"Impossible to Find...Fun to Play."

APB is one of those games that you just can’t find without seeing it in the back box of some computer nerds shelf unit. I found this game on a disk that was given to me by a friend of a friend way back in the eight grade. APB is a game that doesn’t require too much thought of even too much difficulty, but rather requires you to have a good use of the mouse and the keyboard before you can even play. With several different missions and an eerie resemblance a game on the Play Station, you’ll drive through the city looking to stop crime where and when you can, all while eating donuts!

As with all computer games, be aware that every system is different in what you can and cannot do. For the most part, the game is nothing more than a carbon copy of either a system port or an arcade machine and it is only worth playing if you’ve got some extra bucks to spend and are looking to expand a collection. However, if your computer isn’t set up to handle the speed and the different visuals that you find here, you may find that some of the game attributes cause the program to shut down or cause illegal operations. Beware, as always because the files on this game take up a small portion of your drive, and if you try to delete it, it could screw everything up!

The Game Play –

While an innovative type of game play for it's time era, A.P.B features a single city with endless roads that you race on trying to catch criminals from murderer's to speeders who are littering. The challenge comes in with the actual chases that you have to perform in order to get the collar on some scumbag who is speeding away faster than your car moves! You have use of a firing button that does damage to cars and causes them to pull over but your real tool of destruction is your car, which you can use to ram offenders over so that you may issue them the almighty ticket and boost your score.

What will happen though, is if you miss too many different criminals, or if your demerits come up too high, then you’ll end up getting fired from the job and have to start all over. Something that this version of the game just does not have is a save feature, so once you’ve started a game, it’s entirely up to you whether or not you finish it! However, the difficulty isn’t too hard to work with and anyone with an ounce of game play ability should be able to play through without having to look at a game over screen too often.

The Control –

Pretty tight and intensive, and using the keyboard along with the mouse is effective enough to play through the game. Even though the game features a simple steering interface and a fire button with the mouse, it does take some getting used to in terms of actually pulling over the bad guys with well placed hits to their car! You’ll have to get used to the different ways that the mouse works when you’re trying to aim, so be aware that there is a little bit of a learning curve before you get into the game. Beginners may have a problem with the interface and working it, but advanced players should have no problem here.

The Visuals –

The visuals themselves are pretty good looking, but with an overhead view, you can only do so much. The stage is well designed, and the offenders throw trash, which can be seen bumping along the road when it falls our of their car. The different explosions you get and even the busted screen has some humor to it and adds a little variety to the game. As with most games that are over ten years old, there is only so much that is programmed into the game visuals that you can expect. Do not expect something like Star Craft, because what you have here is a simple DOS game that gives you just enough to play!

The Audio –

The music for the game is rather humble and doesn't really give you any sense of urgency although it does speed up somewhat when your time is running low. Aside from that, it's a single track that is looped over and over again with some tinny sound effects thrown in for the hell of it! All in all, you’ll have to work with that little there actually is. There are no voice effects or anything too special that you’ll run into throughout the game, so again, be prepared for a rather simple adventure into the surreal world of police action gaming.

The Verdict –

APB is an old DOS game that is virtually impossible to find anymore. If you’re able to find a copy of this game that still works, then you may be in the mood to bust some criminals the old fashioned way. However, with the simple visuals and audio, it seems that the sometimes complex control that you find with, outweighs the game in several different areas, with most of the game having some problems in the learning curve. With that aside, APB is a fun game to play, but lacks the visual and audio flare that you may find in most games on the PC today!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/24/02, Updated 04/24/02