Monday MAME Club [05/02/05] - APB (All Points Bulletin)

[Flack]

http://members.cox.net/flack/mameclub1.jpg

Welcome to this week's Monday Morning MAME Club Posting. Every Monday, a member of the MAME club will pick a new game for you to play in MAME! All you have to do to participate is install MAME, download the ROM of the week from this message, and then post your thoughts about the game! You can post a full review of the game or simply tell us what you liked/didn't like about the game. Have you played this game before? Have you played it in an actual arcade? Do you like the genre? How did it run on your computer? Did you beat it? If so, how long did it take? What was your high score? How far can you get? Did you have any problems emulating the game? When writing your review, post it right here in the sticky topic and include any thoughts you have about the game. Remember, YOU are the reviewer. Let us know anything and everything you think about the game! Just remember, if you want people to respond during YOUR week, you should play along on OTHER weeks!

The ROM of the week is: APB (available HERE (http://www.robohara.com/mameclub/apb.zip)!)
KLOV Link for the game: HERE (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=6795)

http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/A/wA.P.B..png

Club Members:

digitalpress (Battle Bakraid)
Gamereviewgod (ESP Ra.De.)
Wisesalesman (Waku Waku 7)
scooterb23 (I'm Sorry)
ddockery (Penguin-Kun Wars)
AlanD (Dr. Micro)
IntvGene (Strike Force)
NE146 (Portman)
jonjandran (Bronze Adventure)
Flack (Rollergames, Yie-Ar Kung-Fu, Liquid Kids, Ninja Clowns, Great 1000 Mile Rally)
IGotTheDot (N/A)
zektor (Battle Bakraid, Haunted Castle)
buttasuperb (Blazing Star)
chadtower (Berzerk)
Sotenga (Caliber 50)
Stark (Mighty! Pang)
christianscott27 (Darius Gaiden)
ECWSandmanECW (League Bowling)
TripppsK (Lady Bug)
vespertillio (Rampart!)
<s>ghsqb</s>
TheSmirk (Bomb Jack)
Flukkake (Elevator Action)
BHvrd (NARC)
ManekiNeko (Battle Circuit)
MarioAllStar2600 (City Bomber)
Ze_ro (Pandora's Palace)
slip81 (Biomechanical Toy)
Qbert (Mysterious Stones)
k8track (Go! Go! Mile Smile)
<s>Hamsnibit</s>
Lady Jaye (Chuka Taisen/Cloud Master)
Sofa King Gud (Crossbow)
Schenley (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)
Kaine23 (Super Burgertime)
Arqueologia_Digital (Burgertime)
Jiscan (Withdrew)
-hellvin- (Splatterhouse)
Acidic_Pain (Armed Police Batrider)
Gamemaster_ca_2003 (Block Out)
Vigilante (Pu-Li-Ru-La)
Hovoc (D&D: Shadow Over Mystara)
<s>Mr.FoodMonster</s>
sniperCCJVQ (WWF Superstars)
A Boy (Satan's Hollow)
JibbaJaba (Solomon's Key)
Cauterize (The Simpsons)
youruglyclone (Vendetta)
Ed Oscuro (Alligator Hunt)
Gapporin (Daisu-Kiss)
Graham Mitchell (Ataxx)
RockyRaccoon (19xx: The War Against Destiny)
XxMe2NiKxX (Raiden II)
<s>brykasch</s>
Xtasy (Metal Slug 2)
DJ_DEEM (G.I. Joe)
The_EniGma (The Punisher)
DaBargainHunta (Combatribes)
cr0n0 (Escape From The Planet Of The Robot Monsters)
Promophile (Pang)
Cirrus (Dynasty Wars)
Stargate (Rastan)
phantomfriar (Prehistoric Isle in 1930)
GobopopRevisited (Elevator Action Returns)
kevates (Gryuss)
!!! Lothars (APB - All Points Bulletin) !!!
SuperGunGuru
-----
(Next Round) Cryomancer
(Next Round) Red Hedgehog
(Note: I've locked the list this time around. Future members of the club will be added next round!)

Remember, you don't have to be a member of the club to download the game and write up a review, but by joining you get the honor of picking a game to share with the group during your week. If you would like to join, simply send me a PM and I will add you to the list!

The current MAME Club Pick of the Week can be found Monday mornings stickied at the top of the main forum, and after that stickied at the top of the Arcade Alley forum.

MAME ON!

[Flack]

Just a couple of comments here.

First off, thanks to everybody who made last week's pick (Gyruss) so much fun! Last week was really fun; that's the kind of particpation level I envision in this club -- let's do it again!

Second, good luck controlling this week's game. From what I gather, the arrow keys steer, CTRL is gas and space bar is your siren, but if any other cops see my driving my APB will get booked on a DUI ASAP!

[Cirrus]

Hey, this is one I've played! I actually found APB and played it as a PC release, long ago. I had a lot of fun with it, but this really takes the cake.

I imagine the PC version was a port of this arcade version, it seems a lot more complete. Thanks!

[Cryomancer]

Oh man, I got lots of demerits. I DID manage to eventually get teh controls set up..ok...and arrest the frist criminal guy though. Made him confess too. A cop game where you get donuts and beat confessions out of people...interesting, heh.

