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PC Gamer: APB review 55% / Eurogamer 6/10
AmazingAvery
Age of Conan AdvocateMember UncommonPosts: 7,188
http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/07/02/apb-review/
Verdict
"Confused and weightless, APB doesn’t satisfy on any front: the shooting, driving, story and objectives are all sub-par."
How accurate is this?
EDIT: added in Eurogamer: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/apb-review?page=1
And also Massively have a comment from APB's Dave Jones on the subject: http://www.massively.com/2010/07/03/apbs-dave-jones-expected-mediocre-reviews/
Comments
I'm more accurate if I use a slingshot and try to hit the moon with an apple.
Eleanor Rigby.
If you really open your eyes as a factual view..and compare it to any similar game, either shooter or driving, or mix with cars etc..the only thing APB has high value is the costumization in the game...the rest is dejavue with less quality then any other similar..needs polish..
About the content..it seriously lacks..the world size also..it has 3 districts..and they are small...
I have to agree, while it was fun for a brief period it got rather tiresome quickly. Gameplay is farily repetitive even with the focus on group and PvP. And the driving control is just a described...atrocious. I felt like a drunk driver everytime I got into the driver's seat even though I was good and sober. The matchmaking system is terrible, feels like the matchmaking system is drunk and just blindly/drunkenly makes matchmaking choices leading to unbalanced PvP experiences. The gameworl;ds are pretty uninteresting too with texture loading issues like the review mentioned..also load times can be extensive.
An interesting concept that suffers from lack of play balance and unexciting, repetitive gameplay. It could be something down the road, but that looks like a long drive away in a vehicle with crappy controls.
It's not that bad.
Best way to discribe APB would be "Fun" and thats it. Im having fun at the moment but will not be paying a sub for it. (How they can get away with charging a sub I don't know).
I do agree the car handling is poor and the maps are small. But it's good for a quick fix while you wait for the next best thing.
40 city blocks is small now?
Ok.
I think what makes them feel small, is driving at 50+ MPH. But driving you never get to see all the nooks and craneys all over the place.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
The problem is that the people playing this game are diehard shooter fans and people who have played no shooters, nothing in between. The diehard shooter fans don't care about problems as long as its a shooter and the people who don't play shooters like it because its their first time shooting.
I saw a review of this game from a member of Gamespot, (NOT a staff member but a regular site reader) who gave it a 9.0 but then listed how there were problems with the visuals, there were bugs, there were times when the game crashed, the times when the shooting didn't work so well, the sound occasionally was buggy, the load times were slow, and then managed to suggest that all of these problems could be ignored, so could the "bad driving." Don't people know what they say? Don't people want better games? Why do you forgive these faults? Video game consumers are so FUCKING DUMB and thats why so many games are just clones of the last game.
The game is really horrific. I played the early access they gave me for free because they never chose me for beta even though I was like the first person to sign up for it. The shooting mechanics are terrible, the driving is worse than Grand Theft Auto 3 which came out 8 years ago on PC, and the customization is great but not the incredible magnificent changes that they hyped it to be. It's simply an overall disappointment, as I should have expected. They didn't put in territory control which was something they wanted to do, the instances only hold 100 people with the social districts holding 250, and its clunky. The loading times are slow, and it lacks the polish of a game that has been in development for five years. Overall it is a huge failure.
The driving is probably the worst part though, It is truly terrible. The turning is bad and it doesn't drive like a car, it drives like a shopping cart on ice. When you turn, the car doesn't respond the way that a real car would and the guns don't shoot like real guns do, plus their whole thing about leveling being non existent is nonsense. The leveling takes place in the level of the gun you shoot, and you get new guns by grinding out faction points so all in all its the same garbage as the rest.
I play it becouse I am having fun.
The rest can be patched, and most is really not as dire as some make it out to be.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
I enjoy the game. It is fun and I just do not see the big deal about the driving aspect of the game. Depending on the car/truck/vehicle you are in they each handle differently.
I do agree the load times are a beeyotch. Crazy long to get to a map for another damn load screen but, outside of that the game is NOT HORRIBLE IMO.
