I put APF back in my 360 after 1 year off

[Methlab]

First off, to clarify for the sake of the thread, I have the small 360 20 gig HD.

Secondly, I am not a gamer that buys 20 titles a year. I buy 5 or less and rent some. For example I bought COD WaW a month ago and have not stopped playing it. If a game is great, I will play it like crazy, if it is not great, I will trade it for another.

So anyway, I never sold APF. I knew it was a great game, but I just had stopped playing it for a while. I got Madden, I got COD4 then COD5. But while Madden was improved, it still was missing the soul and energy that a great sports game needs.

I load up APF again. And wow, what a game. Once you remember things like "don't touch turbo until you clear the hole", running the ball is a pure pleasure. I love the sideline dynamics, the timing of the routes, the O and D line interactions, the never ending animations, the Defensive shells and disguised coverages, and of course the team creation.

Then the kicker. Most 20 gig HDs allow 1 game on them. APF will fit also. So I now have COD WAW and APF on my HD. This game loads REAL fast on the HD, so what a nice bonus.

My Madden playing buddy comes over. He is getting burnt out on Madden, and loved 2k5. So I had him over, and built him a team right there to play with. After 2 games he was hooked and is buying APF.

And with that I am about ready to venture back online. Here is my team and I was wondering how things were online, and if this type of team can compete:

Marino/Sharp/Warren/Moore as offensive legends
3 dline, 1 LB 3 DB legends on D

I like the Bear formations to step up on the Earl Campbell type runners and even the spread offenses.

My offensive game utilizes Warren as the setup man. I can run with him or use him as a Receiver. Shannon Sharpe and Moore open up the offense so you can not focus on shutting down 1 guy.

Anyway, just checking back in to see how the game has progressed over a year since it's release, and throwing out my impressions after about a year off from this great game.

[grunt]

I am still loving the game. Maybe we can play sometimes, grunt 007.

[Pappy Knuckles]

Welcome back! I have a 20 gig as well and I love that I can fit both NBA 2K9 and APF. When you play Madden for a while and then come back to the game it's really like a breath of fresh air.

[marktg30]

totally agree....i just sold my madden 09 for $37 and i cant wait to get back into APF...

if it had franchise mode and the ability to have only generic players it would be the best game ever....

(assuming it fixed the broken 2K5 Franchise Progression)

[StormJH1]

I clicked on this thread because I also literally just picked up this game after (over) a year off. APF 2k8 was actually one of the titles that convinced me getting a next-gen system (360) was worthwhile. I had huge hopes for this game a real (albeit unlicensed) Madden-killer, and I was soooo disappointed by the poor feature set and lack of any kind customization or franchise mode.

But after popping it back in (and also convincing my brother he should go out and buy it), I was reminded that it is a very nice playing game, and I can't wait to try it out online. And this is coming from someone who actually owns Madden 2009 and thinks that it is an improved game for EA. In many ways, I can't even consider them true competitors, because if I want to play real seasons with NFL teams, Madden is my only option.

But APF 2k8 does play very well, and I'm not even any good at it. If I put the time in to truly learn how to use all the controls, I'd probably enjoy it even more.

[marktg30]

Yeah, no doubt the game is more true to football as a game than Madden is.

If you want to play seasons and such with 2K flare, I would say go get 2K5... But like I said above.... 2K5 has a broken progression system in Franchise (it is pre-determined vs. performance based).

I like you am bad at 2K8... I think if the controls were a little more responsive and intuitive like Madden, it would be hands down the best football game. The nice thing (and the worst thing) about Madden is that we are always thinking, " Maybe next year "

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

I'm more of a franchise player so I just can't get APF. I have Madden 09 but I kinda take turns every month or so between that game and 2k5. I think I'm gonna go get Blitz II as a christmas present though. I never played Blitz on the 360, but it was great on the original XBox so I'm hoping Blitz II will be pretty cool too.

[bowdown2shadi]

I had APF2k8, meh. Probably because I NEED the rosters and teams going on right now, and I NEED a franchise mode. Thats just me. I love 2k5(just got back into playing that). APF IMO could have been better, but I would love to see a APF2k10 come next year, that will be pretty cool.