APB: All Points Bulletin is a cops and robbers MMO from Realtime Worlds, the developers behind the original Crackdown on the Xbox 360. Players can choose to become either criminals or enforcers and then fight their way to fame and fortune. Become famous enough and statues will be erected in your image, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Character customization is a huge part of APB. The character creation tools are vast and include the ability to make extremely detailed tattoos. Later in the game you can alter your character further and make clothing and vehicle decals as well. Ever want your own theme music? APB includes a music editor that will play your unique music clip to players when you kill them or when you complete a mission. Additionally you can customize what songs will play out of your cars radio.
Creation tools are nice, but they aren’t worth much unless you have a fun game to use your creations in. APB servers will house up to 100,000 players. At any given time, however, there will only be 100 people in your instance of the city. Wouldn’t want the place getting too crowded, after all. Criminals can either take missions directly or run around the city looting and pillaging. Cause enough chaos and and APB will go out alerting Enforcers of your misdeeds.
Unless an APB goes out, Players are not allowed to interfere with each other. This will prevent roaming players from screwing you up during a mission. There might be zones added later to the game where this is possible, but they won’t be available at launch. Beyond chasing down wanted criminals, Enforcers will have their own missions to complete and gain fame.
Being the top enforcer or most notorious criminal will have its perks. APB includes its own celebrity system which will let other players know just how awesome you are. There will be Statues honoring the top enforcers and billboards with wanted poster highlighting the most wanted criminals.
APB hits store shelves this week and includes 50 hours of game time. If you wish to continue beyond that, there are two payment options. You can either buy additional hours, or pay a fixed rate for unlimited play for 30 days. The pay per hour option is nice for gamers who don’t have as much time to dedicate to an MMO but still want the experience.
Popularity: unranked [?]
