Like Icarus, this virtual Cops 'N Robbers reached so high and fell very short.
Earlier this week, RTW added a patch to APB that activated the Punkbuster anti-hax service. The lack of anti-hax protection and the resulting rampant cheating were a large part of the reason that I originally gave APB a 6.0 rating. Since this recent patch, most of the cheating has been prevented and the gameplay is fair (if still unbalanced), though PvP instances are presently wracked with debilitating lag spikes. An upcoming patch promises to correct this drawback, and if it does, I will further alter the rating of my review.
- LoF
So much about this game is awesome from the on-set. The in-game culture, brief injections of voice-acting and incredible artwork all set the table, then two massive PvP maps designed for fast-paced urban combat and white-knuckled street racing keeps you hungry. Player-Character and vehicle customization, incredible! Social district for showing off your gear? Awesome!
But once the surface is scratched, many elements of APB are revealed to be incomplete, flawed, unbalanced, or simply missing. The first glaring oversight is the complete absence of any anti-cheat mechanic. The APB client comes wtih Punkbuster software that, according to Punkbuster, isn't doing anything. Apparently, the anti-hax service was employed for the Closed and Open Betas, but now APB's gameplay integrity is completely unenforced.
Also disturbing is a lack of balance between the two player factions. Criminals are encouraged to run wild in the action districts, mugging and carjacking and ram-raiding and pursuing a variety of scripted "missions". Enforcers are called upon to go into the city, witness these crimes and pursue these Criminals. Results, however, fall far from these expectations. Many Enforcers run wild in the action districts, carjacking and murdering and running scripted 'missions' when they aren't openly griefing Criminal players, with no game mechanic to penalize them for criminal behavior. It's Bad Lieutenant turned up to 11.
Finally, are all the overlooked basics that RTW neglected to learn from 15+ years of online gaming history while they were reinventing the MMO wheel. There's almost a complete lack of content control, leaving city of San Paro defenseless against a barrage of swastikas, genitals and character names consisting of the least creative combinations of vulgarities. All of these faults, failures, oversights and disappointments beg the question, "What was RTW doing during all those months of Beta when these issues first came to light?"
Probably too busy counting their money from pre-order purchases. I hope these issues are addressed and corrected immediately, or this diamond of a game could go the way of MxO...