At this year's E3, RealTime Worlds' action MMO All Points Bulletin was one of the most promising contenders. Designed by crime game expert, David Jones of Grand Theft Auto fame, it presented us with an action-heavy, stripped down take on the MMORPG, set in a violence-ridden city where players pick sides in a battle between self-appointed law enforcement and common criminals. I played it then briefly, and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, having spent the last month with the game I've found APB is a little like tequila. One shot is good-- more than that'll make you sick. 

OK, maybe that's harsh. APB does have some good things going for it. For one thing, it has one of the most comprehensive character customization setups you'll ever see. The game features three districts and in the non-PvP Social District, you can customize 'till the cows come home. Surprisingly complex editors allow you to change your hair, body, weapons and clothing, customize your ride and create a custom musical theme that plays whenever you kill another player (you can use presets or make your own—it's admittedly pretty hilarious to get killed and then hear the Terminator theme). You can also create your own custom symbols—logos if you will—that can be used in game on cars and clothes and can even be sold to other players. As a result of all these options, you'll see some amazingly cool and brilliantly whacked-out characters running around in game.

These additions add a lot to the MMO concept. Where RealTime Worlds goes wrong is in trying to strip away what they see as the “dull” aspects of the MMO genre. They've removed story, exploration, grouping, abilities, and leveling and in doing so, have also removed a hefty chunk of the fun. Beyond the intro movie which sets the game's historical context, APB has no story. Neither the setting nor the missions do anything to flesh out the fiction and so the context isn't particularly immersive. There's no reason to explore because everything takes place in one of three smallish urban districts: the Financial, Social or Waterfront, all of which are fairly similar in look and feel. There's no grouping in a meaningful sense; when you accept a mission you're immediately put on a team of like-factioned individuals and there's not much in the way of planning or cooperating. Everyone just dashes to the objective, shoots at one another, dies, respawns, (apb gold)and dashes to the objective again. Because of this, no matter what mission you're on, the game feels like one endless, disorganized Death Match.

As I said, character customization is pretty cool in APB but in the end, it's mostly cosmetic. Skill trees are nonexistent, and so the only upgrade to your abilities comes from the types of weapons you're allowed to carry. Leveling is replaced by the ideas of Prestige and Notoriety and the ultimate point of the game is not necessarily to become more powerful, but to become as famous (or as infamous) as you can. You gain Prestige by completing missions for faction NPCs and you gain Notoriety by committing crimes in front of witnesses. Paradoxically enough, public criminal action is actually a bad thing for a criminal, since more visibility means more Notoriety and more Notoriety means lower faction rewards.