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'Crackdown' is available for free -- and playable on Xbox One
The original Crackdown was an early hit for Xbox 360 -- packed-in access to the Halo 3 beta didn't hurt -- and now Xbox players can revisit 2007 for the low, low cost of nothing. With no explanation or fanfare the game has had its digital price zeroed out, although it's possible this could be tied to the XO18 event in Mexico this weekend where Xbox chief Phil Spencer will appear. It will include a two-hour Inside Xbox stream on Saturday at 4 PM ET with news about Crackdown 3, Minecraft, Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2 and Forza Horizon 4, a dozen Game Pass announcements and "a surprise or two." It's been a while since we've heard from Crackdown 3 and giving folks a taste of the original could help drum up hype for a new entry in the series that's now due to arrive in 2019. After delays and some lackluster showings, it certainly can't hurt. Anyway, agents, Crackdown has been available in backwards compatibility for Xbox One -- and upgraded once again on the more powerful Xbox One X -- since February, so just hit the link and give it a download.
Codemasters denies picking up APB
If you were holding out hope that the defunct urban crime MMO All Points Bulletin would be resurrected courtesy of the folks at Codemasters, Eurogamer has a little bit of cold water to throw on your fire. David Solari, Codemasters Online general manager, minces no words in a recent interview. "We have not picked up APB, I can answer you definitively," he said. Rumors circulated that the publisher might be picking up the pieces of the shuttered MMO, left scattered by the closing of Realtime Worlds, when former RTW community manager Ben Bateman updated his LinkedIn profile to reflect his new job at Codemasters. Epic Games has also been rumored as a potential salvager, and Solari says that someone will inevitably pick up APB's assets, if only for the innovative tech. "If they don't pick up the game then they will pick up the technology for sure, because the avatar and character customisation technology is incredible. Something will definitely be done to preserve that," he muses.
Ben Bateman details the fall of Realtime Worlds and APB
Interested in an insider's view of the fall of All Points Bulletin and its development studio Realtime Worlds? Eurogamer takes a look at the last days of the now-defunct MMOFPS in a lengthy article that focuses on former community manager Ben Bateman. If you're looking for an in-depth exposé of why the game failed and who is responsible, you won't find that here, as the piece is heavy on the human interest angle and light on actual details beyond the plush (by game industry standards) working conditions. Still, it's worth a read, both for Bateman's perspective and his relentless positivity in the face of a uniformly bad situation. "They essentially said, 'here are the 50 people that we want to keep on. Please go to room X.' It was tough," says Bateman, recalling the Begbies Traynor administration meeting that sealed the company's fate.
The Daily Grind: What will you miss about APB?
It's never enjoyable when a game or game company goes belly-up, and MMO fans have had no shortage of depressing news over the years. Whether it was Earth and Beyond, The Matrix Online, Tabula Rasa, or (now) All Points Bulletin, many of our favorite games burned twice as bright but lasted half as long. The case of All Points Bulletin is even more aggravating due to its peerless character creation system, a unique take on music, and a payment model that attempted to blend the best of subscription-based and F2P titles. While we're the first to admit the game had its problems, it also had its charms and will be missed. That leads us to our question of the day, Massively readers. What will you miss about APB?
APB PureSkill patch incoming [Updated]
All Points Bulletin's frenetic multiplayer combat is about to get a substantial facelift in the form of the PureSkill ruleset. The new rules, which remove all upgrades except for ammo carrier, go into effect with today's 1.4.2 patch and will be available in specific districts that are chosen via the instance tab on the game's district select screen. The new ruleset is intended to bring tactics and player skill to the forefront of APB's competitive criminal versus enforcer matches, rather than leaving players at the mercy of the traditional MMO RNG. In addition to the PureSkill additions, Realtime Worlds has also tweaked post-processing effects, color grading, and depth of field, and a number of exploits and bugs have been squashed with today's update. Take a gander at the full patch notes on the official website for more details. [Update: And, apparently, APB is dying. Whoops.]
