All Points Bulletin PC Review

Since Grand Theft Auto III emerged on the gaming scene in 2001, imitators have been quick to try to replicate successful elements of the series and create their own winning franchise. Fortunately for Rockstar games, all have failed to capture the fun and perfection of Grand Theft Auto. All Points Bulletin attempts to take the elements of the multiplayer portion of Grand Theft Auto IV and create their own MMO based on a similar urban chaos.

All Points Bulletin (APB), is an online multiplayer game that consists of two factions: Criminals and Enforcers. Players create their own unique avatar that is highly customizable in both appearance, equipment, and weapons. Items and weapons are unlocked based on player ranking, which increases through experience gained from missions. As players gain notoriety ala Grand Theft Auto (zero to five), the system will post an all points bulletin to the enemy faction about the activities the player is involved in, such as a robbery in progress. At this point, the player will be able to be attacked by enemy players (notoriety level of one or more). This level of interaction allows for large scale battles between factions. Visually, the game is not as very appealing even on the highest settings. The game has more of a plastic CGI feel to it akin to Grand Theft Auto Vice City or Saints Row, rather than a gritty inner city look.

The level of interaction in APB between factions is great, but plagued by many issues. One of the most glaring issues since the game was in beta is the constant use of aimbots and other hacks by players in order to achieve kills. It is well documented within the player community and we have even caught players using aimbots in some instances. Realtime Worlds needs to institute a system such as Valve’s anti-cheat program or Punkbuster to reduce the cheating in-game. Another issue within the game is the sloppy controls for driving. When a player drives any vehicle, the controls operate like a drunk driver swerving all over the road, but straight. I know the warthog in Halo was loose, but this is just plain ridiculous for vehicles that should react like their real world counterparts. Also, the missions need to be either diversified or nix the fetch quest crap. We hated fetch quests in World of Warcraft and every other MMO, so why would we want it in APB. I understand the need for having robbery missions and such, but at least have it that the player goes and robs a bank for example and takes a cut of the loot with other players. Allow for more believable and fun scenarios rather than fetch this bomb and place it here missions.

Our final gripe is not related to the game itself, but to the payment scheme. Realtime Worlds promised that the game would be free from subscription plans and have some kind of micro-transaction fees like most other free to play games. Instead, Realtime Worlds requires the player to pay for game time through either 20 hour blocks of time or 30 day unlimited access in addition to the . Unfortunately, the blocks of time are bought with Realtime World Points, which are sold in blocks of 200, 400, 600, 1400, and 2600, for $4.99, $9.99, $14.99, $34.99, and $64.99 respectively. Unlimited 30 day access costs 400 points, while 20 hour blocks cost 280 points. As one can see from the above information, there is no option to purchase 280 points. The promise of no subscription fees is obviously a fallacy. Most players are not willing to pay $9.99 a month for a mediocre MMO when they can play a real MMO such as World of Warcraft or play Grand Theft Auto IV for free online. Realtime Worlds created a much hyped game that had a lot of promise, but failed to deliver and deceived it’s consumers. As a result, the game has had lackluster sales and will either have to restructure its payment scheme or fall to the wayside to all the better MMO games out there.