Is it the next best thing since sliced bread? No. It is fun to play in a group of people tho. An overly simple FPS that is fun. Do I die a lot? Some times. Some times I seem to kill more than get killed. Even when in a group where the other memebers both in opposition and allies are 10 levels over me.
I did read the article and after going through it I have to admit that I have not come across any area that was teh Ubah killzone with no way to get to the opposition. I wonder if the guy knew that there are doors in some of the buildings you can kick in and run through the building to get to the other side.
Another note. Most of the time when doing ( for lack of a better term ) mission arcs, I rarely jumped into another car. Most of the time I was running from point to point. You actually can get their faster than the other team in a lot of cases who are trying to organize either finding their car they used to get to the first objective or acquire another car to get to the next objective.
I also do not understand the complaint about being outgunned. Even playing against higher level players I find the guns are not unevenly balanced. Yes the noobier weapons take a few more shots to kill but, they kill nonetheless.
Let me emphasise one thing: YOU CANNOT PLAY THIS LIKE AN MMORPG and run out, stand toe - to - toe with an adversary and expect to execute your attacks to win. This is an FPS before it is an MMORPG. Cover, tactics, movement, reloading, strategy, and adapting to the environment are more skills you need to bring to the table rather than what gun does the most damage or how do i bounce a grenade off the wall just right.
Say hello, To the things you've left behind. They are more a part of your life now that you can't touch them.
Forgiving faults makes developers release crappy games for the last 5 years...apart from one or other that are less of a mess.
Aww I actually like PC gamer so it sucks to have to say that it isn't very accurate at all.
First problem I will address is when he talks about how the world looks. The game is set in a modern day realistic style. With that in mind they did a fantastic job. The game looks good. The reviewer seemed to want a more anime style, or fantasy/Scifi-ish world. Thats not what APB is. It is a really well done modern day setting. And as far as the texture issue .... lol the reviewer really needs to update his comp. Mine is mid range and I've had zero issue's like he described accept for in the social district which seems to drop FPS a bit, but it looks like thats because there is about double the amount of players allowed in an instance in the social district than in the action district.
Next on to Group tactics.
" Coming up against a well-drilled posse is fun; facing off against a group who – thanks to the objective point system – know exactly where you are at all times is just infuriating. Too many jobs end with an extended, dragged-out stalemate: I lost count of the groups I faced who’d hare toward a high point on the map and hole up, guns trained down to massacre anyone who dared come close. There’s no counter to tactics like this, and it kills any desire to keep playing. I ducked in with a couple of new players, repeatedly getting to the penultimate mission stages before being gunned down by terrifyingly efficient death squads in unassailable hidey holes. It’s an approach very much at odds with the typical MMO philosophy of constant reward."
Taking a pug up against a well organized team is .... well suicidal to say the least, has always been that way in any game that allows organized groups to play against pugs. In any case, it's not impossible to counter. You need to use team work. I was in a pug that was going up against a team that liked to camp on a roof with 1 single access point. I had my team mates take cover and draw fire and pick off who they could while I made my way to the only access point. I went and stood up against the wall and primed a stun grenade and tossed it up over the wall then ran up with beanbag gun blazing lol.
I took out one stragler that wasn't stunned, teamates picked off 2 that stood up to deal with me. I arrested 2, restunned one I didn't have time to arrest after he got up and arrested him.
Tada.......... yeah.... there really isn't a counter..........
This game isn't about being Rambo, you need tactics and strategy. Team play is where APB shines. It's about a lot more than I'm tank, your healer and your DPS now lets stand here and kill stuff. You can solo, think of it as a scaling mission system. Matchmaking system does need some work, but it hasn't put me in many bad situations when I'm solo. It's when you accept missions as a group that things seem to get out of whack.
And no I do agree with him that this isn't a level playing field. Guns aren't really the decider though. It's part hand-eye coordination and a large part brain power. Out thinking your opponent will win battles. I will give an example.
I was in a 2 vs. 1 match. I was out gunned (They were using upgraded N-Tech's) and out manned (2 of them 1 of me). They had my objective locked down both taking cover. One behind a small stone pillar, the other on the stairwell just on the other side. My first attempt to run and gun get me dead lol. So I thought on my feet, I saw a dump truck. I snagged the dump truck spun it around and backed it up the stairs into this little death trap and right inbetween my two opponents. Hoped out and gunned down the one on the ground by the pillar using the dump truck as a shield against the one on the stairwell.
