APB Reloaded is a FREE Mass Multiplayer Online Third-Person Shooter on Steam.
There is a 'cash shop' for real life money but you can unlock most of the things yourself with time and effort.
To sum it up this game is a Grand Theft Auto MMO with it's own story-line. If they ever did make a Grand Theft Auto Online it would likely be exactly like this. You start off by creating a character, the customization is higher-end but nothing to gush about.
On creation you pick Criminals or Enforcers, although the core game-play will remain the same regardless of which side you pick, side activities and your home bases will change greatly depending on which side you choose.
Criminals
If you pick a criminal then you can steal cars from NPCs and turn them in for cash, obviously some cars are worth a LOT more than others.You are also able to take a truck and slam it into the front of a store, the shop's inventory falls to the ground and you fence it for cash. You can also beat up and rob random NPCs walking the streets.
You have to be careful however, if an Enforcer player witnesses the act they can force you into a witness mission: more on that later.
Enforcers
If you pick an enforcer then you are given a path the criminals do not have access to: LTL or Less than Lethal weaponry. These weapons opt to stun rather than kill the enemy (although they are still capable of killing, it is very hard to pull off).Once stunned an enemy may be arrested, after which they will be forced to sit there for 10-20 seconds before being able to respawn; another criminal may rescue them from the arrested state prior to their vanishing to respawn.
Enforcers are also able to witness crimes, this forces the criminal into a Witness Mission, which is a race for them to fence the stolen goods; the enforcers will have to kill or arrest the criminals and turn their loot in somewhere else for the same reward that the criminals would have gotten except it's a bounty for returning the stolen loot.
So the Criminals instigate and the Enforcers are the anti-criminals and depend on the criminals to act in order for them to perform their duties.
Gameplay
APB Reloaded has two pre-defined districts in which to play, each it's own city for all purposes. The districts are static and never really change, except for the placement of NPCs. What is unique however are the missions.
When you receive a mission it is randomly generated within the existing world. So areas that normally do nothing for you suddenly house objectives for you to complete and a set of players from the opposing faction are suddenly sent to protect that area from you as their mission. Being randomly generated as they progress, you will never know exactly what objectives will be handed to you next during a mission; a breath of fresh air from other MMOs where once you've experienced a set of content you've mastered it, the ever changing nature of the game will keep you on your toes.
The open-world nature of the game means that enemies can come from any direction, they are not pre-programmed AI but rather players who are trying their best to complete their mission, which is to stop you; this creates an amazing experience.
Voice chat is built into the game and the quality is decent. You can pick between clan chat, team (current mission) speak, group speak, and district talk. District talk is the unique feature that allows you to use voice to talk to enemies, usually to taunt them; the help tips on loading screens actually ENCOURAGE this behavior, although there is an ignore function on the friends/team/group menu so you aren't forced to put up with people you don't like but it's usually more fun to yell back at them.
There are objectiveness Deathmatch districts known as the Fight Club that can help you raise your character role levels but do not provide reputation like the main two districts do. If you are just looking for quick action, the Fight Club is where to go.
Your character progresses in two ways; first by leveling roles, each role has it's own prerequisite weapon/task and as you make/do kills/tasks you level up. These leveled roles give you access to new equipment that further enhances your combat abilities.
The other way you progress is by leveling contacts which is more or less reputation; you do this by finishing missions. You gain some experience for loosing and a lot more for winning. Cosmetic upgrades, vehicles, weapons, and more are gotten through contacts. After you finish a certain number of contacts more unlock and they branch out like a tree, unlocking more and more.
Some will ask what the point of the game is, the battles themselves are the point, it's a player vs player game where you will engage in matches for fun in a Grand Theft Auto style world.