APB weapon and mission changes incoming
All Points Bulletin's 1.3.1 patch is nearly upon us, and the forthcoming update will bring about significant changes to both weapons and missions. The patch, currently scheduled for August 10th, addresses problems with continuous, full auto-fire on both the N-Tec and the OCA-EW automatic weapons. Each gun has had its base accuracy lowered in addition to several other balance-related tweaks. Realtime Worlds' lead system designer JerichoNA, posting on the official forums, pre-emptively addresses concerns players might have regarding the testing and implementation of weapon tweaks such as these. "It''s not simply as a concession to people raising concerns on the forums. When weapon balance issues come up, we correlate these with feedback from our QA department and from team members who play regularly on the live service," he writes. In addition to the weapon tweaks, criminal vs. criminal matchmaking has been disabled, as have been system-generated bounties. The full patch notes will be available this Tuesday. In the meantime, check out the details on the official forums.
Realtime Worlds celebrates new office opening, ever-expanding staff
Like the Scottish equivalent of George and Weezie, Crackdown developer Realtime Worlds is movin' on up. Rather than a deeeluxe apartment in the sky, the company has just opened an 8,000 sq. ft. office, adding to its already existing 26,000 sq. ft. location. Quite a feat considering the company moved into its current studio less than three years ago and has only ever shipped one game. "We've had tremendous commercial and critical success, and have done the lion's share of the work towards a successful launch of our online title APB," studio manager Colin MacDonald says in the press release, referring to the company's upcoming PC MMO. Considering the down economy and flood of layoffs we saw earlier in the year, it's always good to see some expansion -- RTW is looking to reach over 300 employees by years end. And you could be one of them, as the company wants to remind everyone that "over 40 vacancies" exist in the careers section at the Realtime Worlds website. You live in Scotland, right?
New official website for All Points Bulletin opens up
Signs of forthcoming news are beginning to make their appearance for All Points Bulletin as Realtime Worlds has recently updated the title's official website. There's even a tease for eventual forums! Oh, how we await the heated discussion of whether or not dual-wielding pistols should be nerfed. All semi-sincere joking aside, the new website is leaps and bounds above the old from a visual standpoint. Anyone looking at the current page will definitely get the impression that this is a well-funded title. We're also particularly fond of how responsive the high bandwidth version of the site runs.Don't overlook the handy link at the bottom-center of the first page that allows any interested parties to, uh, register their interest, aka registering for some sort of eventual beta event. We know, it's some heady stuff.[Thanks, Tammy]
All Points Bulletin beta interest page goes live
Following yesterday's announcement from Realtime Worlds concerning their upcoming beta for All Points Bulletin, we now have confirmation that the "Register your interest" page has gone live. This is all thanks to the overwhelming response from APB fans who became members of their Facebook fan group yesterday. Their initial goal of 500 was achieved within 3 hours of posting the news!So now, much earlier than expected, Realtime Worlds has launched the interest page for anyone looking for a chance to get into the APB beta. This is simply the first step in the process, but rest assured that more news will be coming soon. Plus, if you haven't had a chance to sign up to their Facebook group yet, you can join and help them grow even further.
All Points Bulletin nearing the beta stage
In light of the recent positive news surrounding Realtime Worlds' upcoming crime MMO All Points Bulletin, they've just announced that beta signups will begin soon. In anticipation of this, they've set up a website where fans can register their interest in the beta, which will enable fans to get their email added in anticipation, and ensure up-to-date news from Realtime Worlds regarding APB and future projects.Before Realtime Worlds decided to create the "Register Your Interest" page as part of their growing community activities, they wanted to make sure there would be enough enthusiasm for the game. So to gauge this enthusiasm, they promised that the sign-up page would go live after they reached 500 members on their APB Facebook page. Well, they reached that goal in only a few hours, proving that this game is very highly-anticipated.
