When All Points Bulletin (APB) was released and quickly shut down last year, I thought its lifetime was shorter than it deserved. I didn’t think that it was a great game by any means, but I did think that it was given absolutely no time to reprieve itself. Much like how many people (myself included) wrote off Star Trek Online in its infancy. But just as Star Trek Online is a different (better) game today than when it was released, APB is a better game upon being rereleased, even if only in beta.

I had a chance to play APB during its original beta last year and while the game had some merit in the character creation department, the awful controls once I stepped foot into the game were enough to turn me off before I could see any possible ray of hope that the game might have had. Friends playing the game that were able to choke down the awkward shooting and driving actually had some great stories to tell of moments in the game, but I never saw it. I am admittedly a pretty finicky person when it comes to how a game feels, especially a shooter.

APB was just recently re-released with a free to play model (in “beta”) by a company called Gamers First. I recall thinking that the game would never come back any better given the other titles Gamers First had under their wings. But, some talk on twitter got me to take a second look at the game.

Over this past weekend I sunk about 7 hours into the game and I couldn’t get enough. Everything that I had complaints about from the games first time in beta had been retooled. The shooting feels so much more accurate and meaningful. The Driving, while still a little “floaty” for my tastes, feels much more enjoyable. I can’t remember if I had issues with the character’s movements before, but they feel very solid. Interaction with items and terminals in the world feel much less disconnected. Everything just feels good.

It was enough of a positive change that I started to take note of things that others had enjoyed before. Things like character and vehicle customization. I spent about a half hour redesigning my car and I know I could sink tons more time into it without batting an eye. I enjoy that the advancement in the game is such that you don’t feel like you’re outgunned by another player as much as out-skilled. It’s more about incremental changes to your abilities, and major changes to your appearance. This seems shallow, even as I type it, but I truly enjoy playing dress up with my enforcer. Seeing gear that can only be obtained by doing certain tasks (in my case, arresting people rather than killing them) and knowing what I had to do to obtain it gives me challenging short term goals, and for a F2P game that’s fun to pick up and play, it works.

As for the “Free to Play” tag, at least for now, it really seems like you can do quite a bit in the game and pay nothing. Now, the game IS in beta, but apparently your character won’t be deleted upon the game’s official release. You can even buy items from the store. Buyer beware though, Gamers First uses the same asinine points system that Microsoft does with Xbox Live. 800 points translates to $10.00, which is how much I spent to make my account “Premium” for a month. I enjoyed it enough over the weekend to know I’ll be going back for more, and I figured the enjoyment I’ve got from playing so far has been worth that much at least.

I’ll report (ooh that sounds official) more on the game as I’ve put more time into it. Hopefully with screenshots next time.