your points about the passing game were interesting. I was hoping they'd add the ability to step up/around in the pocket (ala current gen Madden) but don't think it'll be there. thx again

[noplace]

Thanks for the impressions. I feel pretty good about the game. The online leagues really get me hyped. I really wish they had the online fantasy draft though but thats cool. AS for season mode, I guess I have to play 15 min qt to make it last as long as possible..lol I dont play more than 3 seasons in franchse anyway. Good to hear about the differences in QB's though, I dont think its mattered in previous games since Tecmo Bowl. I've felt the only attribute that mattered in QB's was speed. Its a good thing IMO. In previous games QB's rated 68 could play just was well as those with 90's. Good to here players will have to adjust around what there QB's can or cant do well. Hopefull this goes for all players.

Question? How was the Computer AI?

Did the QB play better? Make better decisions?

Did runners use the whole field? Or did they run toward the sidelines then cut up?

On Defense. Was it better playing with the MLB?