Realtime Worlds undecided on All Points Bulletin for PS3
"The situation is that yes, all the consoles are an option for us, and we'll be looking at them, but there's nothing decided, nothing to report at the moment I'm afraid," said Realtime Worlds studio manager, Colin MacDonald. The only thing worth reporting then, as discovered by GamesIndustry.biz, is that the Crackdown developer has no concrete plans to bring its bandanna gangster MMO, All Points Bulletin ("APB" as it's known on the streets), to Sony's black behemoth. It seems there was some jumping to incorrect conclusions after an article in the Scotsman suggested Realtime Worlds was looking to adapt APB "for games consoles such as XBox and PlayStation in the future." That's only partially true, as the game is currently bound for PC and Xbox 360. Still, there's loads of time between now and 2009, and plenty of ways to spend $50 million in funding. Gallery: GDC08: All Points Bulletin
Realtime Worlds receives $50 million in real world investment
Realtime Worlds, the developer best known for Crackdown, raised $50 million in its third round of financing. The company is currently at work on the MMO All Points Bulletin in conjunction with Korean company Webzen. Realtime Worlds CEO David Jones was a creator on the original Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings back in the day. Although Crackdown was a great game, nobody is going to deny that the title did better because of its tie-in with the Halo 3 beta. APB should let us see how a Realtime Worlds title does without the assistance of Master Chief and the Halo army. [Via GameDaily]
Huxley's character creation in action
We won't lie when we say Webzen's upcoming first-person MMO Huxley had dropped off our radar, and when new details came out about their Real Time Worlds developed All Points Bulletin (APB) we thought Huxley got the quiet ax. Well, while details are still light on the title we do know that the game is still slated to come out between now and the next leap year. However, the latest news comes to us from a Game Trailers user who swiped some footage of the character creation menus. In the video, the user goes through some of the various options available for those interested in creating a female warrior within Huxley, which is actually comes Stateside in 2009 for the PC and Xbox 360. We were joking about the leap year thing.[Thanks, Chris]
APB demonstration shows 'Cops and Robbers' gameplay
Sure, these past few days have seen a number of megaton announcements come from the Game Developers Conference, but nothing tickled our collective fancy quite like Realtime Worlds' Crackdown-turned-MMO, All Points Bulletin. The above trailer more than justifies our infatuation -- with Ronin-esque car chases instead of corpse runs, and assault rifles in lieu of broadswords, there may be no country for old MMOs once APB hits the unsuspecting online gaming market.
New Crackdown enhancements coming today
There's a great new reason for you to hold on to your copy of Crackdown. What? No, silly, not that reason. This reason: The full scoop on all the free and not-so-free enhancements coming to the game this week today. We don't have room for everything here, but, suffice it to say: It's big. First up, there are some small changes via a title update like the gang reset option, new ground strike attack and easier-to-spot stunt rings. Then you've got the "Free-for-All" pack (yes, that's the free one). The key feature here is the "Keys to the City" mode, which could best be described as a cheat mode hopped up on goofballs. It lets you set whatever skill level you want, enable "super agility" or "super strength" or spawn a ramp truck just to name a few, all from a pop-up cheat menu that doesn't require pausing. Also, the Agency garage will allow you to store vehicles with an achievement if you "impound 'em all." Then there's the "Gettin' Busy Bonus Pack" which is premium content (read: it costs 800 points). That includes new vehicles like the buggy, a "ridiculously powerful mono-cockpit race car" and the Agency Armored Vehicle (which we're calling the Rocket Turretmobile). The premium pack also adds five new modes like street racing, rocket tag and footraces. There's also new equipment like a proximity charge, a cloaking device and the ... wait for it ... harpoon gun. What's more, you can actually sample the pack before you buy it by playing co-op with a well-off friend who's already purchased it. Also, there are 350 new Achievement points to be had between the two packs. This is a real bar-raiser for downloadable content and we can't wait to get our hands on it. We're not sure of an exact date yet, but if Realtime Worlds and Microsoft are wise, they'll get it here as long before May 16 as they possibly can. Update: Microsoft is now saying that the content drops today. The premium pack will be 800 points ($10). This new stuff is amazing, but there is still that other reason to own Crackdown on the horizon.%Gallery-3048%
Update brings more Crackdown vehicular goodness
If you've been playing Crackdown lately, you may have noticed an auto update has been released for the title. And before you ask, no it's not the Halo 3 beta activation. Major Nelson got word that the Crackdown auto update helps fix minor technical junk to make the game more silky smooth and increases the number of gang vehicles cruising Pacific City. But we still haven't heard from Realtime Worlds about the new achievements or downloadable content. So, we must exercise that "patience" thing we always hear about ... patience, patience, patience. Has anyone noticed a smoother experience or more vehicle goodness after you downloaded the update?
