EPISODE 23: APB-All Points Bulletin

The Atari Lynx HandyCast

#PA2042, Published by Atari Corp.
In this episode I cover another popular arcade port, APB – All Points Bulletin, released for the Lynx in 1991. Included are statistics for the game and a run-down on how to play it, along with reviews and ratings, some fun facts and trivia, and lots of listener feedback about the game. Also in today’s episode: Monty and I find ourselves on a tangent discussing how accurate the portrayals of police officers were on the television programs of our youth.

“Oooh! Oooh!” -Monty

There’s a Honker in the Bronx
Speeders running all the stops
There’s a Litterbug in Harlem
Throwing trash at all the cops
There are Dopers smoking herb
Hitchers hiking on the curb

OFFICER BOB, WHERE ARE YOU?

The APB – All Points Bulletin arcade upright cabinet with matching seat was released by Atari Games in 1987.

APB – All Points Bulletin VITAL STATISTICS
Release Date: August of 1991.
Initial Retail Price: $34.00-$39.00 in the US; £29.99 in the UK.
Cartridge Information: 256kB monaural curved lip-style cartridge.
Game Genre: Top-down-view 2-dimensional scrolling arcade racing/driving game for 1 player only.
Alternate Title: A.P.B. (it appeared as this title on all packaging and marketing materials for this game).
Screen Playfield Orientation: Landscape (horizontal).
Based On: The arcade cabinet of the same name released by Atari Games in 1987.
Ports to Other Systems: Amstrad CPC (1989), Atari ST (1989), Commodore 64 (1989), Commodore Amiga (1989), DOS (1989), and ZX Spectrum (1989).
Game Levels: At least 99.
Number of Players: 1 (no ComLynx support).
Packaging: A full-color standard flap-tab regular-size box (5 3/8″ by 4 3/8″ by 7/8″). The French variant included a sticker on the front (2 Pin’s Gratuit) indicating the inclusion of 2 lapel pins.
Instruction Manual: Each A.P.B. box is packaged with two full color posters, 22” high by 17” wide (see photo above the “Thank You’s” section below); one poster is in English and the other is in French. The front of each poster includes an exact copy of the box cover art, with a yellow triangular banner added at the upper left with the words See reverse side for instructions in a large black font tilted upwards at a 45 degree angle. The back of each poster includes an illustrated comic book-style list of basic instructions. The posters are folded several times in order to fit in the small Lynx boxes. The English instructions for APB – All Points Bulletin were written by Scott Rhoades.

The staff of Quicksilver Software, Inc. in 1991 (L-R): Bill Fisher, Arlene Caberto, Scott Bennie, Meghan Rowntree, Byon Garrabrant, Katie Fisher, Todd Camasta, Dave Nelson and Robert Barris (source: Castles manual)

APB – All Points Bulletin CREDITS
Original Arcade: Atari Games Corporation
Publisher: Atari Corporation
Licensee: Tengen, Inc.
Developer: Quicksilver Software
Programmer and Sound Effects: Robert Barris
Graphics/Backgrounds: Shann Chastain, Arlene Caberto Somers, David Nelson
Music: Dave Bean
Movie Projector: William C. Fisher
Special Thanks: Steve Ryno

Be sure to check out our partner AtariLynxVault.com to stay “Lynxed In” to all of the latest news about our favorite handheld gaming console!

LYNX LYNKS

Atari Lynx Books:
“GameGuide Lynx” by Karl Morris.

Information About APB – All Points Bulletin:
Atari Age title info/rarity guide for APB – All Points Bulletin
Atari Gamer title info/rarity guide for APB – All Points Bulletin
Digital Press title info/rarity guide for APB – All Points Bulletin
GameFAQs article about APB – All Points Bulletin
Moby Games article about APB – All Points Bulletin
PriceCharting.com value guide about APB – All Points Bulletin
RarityGuide.com rarity/value guide about APB – All Points Bulletin
Wikipedia article about APB – All Points Bulletin
“Atari Lynx Hint Book”, published by Atari in 1993 for Lynx game developers; a cheat for reaching the quota in APB – All Points Bulletin can be found on page 11.

This is a photo of Shinto’s bedroom from back in the day that he mentions in his audio submission for APB – All Points Bulletin (check out the Mountain Dew cans along the top shelf).

Reviews and Ratings for APB – All Points Bulletin:
Review by David Upchurch in ACE [Advanced Computer Entertainment] (UK; Issue #47; August 1991; page 69)
Review by Paul Glancey in Computer + Video Games (UK; Issue #117; August 1991; page 36)
Review by Julian Boardman in RAZE (UK; Issue #11; September 1991; page 32)
Review by The Review Crew in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US; Issue #27; October 1991; page 22)
Review at GameFabrique (undated)
Review by Robert A. Jung at IGN (1999; updated 2018)
Review by JDeLuna at GameFAQs (1999)
Review by KasketDarkFyre at GameFAQs (2002)
Review by Cyril Lachel at Defunct Games (2004)
Review by Lucas Williams at Retro Gamer (2009)
Review by FRGCB Dude at FRGCB (2016)
Review by Jon Mc at Atari Gamer (2018)
Review by The Video Game Critic (2018)

YouTube Videos About APB – All Points Bulletin:
Playthrough (World-of-Longplays)
Playthrough (hirudov)
Playthrough (Atari7800com)
Playthrough and Review (BTB/Lynx Lounge)
Playthrough and Review (interghost)

Scans of the May 2017 Retro Gamer Magazine article (UK; Issue #167; pages 40-45) by Rory Milne covering the arcade game (and many of its ports) of APB – All Points Bulletin (click on each image to expand).
These images were provide by Kieren Hawken of The Laird’s Lair YouTube Channel.

