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Not worth a subscription
Terranah
Member UncommonPosts: 3,575
First off, this game does have some nice qualitites. I'm not saying it's a complete disaster by any means. I'll list the good things:
1) An absolutely amazing character creation. This is how it should be done, for all modern mmo's. Amazing character creation, great modelling, tons of clothing options not tied to stats so you can look the way you want, the ability to customize your clothes, tattoos, hair, etc. Even your car can be customized. It sets the bar for other mmo really high. Home run!
2) Performs well. Granted, I just got a new computer, but playing the game maxed, the game runs smoothly and looks great. I did take it down a notch though just incase to see if that helped me improve in gun fights. It didn't really.
3) It's outside the box. I guess there are some good arguements for why this is or is not a true mmo. I think as the genre evolves we see this arguement popping up quite a bit. Game producers know that mmo's make money and they can have recurrent subscription fees, so I think they are milking it.
Now the bad:
1) One trick pony. In most mmo, you have multiple spheres of content. For example, adventuring, crafting, diplomacy, collections, group content, larger group content, raids, and pvp which can include 1 vs 1, team pvp, faction pvp, guild pvp, etc, exploration....
In APB it is just pvp and very simplistic. Now there are no abilities per se that I have noticed. Supposedly combat is based on skill, which brings me to my next negative.
2) The game does two things. You fight and you drive. That's it, very one dimensional. Combat is only against other players that I have seen. So there is no practicing to get up your skills. If you move your reticle it gets bigger and stand still or crouch and it becomes smaller, certain weapons are better at different ranges and attack different attributes. But if you suck it's hard to say what exactly you are doing wrong. So you die. And die. You die a lot in this game. Like all the time, lol, which means you will spend a good part of your time running or driving back to the action.
At first I thought it was just me that was dying a lot. I suck. But looking at my other team mates they had very similar kill/death ratios. It's a little too much dying and running back for me....get's tedious and frustrating.
Next, the driving. If there is no lag, it's not too bad. It's not good either, but not bad. But add a little lag and you will be weaving all over the road and crashing into things. It's terrible when there is even a little lag.
3) UI sucks. Horrible lack of documentation. Tutorial that is insufficient. Do I have a health bar or an action bar, lol? But I'm used to playing mmo's and at a glance you can usually figure out some basic things. In general I can pick up an mmo and learn as I go. With this game, I played the tutorial, read the pamphlet that came with the game and looked around on the internet.
4) No loot? What the hell, that's one of the best things about an mmo, atleast for me. I love getting a good drop.
5) When you level you don't get abilities. Getting new abilities is something that makes these games fun and makes you want to level.
In conclusion, I'm not disappointed by my purchase. It's okay for one month. But beyond that the shallow, repetitive gameplay just isn't enough, especially when the two things it does aren't even done well. Make combat about skill. If I have my reticle on you and I fire at range, you should die....not turn around and gun me down. It makes combat feel unresponsive and unsatisfying. And make driving easier.
That's it...that's all I have time for. Getting the carpets professionally cleaned today 
Comments
Good post.
I agree with some of the points but, to me iit is a third person shooter first, MMO not at all. So, I see a majority of your complaints about it being not an MMO. No argument there, cannot even begin to call you out on anything or say bad things about you.
The one thing I can say is a bit misleading is you do not buy a subscription to this game. Unlike most MMO that offer a flat rate for unlimited play. This one comes with like 50 Hours of play time. You buy chunks of play time not subscribe. Therefore, if you do not play it as much ( like me ) you can stretch that 50 hours out over some time.
The game is fun as an FPS / 3PS but, as an MMO it tanks hard IMO. The play time gives you the option of having this as a part time game if you are not big into the FPS scene. I think they should really marked it to some FPS types soon to maintain a larger player base.
FYI there is loot. For a criminal you can either get loot by roughing up citizens and get their jewelry and cell phones or you can ram a shop fron with a car and get safes, briefcases, tv, cam corders and such. Take these to your contacts for cash!
If you are an enforcer and happen upon some fool in the process of committing a crime that has not gone to his fence, he will drop the loot that he had and you can pick it up and turn it in as evidnce or something for credits as well.
Say hello, To the things you've left behind. They are more a part of your life now that you can't touch them.
Yeah I do like the subscription options. I think you can buy 20 hours for 7 bucks or play all month unlimited for $10. Atleast they are trying to be creative with the payment options. I would think that would be a bonus for a lot of people.
As far as the loot, yeah I guess that would qualify. But the most satisfying loot is armor, weapons, and crafting items you can auction off. So I stand corrected, but the loot is not very satisfying.
