Play A.P.B. - All Points Bulletin Online

Summary

Playing APB on the Atari Lynx feels like squeezing a tiny police cruiser into the palm of your hand. The handheld captures the arcade’s quirky cabinet – complete with a steering wheel, gas pedal and even a siren button – but translates it into a set of crisp, cartoony sprites that pop with neon‑bright colors. I’m constantly juggling a daily quota of citations while hunting down litterers, speeders and other petty offenders, all while watching a demerit meter creep toward the red as a life gauge. Donut shops and fuel stations act as lifelines, extending the clock and refilling the car, and the Speed Shop lets you upgrade brakes, guns, armor and radar between days. The Lynx version earned solid scores (88/100 from CVG, 8.5/10 from IGN, 83% from Raze), praised for its faithful arcade feel, though the gameplay can feel repetitive and the hardware’s full potential isn’t fully tapped.

Storyline

In A.P.B. – All Points Bulletin for the Atari Lynx you play as Bob, a rookie cop who spends his shifts cruising the city, handing out tickets for minor infractions and pulling over the more serious offenders. Every other day, starting on the third day, the game shifts into an A.P.B. stage where the Chief flashes a mugshot, a description of the suspect’s vehicle, and the command “Get this crook today.”

Bob must hunt down a colorful roster of criminals – from litterers and speeders to arsonists like Bernie Gasman, pimps such as Cool Hand Duke, and even a nuclear‑fuel thief named Buzz Geiger – and bring them back to the station. Once there, the player shakes the suspect by alternating taps on the fire and siren buttons to fill the “Confess‑O‑Meter” and force a confession before the Chief arrives. A successful confession shows a “Bob’s Top 10” screen with the crook behind bars, while a failure incurs a police‑brutality penalty.

If the daily quota isn’t met, the game rewards you with a series of tongue‑in‑cheek punishments from the Chief, ending with a final radio call‑out of “Car 54, return to station” when you finally hit the target.