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[ArjanN]

Just finished the game, I loved it.

My ending was

Spoiler

not that heroic, since Heck had to save my ass by blowing Scarlet's guts out with a shotgun, it was funny though.

I look forward to seeing more of some characters the next time around.

The combat aspects are definately the weakest link, but using some basic stealth makes it pretty inoffensive.

I'll definately play through the game again to see things play out somewhat differently.

 

[Shaheed79]

I question whether a lot of these reviewers played Dues Ex because the aiming system is practically a cut a paste from that game. You can't just point your gun at the target the reticule has to take time and aim on the target.

The only thing I don't like is that your reticule won't begin to aim unless you are holding it over an enemy or object you can actually shoot. This makes it somewhat harder to set up sniping shots on guards walking their routes. If I remember correctly in Deus Ex you could aim anytime as long as you held the reticule still for a brief period.

I may just install it again to see what the differences were because I remember feeling the exact same way about Deus Ex's gun combat the first time I played it as these reviewers feel about Alpha Protocols.

 

[ArjanN]

I question whether a lot of these reviewers played Dues Ex because the aiming system is practically a cut a paste from that game. You can't just point your gun at the target the reticule has to take time and aim on the target.

The only thing I don't like is that your reticule won't begin to aim unless you are holding it over an enemy or object you can actually shoot. This makes it somewhat harder to set up sniping shots on guards walking their routes. If I remember correctly in Deus Ex you could aim anytime as long as you held the reticule still for a brief period.

I may just install it again to see what the differences were because I remember feeling the exact same way about Deus Ex's gun combat the first time I played it as these reviewers feel about Alpha Protocols.

Yeah, I remember this pissing me off in Deus Ex until the ending of the first mission when I realized it was more of an RPG than a straight up FPS.

I think it's just a variation of a typical RPG problem: in order for you to feel powerful later on you start out weak and without many skills or options, but that often makes the beginning slow and/or frustrating.
It's also why a lot games like that start with an "abilitease" section, so you get to see a glimpse of what you're working towards.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I just finished it. I was playing a Stealth / Martial Arts / Pistol-focused Spy and really had a blast. The gameplay is actually pretty shitty, but overall the game was a ton of fun and beating the shit out of people, getting stealth kills / knock-downs while invisible and pulling off headshots without being detected was all extremely satisfying.

I mostly got everyone I met to like me, but I was also ruthless with people I didn't like. I straight up executed assholes like

Spoiler

That first shitty terrorist guy, Omen Deng, Brayko, Westridge and Leland

. I also had "relations" with both Mina and Scarlet, but in the end I

Spoiler

I let Mina die on accident by choosing the wrong path

and I don't even know what became of

Spoiler

Scarlet or if I even had a chance to rescue / talk to her in the end.

.

Overall, the game was very entertaining. I think I liked the Rome hub the most of all with Taiwan most likely being my least favorite. I will definitely be giving the game at least one more playthrough and take a different approach. It looks like the game can change quite a bit depending on the choices you make.

Also, why do you keep getting money and loot on the last mission? Is there some kind of New Game+ mode that I can't seem to find? Or is it just for possible future expansions / DLC?

 

[ArjanN]

I just finished it. I was playing a Stealth / Martial Arts / Pistol-focused Spy and really had a blast. The gameplay is actually pretty shitty, but overall the game was a ton of fun and beating the shit out of people, getting stealth kills / knock-downs while invisible and pulling off headshots without being detected was all extremely satisfying.

I mostly got everyone I met to like me, but I was also ruthless with people I didn't like. I straight up executed assholes like

Spoiler

That first shitty terrorist guy, Omen Deng, Brayko, Westridge and Leland

. I also had "relations" with both Mina and Scarlet, but in the end I

Spoiler

I let Mina die on accident by choosing the wrong path

and I don't even know what became of

Spoiler

Scarlet or if I even had a chance to rescue / talk to her in the end.

.

Overall, the game was very entertaining. I think I liked the Rome hub the most of all with Taiwan most likely being my least favorite. I will definitely be giving the game at least one more playthrough and take a different approach. It looks like the game can change quite a bit depending on the choices you make.

