Preview for APB: All Points Bulletin Game
Realtime Worlds Set to Create One of the Most Innovative MMOs Ever
From David Jones, the creator of Lemmings, Grand Theft Auto and the award-winning game Crackdown, comes a new style of MMO, one that isn’t an RPG. APB, which stands for All Points Bulletin, is an action MMO that does away with leveling up and relies instead on differing human interactions to make each experience unique.
Progression in APB comes in the form of matchmaking and rewards. Matchmaking ensures players will be matched by skill level so that newbies aren’t obliterated the first time they play and veterans will be given a challenge every time they play. Players will be rewarded with new clothes, tattoos and other cool items to enhance the look and style of their character.
Basic Idea of the APB Game
Essentially the game will be a glorified cops and robbers. One team will be the thugs and crooks, while the other team will be the law enforcers. When the first team commits a crime, such as robbery, armed assault or a driveby, then an APB is put out to cops in the area.
The cops will then give chase and tackle their enemies by blocking roads, chasing cars or even running them down on foot.
Extremely Innovative Character Creation and Customization Technqiues
While this may seem simple, it is an extremely glorified version of cops and robbers. Customizable characters in APB go above and beyond any other game available to date. Besides the basic character modifications, like hair color, skin color, height, build, etc., gamers will also be able grow hair in certain sections, include scars and tattoos on their characters, and even make the veins on their arms and legs more defined.
While everything is extremely customizable, none of the characters will have any absurdly freakish features that seem unnatural or fake. Players will be able to choose between being either a male or female character, and the customization is so rich they can even design the tattoos they have, create the t-shirt they wear, generate their own car stickers, and even make their own tag to tattoo on walls around the city.
Players will begin the game looking pretty dorky in a normal white tee and jeans, but will be able to upgrade their clothing, tattoos and other features by completing missions and improving their skill rating. Players of better skill will have a lot more style and flair than their inexperienced counterparts.
Audio Innovations in APB
Not only are their innovations in the character design, but Realtime Worlds is going all out in the audio department as well. They are planning on featuring a new audio technique that, when a person is listening to a song on their hard drive, will search for the same song on their friends’ hard drive so they can listen along. If no matching song is found, then a song by the same artist is chosen, and if there is still no match it will pick a song of similar style.
Further Innovations in Online Matchmaking Techniques
APB will also feature an innovative matchmaking feature as well. Instead of simply matching players of similar skill level, APBs matchmaking even allows for different styles of matching. For example, one skilled character may get matched against a group of lower skilled players. This allows the skilled player to have a challenge fighting multiple opponents, while allowing the lesser skilled players to have a chance due to larger numbers.
APB sounds set to create innovations left, right and center for the gaming world, but exactly how fun and addictive the gameplay will be remains to be seen. Hopefully a wide variety of gang missions and a large city scope will allow the game to remain fresh and interesting, although how engrossed players can get in pimping out their characters without any real effect to the character’s abilities doesn’t seem like it will be extremely promising.
Release Date for APB: All Points Bulletin
The official website lists APB’s release date as "TBC," which stands for "to be confirmed."
Pimp Your Character
|
Characters Concept Art
|
What do you think about this article?
More in Technology
Latest Articles