After the one by the pillar was down, I tossed a grenade over the dump truck and reloaded. Ran around it and opened fire on my opponent who was running down the stairs to get away from the grenade.
Mission complete!
As far as hitboxes go, this is done for a few reasons to my understanding. They wanted the game to play more like paintball than an FPS shooter, and secondly multiple hitboxes on things in the world including player chars increases stress on the server. This is an MMO, and if your the least bit familiar with MMO's you understand there are limitations to what can be done with the current tech.
The more there is, the greater the stress on the server.
Also as far as his dead on shots........... weapons all have certain ranges where they shine. Some like the assault rifles have nice range, but that doesn't mean every one works best at it's maximum range. The shooting itself (Not the hit boxes) work on a realistic level. The longer you fire those automatic weapons the more accuracy you lose. The farther away that target is, the less accurate that automatic weapon is. Single fire weapons with long range tend to have some great accuracy. This is how it is supposed to be.
And yes... in extended beta (Key to the city event) I can imagine he was rarely challenged as most people had limited time, many blew through there time and could not get more. As it stands right now, I haven't had many missions go unopposed.
All in all, I'd have to say I didn't agree with much of what the reviewer had to say. In many instances he made the mistake of comparing APB an MMO to non MMO's. Yes, you can find better shooting and driving mechanics in single player games and even multiplayer lobby style games. But you won't find an MMO that has both better shooting mechanics and driving mechanics. Even planetside didn't have hitboxes.
All in all I'd have to say (as much as I hate to) that the reviewer just didn't get it.
APB is fairly unique. There isn't another game that is a direct comparison or even a fairly close on. Love it or hate or w/e the game is well done for what it is and it's fun right out of the box for me at least.
I'd give APB a 7/10 overall.
And I don't think APB or any game like it will get a fair review because it will either be compared to other MMO's and people will complain about the lack of content even though APB is done more in the sandbox style. Or reviewers will compare it to other shooter and driving games that aren't MMO's and aren't bound by the same constraints that MMO's are.
Until a reviewer sits down and understands that this is a very under explored MMO type with very very few of it's kind being made I don't see a fair review that judges the game on it's merits alone.
APB isn't without it's issue's. It needs some balancing and fine tunning like every other MMO to release, but the game does what it does well. To some that will equal fun and to some that won't. It's by far one of the best launches I've seen.
What I do know is this. If your looking for an MMO that focuses on PvP, without the PvE grind, and focuses on player skill, tactics and strategy. One set in a non scifi or fantasy setting that has an unparalleled crafting/customization system. One that has a very interactive world that of a good size. One that offers a competitive price. Then APB is for you. No MMO out offers an even remotely similar experience and it can really only get better.
55% is just silly.
Mind you PC Gamer UK is the same magazine that gave Lucasarts Outlaws 58% and I've taken it's opinions with a pinch of salt ever since.
Honestly, ive had more fun playing this mmoag than any other mmo with the exception of the original SWG. The maps are 1000 meters plus, so i dont really know why people think thats small. All the vehicles have different movements and speeds, kind of like in real life and if you cant drive in a video game id suggest you not get behind the wheel of a real car if you value the lives of others. It drives a lot like need for speed with an emphasis on drift. The character creation and customization is one of the best being up there with CO and STO. I think the problem with it is you cant LIVE in the game and all these little recluses and introverts try so hard to escape reality, they say, 'I want a virtual house and a virtual pet and to go virtual fishing in that virtual pond not far from my virtual yard' but cant so it must be the latest games fault their trying because it doesnt do a good enough job creating a virtual life but guess what, its a game and not an alternate reality and no mmo can really give you that unless you greatly lower you standards of living. Oh well, maybe the next game will be able to ruin your life more to your standards. Until next time, stay frosty. HA HA HAHA HA why so serious?
Anyone who calls that small is probably comparing to other third-person shooters that involve driving, such as GTA4 or Just Cause 2. Or even Red Dead Redemption. Of course driving will make it feel small, if they don't make it larger to compensate.
When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.