Also, why do you keep getting money and loot on the last mission? Is there some kind of New Game+ mode that I can't seem to find? Or is it just for possible future expansions / DLC?

There's no New Game+ except Veteran mode, and you don't keep your money in that. I think the money in the final mission is just there because it's part of the game mechanics.

And with the way you played, I think a second plathrough can play out quite differently.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Spoiler

By the end of the Saudi operation you knew that Halbeck was behind the missile attack and that the company has a large degree of influence over the Alpha Protocol team. The subsequent operations in Rome, Moscow and Taipei didn't really add anything meaningful to that knowledge.

The fact that you were going to end up in the interrogation room back at Alpha Protocol was inevitable regardless of the choices you made during those operations. Made the whole thing seem kind of pointless and left me wondering why you had to wait to do the final op when anytime would have worked story-wise.

I totally agree with this. I really wish they didn't show those scenes from the future with the main character and Leland in the interrogation room. It really cheapened your actions in the hub as you knew you were going to end up in that room at some point.

When you think about it. They really took a Bioware-like design approach to this game. Something big and bad happens in Act 1, you spend time doing random shit and gathering allies in Act 2 and finally you use what allies you gathered for a big final assault in Act 3.

 

[Bebpo]

I actually was talking to duckroll about that. See I HATE the Bioware structure in KotOR/ME. It's an illusion of non-linearity that only hurts the main narrative.

By doing:
INTRO DUNGEON
WIND/FIRE/ICE/EARTH DUNGEONS in any order you would like
ENDGAME

You end up with a game where the only actual main narrative is in the Intro and Endgame and you get a 6 hour story in your rpg. The middle section is basically like episodic filler arcs of a tv series and contains the same problem as filler: it can't move anything forward in the main plot/character development. They have to be self-contained so they are little interesting stories that have no influence on the other stories because you can't have the main plot move forward in the fire dungeon and then you go to the ice dungeon and the storyline treats it as if the main plot is where it was after the intro.

So I was kind of glad that at least in AP's case the middle dungeons/planets/countries/whatever were actually able to affect each other...slightly. I still wish either A. they had more affect on each other or B. they didn't use this structure in the first place, but in the end I'm less upset about it than I am with how it was used in Knights and ME.

The plus side about that type of structure is you get all these interesting self-contained arcs that you can do in any order. The negative side is you get a very short main plot in return. Personally I like long epic main narratives, so I'm not a fan of the structure.

 

[HK-47]

KotOR and ME2 suffered from that but ME1?

 

[Bebpo]

KotOR and ME2 suffered from that but ME1?

I haven't played ME2 yet, and it's been a while since I played ME1, but didn't it have the intro bit on the planet+citadel and then there were like 3 "main story" planets that you could do in any order and once you did them all the endgame opened up?

 

[HK-47]

I haven't played ME2 yet, and it's been a while since I played ME1, but didn't it have the intro bit on the planet+citadel and then there were like 3 "main story" planets that you could do in any order and once you did them all the endgame opened up?

Yeah but you had a good story reason to go to those places. Its wasnt just a contrived macguffin like star forge maps or a massive recruitment drive.

 

[Llyranor]

The Bioware structure has potential, it's just not optimally-implemented. It's improved in AP, because what you do in some missions can affect future ones, depending on who you meet and what you do. But there's further room for improvement.

Though, ideally, it'd be really a case of one path drastically affecting how the other paths will be. Not just because of choices you made in path A that will show consequence in path B and C, but also because you CHOSE to take path A first. By picking A first, you arrive to B or C much later, and thus the scenario should change to reflect that.

For a quick example, B could be the location of a turf war in the making. If you go there first, you get to gather intel and do play around with politics or diplomacy or what not. If you go there after A or C, the turf war is in progress by the time you get there, which leads to different situations and options. There should be advantages to choosing to do something first (or after), or repercussions for being there at the wrong time.

Another quick example is that C is the location of a certain faction. You help them out and they help you out carrying out the mission and so on, etc. If you did B first, you might piss them out and uncover info about their true motives or whatever crap. So, approach C after B, your perception of them (or the faction's reaction to you) will be drastically changed, and the scenario should reflect such.

