APB: Reloaded
It would be one thing if APB: All Points Bulletin was a straightforward clone of GTA but Realtime Worlds had other ideas. Taking place in San Paro, the actual gameplay presented a mix of MMO and third-person action elements based on what an opposing faction’s member did. Players could join either the Criminals or Enforcers – if the former caused any crimes, then an all points bulletin would be issued to any player Enforcers to stop them. Customizing one’s character, interacting with the fully persistent world and completing various missions were all fairly typical, and there were even PvP districts where factions could openly fight.
For a 2010 title that sought to make “celebrities” of its players, it was fairly interesting…and also underdeveloped. Numerous bugs and issues, the lack of any cohesive story-telling, awful visuals and clunky controls are just some of the issues that players had. Yet it cost $100 million to develop, which is only slightly less than Grand Theft Auto 4. APB has since passed hands over the years with Realtime Worlds being acquired by Reloaded Productions, which relaunched it as APB: Reloaded, and whose parent company was acquired by Little Orbit. Though still running and receiving heavy monetization, APB: Reloaded barely peaks over 400 players these days.
