Video Game / APB (1987)

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An arcade game released by Atari Games surrounding Officer Bob as he works for the police to hunt down various folks who break the law and meet the quota established by his boss. On occasion, he will be sent to hunt down an A.P.B. when an order for their arrest is made.

This game provides examples of:

• Cop Killer: One of the A.P.B.s is Fake Frank, who has murdered at least one police officer.
• Donut Mess with a Cop: The player gets extra time when they drive through a donut shack. Driving over donuts along hidden pathways will also net bonus time. Destroy a donut shack by plowing into it, and the player receives one demerit.
• Drugs Are Bad: One of the A.P.B.s is Freddy Freak who was selling drugs illegally.
• Endless Tasks, Endless Game: The ultimate objective was to arrest 15 dangerous criminals, each of which looked different and drove a different vehicle. The levels got harder as you went, and you could continue for as long as your tokens held out. It looked for all the world that if you played long enough, there would eventually be a triumphant victory screen, or at least an acknowledgement of your prowess before the game looped. Nope and nope.
• Every 10,000 Points: Every $5000 you scored through arrests (APB or quota) and recovered money bags removed one demerit from your "Demerit Meter". (The more demerits you have, the closer you are to losing the game.) When APB arrests (which require both "apprehending the suspect" AND "making him/her talk before the Chief gets to the interrogation room") are worth enough to remove at least one demerit, this can be very important if you're in danger of getting "Too Many Demerits" and a Game Over.
• Friend on the Force: If you both arrest the APB criminal AND get a confession from him/her, the Chief is willing to overlook it if you hadn't made your quota that day, concentrating on getting the criminal first. However, failing to get the confession nets you a demerit for failing to "give the suspect due process (reading the suspect his/her rights)," AND you'll be judged on your quota, with one demerit for each arrest you missed your quota by. (The Lynx version, however, credits you with the confession and APB reward if you bring in the criminal though.)
• It's a Wonderful Failure: The game over screen reads "Too Many Demerits - YOU ARE FIRED", and shows other cops pulling Officer Bob out of his patrol car and either throwing him into a paddy wagon or canning him by stuffing him into a trash can.
• Mad Bomber: One of the A.P.B.'s the player much catch is a man partaking in terrorist bombings.
• The Many Deaths of You: If Bob fails to make his quota 1) within the time allowed, 2) before he runs out of gas OR 3) failed in getting a confession from an APB criminal if he hadn't fulfilled the quota beforehand, he gets penalized one demerit for each arrest he missed it by (if he didn't get the confession, that adds an additional demerit for "failing to give the suspect due process" as mentioned earlier). In addition, the Chief would yell "LOUSY COP!" and do one of the following:
  • Breathe fire and singe Bob (Bob's face is shown singed grey).
  • Grab Bob's nose and yank it.
  • Grab Bob's neck and one-hand "strangle" him.
  • Pull Bob's police hat over his eyes.
• Opaque Lenses: Cool Hand Duke, one of the A.P.B.s wears this set of glasses.
• Optional Traffic Laws: The game teaches you to pull over minor offenders such as litterbugs by rapidly pressing the siren button until they comply. What the game doesn't teach you is that, when going after major criminals where you have to smash into their car, you need to hold the siren button down. If you don't, you get demerits!
• Player Character: You play as Officer Bob.
• Railroad Tracks of Doom: The player must avoid – among other things – a train. Getting struck by the train takes time off the clock AND adds a demerit to your tally (and demerits can add up quickly).
• Stock Money Bag: There are money bags in the game close by donuts on the side of the road, getting these are worth valuable income to your "score" (as said, at every 5000 dollars in tickets/APB arrests/recovered cash, you lose a demerit from your "Demerit Meter"). On rare occasions, these bags also had a valuable "Demerit Erased" prize as well, which could help if you started piling up demerits (they removed one demerit regardless of score). A few had hints in each "safe money bag." A recent Lynx playthrough also had a rarer prize that awarded you the cash for your quota and marked the quota completed, so you just had to go back to the station to end the shift and get your bonuses. An Amstrad playthrough had the bags worth 50 to 5000 dollars (in lieu of the "Demerit Erased" prize). However, some "money bags" hide that it's really a Satchel Charge. If Bob grabs one of these "boobie trap money bags" it will destroy his car AND add a demerit to the "Demerit Meter." Since you might not be able to tell which money bags are safe, some playthroughs focus instead on donut shops, donut huts and getting donuts on the side of the road in order to focus on getting more time to finish each day, Finishing your quota AND parking in your spot at the Police station gets you the "Earlybird Bonus." You can also use that extra time to refuel your patrol car; you get bonus cash for the spare gas if your tank's not empty at the end of your shift.
• Stuffed into a Trashcan: In the Game Over sequence, the other cops beat Officer Bob up and dump him into a trashcan. Occasionally, they toss him into the back of a police van instead.
• Video Game Cruelty Punishment: Running over civilians or shooting innocent parties will earn you demerits.