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RETAILBIZ: APB MCV 11/06/10 83
RELEASED: JULY 2 FORMATS: PC PUBLISHER: EA DEVELOPER: REALTIME WORLDS PRICE: £34.99 DISTRIBUTOR: CENTRESOFT CONTACT: 0121 625 3388
visual, gameplay and money-making possibilities that players are able to conjure up.
Gamers can create their own custom character and edit every aspect of their being, from the hair on their chins to the clan tattoos on their backs and the colour of their clothing.
Astute users will even be able to design their own logos and badging which can be used to convey their team’s presence – before adding it to clothes, tattoos, advertising billboards and even walls in the form of graffiti. Depending on the popularity of the custom imagery, players will even have the option to place it in the game’s auction houses and make money by selling branded items, vehicles, weapons and clothing. APB’s payment model also
allows these entrepreneurial types of gamers to sell in-game items in exchange for extra playtime. Knapp adds: “It’s so exciting to be able to create a world where players can come in and create their own identity and their own experiences – whether it be clothing or clans.
“So what we’ve created for them is a toolset and an environment for them to play in. We’re really excited to see what they can do with that from release. “We’ve already seen some great customisation, uniformed clans and a few player-created competitions. In fact, some of the stuff that players are creating already rivals what our art teams have produced internally so I can only imagine what they’ll be doing in six months.”
CRIME PAYS
The payment model for APB promises to refresh the traditional MMO system, which usually requires consumers to purchase the game and pay a fixed monthly fee to play it. Gamers will have to buy the game as normal – either in- store or via digital download – for £34.99, which includes a whopping 50 hours of gameplay out of the box. This also allows the user to spend an unlimited amount of time in APB’s social districts that allow customisation, socialising and marketplace trading. Once the first batch of 50 hours are up, players can top up their game time by 20 hours for £5.59, or an entire month for £7.99 (which EA promises a discount for when booked for 90 or 180 days up front).
What’s really interesting is the fact that – as mentioned – buyers can earn game time by selling their own content and making a name for themselves within the game.
Add this to the gameplay of APB – fast, third-person shooter action – as opposed to long spells of farming or levelling up in other popular MMOs – and the game’s unique appeal really shows its face. APB is not a game that rewards players for spending large amounts of time, but instead places an emphasis on team-based skill, making the game a unique cross between GTA and Counter Strike rather than World of Warcraft or RuneScape. APB will be released for PC on July
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