All-Pro Football 2k8

Take that, Madden! 2K football returns with over 250 NFL legends. First details and an interview with Jerry Rice inside.

See what All-Pro's up against in our first Madden 08 preview.

Never played a 2K Sports football game? Take a look at our review of 2K's last one, ESPN NFL 2k5.

In 2004, 2K Sports released ESPN NFL 2K5 at $19.99. A bold move by 2K underhanded Madden providing an awesome pigskin experience for single Andrew Jackson. EA wasn't happy. That same year, it signed an exclusivity agreement with the NFL allowing only EA to use NFL licensed teams, players and gear in video games. ESPN NFL games were no more.

Back at It

After a three-year hiatus and much debate, 2K Sports finally agreed on a way back into the football market. The result: All-Pro Football 2K8. Here's the basic idea. In place of being able to use current NFL teams and players, 2K and Visual Concepts are using retired, football legends. The list of included ex-players is gigantic, topping 240 names, most notably Jerry Rice, who was on-hand to chat with us at the game's first showing in San Francisco.

2K pigskin is back, and 240 NFL legends are at your fingertips.

2K pigskin is back, and 240 NFL legends are at your fingertips.

There are no hard details yet on how the licensing works, but the main idea is that you'll be able to build your ideal team of stars without using NFL properties. According to Visual Concepts president Greg Thomas, that's not important. "We want to bring football back to the fans and make the best playing game out there," said Greg. All-Pro 2k8 will have tons of customizable options, but the experience revolves around playing with all the great and talented legends that NFL history has to offer.

"We talked for a long time about how we would continue to make a football game, and while we tossed tons of options around, this idea just resonated with true football fans," Thomas continued. "We have 240 of the best players, and it really sends a message that this is a serious thing for us."

It's not certain yet if All-Pro is a long-term franchise for 2K Sports. "I'm not sure this is an annual thing," he continued, "but for now, this is All-Pro Football 2K8." Greg also said that the game is built on the 2K5 engine, with a lot of updates and enhancements and heaps of new player motion capture.

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