I could swear i've played this before, but the mame controls weren't set up at all so maybe I'm thinking of something similar to it, mayeb Chase HQ or SCI? I dunno. Fun game once you get controls set up though. Would work a lot better with an accual pedal though, it's hard to be at the right speed with a button.

[Graham Mitchell]

Here's one I really enjoy. I have it for Playstation 2 in Midway's Arcade Treasures vol. 2. This is probably the best game on the disc. It's difficult enough to control on the PS2, so I'd be scared to try it in MAME.

Basically, if you can get a handle on the control (which is tough because the game moves FAST), it's a matter of practice makes perfect.

APB is incredible. It was designed by David Theurer(sp), who I think did Missile Command, am I right? There's a really fascinating interview on the Midway Arcade Treasures disc with Mike Halley and some of the other surviving members of the design team. I guess they were saying that APB had one of the wierdest sales patterns of any machine they had made. It sold a ton of orders at the trade show where they first unveiled it, and never sold more than a handful of machines after that. Most of the machines that we all saw back in the day were probably bought on the first day it was available.

Their reasoning for that was that APB is enticing when you first look at it, but it's really too complicated for the arcades. There's so much to do, and so many different ways to do it. The problem is that you have to get over a really steep learning curve to see everything the game has to offer, and pay a LOT of money to get that good at it.

That's why I love having APB at home (I had the Lynx version back in the day) because you can sit down with it and really take notice of everything they tried to do with it. Pretty much every sprite has something really funny going on with it, and the "Make 'em Talk!" segments are just hilarious. Apparently one of the animations of Officer Bob slugging the criminals was him basically taking a shot at the guy's groin, and management forced them to pull it out of the game before it shipped.

Anyway, blah blah blah...This game is CLASSIC Atari Coin-Op, and demonstrates everything that was magical about them in the late 80's and early 90's. It's a tough one to learn, but once you do you'll be hooked for life. ;)

[Sotenga]

YEAH! APB just simply freaking rules. Not only do I love it, but so does my brother! The game truly has a unique charm to it, what with you being the screw-up cop and there being so many different types of lawbreakers out there to arrest... good times, good times. :D

I laugh my ass off every time the chief shoots fire at Officer Bob's head, or whenever he gets thrown into the trashcan. The game has a unique sense of humor that makes it enjoyable all throughout, and the graphics are colorful and effective. The sound design is good too, with the types of wacky voice clips you'd expect from a vintage Midway game.

I'm not very good at driving games, and since driving is a rather heavy part of the action, this game is hard for me. It could be easy for others, but I doubt that, since the demerits that you receive can be pretty unforgiving at times. Usually, I have my siren on, thinking that that random car I accidentally grazed won't penalize me, when I abruptly find that I was going too fast and having my car explode, thus earning a demerit anyway. D'OH!

Despite its frustrations here and there, APB simply rules. I think I got to play it once in the arcade, which is how it should be enjoyed, but if a machine isn't available, Midway Arcade Treasures 2 is the next best thing. ;)

[scooterb23]

I've got it setup to recognize my mouse as the steering controls. Doesn't help much honestly :)

Good game, but really hard to control in a home setup it seems.

[Graham Mitchell]

Does anybody know how to actually get gas at the gas station? I've never actually been able to do it, and wheneven I drive into what I think are the "gas pads", I blow up. Any advice?

[kainemaxwell]

I used to play this alot at pizza parlors and bowling alleys with my parents when I was a kid! Always loved driving about and trying not to get demirits, which was a task easier said then done.

I play this alot on MAT2 when I go over a friend's house. :)

[MarioAllStar2600]

I got this one in my home arcade. I love APB :D

As great as this game is, I don't think it can be emulated. The controls on the original are the best part. The loose wheel, what I love about old atari games. Anyway this game is great. I just wish I didn't get the litterbugs confused with normal white cars so often. :angry: I hate how hard it is to talk to the enemy. I can't get it on the arcade. :angry: Probably my second fav. arcade game.

[stargate]

I used to play this one a ton back in the day. They had it at my local arcade and also in my college campus center.

The game is not easy, but very addictive once you get the hang of it. It is completely different than any other driving game I have ever played. I have not tried it yet in MAME, but I will give it a shot. I am guessing there must be some way to get the thing set up so it plays ok.

* ok, I tried it on MAME. It works pretty well using a mouse as the steering wheel. controls almost as well as the steering wheel on the actual arcade game. there is a lot to do in this game, probably why it was not more popular. I guess most people back then wanted the games to be as simple as possible.

[tholly]

im not a member of the club, but i have played this game on an actual cabinet...the cabinet marty (MAS2600) bought at the August 2004 NJ Super Auctions

from what I played of it, i can remember that it is a pretty fun game....but with the cabinet having a steering wheel and pedal, it has to be a little more fun playing on the real cabinet than on the PC

[Gamereviewgod]

Most of my time with APB was spent with the Lynx port. I agree this game is brutal to play on MAME with control situation. It's just one of those games you simply have to have the cabinet to play.

It's really an original title even if it doesn't seem like it at first. The voices are great and really make the game what it is.