All Points Bulletin is a genre-breaking new hybrid MMO from Realtime Worlds. MMORPG.com's Bill Murphy has immersed himself in APB for the last couple of weeks and has a lot to say about APB. See if you agree with Bill's assessment.

Remember how whiny and annoying Luke Skywalker was in “A New Hope”? You know before he went off, got trained by Yoda, and became the take-no-crap Jedi that he proved to be for the rest of the trilogy? That’s what the gameplay of APB is like. It’s like Luke Skywalker with that blacked-out helmet on, pretending he knows what the heck he’s doing with a lightsaber while a little floating orb shoots him in the nads with lasers.

Read the full APB Review.

Well I still say this is not really a MMO, just a FPS disguised to look like one.

I also will keep repeating, they are not going to find enough players to pay a subscription to this game.  Look for a change in the way they fund this game in the near future.

I wish them luck in getting some of the problems ironed out and hope some of you enjoy this type of game.

Tis is not mmo, tis dont get close GTA or counter-strice. just plain junk.

Matching system is still broken. rank 50 against rank 200+? riiight magic it is... magical that it puts people like that at odds.

I agree with you list of pros, but your list of cons is dumb.

First off: Driving is a chore.

Maybe you should learn to actually drive? Because once I knew how to drive it was easy and fun, but I suppose you should be able to play uber driver right off the start huh?

Second: Plodding and Archaic Controls.

Okay, so no cover mechanic suddenly makes this game uber bad? Guess Planetside's controls sucks to, oh and so does Global Agenda's controls. Seriously, the controls were fine.

Third: Repetitive Mission Content. Okay... maybe you got this one right...

The game does have a few problems match making and hackers im sure those will be dealt with soon enough but to be honest i cant remeber the last time ive had this much fun playing any mmo this game is a blast if RTW takes care of the few problems this game has its going to be huge

I think the missions could be alot more in depth. I mean raid by breaking a door and the shit falls out for you to pick up? what did you break open the candy machine?  Whatever happened to breaking the door down and going in guns blazing or stealthing in to arrest people. Those missions could be so much more.

Originally posted by Garick

I think the missions could be alot more in depth. I mean raid by breaking a door and the shit falls out for you to pick up? what did you break open the candy machine?  Whatever happened to breaking the door down and going in guns blazing or stealthing in to arrest people. Those missions could be so much more.

I can agree with this.

I've not played the game, might play it after I get done doing pretty much the same sort of action in GTAIV and RDR.

Still I mostly want to chime in on the article.

Is the driving and lack of cover enough to take 3.5 points off of the review score? Honestly the praise and talk-up for the rest of the sections say at least 9, and then these 2 complaints maybe an 8.

I'm not saying the wording is wrong or the score, but it seems a bit uneven.

Here's hoping the automobile coding improves over time. Being an artist and graphic designer I'd really like to give the customization a go after awhile.

Originally posted by eburn

I've not played the game, might play it after I get done doing pretty much the same sort of action in GTAIV and RDR.

Still I mostly want to chime in on the article.

Is the driving and lack of cover enough to take 3.5 points off of the review score? Honestly the praise and talk-up for the rest of the sections say at least 9, and then these 2 complaints maybe an 8.

I'm not saying the wording is wrong or the score, but it seems a bit uneven.

Here's hoping the automobile coding improves over time. Being an artist and graphic designer I'd really like to give the customization a go after awhile.

This, it does seem more like an eight from the sound of the review.

6.5? Hah. Screw this Review.

You know why this game is better than 6.5? Because I don't have to to push the #1 key to kill the same thing over and over and over while watching a shitty animation repeatedly. There may be some repetitiveness to APBs gameplay, but every encounter is ORIGINAL.

Can WoW say that? No, can LOTRO? No.

MMORPG.com... you're institutionalized.  If its not one of the Set Standard of games, then you rate it badly.

APB has THE nicest looking characters and THE nicest looking character creation on the market.

The driving is far from how you describe it. It just takes EFFORT AND SKILL to learn.

Pathetic review, absolutely.

Originally posted by CujoSWAoA

6.5? Hah. Screw this Review.

You know why this game is better than 6.5? Because I don't have to to push the #1 key to kill the same thing over and over and over while watching a shitty animation repeatedly. There may be some repetitiveness to APBs gameplay, but every encounter is ORIGINAL.

Can WoW say that? No, can LOTRO? No.

MMORPG.com... you're institutionalized.  If its not one of the Set Standard of games, then you rate it badly.

APB has THE nicest looking characters and THE nicest looking character creation on the market.

The driving is far from how you describe it. It just takes EFFORT AND SKILL to learn.

Pathetic review, absolutely.

So happy I'm not alone on my view on this review. :')

I few things I find as a con in this game:

1. Character Upgrades -

This seems rather ignorant and unbalanced. This is why a Rank 200 can EASILY defeat a rank 50, 3 shots to kill you and 1.5 clips to kill them.  No balance because there is no negative to being that tough.

Answer: Remove character upgrades and replace them with clothing that has stats - Each type of protective clothing would offer a bonus and a minus making it fair (Your armor reduces damage but also reduces your run/walk speed a percentage) for instance.

2. Shallow Missions -

This game could offer much more in depth missions. Raid = Breaking open a door and the prize falls out, stopping a bomb means finding it laying on the ground outside the shop or under the car and disarming it. Getting back stolen cars, getting info on crims... all of this is a one stop F shop to no where.

