2K sports announces All-Pro Football 2K8 for summer release

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

This is a good point. We ought to make it a rule that whenever a reviewer prints or posts a review, we get to see their top-5 rated games and bottom-5 rated games.

i haven't ever read an entire review of his, but it just seems like he focuses on the shortcomings of every game, as if he's holding them to this unattainable standard of perfection. if 95% of the people in this thread say this game is awesome and a worthy alternative to Madden in some cases, and he says it's good but mostly "meh" then maybe it's him who needs to recalibrate his expectations.

if all you read from someone is "this game is crap", "that game is crap" then i just want to know what game(s) exactly fully meets his standards. if he says "no game does", then it's obvious he enjoys being like jb and spoiling the fun for everybody.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

if all you read from someone is "this game is crap", "that game is crap" then i just want to know what game(s) exactly fully meets his standards. if he says "no game does", then it's obvious he enjoys being like jb and spoiling the fun for everybody.

Ah, yes, I believe that this touches on why I want to hit Bill Harris with a brick.

[flounder]

You just have to scroll down a bit on Bill Harris' website to get to this post.

Just for reference purposes, here is a list of the football games I considered great in their time:
TV Sports Football (Cinemaware, Amiga, 1988).
Front Page Sports: Football (Sierra, PC, 1992)
Front Page Sports: Football Pro (Sierra, PC, 1993)
NFL Gameday (989 Sports, Playstation, 1995)
NFL 2K1 (Sega, Dreamcast, 2000)
ESPN NFL 2K5 (Visual Concepts, Xbox, 2005)

Tecmo Super Bowl isn't on the the list because it was far less of a simulation (although it was really fun).

[MizzouRah]

There's only 1 poster here that I can think of that bows down to his every word and I think we all know who that is.

I take his reviews like all reviews.. with a grain of salt. If I'm on the fence, he might help me deside to wait on a price drop or rental as I think he does have similar tastes in games that I do.

I know the short comings of APF and after playing the demo, it's just too much fun for me to pass up. In fact, I'm not getting Madden on release day.. I'll wait a bit since this game is going to take most of time for awhile.

[Phototropic]

I'm not sure if anyone is confusing Bill Harris with Bill Abner, but Harris has said both football games might be good enough to sit aside his top 6 (unless something has changed since last week).

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by Phototropic

I'm not sure if anyone is confusing Bill Harris with Bill Abner, but Harris has said both football games might be good enough to sit aside his top 6 (unless something has changed since last week).

I can assure you that I'm not. I like Bill Abner. I want to hit Bill Harris with a brick.

[MizzouRah]

I'm really glad I bought this game. Sure it doesn't have a franchise mode, but the games are so much fun and I love re-living football past.

You can definitly tell who's who.

[Big Fo]

"When you've got a competitor like Take-Two on the sports side, and they launch a football title using some of the industry legends, you want to make sure that ends up being a blip and is not repeatable, because we like to defend our franchises aggressively."

- EA CEO John Riccitiello

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=14871

Heh, an exclusive NFL license isn't enough it seems. Maybe they'll sign every former player ever before next summer.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

"When you've got a competitor like Take-Two on the sports side, and they launch a football title using some of the industry legends, you want to make sure that ends up being a blip and is not repeatable, because we like to defend our franchises aggressively."

- EA CEO John Riccitiello

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=14871

Heh, an exclusive NFL license isn't enough it seems. Maybe they'll sign every former player ever before next summer.

Yeah, eliminate all competition. Sometimes EA really pisses me off.

[Eaglesfan27]

The game hasn't sold well (between 100k and 150k in sales so far) and Take Two has released some comments that basically say they "aren't pleased but they aren't disappointed either." They also mentioned they will be doing something before Madden comes out. My guess is a price drop. So, if anyone is thinking about picking this up still, you might want to wait another week or two. If it dropped to 20, I'd give it a shot despite the scant number of play modes.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

The game hasn't sold well (between 100k and 150k in sales so far) and Take Two has released some comments that basically say they "aren't pleased but they aren't disappointed either." They also mentioned they will be doing something before Madden comes out. My guess is a price drop. So, if anyone is thinking about picking this up still, you might want to wait another week or two. If it dropped to 20, I'd give it a shot despite the scant number of play modes.

I'd buy it without hesitation for $30 or less.

[sooner333]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I'd buy it without hesitation for $30 or less.

Agreed. It's not that I'm not interested in the game, I just dont' want to spend a bunch of money on it. FWIW, I wouldn't buy Madden for $60 either.

[Balldog]

Rumor has it that its down to $40 at Fry's for XBOX 360. I played my 1st online game last night and won 28-23, he returned the opening kickoff the distance only to have me challenge the play. The replay showed he stepped out of bounds at the 50. From there I was in control, he scored later to get it to 5.

[gstelmack]

Shoot, if I could find it for $40 around here I might jump.