Well when were talking about a game that advertises itself as an mmo, and u drive more than walk, so saying when you drive its smaller is a bad excuse. This is advertised like an mmo, hell you pay for it like an mmo with a sub model liek that. And they expect to give you 2 action districts 1000 meters long? After a week you practically memorize the maps like the back of your hand.
MMOs played: Too many
Watch List: FFXIV, CoH:GR, GW2, SWTOR, TERA, Earthrise
Not having any cover system kinda makes me think a bit. Also no hit boxes with different amounts of damage does to. Maybee the gameplay could have been a bit more eventfull in firefight mechanics. I did notice in some of the player videos that the firefights seemed a bit linear. There was enough good remarks though in the review that didnt perticularly match up with the score given. They could have just given it like a 39%, which isnt far off from 55% but sounds about the same. I think from the review, it sounds like it should be around 68-74 or something.
The reviewer needs a kick in the nads. I stopped reading half way. Way too many flawed arguments being used. The driving for example; I have absolutely no problems with it. It's similar to GTA IV in the way the car responds so I'm used to it. Practice makes perfect. Also the graphics and the bugs he's babbling on about; I just got a new gamer rig and I haven't seen ANY graphical errors, besides the lay-out of my car showing up a bit late at spawn. So to the reviewer: get a new/decent rig you cheap bastard!
I'm aware of the faults APB has; there's a list of 'em and most of them apply to lacking content. But maybe people should focus more on what they can get out of the game instead of just shooting it down and looking for flaws, which would be FUN. I'm certainly getting my fair share. No idea for how long, but 2 weeks should be attainable. Which would be 8 hours per day on average times 14; 112 hours of fun for 50 euro. Compare that to Assassins Creed I for example, same price, I finished in 2 days. Not too bad I'd say.
This comment really sums it up for me. And despite what the poster above me might say I found the driving controls to be terrible. Sure, eventually I got used to them and could get around just fine. However, even then they still felt very unresponsive.
Steam: Neph
Every car has its own attributes, handling, speed, etc. Driving is a player skill with what you have in-hand. Same with shooting and ducking for cover.
Im just wondering if this reviewer was expecting a mmorpg
Hey GrayGhost thanks for taking the time to write down your valued opinion (as well as other posters) I was somewhat skeptical of the rating when I first read the review. I knew asking here would get more in depth answers. I would have to admit I hardly know anything of the game apart from the neat character customization and was curious to hear more.
Cheers!
I think what people are wanting is a cover system like Gears of War etc. which would slow down the pace of combat and make them fairly drawn out. APB does have cover. If you hide behind a car, you won't be getting hit, duck behind a wall, you won't get hit. There is a cover system, it's just not a shoot while hidden behind something. You have to expose your head if your going to fire. You can lean out to the left or right as well.
The hit boxes (At least head shots) may be on there way at some point. RTW said they didn't want a CS style game where aim meant every thing. They wanted it to be more akin to paintball so that it's more strategic and tactical vs. purely about twitch skill. But.... they have talked about a "pro district" of sorts that actually would include headshots.
One thing I like is that it at least "Seems" like RTW is listening to it's fans. In an interview they talked about a racing district that many fans have been asking for and talking about since beta, A zombie district etc. With the district design RTW has they are able to add on to the game in ways that makes players happy because not only will it add more to the game but it will do so in a way that has no negative impact on those that may not enjoy it.
Also while the firefights are pretty much all objective based, the objectives work as a focus to keep the action going. You may end up in an escape mission chasing a criminal who's doing there best to avoid capture. The objective is to kill/arrest him and get him to build up penalties to his time.
Next you may have a VIP mission where you are trying to protect one of your team members. You have them flee and you ride behind them in another car with a buddy to take care of the opponents that come to take them out.
The firefights are somewhat linear due to the mission objectives but they are there to funnel you into the action. It's also nice imo considering one of the biggest complaints you will find about PvP in an MMO is that it's meaningless. Killing another player rarely means anything. It's just something to do, there's not much of a reason to do it though.
Many games have tried to give PvP meaning, but most simply fail. APB's take on it for me is one of the better I've seen.
But.... I'm rambling and ranting again I think lol.
