GamersFirst has launched APB Reloaded onto the gaming world in
the form of the open beta. By all reports, huge numbers of players are
taking advantage of the opportunity to see the game in its new
iteration. MMORPG.com columnist Adam Tingle is one of those whose been
entertaining his bad boy side in APB Reloaded and he's got some thoughts
to shareIn reality, stealing a car is wrong but in APB it feels so right. In
the top right-hand corner of my screen I am told to indulge my
automobile thieving skills and then bring the spoils back to a certain
point; I'm like Nicholas Cage in Gone in Sixty Seconds but meaner and
without such a punchable face. To compliment by criminal activities is a
virtual comrade by the name of Jack Shandy; he wears makeup, has an
afro, and rides shotgun whilst hanging out of the window shooting
passers-by like he is on a wild game hunt. Call me crazy but he seems a
little unhinged.
A few minutes
later we draw within touching distance of the drop-off point. Assuming
everything is clear my ally exits the car and escapes back into the
night. Splitter. Huffing with anticipation I thumb the keyboard, my jeep
coming ever closer to the yellow waypoint that signals the end of the
journey and a new life of cash - but just before this happens I notice
something out of the corner of my eye. Sat perched atop a building is
the deserting Jack Shandy - rocket launcher in hand. Before I can run
for my life, the crazed bastard opens-fire upon my stolen money spinner;
explosion; death. I will have vengeance upon the one they call Jack
Shandy, we are on the same team!There is a lot to like about a
game that allows you to do whatever you want when you want. Forgoing the
usual setting of fantasy/sci-fi/superhero APB Reloaded takes us into a
modern urban environment and pleads with you to be anti-social. Taking
the role of either cop or robber, it is your job to wreak havoc
city-wide whilst proving your dominance against the other team - usually
this involves several burnt-out cars, a couple of crumpled civilians,
and at least one player shouting "FFS HAX0RZ!"
Been there, done thatMost
of you will remember last year’s release of APB. Here we had a game
that was so close to being fun that it was dangling one toe off a
silly-slide cliff face, but the rest of its body was stuck firmly in a
murky swamp. Realtime Worlds crafted some great environments and
customization tools enough to make Cryptic shake in their collective
boots, but for a lack of real end game content and some very undercooked
designed elements, the MMO just wasn’t to be and was promptly shut
down; that is until now.Free to play is upon us like the onset of
a zombie plague. Everywhere old and slightly tired games are being
thrown “scrolls of resurrection +2” and APB is one of the latest titles
to fall to the trend. So given a new lease on life and with the added
suffix “Reloaded” things for the MMO are going to be different this time
though, and I’d be damned if they weren’t right.The major focus
of APB Reloaded is not to reinvent the game or even fiddle with the
formula; it is to make the ensemble work as it should have done at
launch. The combat feels tighter, the driving has more weight, and the
missions work better – and honestly what more could ask from a title
that firmly sat in the boxes of “What if” and “Maybe”.
Things
this time around are a lot more refined and work better. Starting out
your new life as either cop or robber is more direct and easier to get
straight into the action. Your first car for instance (that is if you do
not choose to hijack the AI) is a sporty little coupe with some superb
handling and drifting abilities, and the weapons you are equipped with
don’t feel like slightly broken pea shooters either: APB Reloaded is all
about getting into the fray and enjoying the mayhem that unfolds around
you and these additions allow for just that.Upon finishing the
tutorial area I slipped into the Financial District (one of two action
zones) expecting to be slowly integrated into the experience with one or
two solo quests – I was wrong. Players can opt to be allocated an
automatic group and from here take on missions from the get go. It takes
a special kind of developer to realise exactly what gamers want from
their product and K2 Network really have hit this on the head.Just
ten minutes young into the main part of APB and already I was cruising
with several colourful looking criminals, in a pickup truck, heading
towards an area to steal some goods. My allies hung out of the window,
shouted obscenities, and picked off stray citizens that populate the
world. Looking like rejects from Mad Max 2, we arrived at our
destination and disembarked – and then the firing began. One of our
group fell immediately, his cornrows slapping to floor and his lipstick
tattoo looking suddenly ridiculous. The remains of our crew hid behind
walls and the car waiting for someone to lead the charge – sensing a
time for heroic deeds I foolishly stepped up, hovered my hand over to
shift and ran into the alley that separated us from our goal – and like
in the movie Platoon I was mowed down by a hail of gun fire whilst in
reality slowly shouting “NooooOOO”.
Moments
later I respawned a matter of yards away from my allies and resumed
duty. The missions within APB Reloaded are admittedly a little on the
slim side, but all together they work a lot better than before. Capture
the Flag style matchups are gleeful as players hunt each other down
through the city environments, and nothing is quite so much fun as car
chase with several players participating.
All Points BetterI
hesitate to use the phrase again, but this APB works in this iteration;
the difficulty of the title has been scaled and more appropriately
utilised, and finding matches with other players is more refined.
Before, more experienced players could find loopholes to take advantage
of new comers, this is now largely absent with better development and
mechanics. This is APB as it should have been at launch and while it
took a shutdown and a change in management to get here, it is still
appreciated none the less.With all praise and potential aside
however, there are still one or two worries that remain. The end-game
content still appears to be on the slim side, and there are only a
handful of missions available so after customization has lost its
appeal, I still question what will keep players coming back. Content
patches will be expected but with the “freemium” mode it’s hard to tell
just how free or engrossing this will be for returning and newcoming
players – perhaps a little more in the way of new content would have
reassured prospective players? This is definitely one that we can’t call
yet.
On
the whole APB Reloaded is a very interesting and engrossing game in
beta. The changes made are welcome and if you are looking to play the
title you heard about in so many previews in the past, this is it. This
is an MMO that is both fun and engrossing, difficult yet accessible – it
will interest anyone looking for something passed the average death
match but also doesn’t completely reinvent the idea of shoot-‘em-up
multiplayer. It’s safe to assume I am interested how this one will turn
out.
Hitskin.com
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