Given its contemporary real world setting, it is no surprise that APB features weapons based on those used around the world today. Indeed, it would have been somewhat odd if Realtime Worlds had adopted turbo-phased plasma rifles and broadswords as part of the APB armoury.
The E3 2009 trailer has given us a closer look at some of the firearms on offer in APB. Armaments showcased included: pistols and submachine guns, assault rifles, light machine guns and even a rocket launcher.
It’s evident that the guns reference specific modern weapons, without being carbon copies. However, given the similarities we can make reasonable assumptions about how they will work – especially as similar weapons have featured in many other games.
Below is a list of what we’ve seen so far, divided by weapon classification and with notes on which real world firearms the APB arsenal most resembles, as well as their assumed characteristics. Of course, the list is by no means definitive, as no official comment has been made of the APB arsenal, but we can have fun guessing.
PISTOLS
Looks like: 9mm pistol (Sig Sauer P-series)
Fire rate: Low (Semi Automatic)
Range: Short
Capacity: Low
Stopping Power: Low/Medium
Accuracy: Good
![[IMG]](http://www.apb-evolved.com/images/information/sig-or-hk-1.jpg)
As seen in the trailer, the first weapon the rookie criminal gets her hands on is a pistol. It’s reasonable to assume that this is the sort of entry level weapon new players will initially use, with more potent variations being available later in both enforcer and criminal careers - by which point a firearm such as this may be relegated to back-up weapon status. As some characters in the E3 video have been seen with dual pistol holsters, it may be possible for dual 9mm pistols to be wielded, thus increasing the fire rate and lethality, possibly with less accuracy.
Looks like: Desert Eagle
Fire rate: Low (Semi Automatic)
Range: Short
Capacity: Very Low
Stopping Power: Medium/High
Accuracy: Average
![[IMG]](http://www.apb-evolved.com/images/information/deagle-1.jpg)
Fans of action games and action films will recognise the distinctive shape of this gun as being inspired by the Desert Eagle. In reality, the gun is apparently not particularly practical given its high cost, low capacity, large size and excessive recoil and is more of an exuberant collector’s item. The gun is more popular in games, Counter-Strike being one such example. Usually depicted as a very powerful handgun - albeit with high recoil and low magazine capacity - the Desert Eagle may prove to be somewhat of a status symbol in APB.
Sub-Machine guns
Looks like: Uzi 9mm / Micro Uzi
Fire rate: High / Very High (Automatic)
Range: Short
Capacity: Medium
Stopping Power: Medium
Accuracy: Poor
![[IMG]](http://www.apb-evolved.com/images/information/uzi-1.jpg)
![[IMG]](http://www.apb-evolved.com/images/information/microuzi-1.jpg)
The Uzi was developed in the late Forties/early Fifties by an Israeli Army Officer (after whom the gun was named) as a substitute for unwieldy long rifles and for use by specialists who needed a compact, close-quarters weapon with a high rate of fire in situations where accuracy was not a major concern - also popular with cyborgs from the future who like to make a mess in Eighties nightclubs and with foursomes battling the zombie apocalypse (Left 4 Dead).
The above iteration of the Uzi has been superseded in some quarters by an even more compact design, which also features in APB – the Micro Uzi.
Looks like: MP5k
Fire rate: High (Semi-Auto and Automatic capable)
Range: Short/Medium
Capacity: Medium
Stopping Power: Medium
Accuracy: Good
![[IMG]](http://www.apb-evolved.com/images/information/mp5k-1.jpg)
The weapon featured by our female gangster friend bears more that a passing resemblance to the MP5k sub-machine gun. Slightly larger than the Uzis and of a higher quality, the MP5k is the little brother of the MP5 - which has featured in countless games, one recent example being Call of Duty 4. Capable of accurate semi-auto and automatic fire, the MP5k is favoured by specialist police and military teams.
Looks like: MP7
Fire rate: High (Semi-Auto and Automatic capable)
Range: Short/Medium
Capacity: Medium
Stopping Power: Medium/ High
Accuracy: Good
![[IMG]](http://www.apb-evolved.com/images/information/mp7-1.jpg)
A step up in firepower - and price - from the MP5k and in a more compact package, the MP7 is capable of piercing body armour thanks to proprietary rounds and is used by international police and military organisations who sought a replacement for the MP5 series of weapons. The first game to have featured an MP7 was Half-Life 2.
Shotguns
Looks like: SPAS 12
Fire rate: High (Semi-Auto and Automatic capable)
Range: Short
Capacity: Low
Stopping Power: High
Accuracy: Variable
![[IMG]](http://www.apb-evolved.com/images/information/spas12-1.jpg)
As with all shotguns in games, this is likely to be the weapon of choice in close quarters - usually capable of killing in a single shot. The SPAS 12 - as seen in Half-Life 1 and 2 - is capable of firing in full automatic, as well as pump action mode. The automatic mode is likely to be offset by a resultant higher recoil and limited ammo capacity, problems only if the APB version is capable of automatic fire. As the shotgun fires multiple pellets - or ‘shot’ - at close ranges multiple targets can be hit with one blast. However, over a long distance the lethality and accuracy of the shotgun is significantly reduced as the pellets disperse more widely.