 

[ColonelColon]

KotOR and ME2 suffered from that but ME1?

Agreed, ME1 didn't have that problem, while ME2 is that problem exemplified.

 

[Gestahl]

Yeah but you had a good story reason to go to those places. Its wasnt just a contrived macguffin like star forge maps or a massive recruitment drive.

Whatever the reasons to go there are, you still end up collecting shit like the Cypher, mysterious lost Relay data, and Blue Alien Archaeologist in order to get to the endgame. ME1 follows the formula to a much larger extent than 2.

 

[WanderingWind]

Well, I finished it.

Spoiler

I saved Mina, let Madison die, killed Leland, never ran into Scarlet during endgame, killed Parker on accident, killed Leland on purpose, never ran into SIE besides those two cutscenes, and never ran into Westridge. Everything worked out in my ending though, with the exception of Scarlet getting away.

On one hand, the checkpoint save system was good for making your choices seem like choices...on the other hand, it sucks that if I want to try some new things, I'd have to replay the entire thing over again. I also wish there was a way to not kill

Spoiler

Darcy

in the end. Also, at least on my play through

Spoiler

Sis and SIE

were barely present,.

 

[ArjanN]

It's not like Bioware invented the Three-act Structure...even though they use it a lot.

It comes down mostly to how well you execute it.

 

[HK-47]

The Bioware structure has potential, it's just not optimally-implemented. It's improved in AP, because what you do in some missions can affect future ones, depending on who you meet and what you do. But there's further room for improvement.

Though, ideally, it'd be really a case of one path drastically affecting how the other paths will be. Not just because of choices you made in path A that will show consequence in path B and C, but also because you CHOSE to take path A first. By picking A first, you arrive to B or C much later, and thus the scenario should change to reflect that.

For a quick example, B could be the location of a turf war in the making. If you go there first, you get to gather intel and do play around with politics or diplomacy or what not. If you go there after A or C, the turf war is in progress by the time you get there, which leads to different situations and options. There should be advantages to choosing to do something first (or after), or repercussions for being there at the wrong time.

Another quick example is that C is the location of a certain faction. You help them out and they help you out carrying out the mission and so on, etc. If you did B first, you might piss them out and uncover info about their true motives or whatever crap. So, approach C after B, your perception of them (or the faction's reaction to you) will be drastically changed, and the scenario should reflect such.

AP is certainly a step in the right direction. Thats why I'm excited to see what what kind of conversation, influence and reactivity systems are in the Onyx project.

 

[WanderingWind]

AP is certainly a step in the right direction. Thats why I'm excited to see what what kind of conversation, influence and reactivity systems are in the Onyx project.

The what now?

 

[HK-47]

Whatever the reasons to go there are, you still end up collecting shit like the Cypher, mysterious lost Relay data, and Blue Alien Archaeologist in order to get to the endgame. ME1 follows the formula to a much larger extent than 2.

Really? All 2 has is collect allies. A rag tag group of allies, many of which could have been ignored completely. Going from the Citadel straight to Virmire in 1 makes much less sense than piecing together what Saren is doing, what the geth are doing, where he is, and what he wants with protheans tech. The only contrived part about that narrative is the magical memory core you use to point to the finger at Saren with. Somehow Tali was magically able to obtain it despite like all other geth cores self destructing.

 

[Cep]

Whatever the reasons to go there are, you still end up collecting shit like the Cypher, mysterious lost Relay data, and Blue Alien Archaeologist in order to get to the endgame. ME1 follows the formula to a much larger extent than 2.

No.

 

[Llyranor]

The what now?

Unannounced title using Obsidian's own Onyx engine. With freaking George Ziets on board. Freaking George Ziets!

 

[Y2Kev]

:lol :lol

now I want to know what happened

The game's abominable action gameplay design just finally cracked me. The action is never good--it merely vacillates between atrocious and tolerable. I had been playing the last hub and a half purely to see how the story wrapped up (which, in my ending, was ridiculously unsatisfying because of how I was role-playing). And no bromo--I have a serious tolerance for kusoge so I wasn't looking for amazingness.

