Game: APB: All Points Bulletin
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Realtime Worlds
Genre: Action MMO
Price: $49.99 + subscription (see below; Review copy provided by developer)
Verdict: A great game for fans of third person shooters despite some frustrating moments.
Pros: Flexible subscription model, large character customization engine, simple but addicting gameplay.
Cons: Easy for beginners to get frustrated, confusing progression system(s), no cover system, only two action districts at launch.
APB: All Points Bulletin is an MMO from Realtime Worlds, the developers behind the original Crackdown on the Xbox 360. Essentially it is a “Cops and Robbers” game that will obviously draw comparisons to Grand Theft Auto. This is about as useful as comparing Dragon Age to World of Warcraft. Other than being a crime game with the ability to steal cars, APB and GTA are nothing alike. That being said, being different from that legendary franchise doesn’t mean that APB is bad. Despite being skeptical going in, I have found APB to be a surprisingly addictive and entertaining experience.
There are two very important decisions you have to make when you create your first APB character. The first will be which faction you will fight for, the criminals or the Enforcers. Criminals have over run the city of San Paro, forcing the government to allow a legalized vigilantism in the form of the Enforcers. For the most part the two factions are the same, but there are some minor differences. While criminals gain infamy by terrorizing citizens, Enforcers are punished for it. In PVP, Enforcers have the ability to arrest Criminals, which will increase the time it takes for the criminal to respond.
The second important choice you will have to make is your gender. Your faction and your gender will be about the only things you won’t be able to change from here on out. There is a very deep customization tool that allows you to change the way your character looks. You will be able to come back and change things up if you feel like at any time. Beyond your looks, you will also be able to customize your clothing, car, symbols and even your own theme song! The APB customization engine is so deep that it inspired The Human Avatar project to transform a real person based on the votes of its visitors.
All of these customization tools are available in the social district. This same social district also contains an auction house, where you can sell your creations to other players for either in game cash or RTW points. Additionally, any time spent in the social district does not count against your game time. That means after you purchase the game, you don’t need to spend another dime on it to have access to the creation tools.
This is important to point out due to APB’s unique subscription service. When you buy APB you get 50 hours of game time in the 2 action districts. Once you have used up all of your game time, you have essentially three options. These options revolve around the previously mentioned RTW points (Realtime World Points). These points are purchased from Realtime Worlds at various price points. You can use these points to either buy an unlimited about of in game time for 30 days or buy game time in 20 hour increments.
Those readers who have been paying attention may have noticed the third way to get game time. If you create cool enough theme songs, symbols, or other creative works and sell them at the auction house for RTW points, then you can get game time for your efforts. Alternatively, if you don’t have the time (or, like me, lack the creativity) to create your own items then you can pay other players and not look like such a noob.
Of course, all of this creativity and pricing structure wouldn’t mean anything unless the action districts held up on their end. While the character creator has a wealth of options, there isn’t a lot of creativity in the missions of APB. Luckily I think this is a case where less is more. Too much story or variety would get in the way of the action that drives APB.
There are two types of missions in APB. The first involves a contact from one of your side’s two factions calling you up and sending you on a task. Doing this will earn you money and reputation both with that faction and that specific contact. Criminals and Enforcers currently each have two factions, each with several contacts in each district. The missions themselves aren’t that exciting. They usually involve going to a location, pressing the action key and waiting. Alternatively you may need to pick something up and transport it to another location.
The excitement of APB comes during the second mission type. Normally all other players are grayed out and you are not able to damage them. This changes when an APB gets called out on you during a mission. Enforcers and Criminals can raise their prestige/notoriety by winning missions. Killing civilians lower an enforcer’s prestige, but increase a criminal’s notoriety. Getting a higher prestige/notoriety will improve your rewards, but increase the chances of an APB going out for you during a mission.
When an APB goes out, contacts for the other side will start looking for players to stop you. This makes missions much more exciting. Missions involve around 5 stages, with interruptions usually happening after two or three objectives being completed. If you do get an APB on you, the mission types open up to include Attack/Defend/Hold points A/B/C or find item X and hold it for Y minutes. Sure, it is not that creative, but it can still get very tense and exciting. While the mission structure still continues, a straight winner/loser isn’t determined until the final stage. Winners reap the most benefits, while losers still get some rep with their contact. This means that losers will still progress, which is a very good thing.
The weapons that you can buy are determined by your standing within the various factions. Unlocking a cool new gun is always neat, but it means that APB commits the cardinal sin for an MMO: new players could get frustrated. While it won’t take too long for you to unlock your first useful gun, it might not be obvious right away what it is and how you get it. Most of your starting weapons are semi automatic rifles, which won’t work well against sub machine guns/shotguns at close range. They are especially limited due to the lack of a cover system. This leads to combat that consists of spraying bullets, jumping/crouching and running around the corner as you recover health. High-Velocity rifles can work well as a support weapon if they stay out of the enemy’s range, but standard rifles are simply under powered.
All of that being said, APB can be a lot of fun once you push past those early stages. Improved match making in the future will help relieve this as the game’s audience expands. Additionally, grouping up will help alleviate some frustration as well. APB isn’t shy about telling you that groups are the way to go. The first time you enter an action district, a pop up will let you know all about it. If you find yourself outnumbered on a mission, you can even call for back up, which will search for other players who might want to help you out. Missions can include up to five players on each side battling it out.
One other thing mentioning is what happens when your Prestige/Notoriety reaches the maximum level of 5. At that point, a bounty will be placed on your head and the normally grayed out players will suddenly be able to kill you. If you are an Enforcer, then all of the criminals can come after you. If you are a criminal, then both the Enforcers and Criminals can gun you down! You have to gun down as many players as you can before your bounty is claimed.
As an Enforcer, I happened to have my prestige reach 5 in the middle of a hold mission, in a wide open local that seemed to be a point of interest to half of the people in my instance. While my goal was to defend the spot from one other player, I was suddenly open and vulnerable to a dozen other players in the area. Adding insult to injury, my main opponent’s name was suddenly lost in a sea of other red names!
In addition to reputation grinding, APB has a unique way of celebrating its top tier players. There are statues scattered about each of the districts that honor players who achieve the top spot in various fields such as the most missions completed or highest kill/death ratio. There are even statues for creators who sell the most content. The statues are part of the monthly player leagues which award players at the first of the month. At the time of this writing I haven’t seen any of this in action as the first rewards/statues won’t be generated until August 1st, but it’s a unique mechanism that will create celebrities out of the top players on each server.
As a young MMO, APB certainly has its share of bugs and balancing issues. Problems aside, there is a ton of fun to be had here. Realtime World had originally planned on releasing a 360 version of APB as well and at times it can feel a bit-console centric. Despite this and some moments of extreme frustration, APB is a very fun and addicting game. Further in its favor, the pricing structure is perfect for players who don’t have the time commitment for a traditional MMO (or a second one). It’s also perfect for players that have the time available, but not the cash. I would recommend APB to anyone who has ever enjoyed a third person shooter but wanted an experience that was more fulfilling then team death match.
GrE Grade: B
Popularity: unranked [?]
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