[Balldog]

I'm not sure how Best Buy's price matching works but here is an add for $39.99

Could be worth a shot.

http://shopping.dallasnews.com/ROP/a...17102069&type=

[TroyF]

Haven't played the game for a couple of weeks, but I was still liking it when I left.

As for the reviewers. . . I really like Bill Harris. I think he's dead on most of the time. But I take his word at face value too. He has his opinions and sometimes they are wrong. I respect Mizzou's take on sports games and think he's ridiculously far off base with the "NHL '07 is the best sports game of last year" talk. I didn't find it to be the best HOCKEY game, much less game of the year.

Still, when a sports game comes , I'll still read his take on it with interest. Ditto with Bill Harris. He has some takes I agree with and some I don't. Overall, I think we are on the same wavelength most of the time.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Haven't played the game for a couple of weeks, but I was still liking it when I left.

As for the reviewers. . . I really like Bill Harris. I think he's dead on most of the time. But I take his word at face value too. He has his opinions and sometimes they are wrong. I respect Mizzou's take on sports games and think he's ridiculously far off base with the "NHL '07 is the best sports game of last year" talk. I didn't find it to be the best HOCKEY game, much less game of the year.

Still, when a sports game comes , I'll still read his take on it with interest. Ditto with Bill Harris. He has some takes I agree with and some I don't. Overall, I think we are on the same wavelength most of the time.

Ditto for you and EaglesFan27's reviews on sports.. well, just about any game for that matter. My biggest gripe about NHL 07 was the framerate and that will be double this year!

I'm liking APF for what it is, a fun football game without all the dynasty features. It's definitly engrossing and at times downright immersive, drawing me into it's gameplay like NFL 2k5 did a few years ago. What I really like about it is going over to my neighbor's house and getting a few games in.

[Eaglesfan27]

This website which is fansite of All Pro Football 2k8 has strongly implied/stated that there will be a new version of the game released this year. Hopefully, they will have some form of franchise mode as they have acknowledged in at least one interview that the lack of a franchise mode was a mistake. Here is the thread where the mods over there mention that they have been told that at this time development on 2k9 is ongoing:

http://www.2kfootballstrategy.com/mo...iewtopic&t=860

[Big Fo]

Franchise mode and a focus on customization if they're smart.

[Icy]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Franchise mode and a focus on customization if they're smart.

Yup, forget about the old glories and offer fully customization instead, then somebody will come with a NFL based mod to make all the NFL fans happy.

That is exactly what Pro Evolution soccer (Winning Eleven in USA) does with soccer. PES includes an uniform editor, a logo editor etc, so there are tons of mods to have the real teams while they save a ton on licenses unlike EA does with their FIFA series.

[Groundhog]

I think 2K needs to sit down and think about what EA can't do with their Madden series, and design their title based on that. The NFL license may ensure folks will shell out dosh for the Madden title, but it also does limit EA some-what in what they can put in the title.

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I think 2K needs to sit down and think about what EA can't do with their Madden series, and design their title based on that. The NFL license may ensure folks will shell out dosh for the Madden title, but it also does limit EA some-what in what they can put in the title.

If 2k develops a great game, with a terrific franchise mode, they should try and pounce when the NCAA license comes up against.

[Galaxy]

How did the game sell last year?

[Groundhog]

Poorly.

[Balldog]

I enjoyed 2K8 a lot but it got old just play exhibition games, though it did play great online.

[wade moore]

I keep eyeing 2k8 at 17.99 used at Gamestop, but I may hold out to see if a new version with franchise comes out.

[stevew]

it was a fun game to play head2head with friends, but for single player it's questionable. I might pick it up used though, rented it for like a month last year.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Poorly.

Very poorly. Which is why I thought there might not be a 2k9, I'm glad to read something that indicates there will be.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by wade moore

I keep eyeing 2k8 at 17.99 used at Gamestop, but I may hold out to see if a new version with franchise comes out.

Every few weeks it comes up for sale for $9.99 at a store or site. It's honestly a very good buy for $10. The gameplay is good, but it just doesn't have the long term appeal without franchise mode. At $10, I wouldn't pass it up.

[Balldog]

If 2k9 offers full customization and a franchise mode it will sell 3-5 times what 2k8 did. It'll never come close to catching Madden.

The Legends idea was cool but it just limits the game to season mode and exhibition IMO.

I can about imagine how users could create old time leagues, current leagues, all time leagues, etc. Replay value would shoot through the roof!

[MizzouRah]

FYI - AP Football 2k8 is $5.99 at Best Buy

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

FYI - AP Football 2k8 is $5.99 at Best Buy

I've always avoided it due to the lack of career mode, but I need to swing by Best Buy and see if they have any copies left.

[Kodos]

Dang. I thought there was news of a new game or something...

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I've always avoided it due to the lack of career mode, but I need to swing by Best Buy and see if they have any copies left.

I saw many of them yesterday when I picked up Rock Band 2.. I picked up a copy for my neighbor as I already have it and still play it on occasions.