The last mission with the

Spoiler

helicopter is just assface. I don't care if there are blindspots (and they are much too difficult to find, quite frankly, without trial and error), hitting a helicopter with 8 missiles while fighting the game's godawful tearing and framerate in the single digits can just fuck off. What a ridiculous mess.

Spoiler

but in the end I I let Mina die on accident by choosing the wrong path

I did the same damn thing. I just went the wrong frigging way. I was furious.

Also I think there was some major part of this game lopped off entirely. What's up with Sis'

Spoiler

locket?

 

[Stallion Free]

The last mission with the

Spoiler

helicopter is just assface. I don't care if there are blindspots (and they are much too difficult to find, quite frankly, without trial and error), hitting a helicopter with 8 missiles while fighting the game's godawful tearing and framerate in the single digits can just fuck off. What a ridiculous mess.

Yeesh, I'm glad I was playing on PC with a locked 60 fps, no tearing because that sounds rough.

 

[rollingstart]

Also I think there was some major part of this game lopped off entirely. What's up with Sis'

Spoiler

locket?

All they really go into is

Spoiler

Sis gives it to you as sort of a message. There is a story about the carvings in the locket, some old event where something or other happen. It doesn't matter since they still don't go anywhere with it after they explain the importance of the locket. They sort of imply that Albatross and G22 are bad dudes and Sis wants your help, but again, it just seems to be forgotten.

Actually, the thing I dislike most about the story is that they drop all the smaller stories for the big one. I didn't care about the big one nearly as much. I would have liked it more if the game was more the day in the life of a secret agent instead of some big event. Chances of a sequel are probably none to Shenmue 3, but if they did make one, I'd rather just have 5 cities and a "main story" that evolves based on the order and choices you make within those 5 cities. No need for introduction and ending sections.

 

[Cep]

Unannounced title using Obsidian's own Onyx engine. With freaking George Ziets on board. Freaking George Ziets!

Who is this man?

 

[butsomuch]

Who is this man?

Chris Avellone's blog

How do you set up technical constraints for dialogues for your titles?

We're actually giving a talk at GDC Austin (it's on the Narrative/Writing track - the actual name of the conference is GDC Online now, I believe) on the dialogue standards we set up individually for our titles - the standards depend on the genre (D+D is different than Star Wars which is different than Alpha Protocol which is different than New Vegas which is... well, you get the idea). The standards encompass the amount of text on screen, formatting for skill placement, how to set up item description text, quest logs, quest log entries, clarifying objective text, amount of voice-acted dialogue players should see on screen, how the game mechanics of the dialogue and the dialogue systems work and how they should be paced (alignment shifts, reputation shifts, Light Side/Dark Side gains and how to communicate that to the player), and more. With any luck, John Gonzalez (our story lead and creative lead for New Vegas) and George Ziets (Mask of the Betrayer story crafter and designer) will be joining me up there. Hopefully, we can talk about our unannounced title then and the work George has been doing on it, even if he's modest about it as always.

For any aspiring narrative designers, Austin GDC's a great place to meet narrative designers in the industry, too, highly recommended.

Obsidian should be at Comic-Con, too, although more on that in a bit.

 

[HK-47]

Who is this man?

Mask of the Betrayer's Creative Director.

 

[subversus]

Obsidian's own engine? This can't be good.

 

[lsslave]

Obsidian's own engine? This can't be good.

Actually I think it stands to be the best title they have ever worked on. The framework for the engine is already done and the crew working on it will know it better than any other engine (a small problem I think they suffer from is they always use a different engine, I think putting out a second title on the same engine just ONCE would go a long way for them knowing the engine inside and out)

By building their own engine they will know the ins and outs of the engine.

Then again, I consider Alpha Protocol the most fun I have had this entire generation in a WRPG. Some people may dislike Obsidian games but flawed or not this titled pissed all over Bethesda's gaming (that I have played, Fallout 3 was boring as sin and Oblivion was one of the most effed up titles I have ever played) and BioWare's titles (What I played of Mass Effect just came across as boring to me and Dragon Age was my biggest let down I have played this gen)

Whenever I get hyped up for a title I am always let down (most recent: ModNation Racers) whereas titles I don't care for at all end up being awesome (most recent: Darksiders. I freaking LOVE that game. What I have played of Nier might push it up though, just need to get my copy back). Alpha Protocol not only lived up to my hype but greatly exceeded it (I might just not be a graphics whore/etc. but I actually LIKED the gameplay and etc. of Alpha Protocol, down to the "takes time to aim your shots" which I thought gave it a really strong RPG element instead of just a story-based shooter)

Now I just hope that Naughty Bear lives up to it like Alpha Protocol did.

