All-Pro Football 2K8

(2K Sports for Xbox360)
By Mike Delano

How can you not get behind All-Pro Football 2K8? Billed as a return to “real” football by the company whose excellent NFL 2K series was unceremoniously killed off when Electronic Arts scooped up the exclusive rights to the NFL license, All-Pro does everything it can to stick it to the “man” (in this case, EA’s juggernaut Madden series). It features a star-studded original rap/rock soundtrack, a why-didn’t-I-think-of-that real-time, real-world sports ticker, and a “who needs the NFL” roster of legends, from Montana to OJ. The “real” football dig actually makes sense, too, because here you’re forced to put together a smart, workable 11-player team, rather than simply pick your hometown heroes and hit the field. The gameplay is the same smooth ride you remember from NFL 2K5, and if only the visuals had aged as well, this would be the easy choice for football title of the year. Regardless, “real” fans of the game have no excuse for passing this up.
(www.2ksports.com)