A review embargo? Seriously?

I've been looking forward to Realtime Worlds' new MMO, APB, for months. I got to see the game in action at PAX East and it only piqued my interest even more. The game has garnished its share of buzz, as a modern MMO shooter. Think GTA4 but on a much, MUCH larger scale - hundreds of players in PvP battles, on foot or a high-speed car chase, in an urban setting.

The game is being released for PC next week (maybe ported to 360 in the future...... maybe) and the open beta wrapped up this past weekend. I had a chance to play a little bit before the open beta ended. I had every expectation of creating a mini-review of the game but as it turns out, that's not allowed.

Realtime Worlds has placed a review embargo through the first week of the game's US release. This gives the game enough time to hit the shelves in the US, Europe, and the UK, and several more days for people to pick up the game, before anybody can read an official review. Their reasoning:

The decision was purely based on wanting reviewers to experience and see the full live server with players having both progressed and expressed themselves.

Understandable, but that doesn't make early impressions of the game any less harsh, or the real motive behind the embargo any less suspicious. While I am very tempted to say "I can write my impressions, I'm not a real reviewer" we all saw how another site member's blog was interpreted in the real world. So I'll err on the side of caution and keep my mouth shut.

I will say, however, that the subscription model is very unique and right up my alley, as a casual MMO player. I avoid like the plague any MMO with the conventional $15-a-month subcription fee. APB allows for a less expensive monthly subscription OR just purchase time to play the action portion of the game. Either way, there are also social zones where you can interact with other players, or customize your character or your car (think Playstation Home but way more bad-ass).

I've already pre-ordered the game and I still plan on writing a review in a couple weeks. If anybody else plans on picking this up let me know and we can rip up the city together.