Recently, I got an invitation from Real-time worlds to play APB and participate in their Key to the City event. Reluctantly I started to download. My reluctance first came from the beta of the game and me not being able to play it due to graphics standards, but I thought "Eh what the heck, maybe they fixed it." And oh yes they did.
 
This game is amazing. First you choose on whether or not you want to be a Criminal or an Enforcer. I always liked being the good guys, so I chose Enforcer and it put me in the most incredible character customization I've ever seen in an MMO. Choosing gender, height, weight, facial details, moles, freckles, makeup, scars, facial hair, stubble. It's a lot to take in and you can easily spend 30+ minutes just making your character. Once made you go into a tutorial mode. The missions are set-up so that there's regular missions that earn you money and experience with that certain faction that you take the mission from (Praetorians, Prentiss Tigers) and there's "Back up" missions where you are basically called for support and join a group with someone who needs help on their missions. The missions are fast and simple and you never have to find a mission giver, they're all given to you on your radio. So you can be driving around and BOOM get a mission for back-up and choose whether or not you want to accept it, it's a new way to look at questing in a game and you never have to go out of your way to get into the action. 
 
When playing as an Enforcer you get "Prestige" for doing good things (ie completing missions, not running over civilians) The prestige bar raises to 5 stars, kind of like GTA, but backwards. At 3 star prestige you are qualified as a "threat" to the criminals. This means that when you are doing missions an "All points bulletin" can be sent out on you. This basically means, "Hey you're gaining prestige and levels too easily, so we're sending actual criminal players to fuck you over and try to kill you when you're doing your missions." This is the part I love about the game because it gives you a unique challenge of trying to blow off the dudes trying to stop you and trying to get the mission done. APBs can go either way too so you can be a criminal and suddenly have an APB put out for you, but it would be enforcers after you.
 
The Criminals and Enforcers are pretty much the same, the only difference is that as a Criminal you can raid shops, and get items for money, mug civilians for money, and steal cars and put them in a lockup for money. On the other hand as an Enforcer, you are able to customize your character with a badge, use non-lethal weapons to stun criminals, and then arrest them (Which gives you a bigger bonus than killing them.)
 
The PVP is handled really well in this game and it's not what you'd think of when you see PVP. It's not like a PvP server in WoW where when you see a guy on the road you can just totally gank him. It's hard to explain and I've already probably lost your attention.
 
 
APB is the most fun I've had with a game in a long time and the most fun I've had with an MMO ever. I already pre-ordered it on Steam :D