Still, haters can keep on hating, Alpha Protocol kicks ass. My brother finished it and has instantly restarted to play it again. For a title he thought would be stupid before he saw me playing it that is pretty damn high regard from him.

 

[Gillian Seed]

Did anyone else notice the Japanese Sega Saturn under the living room tv in Rome?

 

[Pooya]

Rome-ance plots are so lame, show something at least , so lazy!

Spoiler

by the way 3 in a row, I missed one I think .

 

[CabbageRed]

Rome-ance plots are so lame, show something at least , so lazy!

An odd thing to have noticed by I was impressed that

Spoiler

they animated Sie directing you into the hanger.

 

[Bebpo]

Actually I think it stands to be the best title they have ever worked on. The framework for the engine is already done and the crew working on it will know it better than any other engine (a small problem I think they suffer from is they always use a different engine, I think putting out a second title on the same engine just ONCE would go a long way for them knowing the engine inside and out)

By building their own engine they will know the ins and outs of the engine.

Then again, I consider Alpha Protocol the most fun I have had this entire generation in a WRPG. Some people may dislike Obsidian games but flawed or not this titled pissed all over Bethesda's gaming (that I have played, Fallout 3 was boring as sin and Oblivion was one of the most effed up titles I have ever played) and BioWare's titles (What I played of Mass Effect just came across as boring to me and Dragon Age was my biggest let down I have played this gen)

Whenever I get hyped up for a title I am always let down (most recent: ModNation Racers) whereas titles I don't care for at all end up being awesome (most recent: Darksiders. I freaking LOVE that game. What I have played of Nier might push it up though, just need to get my copy back). Alpha Protocol not only lived up to my hype but greatly exceeded it (I might just not be a graphics whore/etc. but I actually LIKED the gameplay and etc. of Alpha Protocol, down to the "takes time to aim your shots" which I thought gave it a really strong RPG element instead of just a story-based shooter)

Now I just hope that Naughty Bear lives up to it like Alpha Protocol did.

Still, haters can keep on hating, Alpha Protocol kicks ass. My brother finished it and has instantly restarted to play it again. For a title he thought would be stupid before he saw me playing it that is pretty damn high regard from him.

Yeah, AP was one of the few times I was really hyped for a game and I felt it paid off. Is it the best game ever? No. Is it GoTY? Probably not. Is it damn satisfying? Heck yes!

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Did anyone else notice the Japanese Sega Saturn under the living room tv in Rome?

Definitely! It's actually most of the safehouses, I think.

Anyway, I started up a new game on Easy as a Recruit who is specializing in Assault Rifles mainly. I am going full-beard with sunglasses and a baseball cap and being about as much of an asshole as I can. So far I went through the Saudi and Rome hubs and am on to Taiwan now.

I must say I am having a lot more fun with this game now that I am just running and gunning with an assault rifle on Easy. For a spy game they really don't reward you nearly enough for being stealthy (which is what I focused on last game). It is so much quicker and more fast-paced to just gun everyone down with assault rifles.

So far I'm having even more fun than the first run and am really enjoying seeing how much the story and missions can vary depending on the choices you make.

 

[mujun]

Still, haters can keep on hating,

I wish you'd stop saying this. How about addressing people's gripes or just agreeing to disagree when it's something really subjective and/or a matter of taste.

 

[Cep]

I agree with you that the game doe snot really reward you for being stealthy.

Which is odd considering that the game seems to have been built with stealth primarily in mind.

 

[Bebpo]

I felt like the best rewards for playing stealthy were simply the way people acted towards you. Getting complimented and +2 rep with a person before you even speak for being an unseen presence is awesome.