Retailers Selling APB – All Points Bulletin:
B & C ComputerVisions: (US): US$5.00 (box only), US$9.95 (cart/manual combo), US$14.95 (NIB w/damaged box) and for US$19.95 (NIB) through eBay under the user name MyAtari…check his online store on eBay for availability.
Best Electronics (US; last updated September 11, 2022; check website for availability): US$14.95 (loose cart) and US$19.95 (CIB).
The Gamesmen (Australia): AU$24.95 (CIB).
The Goat Store (US): US$19.95 (NIB) and US$24.95 (NIB w/damaged box).
Telegames (UK): £34.99 (CIB).
Video 61 & Atari Sales: US$24.95 (NIB).

The English-language instruction manual/poster for APB – All Points Bulletin

THE RESOURCES Page
is where you can find a current list of after-market and
home brew Atari Lynx titles,
plus a lot of other information!

“Thank You’s” and Other Lynks:
Antic: The Atari 8-Bit Podcast (Thanks to Brad Arnold, Randy Kindig, and Kevin Zavitz for the shoutout about The HandyCast in Episode 50!)
AtariLynxVault.com (Thanks to Igor for incorporating The HandyCast into his excellent website!)
The Atari 2600 Game By Game Podcast (Thanks to The Podfather himself, Ferg, for encouraging his listeners to check out The HandyCast in both Episode 151 and Episode 154!)
The Atari Jaguar Game By Game Podcast (Thanks to Shinto for encouraging his listeners to check out The HandyCast in Episodes 22 and 26!)
Ballistik Coffee Boy/That Atari Show (Thanks to Brian in Albuquerque for encouraging his listeners to check out The HandyCast in Episode 14 of his YouTube channel, Ballistik Coffee Boy / Vintage Gaming!, and also on his That Atari Show, Episode #9)
Curtis Herod (Cujo)‘s The Bl^ck Book v2 (Check HERE to see the now-expired Indiegogo campaign, where you can find out more about the book. And please consider purchasing Curtis Herod’s The Black Book v2 by emailing him at [e-mail].)
Gaming on Ten (Thanks to Nick and Don for encouraging their listeners to check out The HandyCast in Episode 09!)
Into the Vertical Blank Podcast (Thanks to hosts Jeff and Steve Fulton for “singing” about The HandyCast in Season 1, Episode 10!)
Please Stand By (Thanks to Zerbe and Ferg for helping to promote The HandyCast on several episodes of this fun-to-listen-to show, starting with Episode 60!)
The RCR Podcast (Thanks to the Retro Computing Roundtable: Paul Hagstrom, Quinn Dunki, Jack Nutting, and Carrington Vance, for highlighting The HandyCast in Episode 167!)
The Retro MacCast Podcast (Thanks to Retro MacCast hosts James Savage and John Leake for highlighting The HandyCast in Episode 475!)
Retro Video Gamer Forums (Thanks to Eugenio/TrekMD for helping to promote The HandyCast on his wonderful forums!)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks go to everyone who contributed feedback about APB-All Points Bulletin (and other games) for this episode: Brian in Albuquerque (Ballistik Coffee Boy), Damon Plus, Eugenio (TrekMD), Kieren Hawken (The Laird’s Lair), Johannes Mutlu, Scott Rhoades, Shinto (The Atari Jaguar Game by Game Podcast), Bobby Tribble, Turbo Lazer Lynx, and Doug Venner. I really appreciate your feedback!

Also, I would like to thank the Free Music Archive for the following musical artists and songs that were used in this episode under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License: “8-Bit Core” by Tagirijus (opening and closing theme music), along with “Back to Hometown,” “Little Caesar Bandello,” “Little Caesar of the Boulevard,” “Manhattan Skyline,” “Moonlight Beach Yami,” “Pianoman Sofa,” and “Swinging Sofas,” all by Lobo Loco.

Thanks also to Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (Cassandra Peterson) for the “Oooh, let’s party!” and “Leaving so soon?” digitized speech clips captured from the Atari Lynx game Pinball Jam that are used at the beginning and ending of each episode of The HandyCast.

I would especially like to thank Shinto for submitting his memories of various Atari Lynx games he’s owned in the past to The Atari Lynx HandyCast…they are greatly appreciated. And you should all check out Shinto’s wonderful Atari Jaguar Game by Game Podcast; it’s definitely worth listening to, even if you’ve never owned a Jaguar. You can find it here.

Many, many thanks also go to Zerbinator for his continued support. His encouragement and expertise are very much appreciated by me. You can find all of his fun-to-listen-to podcasts here, including my favorite, Please Stand By.

Finally, my thanks to the Podfather himself, Ferg of The Atari 2600 Game by Game Podcast. His inspiration and dedication to covering every game cartridge ever made for the Atari 2600 (I think over 1000 of them!) is what gave me the courage to begin this podcast. Please, check out his don’t-miss podcast, even if you’re not an Atari 2600 collector; you should also visit his website here.

I hope you enjoy this episode of The Atari Lynx HandyCast. And please don’t forget to visit the official Atari Lynx HandyCast website by clicking here!

-Mark

Next Episode: “EPISODE 24: Rygar”

The post EPISODE 23: APB-All Points Bulletin appeared first on The Atari Lynx HandyCast.