Massively^™

Every so often a game comes along that seems imbued with the essence of my childhood imagination -- its as if the game has it coursing through its veins. For instance, my personal interest in Spore stems from the fact that it's tapping into my fantasy of playing a game that lets me shape worlds -- one that I've had since even before my teenage years. Still, there hasn't been an MMO yet that's truly tapped into any of my more youthful wishes. Sure, City of Heroes delivered the first realization of creating my own personal super heroes, but when looking at what a game like Champions Online could provide in comparison -- at least in the superhero genre -- its quite apparent that CoH was barely scratching the surface.

Enter All Points Bulletin, a game that had developer and journalist jaws alike scraping across the floors after its demonstration was delivered in a manner not unlike -- say -- the opening to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

APB is essentially the childhood game of cops and robbers realized in an online space. Sure, we've had several sandbox games ever since GTA3 hit the scene, but never one like APB. Some may hastily call it just another massively multiplayer online game in the style of Grand Theft Auto, but that's wrong. All Points Bulletin -- to me at least -- seems more like a sandbox game with the assets of a massively game, but without a lot of both genre's hangups.

What's the big difference? Glad you asked -- first off there is absolutely no level grind, none. Players pick either enforcement or criminals, design their face/body, start off with a basic wardrobe, take a mission and get right into committing crimes or preventing them. Balance comes from experience at playing the game and equipment you've earned during your stay; a high-end example being a rocket launcher. As for the addictive MMO part of the game, that comes from the fact that it plays exactly like you would expect a good sandbox game about criminals vs law enforcement to play -- fast and loose. High speed chases where bullets pepper each sides' cars as they take turns trading gunfire. Essentially, the kind of stuff that looks cool, plays fun and keeps you coming back for more. Oh and of course further customization through clothing, tattoos, weaponry and vehicles also adds a nice layer of addiction-inducing flavor.

There isn't too much to know beyond what we've already been shown. Hopefully, Realtime Worlds can easily expand on the basic concept they have started off with -- there's a ton of potential here. Such as the possibility of large gangs being able to tag buildings with their emblem to claim them as their territory via the custom creation tools. Enforcement players who have formed "guilds" could earn the right to claim a police station for themselves and customize it with their own personal emblems as well -- maybe a snarling, crazed dog head over a badge.

Another, related idea, would be to allow gangs access to secret hideouts, giving them a place to gather at the risk of being easier targets for an organized enforcement raid when it busts the doors down. There are a lot of possibilities when a game is set in a huge sandbox with piles of toys and isn't mired by levels. I just hope that Realtime Worlds doesn't design themselves into a box, cutting off any ideas they make come up with later on.

There's a lot that could go wrong, but from what I've seen so far a lot seems to have been done right, up to this point at least. Who knows, the next big MMO could be this one. It's certainly different enough -- but in a good way -- to pull in a crowd of fans that can't find this experience anywhere else.