The perks and e-mails were nice as well. Like in the CIA mission in Rome I got a perk for not only zero alerts, zero kills, but also zero knockouts (aka never seen at all). The perk said exactly that so I thought it was cool they made a perk for something so specific. The only reason I attempted doing that mission that way is because on the mission profile it says GET IN AND OUT WITHOUT BEING SEEN BY THE CIA, so I thought maybe there'd be a unique something if you did that and there was! Another time I got an e-mail from Darcy calling me an American Ninja for getting no alert/no kill on a mission. That was immensely satisfying as well. Personal things like that were nice rewards for being stealth.

 

[subversus]

How come that the game does not reward you for being stealthy? It's one of the most satysfying stealth games I've played in years. What gripes do you have with stealth system people?

 

[Cep]

I felt like the best rewards for playing stealthy were simply the way people acted towards you. Getting complimented and +2 rep with a person before you even speak for being an unseen presence is awesome.

The perks and e-mails were nice as well. Like in the CIA mission in Rome I got a perk for not only zero alerts, zero kills, but also zero knockouts (aka never seen at all). The perk said exactly that so I thought it was cool they made a perk for something so specific. The only reason I attempted doing that mission that way is because on the mission profile it says GET IN AND OUT WITHOUT BEING SEEN BY THE CIA, so I thought maybe there'd be a unique something if you did that and there was! Another time I got an e-mail from Darcy calling me an American Ninja for getting no alert/no kill on a mission. That was immensely satisfying as well. Personal things like that were nice rewards for being stealth.

Yeah I loved that stuff too, they are the main reason why I did not quit my run.

I especially liked getting complemented by Albatross.

How come that the game does not reward you for being stealthy? It's one of the most satysfying stealth games I've played in years. What gripes do you have with stealth system people?

My gripes with the stealth are many, but I think they exists mostly because I neither play nor like stealth games in general.

 

[kiryogi]

Well damn. Picked it up friday night and just played it all weekend. Just finished it now. Pretty satisfied and I sort of see how I'll approach a replay. Although I'm not sure how different it'd be. I really would rather spare people if I could.

Spoiler

It was a pretty goody goody playthru. I spared everyone. Even Westride and Leland. There really wasn't any merit in putting a bullet thru their heads. On the other hand sparing Deng, Suarov, and Shaheed was really of benefit. Not to mention all the alliances I ended up making. The downside of things though, I decided to save Madison over the innocents. Which is funny since I stopped the riots in Taipei and didn't thwart Sung's assassination. That said with my focus, I was able score on all 4 ladies. :lol I'm disappointed that Darcy had to be killed off and couldn't be spared.

Anywho, I'd probably play the same build again, as it's honestly my favorite way to play espionage games. I just have to make some different decisions and approaches next time around.

On Marburg...

Spoiler

I tried my best to make him hate me, but my stellar performance in Rome and up to that point gave me good brownie points with him D: :lol I guess I'll have to fuck up a bit in my 2nd run so I can actually finish him off.

Now I'm pretty curious but has anyone decided to burn all bridges, make no alliances? How much does that change the scenarios? Like do you end up having to getting interference from them in missions where it would have been beneficial? IE

Spoiler

I had G22 and the Triads backing me up for the final Taipei mission, but how ugly would it have been if I didn't have their help

Forgot to mention for my ending :

Spoiler

I saved both Scarlet and Mina, but Mina rides off in the sunset with me.

Final boss:

Spoiler

Was Westridge. Heard you can get Leland, also didn't someone mentioning being able to face Marburg in the finale as well if you didn't kill him in Rome? In the end I got the achievement for shutting down AP and Haltech.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Obviously it's just my opinion, but on my first run I played extremely stealthily and got some of the perks and compliments Bebpo mentioned. While that was nice and all, I just felt there should have been more substantial and concrete rewards for stealth. Another thing that bugged me is that there are multiple sections where you are forced into firefights even if you played stealthily throughout the entire level up to that point. Also, the boss fights are exponentially harder if you spent most of your points on stealth and martial arts.

I'm just enjoying the fast-paced feel of being able to run through missions quickly and gun down anyone in my way with the assault rifle. Of course this play style totally complements my asshole persona I made for my character on this playthrough and wouldn't work as well if I was trying to be a nice-guy.

