If you ask me, I start any team with Sweetness; too many years of losing my fantasy league tells me that you've got to start with a running back and build out. Not that it's an easy choice--what with Hall of Fame quarterbacks Troy Aikman, Steve Young, John Elway, and Joe Montana sitting there, staring you in the face. Some folks will say defense is the way to go--get a DE like Deacon Jones or Reggie White and watch your opponents cower in fear each time they step up to the line of scrimmage. For others, success begins with the offensive line.

　　As I discovered in our first hands-on look at All-Pro Football 2K8, how you build your team from among the 240 legends that comprise the game's roster will be a matter of personal choice, and one that will determine exactly how you play the game. Guaging the players with a three-tiered system and various special abilties is a nice twist on the standard "attribute rating" even if the special abilities icons look and feel a lot like Madden NFL 08's weapons system.

　　Is the lack of an NFL license still a bummer? Yeah, sort of. It's strange to see Barry Sanders running in anything but a silver and baby blue uniform, or Mike Singletary stalking the middle of the field without his familiar Bears blue jersey (though I suspect you can create fairly accurate representations of real NFL unis using the game's flexible customiation tools). If you can get into the spirit of APF 2K8's player-focused approach, it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.

　　Oh and a hearty welcome back to Dan Stevens and Peter O'Keefe. It was really, really good to hear their voices again.

　　So what do you think of 2K's return to football?