Answer: Every time I break a door and a box falls out I think to myself, why can't the door break open and I rush inside to handle several npc crims and search the place for my prize? I spend hours driving around and as I do I randomly hear people hidden somewhere talking about crimes, why can't I bust in on them and deal with it? and why do the crims leave bombs out in the plain open for everyone to see what happened to having to SEARCH and look for these things?  Does San Paro not know what night time is? why must crims work in the daylight hours when it makes sense to do so at night and just imagine action at night how much more interesting that could be blinding people with your head lights and REALLY being able to sneak up on them.

Also I'd like to point out that the current in game voice program seems EXTREMELY bugged. In most cases if you are in a group doing a mission it will put you on different channels until the mission is over and MANY people are now not using voice due to the advertisements.

In beta you would hear almost everyone talking, now the city of san paro seems really quiet.

It seems to have lost alot of its charm when it lost its voice.

Originally posted by CujoSWAoA

6.5? Hah. Screw this Review.

You know why this game is better than 6.5? Because I don't have to to push the #1 key to kill the same thing over and over and over while watching a shitty animation repeatedly. There may be some repetitiveness to APBs gameplay, but every encounter is ORIGINAL.

Can WoW say that? No, can LOTRO? No.

MMORPG.com... you're institutionalized.  If its not one of the Set Standard of games, then you rate it badly.

APB has THE nicest looking characters and THE nicest looking character creation on the market.

The driving is far from how you describe it. It just takes EFFORT AND SKILL to learn.

Pathetic review, absolutely.

 

That's quite funny, because there's only one button to perform actions in APB which means you'll be pressing that a lot. But I guess that's not repetitive to you. As for animations, the jump animation looks weird in APB - it's as if the character is about to fall on his back.

Next, you're comparing an online shooter to MMORPGs. I hope I don't need to point out why the comparison is off. Besides, encounters are supposed to be different in PvP games because you face various people. I don't see why this should count as one of APB's strengths, especially when you take into account the poor matchmaking system.

I agree characters look nice, but that's not a good enough reason to like a game.

I also agree that driving isn't as bad as many reviewers said. Maybe that's because I was in the beta and it was much worse at some point. It's not great either, but I quickly got used to it.

And to everyone saying the game is so much better when played in a group: isn't that the purpose of an online game? To play together with other people, friends or not? Why should APB be praised for this? None of its gameplay elements are great, some are not even decent.

Just because you genuinely enjoy a game doesn't mean a review is rubbish if it's rated low. A review is meant to point both the strengths and weaknesses of the game, and the present review did just that. The reviewer even started off by saying he finds the game fun, but that alone doesn't mean the game had to score high.

6.5 seems a bit harsh.  I would go with a 7.5.

It is funny how the game has its flaws and is fairly repetative.  With most of those issues and the writer even agrees that it is FUN!!.

Seriously, in a group of friends or even a PUG it can be very fun.  Dunno why, you look at it on paper and look at it for what it is and you go,  meh.  Most FPS run rings around this game and MMO is a term used LOOSLY to describe some of the persistant world features.

Yet, I still have fun.

How is that?  Why? 

I dunno, the 6.5 does not sound to rough when you are looking from the game on the outside.  From the inside tho...  If you are playing in consistant groups.....  IT IS JUST F'in FUN! 

It is like watchin a train wreck.  You know it is going to happen.  You know it is going to be gruesome.  You know it will not be worth the time.  Yest you FREAKIN watch anyway!!!!

Wonderfull review.

You spent time with the title, and it shows, can't say that about the other reviewers. The score was fair for its current state, and your right, only the hardcore would be good to recomend this to at this point.

I've never played this game but I am sick of the horrible reviews here at MMORPG.com. This site used to be the source for insightful and FAIR analysis of MMOs. Unfortunately, it is the exact opposite. The review does not match the score, yet again. Well. This will be my last time on this site. I remember when MMORPG.com came out, it was great... maybe you should return to those roots? Until then, I'll take myself to Massively.com; the information and analysis is fair there anyway.

If you haven't played the game, why do you feel compelled to comment then?
His review was good, his points were good. The game is still fun for all its flaws.

Whats not to understand?

Originally posted by Padre-Adamo

I've never played this game but I am sick of the horrible reviews here at MMORPG.com. This site used to be the source for insightful and FAIR analysis of MMOs. Unfortunately, it is the exact opposite. The review does not match the score, yet again. Well. This will be my last time on this site. I remember when MMORPG.com came out, it was great... maybe you should return to those roots? Until then, I'll take myself to Massively.com; the information and analysis is fair there anyway.

 It actually does kinda reflect the game better than ANY review I have read.

The game is just as ambiguous as his review.  On its face value it is , meh.  In actual play with a group of firends it can be awesome.  The problem is it really depends on the group you played with.  Some times that is fun and other times it is not.  It is really a hit or miss type thing. 

If you get in there and start playing ( liek I did on the Keys to the Cty Weekend ) and have this really crappy experience.  You would hate the game.

After retail release I had a friend who kept lauding the game and saying how fun it was.  Convinced me to buy it and join his clan.  OMG, what a difference that can make.  And the fact that if you treat it like an FPS and Expect to die alot it is even better.