59 - APB: Reloaded

Genre: MMO, 3rd person shooter
Rating: M
Developer: Realtime Worlds
Publisher: K2 Network
Platform: PC
Release Date: 2010

APB: Reloaded was known as APB: All Points Bulletin back when it was new. It promised a game like Grand Theft Auto where you could be the criminal or the cop. Depending on your side, you could have a gang of real life players or be on the police force with other gamers. The idea was interesting and since I've never played an online match of GTA IV before I unfortunately can't compare how similar or different they are. But at some point, APB's publishers realized there were not enough people flocking to the game. Pair that with an unusual new subscription method where you paid for hours instead of a monthly timeframe it seems people stayed away. And so APB died until it was picked up by K2 Network.

I'd always wanted to try the game before. I was invited to the initial beta of the title but my computer at the time was unable to run it. Now that the game is free and I have a nicer computer I can finally enjoy it. Funnily enough, I remember that when the game was being closed down I could still find pallets of APB games on their shelves. I guess they had to get rid of them somehow. They were $5 coasters basically but I still kind of wish I'd picked one up just for collector's sake.

Okay, back to the game again. I'm surprised at how much I enjoy it. This seems to be the theme of my recent MMO experiences. I really loved GTA: San Andreas and Saints Row and to me the game manages to capture the feelings I had for those games. It's not perfect and not quite as fun as those titles, but in some ways it is even better because you are playing with other humans. Sometimes that completely fails though as many don't know how to drive and will inadvertently squash their teammates. At the very least, working with a competent gang to do some crimes is exciting and I enjoy wasting time on it. I've yet to play the police path but you can create a couple characters on either side, thankfully.

The character creator is pretty nice. You can do a lot with it although you can't outfit your character until finally entering the Social District. Horribly, many of the clothes are pay items. Most others you will have to do a few quests for to pick up. Something really cool about the clothing is that you can also design artwork and logos for the clothes (and cars). It's very neat although it seems open to abuse if someone wants to write or draw naughty or disrespectful things.

APB: Reloaded is more difficult than the other MMOs I've mentioned before. It's very similar to a console action game so some degree of skill is required. Still, it's a fun way to pass the time if you've got nothing better to do.

PS: Here's my character. His shirt says "BAD GIRL" which is a homage to a shirt Travis wears in Killer7.

11 - Headhunter

Genre: 3rd person shooter
Rating: M
Developer: Amuze
Publisher: Acclaim
System: PS2 (Also: DC)
Release date: 2002

So here's a game that was so entirely uninteresting that I didn't even remember I played it. The gal who had been with me while I went through the games had to alert me to the fact it was missing from this current list. And yes, all the games listed before this one were played in one day.

Anyway, this wasn't a very good game. It wasn't bad either, but overall it just felt very uneventful. Perhaps I'm feeling this way because I didn't even survive the tutorial. Personally, any game that allows you to fail the tutorial seems a very cruel game to me. There should be something that keeps you from having HP at all or whatever that early on.

I died because I wasn't able to shoot everyone down in one fell swoop like I'm used to. Perhaps it would have been best to listen to the game which was currently hinting at me to crouch behind items to dodge fire. I've never been one to play by the rules and perhaps that's why I somehow always manage to find the stupidest ways to die.

The graphics were okay and the main character seemed cool. The world built up around the game also seemed pretty interesting but the game itself didn't feel like anything. It felt like if you filtered Metal Gear Solid down to make Winback... but then you filter Winback down even more and end up with this game.

Would I play again? Maybe.

1 - 24: The Game

Genre: 3rd person shooter

Rating: M

Developer: SCE Cambridge

Publisher: 2K Games

System: PS2

Release date: 2006

I've never watched 24. Anything other than monster of the week TV shows are rarely something I can get into. Either way, as I started playing the game I figured it probably is a very good representation of how the TV show progresses. You have chapters divided into hours and do lots of exciting, bomb-diffusing things in between. There's also a lot of shooting, predictably. 

For some reason when I started playing the game's default brightness is none at all. I could barely see where I was going and had to crank it up 5 notches for the game to look nice and vibrant. I wasn't especially good at killing the enemies but at least there was a (somewhat glitchy) auto-targeting system. You got more points if you arrested the crooks instead but it seemed random whether or not the enemies would choose to surrender after having a taste of hot lead or not. 

I only got to experience diffusing a bomb once in my limited playthrough and it seemed supremely simple. I assume that was due to it being the introduction to the entire deal. However, I could see it becoming a very tense and fun minigame in between levels. 

Overall the game seemed tailored to those who don't spend much time playing games or were younger. The story was completely incomprehensible but I chalk that up to being unfamiliar with the series and characters.

Would I play again? Sure.