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Review: APB: All Points Bulletin - PC

by Steven Williamson on 5 July 2010, 15:08 2.1

Tags: APB: All Points Bulletin PC, Realtime Worlds, PC, FPS

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qayys

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"F...ing" Conclusion..

GTA, to me, means a lot of things. Brilliant mission design, well-structured storylines, humour, great music, fun driving, and a wide array of weapons that can be used for a variety of tactics. APB, regrettably, means none of these things. The missions weren’t designed, they were a “press F” afterthought; the entire world is bland and boring; the music is purely an irritation; I’ve had more fun driving in submarine simulators; and the weapons are bland and boring, with no opportunity for any kind of tactics. And perhaps its biggest draw, the fact that it’s an MMO, is really under-utilised. Occasionally, if you get a big kill streak, or cause enough mayhem, you’ll become cannon-fodder – the game will make you a viable target for any player on the other team, not just the ones you’re in direct conflict with. These situations, however, are few and far between, and mean that for 95% of the time it’s a 5 vs 5 gunfight. Now, call me a cynic, but that sounds like virtually every multiplayer FPS that’s ever been released. And they don’t cost £8 per month.

I would finish with a quick summing up of the game, but I’ve worn out my “F” key.
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In our review, we left out details of the customisation features in APB, which RealTime Worlds deems to be an important feature. The following email was sent to us from a representative, which we're happy to print out in full.

When players enter the social district, having created a character specifically geared towards their own unique aesthetic tastes, there are a wealth of options available to them in terms of personalising their avatar. The persona suite allows players to make physical changes to their avatar, the application of tattoos, a change of hairstyle, even a change of body mass, height or facial construction all with a scaled in-game monetary cost.

Then there’s the symbol editor, a tool which allows players to design logos, tattoos and decals using preset patterns and shapes – of which the player will unlock more while progressing through the game – to apply to clothing, skin or vehicles. The range of possibilities is incredible and affords players the opportunity to ensure their avatar sticks out from the crowd.

The wardrobe suite allows the player to pick their clothing, accessories and piercings. Each item can be adjusted down to the smallest detail, from the stitching on their jeans to the buttons on their shirts, applying logos and designs to these items further enhances their uniqueness.

The Garage allows players to customise their vehicles, pearlescent two-tone paint options are available as are metallic paint options and different colours can be applied to multiple sections of the vehicle to suit the players’ tastes before custom decals are added. Changes can be made to your wheel rims, sirens, lights, exhausts, stereos (a better stereo will produce better sound quality) and other accessories such as bull horns and bumpers can be fitted to the players vehicle.

One of the most unique features of the customisation engine is the music studio. Anyone who has ever used cubase or a similar composition tool will be instantly familiar with the more simplified version present in APB. The music studio gives you the opportunity to produce your own ‘death theme’, a short five-second ditty which opposition players will hear every time you kill them. Players can also produce full length tracks using the editor and import their own MP3’s to play while cruising through San Paro’s streets.

Where this all really comes together is via APB’s in-game marketplace. Players who have created cool items of clothing, designs or music can sell their creations to other players either for in-game currency or Realtime Worlds points. This means the most creatively talented players within the game can potentially play APB for ‘free’, using Realtime Worlds points garnered from item sales to pay for their game time.


HEXUS Forums :: 20 Comments

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no wonder they had a review embargo of whatever it's called in the business. played the beta and seemed incredibly bland to me
As a regular reader of Hexus I don't want to be rude. However, to post that opinion on the game and call it a review is a bit of a joke really. Not to mentioned the ALPHA (pre-alpha even?!) gameplay video footage on the first page. AND…
And perhaps its biggest draw, the fact that it’s an MMO, is really under-utilised.
Its not an MMO RPG/FPS/whatever *sigh*. If you're going to review the game at least put some effort into it and get your facts straight first.



Right where to start? Driving seems a good one. APBs driving system is easy to master. You just need to understand a few basics.