Also, I am an enforcer. I have witnessed a crime but so far it has never made them attackable. And I still haven't figured out how to arrest someone yet. I see the handcuffs over their names, but so far don't know how to do it.
Just some things I think might make the game a little better. A health, stamina, mind bar that you can see for your character and for your opponent, so you can tell if you are doing damage or not. Right now there is really no feedback to wether or not I am doing any significant damage other than a little red splash when i shoot them.
Isn't easy to play for free? You just have to earn 400 RTW points?
The parts when you say that you suck, you didnt need to add them as negative part. You knew it from the start that there would had been good players in APB, players from FPS games. So speaking about your confusion between mmorpg target base and ABP shooter game, it was simply not necessery at all to mention that problem into a review.
For the other part, you are mostly right. APB do not feel like an mmo at all. The most stupidest part like you mention, players dont drop loots that you can take to place into your inventory or simply keep on you. This is really bad.
To me personally, Criminal vs cops dont stand pretty well. I mean, cops are suppose to roam around the city looking for trouble makers. Sneaking on a criminal to see if he is really a criminal and arrest him or kill him if he try to defend himself. Its also supposed to be semi free for all. Criminal vs criminal vs crop. Instead, its criminal vs cops. Yet again, Red vs Blue that you usually see in any fps games.
Criminal vs cops plot is overated. You dont get immersed when you take a cop, you dont get immersed when you take a criminal. Its blue vs red, nothing else.
Missions are the most terrible parts. 4 vs 4 most of the time. Missions that you have in nutshell, Capure the flag, king of the hill, Domination and some other mission that you saw in other fps games. Instead, they replaced that with cops vs criminal plot, but for a fps fan, its not difference then any other fps games.
What i hate the most and the reason i dont play, you cannot kill grey players. Why the hell we got grey players? This totally remove the freedom of the game.
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I agree. I don't think APB will get enough subscribers. I don't intend to buy any time after my 50 hours are up. They could add features of course, as is the way with MMOs. As it is it doesn't feel much like an MMO and the FPS crowd won't sub to it in great numbers.
Would rather play MAG on PS3 but thats just me.
The following statement is false
The previous statement is true
Thats exactly your problem m8!! Try to play more FPS Games...
Ok wow, Just please go run back to Wow, this game isnt for you, you want loot, its called guns, you abilities its called Upgrades. Your just another statistic
P.S- this game is not too fun by urself you need friends, go make some, or get a clan.
I think it's great as a secondary game. I really can't see playing it every day, but just as something to pick up a couple times a week it works rather well.
edit: I do agree though that it isn't worth a sub.
That's a pathetic response to a well-considered post.
I wish I could give my 2cents on the game...but cant cause the driving makes me motion sick, only the second game ever to do that.
Just an update.
Played the heck out of the game for 3 days. Getting my rating up, getting upgrades, new weapons, vehicles, etc. I still die but not as much as before. Getting a lot more kills now. Grouping up most of the time, making some friends.
It's starting to be pretty fun. I think I'm changing my mind about this game. It's actually pretty fun.
Told ya!
I think the greatest appeal may be the overly simplistic game. It kinda plays like an fps and kinda not. You KNOW you should hate it for blah blah blah but, you still find your self smiling after a few minutes in. CRAZY !!!!
Maybe they have some subliminal message flashng in between screen refreshes that says
You are having fun. You are having fun. You are having fun. Pleay with Friends. You are having fun.
Say hello, To the things you've left behind. They are more a part of your life now that you can't touch them.
About being 'overly simplistic'. I miss the old school fps games. I think like mmo's, fps is evolving into something else. It used to be run and gun. It was fun and exhilarating racing against the clock in a FFA deathmatch. Now it seems like its all team based with classes, and more sneaking around and slower action. Star Trek Voyager Elite Force, Quake, UT. Those were the days.
About APB. I like that there is only one hitbox. Yeah the old games had the head shots, but I'm old now, lol. I used to be able to pull of some wicked moves because I had cat like reflexes. But 10 years later of playing mmo and not fps I don't know that I could ever get that back. So one hitbox is a good thing to me, despite some people hating it.
I also like that the clothes don't have stats. That way I can wear as much or as little I want in any combo I want and not have to worry about performance.
I wish I could figure out how to get some of the sweet weapons I have been seeing though. Right now I have an ntech 5 i think it's called. It's okay but lot of people have it with upgrades. I see them on the AH but they cost way more than what I have. I assume I unlock them in a mission but I am not there yet, sadly.
I find it to be more of a customizers game than a FPS'ers game. As for the slotted weapons, you have to keep chugging along in organization ranks, or get one as a league trophy. League rewards are hard, because even in the beta there were exploiters.