Most of us know the story by now. After 2k Games achieved a significant share of success competing against EA Sports' Madden franchise with NFL 2K5 -arguably the best NFL football game to date— EA won the bidding war to gain exclusive rights to NFL players and teams. The NFL2K franchise was dead. It's taken a couple of years and a significant re-imagining of the game's scope, but like the plague-ravaged old man in Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail, the NFL2K franchise has re-emerged to stand up and proudly declare, "I'm not quite dead."

Carrying the banner forward for 2K Games under a new moniker, All Pro Football 2k8 is a study in contradictions. It's a pro football game without a single NFL football player that you'll see take the field this season. It's a pro football game that doesn't feature a single pro football team that you've ever heard of, and it's a pro football game that has almost none of the off-field trappings we've come to expect from such games, such as a franchise mode with drafts and free agency, player trades, or traditional player ratings. And at the end of day, very little of those snuggly familiar trappings are missed. Even the gameplay on the field is a contradiction in that it successfully overcomes a cavalcade of flaws simply because it's such a tremendous amount of fun to play.

In All Pro Football 2K8 you build a team from a long list of retired NFL players, ranked on a three-tiered system of gold, silver and bronze star players. The names you find there are largely impressive. You'll find such gold star luminaries as Reggie White, Jerry Rice and Gale Sayers. Silver star players include franchise stalwarts like Too Tall Jones, Leroy Butler and the great Bills wideout, Andre Reed. While the Bronze list ranges from the Bernie Kosars of the NFL ranks all the way to the Al Del Grecos.

However, there are also a few head-scratchers to make it into the game. Fun as he is to listen to on the radio, Mike Golic is not in the same league as fellow bronze star player Chris Spielman. And who exactly does Andre Ware have compromising pictures of to get himself included in the game? Seriously, Andre Ware? The guy played in a grand total of 14 NFL games and could barely tie his shoes in any of them.

In lieu of a complex, vague and largely irrelevant system of numbered player ratings, each of APF2K8’s stars has a variable number of “Player Abilities.” How many abilities a player has is largely determined by the star caliber of the player. The pool of traits available to players is both enormous and highly creative, including some gems like Bull Rush for defensive linemen and Acrobatic Catches for receivers. Compared to traditional player ratings these abilities are a far more effective way to distinguish each player’s skill on the field. Do you really see much difference between a player with a 95 in speed and one with a 93? On the other hand if you try and spin out of a tackle with Barry Sanders and his Finesse trait, you sure as hell can see the difference between his skill set and Earl Campbell's, who gains his yards by steamrolling hapless defenders with his Power and Workhorse abilities.

And that's where this game really shines: taking these legends of the game out onto the field. Sure the lack of NFL teams is bound to turn off some players, but when you see your team take the field and you see the name Elway on the back of your QB's jersey, it doesn't much matter if it's a Bronco helmet you see or if it's the Werewolves, one of the game's dozens of fictional teams. (You can match any logo with any city included in the game.) APF is about playing the game of football—period. And it's hard not to get caught up in the NFL fanboy thrill of seeing Deacon Jones put the smack down on Thurman Thomas.

For the football purist, the game is not without its flaws. The defensive controls can be problematic since a player's momentum far too easily carries him completely out of a play. I've got no truck with not being able to turn on a dime, but if you're pursuing a receiver in the backfield and he cuts unexpectedly, you're done. There's no wiggle room for recovery. And as much fun as it is to see Barry Sanders slide to the outside and bust a 60-yard run down the sidelines, it does kill the experience a little when you're able to do it every game, sometimes two or three times, depending on the opponent.