Assault Rifles
Looks like: SG 556 Rifle (civilian version) / SG 550 (military version)
Fire rate: Low (Semi-Auto - civilian version) / High (military version)
Range: Medium/Long
Capacity: Medium
Stopping Power: High
Accuracy: Excellent
![[IMG]](http://www.apb-evolved.com/images/information/siglongrifle-2.jpg)
This sleek looking rifle is courtesy of our fence sitting friends in Switzerland, proving that there’s more to the landlocked country than clocks, chocolate and assisted suicide. The APB model takes inspiration from both the civilian and military versions of the rifle (with the barrel looking more like the military model and the magazine resembling the civilian version). Why the obsessive scrutiny? Well, one is semi-auto only (civilian) and of course the military have the automatic version. As the E3 vid demonstrated, a disgruntled citizen dispatched an armed robber with a Sig-esque weapon using an accurate single shot - whether this means the rifle is only capable of semi-auto fire or has a fire selector mode remains to be seen.
Looks like: M16
Fire rate: High (Semi-Auto and Automatic capable)
Range: Medium/Long
Capacity: Medium
Stopping Power: High
Accuracy: Excellent
![[IMG]](http://www.apb-evolved.com/images/information/m16-1.jpg)
“I don’t need no teenage queen, I just want my M14”, uh I mean M16. APB features a rifle that looks a lot like the US Army standard issue, only with a different colour scheme. The barrel grip resembles the underslung M203 grenade launcher slide, but in APB this appears to be a cosmetic touch as there’s no evidence of a tube under the barrel, or - to the disappointment of that crazy US politician ranting about the internet - any series of tubes.
Looks like: G36k
Fire rate: High (Semi-Auto and Automatic capable)
Range: Medium/Long
Capacity: Medium
Stopping Power: High
Accuracy: Excellent
![[IMG]](http://www.apb-evolved.com/images/information/g36-1.jpg)
A popular weapon in action games with a military flavour, the G36 is the German Army standard issue rifle. The APB variant looks most like the G36k – a shorter version of the G36. Boasting an impressive futuristic look, this G36k impersonator may appeal to the aesthetically conscience shooter (i.e: the posers). Advantages or disadvantages over other APB assault rifles are unclear at the moment.
Looks like: AKM
Fire rate: High (Semi-Auto and Automatic capable)
Range: Medium/Long
Capacity: Medium
Stopping Power: High
Accuracy: Average
![[IMG]](http://www.apb-evolved.com/images/information/akm-2.jpg)
Born in the USSR, the iconic Avtomat Kalashnikov (AK) series of weapons are world famous. Their ubiquity almost guarantees a place in action game armouries. Whilst they aren’t usually portrayed in games as being the most accurate or sophisticated weapons, they are always powerful and deadly. Nice wooden finish too.
Heavy weapons
Looks like: M240/FN Mag
Fire rate: High
Range: Medium/Long
Capacity: High
Stopping Power: High
Accuracy: Medium
![[IMG]](http://www.apb-evolved.com/images/information/mg-1.jpg)
At the higher end of the bullet spitting food chain is this beast: the light machine gun. In reality, the role of these weapons is often to keep dug in adversaries pinned down whilst team mates manoeuvre to close in for the kill. Should enemies be kind enough to show themselves in any great numbers on open ground, this is the ideal tool to give them all an early nap very quickly. Drawbacks? Well, you carry this and it’s likely you’re the preferred target when the crosshairs scan your team.
Looks like: Recoilless Rifle / Rocket Launcher
Fire rate: Very Low
Range: Medium
Capacity: Very Low
Stopping Power: Excellent
Accuracy: Good
This is the simplest one to explain. Point, shoot, explode: rocket launchers in most action games are largely not more sophisticated than that – but given their bombastic power one can’t complain. If the excellent rocket launcher in Real Time World’s Crackdown is anything to go by, we’re in for a treat. Featured in the video is a launcher with a targeting scope: whether this is just cosmetic is unknown.
Possessing tremendous stopping power, we can assume that only veterans will be able to get their hands on this sort of firepower; while the rest of us have to be content with admiring the fireworks. Just please don’t toast my car.
Miscellaneous Tools
Battering Ram
Role: Forced Entry
![[IMG]](http://www.apb-evolved.com/images/information/batteringram-2.jpg)
An interesting new item showcased in the new trailer is the battering ram – as seen on cop television programmes. Whilst the tool is usually attributed to law enforcement, it is conceivable to see it in the hands of criminals – for example, during gang raids. Going indoors is something we have seen nothing of in APB as of yet, so extent to which we will use this device is uncertain. To save embarrassment during a home invasion, make sure you’re wearing underpants.
Lockpick
Role: Forced Entry (into cars!)
![[IMG]](http://www.apb-evolved.com/images/information/lock-1%20copy.jpg)
Isn’t it annoying when you’ve forgotten your car keys? Perhaps less annoying than having found out some miscreant has taken off with your car, using the above mentioned device. The inventories of even the most small time crook will doubtless feature this ‘master key’.