Firstly, position the camera correctly before you move off. You can free-look with the mouse in APB while on foot or in a vehicle. If you get in a car with the camera at an angle looking to one side of course you're going to find it hard to drive. Move the target cross hair to the front of the car between the 11 o'clock and 1 o'clock position and wait 1 second while the camera auto-centres. Now put on the in car stereo and drive :bowdown:

Now you need to understand like in real life each car handles differently. If you are in a van its going to be slow. Its going to corner like a pig. Get in a sports car though and you'll have a nippy little ride around the cityscape of San Paro in APB.

Car handling is no simulation I agree. Saying there is a delay in response time is something I've can't say I've experienced in 125+ hours of game time in APB (since April closed beta). What spec machine did you do the review on out of interest?

Finally like in real life if you take a tight corner at 100mph you'd expect to fly off the road. Tap the brake or handbrake and corners are no problem.



Trying to clear up what APB is….. You should not compare APB to an MMORPG. It simply isn't that type of game. Some games I've played with similar elements to what you see in APB include other action games like Planetside, Battlefield 2 and Team fortress 2.

Would anyone call Team Fortress 2 boring even those you execute the same “missions” over and over again? I don't. I'll happily push that payload all day long because its fun to do so and every time you play that same mission on the same map 1000 different things can happens because you have human not AI opposition.
This is the same for APB.

Sure you might have to pick up that same camcorder and transport it across the city but with an opposing group trying to stop you by any means possible. Fun chaotic mayhem is sure to follow. Do you attempt to run to the drop off? Do you run to a garage and spawn your car or do you just yell taxi and steal the ride of a innocent cabby who just happens to be driving by?
And what about the opposing team? Will they assemble a road block? Camp the roofs above the drop off point with sniper rifles? Pursue you in a 4x4 with team mates hanging out the windows sending hails of bullets your way?
This is just a sample of what could happen. There are some epic multi-stage mission later on. That have you picking up barrels of nerve gas that are too big to fit in your car so you end up searching the nearby streets to carjack a pickup. I love this little mini games you have to complete. Really fun addition to your typical deathmatch type of multiplayer games modes.


The maps of APB are great. Really excellent design. Remind me a lot of the City maps in Battlefield 2 in terms of the combat. You will be rushing down side alleys, flushing out buildings with grenades, braving a storm of bullets and drive brazenly straight at the enemy in no time. The streets are filled with AI characters. Criminals can mug them for cash. Or you can gun them down. Or my favourite. Get a fast car and play punt-the-pedestrian while you wait for the next mission. Think my record is about 50 metres so far :mrgreen:

About the lack of feedback on guns. With a little practice (under 30 minutes I'm talking) you can quickly get quite good at shooting. Just find yourself a crowded shopping centre and start shooting the pedestrians. The 3rd person shooting system is fun and rewards teamwork, using cover, flanking more then individual skill with a weapon. There is none of that MMORPG nonsense of a random number generators working in the background like World of Warcraft or something.




I strongly recommend people try APB for themselves (not solo….with a group, preferably friends for humorous results! :) ) before reading any more of the APB reviews that have been posted so far.

Just remember when you play APB it is a Persistent Online Action Game. There will be people more experienced or better equipped then you so I'd recommend declining mission offers against high threat level players.

If you get stuck search the net or watch some youtube videos for tips.
The missions weren’t designed, they were a “press F” afterthought; the entire world is bland and boring; the music is purely an irritation; I’ve had more fun driving in submarine simulators; and the weapons are bland and boring, with no opportunity for any kind of tactics.

Sums up how I found the beta. Very poor game and at the time it ran like a two-legged dog too (might be fixed now?). Honestly found the multiplayer in GTAIV to be better, this was basically the same but set in a less inspiring and less lively city and with some bad MMO elements thrown in (not to mention the cost).
As for the driving imput lag mentioned earlier i did notice it, quite alot… Press the key to turn left and about a second later it did, it fealt horrible. Dont get me wrong maybe it was my pc getting more and more sluggish before it decided to blow up, Maybe if there is a free trial in teh future ill give it another go on my new soon to be arriving more powerful pc
Haven't tried the game yet and probably wont seeing as the reviews are so poor.