 

[Bebpo]

random question but why does it flash a 3d model of what looks like Darcy's back (blue shirt) when you quit to the main menu? Or is my version just haunted by the ghost of Darcy :lol

 

[Bebpo]

Obviously it's just my opinion, but on my first run I played extremely stealthily and got some of the perks and compliments Bebpo mentioned. While that was nice and all, I just felt there should have been more substantial and concrete rewards for stealth. Another thing that bugged me is that there are multiple sections where you are forced into firefights even if you played stealthily throughout the entire level up to that point. Also, the boss fights are exponentially harder if you spent most of your points on stealth and martial arts.

Wellllll, that's why it's supposed to be stealth and silenced pistol. Running around beating people up with kung-fu isn't exactly a "stealth" way to play Stealth for levels, pistol for bosses.

Also I'm not sure if there are really any points in the game where you are forced to get into a firefight if you are completely stealth besides boss battles and the defend Sergei part. I know a few times firefights broke out because I had allies who started fighting, but even in those cases the enemies didn't see me and aim for me.

But I agree, I would have liked nice tasty big XP bonus at the end of a mission for no alerts.

 

[lsslave]

Yeah, AP was one of the few times I was really hyped for a game and I felt it paid off. Is it the best game ever? No. Is it GoTY? Probably not. Is it damn satisfying? Heck yes!

Speaking of Heck, Heck is the best character in the game :lol

Even though he went completely against the character I was trying to roleplay I couldn't help but use him every chance I got because he was so much fun, and I constantly played along with him.

But yeah, while it isn't the greatest game ever there is so much fun to be had with it that its flaws just don't matter. Its like Secret of Mana, the title is full of flaws but its my favorite game ever made.

I wish you'd stop saying this. How about addressing people's gripes or just agreeing to disagree when it's something really subjective and/or a matter of taste.

Thats the thing, I do agree to disagree with them. The game did NOT deserve the bullshit reviews it got, I constantly have people ask me why I play it since it has low reviews actually (I kind of wish PS3 didn't tell people what I'm playing... its fucking annoying)

The reviews are the one part I dislike, especially people who bitch about the shooting aspect. Those people are insane. I love... LOVE the RPG based shooting. Hell, I love a lot of aspects of the game in general, compared to Mass Effect and its more "Shooter with story attached" aspect to it.

They can hate the game, but I for one think its one of the best titles I've played in ages. Far too long actually.

I just say it because the eagle picture is probably my favorite GAF meme yet :lol

 

[Lafiel]

Obsidian's own engine? This can't be good.

I kinda wish they made a NWN3 with dragon ages engine.

 

[Aselith]

I think I'm almost through the game and I've got to say I really, really like this game. It's definitely flawed in some ways but there are great ideas here and in my opinion it is a better game than ME 1 though maybe not 2 (haven't played it), the gunplay is much more satisfying and I think the writing is a good bit better. And I liked Mass Effect a LOT. AP is less technically polished but better executed.

Really good characters and an interesting plot (par for the course for a spy story but that's what I wanted.) I really like the way the stealth is executed and the game actually forces you to make choices in regards to what gear you equip through a limited economy and choices in regards to abilities. I'm level 15 currently and it feels like it's gonna be hard to max out even a single, full ability with the way I've been spreading my points.

I really, REALLY hope that Obsidian sells enough copies to take another run at this series. They could have a big winner if enough word of mouth spreads to get the series off the ground and go for an AP2.

 

[HK-47]

I think I'm almost through the game and I've got to say I really, really like this game. It's definitely flawed in some ways but there are great ideas here and in my opinion it is a better game than ME 1 though maybe not 2 (haven't played it), the gunplay is much more satisfying and I think the writing is a good bit better. And I liked Mass Effect a LOT. AP is less technically polished but better executed.

Really good characters and an interesting plot (par for the course for a spy story but that's what I wanted.) I really like the way the stealth is executed and the game actually forces you to make choices in regards to what gear you equip through a limited economy and choices in regards to abilities. I'm level 15 currently and it feels like it's gonna be hard to max out even a single, full ability with the way I've been spreading my points.

I really, REALLY hope that Obsidian sells enough copies to take another run at this series. They could have a big winner if enough word of mouth spreads to get the series off the ground and go for an AP2.

