APB

Description of APB

APB is a decent conversion of Atari’s 1987 arcade classic. A fun cartoon-style action game where you slip into the role of Bob, a police officer. Officer Bob patrols the big city in his squad car. Every day, you must catch criminals big and small, while avoiding demerits for actions unbecoming an officer. If you get too many demerits, you are fired (rather painfully, too), though you can erase demerits by hard work. Along your career, you will have chances to earn extra rewards, upgrade your patrol gear, and maybe someday make the big catch. Fans of the arcade version will be pleased with this PC adaptation, as all of the charm and almost all of the original features are translated intact. At the start of each day, you are given a quota of traffic violators, from litterbugs to speeders, to arrest. On certain days, an APB (all-point bulletin) of an especially dangerous criminal is issued; capturing this suspect is worth more points. Failure to either arrest the APB or meet your quota will bring the sergeant’s wrath, and earn more demerits. The actual patrol takes place on a vast overhead city map that scrolls in 360 degrees. Violators submit easily and can be ticketed by pointing your crosshairs and sounding the siren, but the criminals will put up a fight, and require a chase to take down. Between arrests, you must keep your car filled with gas, grab donuts for more time, and look for various bonuses. Hints and tips will periodically scroll across the screen, giving warnings, game advice, or what mistake you just performed. In all, there is a total of about 30+ levels to play, which keeps this game fresh for a long time. Thumbs up!

Review By HOTUD