I must admit that I am a fan of the game.
But I also know it has flaws, matchmaking can be a pain and it's one that needs to be worked on. But all in all the game is better at launch and needs less polish and work than just about any MMO I've been a part of. That list is fairly long so I won't list them all, but I have been a part of many a launch and APB's is by far one of the best I've been privy to.
One last note, for me while I've always enjoyed MMO's, one thing I've missed since UO was the fun out of the box. Thats definitely something APB has managed to deliver and that alone is pretty key to why I intend on sticking with it for good while.
This isn't even remotely accurate. I've been having a lot of fun. Combat is very tight and responsive. Driving isn't nearly as bad as the author claims. I'm not sure what he was going on about the use key for, as the use key often has many functions in video games. It seemed like his FPS skills were bad, rather than there actually being faults in the game mechanics. You can't fix a bad player. All of the customization is absolutely amazing, I spend about half my time there in my three hours of gaming. The UI is stellar. I've encountered almost zero lag. I haven't crashed one time. The server didn't go down one time. If you enjoyed GTA or Saints Row, you will fall in love with this game. There is a locational VOIP system that allows you to talk to other players if you're near them, and it's built into the game. There's a MP3 importer and player, you can play your own music while you're riding around in your car.
The only gripe I had was that there isn't a deep story. But, there is one. That's saying a lot considering most shooters are completely void of any over-arching storyline. That's just not what FPS's do, and it shouldn't be a knock on the game.
I give it a 8 out of 10. There's some room to improve. More maps, more missions, territory control, etc. Those could really push things over the top. Very fun.
There are some fun aspects of the game, but overall it is a really low value in my opinion. I got to play for free for a month or so during beta and I stopped playing about a week before Key to the City because it just was not fun anymore. It has alot going for it and I am definitely interested to see if and how they implement territorial warfare and the chaos districts.
Granted, I did not play with RL friends or in a clan. I agree that this game has much more to offer those who are able to get a dedicated crew together. I applaud RTW for making a game that is more fun in a group with the huge slew of solo-friendly multiplayer games out right now, but the game is just missing something. It's supposed to be a factional pvp game, but it plays more like a Free for All. Criminals can fight other criminals, and there really is no direction or anything that pulls players together other than clans at the moment.
The main focus of the game seems to be on progression, which feels unrealistic and tacked on to me. If I kill a person, I should be able to pick up his weapon and use it. At least until I die. Without that option, it really feels like just another gear treadmill to me. The matchmaking system is actually quite good, but was not dynamic or accurate during beta. I found learning how to drive and bounty hunting the 5 star players more fun than the missions. I am hopeful they add more of an open warfare system where the faction vs. faction gameplay is more pronounced.
Overall I would probably rate the game slightly higher than PCGamer's 55% because I actaully enjoy the driving and the graphics, but the lack of direction was the real game killer for me. I also agree with the reviewer's criticism of the combat and found much of the world's internal architecture very contrived. Most of the buildings are very small and empty. And a good portion of them are not even enterable.
One final note, in my time playing the beta, RTW developers were very unresponsive and slow to make changes. The changes they did make hardly affected the gameplay at all, which was actually disappointing to me. I don't have much faith in them, honestly.
Vault-Tec analysts have concluded that the odds of worldwide nuclear armaggeddon this decade are 17,143,762... to 1.
I think that criticism in the review is a bit misleading. Yes, it doesn't have a system whereby you press a button and you're automatically in cover and immune to damage, but you can, through your own ability and control, take cover behind any object in the world to avoid bullets. It's not even difficult.
If your not very good at APB, then I can see how it might get this score.
I'm not brilliant, me and my team win about 40% of the time, but its incredibly addictive.
I watched people I know play APB, those players who say "its crap".. truth is, THEY are crap, and I can only assume that this reveiwer got 'lol pwned' all over the place and this is his way of raging.
I really wanted to like APB. I gave it a good shot in the beta, I just couldn't make myself like it.
I think 55% is a pretty accurate score in my opinion. Personally I feel that it's a sub-par FPS game combined with a sub-par MMO game. I'm still waiting on an MMO to get FPS combat right. This one missed the mark for me.
"There is as yet insufficient data for a meaningful answer."