Unlikely. the predominate WoM is that AP is crappy, doesnt hold up to ME2 and extremely buggy.

 

[lsslave]

I think I'm almost through the game and I've got to say I really, really like this game. It's definitely flawed in some ways but there are great ideas here and in my opinion it is a better game than ME 1 though maybe not 2 (haven't played it), the gunplay is much more satisfying and I think the writing is a good bit better. And I liked Mass Effect a LOT. AP is less technically polished but better executed.

Really good characters and an interesting plot (par for the course for a spy story but that's what I wanted.) I really like the way the stealth is executed and the game actually forces you to make choices in regards to what gear you equip through a limited economy and choices in regards to abilities. I'm level 15 currently and it feels like it's gonna be hard to max out even a single, full ability with the way I've been spreading my points.

I really, REALLY hope that Obsidian sells enough copies to take another run at this series. They could have a big winner if enough word of mouth spreads to get the series off the ground and go for an AP2.

I forgot about a point that you mentioned that I love, the economy. Money, unless you're a dick, is very VERY scarce in this game.

You CAN do certain things to get extra money, but damn if I don't love its way of working.

Every purchase I made I actually made sure it was a "do I need this?"

On that note, I intend to do a challenge playthrough of wearing only "clothing" for the entire game, no armor no nothing, just the clothes :lol

Edit:

Unlike. the predominate WoM is that AP is crappy, doesnt hold up to ME2 and extremely buggy.

Its nothing like ME2. Mass Effect is a story based shooter, Alpha Protocol is a RPG/Shooter hybrid with strong RPG elements.

As for buggy, well, I've played Fallout 3 and that game I noticed probably 10-20x more bugs (on PS3) including quest chains that would "break" midway (and ruined the game for me since I didn't realize Bethesda has a golden ticket that lets them get away with bugs and people just have to stock up on the save files!)

 

[mujun]

Thats the thing, I do agree to disagree with them. The game did NOT deserve the bullshit reviews it got, I constantly have people ask me why I play it since it has low reviews actually (I kind of wish PS3 didn't tell people what I'm playing... its fucking annoying)

The reviews are the one part I dislike, especially people who bitch about the shooting aspect. Those people are insane. I love... LOVE the RPG based shooting. Hell, I love a lot of aspects of the game in general, compared to Mass Effect and its more "Shooter with story attached" aspect to it.

They can hate the game, but I for one think its one of the best titles I've played in ages. Far too long actually.

I just say it because the eagle picture is probably my favorite GAF meme yet :lol

I ended up getting bored with it about two thirds of the way through so I don't think I like it as much as most of you guys in here. Still I'm glad I played it and would recommend it to the right type of person.

It's probably a pretty divisive game reviews wise. There's no denying it's B grade in many aspects (especially those which are prone to be used as a basis for snap judgements) but some of the things it does are amazing and pretty much unheard of for console rpgs.

 

[Cep]

Unlike. the predominate WoM is that AP is crappy, doesnt hold up to ME2 and extremely buggy.

And I think that this is extremely fair.

 

[lsslave]

I ended up getting bored with it about two thirds of the way through so I don't think I like it as much as most of you guys in here. Still I'm glad I played it and would recommend it to the right type of person.

It's probably a pretty divisive game reviews wise. There's no denying it's B grade in many aspects (especially those which are prone to be used as a basis for snap judgements) but some of the things it does are amazing and pretty much unheard of for console rpgs.

I can understand someone getting bored with this game. The best way to really get into the plot, from what I can tell you, is don't forget to read the emails. They really ad another element to it.

Maybe my love of titles is that I enjoy creative risks and unique games.

I thought Nier was better than Final Fantasy XIII, and I've played a fractional amount of Nier to FFXIII (I lent out Nier to a friend :/); I thought AP was 1000x better than Dragon Age

Hell, I consider Secret of Mana to be the best game ever made yet its so full of bugs and game-breaking points its not even funny.

B tier games are, apparently, my favorite games :lol

Though sometimes they suck (I got Resonance of Fate, tried to like it, and hated it. The game was just too slow paced for me. I can understand that some people love it but it bored me)