New details on Crackdown DLC
In an Eurogamer interview with Crackdown's producer Phil Wilson, we get a smidgen more information about Crackdown's upcoming downloadable content. Mr. Wilson (we just had to) openly answers fan's questions with brute honesty, even going as far as to say that the studio came to terms with the Halo 3 beta inclusion by looking at it as a "marketing stunt". But the cream filled center of this interview is the promise of a boss reset option in the next update. So, no more creating new gamertags or other lame workarounds, a reset is on its way. Wilson also touches on the addition of a new co-op game mode, the possibility of four player co-op, and flying high ... all possible in future updates. Make the jump for the full interview, that is, if you've collected enough agility orbs agent (we just had to).
Finding every hidden orb in Crackdown
Tracking down the last few hidden orbs in Crackdown can be a daunting task, especially in a city the size of Pacific City. So, that's why Herman Gatevold went through all the work to post a picture of all 300 hidden orb locations as well as conveniently plotting them on a map of Pacific City. Yes, you can thank him later by showering him with gifts or paying his electric bill, but right now you have hidden orbs to find. It's time to unlock the Orb Hunter achievement agent, so start hunting![Thanks, Choob]
Possible Crackdown co-op achievement problems
If you've been playing Crackdown co-op style, then we need your input. After playing co-op with a friend the last two nights we noticed a problem with the achievements in the game. The problem arose when I was invited to a co-op Crackdown session, which was easy enough. Hours went by, we were leveling up our characters, earning achievements for such deeds, and even picked up the "Double Trouble" achievement. It was bliss until we killed every gang member in Los Muertos. My friend (who was hosting the game) unlocked two achievements, both the "Los Muertos Intel Master" and "Los Muertos Cleanser". But there was a problem, I didn't receive any achievements. We then exited the game, I started a solo campaign by myself and noticed that all the progress I made in co-op with my friend was remembered except for how many gang members we found/killed. My agent's skill levels were retained, all agility orbs remembered, and even the supply points were marked as located. But it still showed that I haven't killed or found any of the 21 gang members and therefore haven't earned those corresponding achievements. So fanboys, do you have a similar story or is this a weird one-off incident? Have you been playing co-op and earning achievements pertaining to taking down the gangs and its members? I've sent out a query to the powers that be and hopefully we will get some answers, because playing co-op and not earning certain achievements is ridiculous. Again, any information from you guys would help to get this issue figured out.
Target mixes up Crackdown and N3
Crackdown and Ninety-Nine Nights, while sharing a few fundamental mechanics -- i.e. leveling and combat -- are practically opposites. N3 is a linear action game set in a fantasy world. Crackdown is an open sandbox game set in a futuristic urban landscape. Ninety-Nine Nights received loads of hype, ranging from its epic Kurosawa inspired story, to its association with Lumines creator, Tetsuya Mizuguchi. Upon its release, the game fell flat. Crackdown didn't receive much hype until late in its development cycle, although it too has a well known creator behind it (Dave Jones, creator of GTA). Crackdown's early reviews, so far, have been great. To sum up, Crackdown and Ninety-Nine Nights are, in fact, different games. It looks like someone forgot to inform Target, as their product page for Crackdown proudly displays the box art for Ninety-Nine Nights. Oops. We know it was an honest mistake, but this is actually the kind of thing that might make someone wary of pre-ordering from Target. Who knows, maybe they'll stick the box art for Grand Theft Auto IV on the product page for Halo 3. [Thanks, DjDATZ]
