Anyone who says that there are no ticketing quotas in police work obviously never had the experience of playing APB, introduced by Atari in 1987. Players assumed the role of Officer Bob and his vehicle – Car 54, of course – in a game where the bad guys ran rampant and only one man could make the streets safe.

Players took Bob through a series of “days” on the job, many of which were filled with such mundane tasks as writing tickets to jaywalkers, litterbugs, drunks and speeders. Bob had a quota to fill each day and would receive a demerit if he didn’t achieve his goal. Rack up enough of these written reprimands and it was game over.

But meeting quotas weren’t the only worry that Officer Bob faced. He also had to skillfully control his patrol car and avoid collisions when his siren was off. Problem was, he couldn’t keep the siren on all the time or nobody would break the law, he wouldn’t meet his quota, and Bob would be chewed out by his boss, The Chief, who obviously wasn’t one open to calm discussion. Rather, the big guy would grab Bob by his necktie in a threatening manner and reprimand him with an angry “Lousy Cop!” Where was the police union when you needed them?

On a normal day, Bob simply cruised the city streets, trying to spot criminals, which were relatively inept. Once they committed their crime, Bob could simply tap the siren button and pull them over, or ram their vehicle when necessary (as long as the siren was running, otherwise that was a no-no.) Bob’s cruiser had a limited supply of fuel and Bob had a limited amount of time to accomplish his tasks. Making matters a little easier was the Speed Shop, where alterations could be made to the patrol car, such as better brakes, increased acceleration, armor and radar. They could even be equipped with guns, which made it easier for Bob to pull over the most unwilling perps, which he would encounter on special days.

On these days, Bob had an additional mission atop his regular duties, which was to apprehend one of the more dedicated criminals in the area. Suspects such as Freddy Freak, Juan fingers, Sid Sniper and Candy Goodbody were introduced to Bob in the morning’s daily briefing, via a mugshot and accompanying extra information about whereabouts and potential rewards for capture. Officer Bob would still handle the regular lawbreakers on these days, but once these special criminals were spotted, he was to drop everything and switch to high pursuit.

And even if Bob did manage to slap a pair of handcuffs on one of these villains, his work wasn’t done. It was off to the interrogation room. There was no time for political correctness here – Bob would try to strangle the perp until he got a confession, mindful that the Chief was slowly approaching. Players had to frantically tap the Siren and Fire buttons in an attempt to get the “Confess-O-Meter” to change from ‘No” to “Yes.” A successful confession before the Chief arrived (and luckily, he was pretty sloth-like) meant another mug shot for Bob’s arrest hall of fame. If he failed, however, the perp walked and, you guessed it, poor Bob got another demerit.

With plenty of wacky animations and colorful criminals, APB was about the most fun one could have taking a bit out of crime. And although the highly popular game never spawned any sequels, it remains a fondly remembered arcade classic by all that had the opportunity to take a drive-along with Officer Bob, keeping the streets safe at all costs.