Alpha Protocol
- Thread starter Jay
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Yeah, I read somewhere that one of the guys who worked on the game basically said the game had needed to be cancelled ages ago. The constant interference by SEGA along with the ineptitude of the lead designer Chris Parker, who, while apparently a good manager, is a pile of shit when it comes to game design. Sad.
I still bought this game, despite the negative reviews.
The AI is bad. The combat is kinda wonky, I've always felt weird about RPG stat-based dicerolls in a third person shooter (You line up a perfect headshot, you fire, but you miss your attack roll, so your bullet veers way off course).
That said, there is something to this game. The storyline so far is a little cliche, but in a good way. It's a love letter to spy movies, and so far it at least has the illusion of having all of your actions effect a branching path. I don't know if this is true until I actually play through another time.
I did, however, purchase this for PC, and for good reason. I enjoy Obsidian, but much like Bethesda, I enjoy what others do with their work more than the actual work. I'm now hopefully awaiting the day I get a fan made overhaul mod that will make the game great.
The AI is bad. The combat is kinda wonky, I've always felt weird about RPG stat-based dicerolls in a third person shooter (You line up a perfect headshot, you fire, but you miss your attack roll, so your bullet veers way off course).
That said, there is something to this game. The storyline so far is a little cliche, but in a good way. It's a love letter to spy movies, and so far it at least has the illusion of having all of your actions effect a branching path. I don't know if this is true until I actually play through another time.
I did, however, purchase this for PC, and for good reason. I enjoy Obsidian, but much like Bethesda, I enjoy what others do with their work more than the actual work. I'm now hopefully awaiting the day I get a fan made overhaul mod that will make the game great.
E
Element 117
this thread needs more sharks screaming "union!"
I like it so far but maybe it's because I'm going with as pure stealth as I can manage and it seems like a pretty passable stealth game.
I like the characters, Parker is my favorite though the guy looks like an accountant but you can just tell he's going to do something badass before the game is through.
I like the characters, Parker is my favorite though the guy looks like an accountant but you can just tell he's going to do something badass before the game is through.
The opening is terrible.
Then again, I've been able to spend more time with the game now, and while it does get better, it's still terrible. Makes me sad. There's some good stuff in this game, but everything good is covered in shit.
Spent a little more time with the game. The writing and storytelling is enough for me to want to continue, and find out what happens. The game does get better, and there are some areas that are downright awesome. Also, playing the PC version, I found that a lot of the control flaws were solved by plugging in a 360 controller. The kbam controls for the game are downright broken, you can tell they only did any testing for consoles.
The game is worth buying, but wait for it to drop in price. $20-$30 would be a fair price for this, and hopefully some of the problems will get patched out (either by obsidian, or fans)
The game is worth buying, but wait for it to drop in price. $20-$30 would be a fair price for this, and hopefully some of the problems will get patched out (either by obsidian, or fans)
this game is far from perfect but still it is fun. It's quiet easy to forget about the glitches or the subpar AI. Honestly, IGN giving it 68 is a joke.
i really like it for the atmosphere, the characters (how some reviewers say they are bland, that is crazy... Marburg for example is awesome) and the story
8/10.
i really like it for the atmosphere, the characters (how some reviewers say they are bland, that is crazy... Marburg for example is awesome) and the story
8/10.
I played a few hours of it after I downloaded a torrent of the game... and it was a rancid piece of junk.
*sigh*
The above reviews confirm to me that people will play just about anything and still find some way of enjoying a thoroughly inferior product and why this is why game companies will still attempt to throw out half finished games so that the masses will still play this crap and still manage a profit.
Hard to respect people opinions why I find them 2 yards short of retarded.
*sigh*
The above reviews confirm to me that people will play just about anything and still find some way of enjoying a thoroughly inferior product and why this is why game companies will still attempt to throw out half finished games so that the masses will still play this crap and still manage a profit.
Hard to respect people opinions why I find them 2 yards short of retarded.
It really is not that bad. the tutorial sucked balls but it gets better. I'm probly 70% done and despite the obvious flaws, i want to see what happens next.
it's certainly not mass effect, i'll give you that but my 2 yards shot of retarded opinion is that you guys just decided it would suck and did not explore the gameplay or learned to play it.
(tldr: fuck you jay
)
it's certainly not mass effect, i'll give you that but my 2 yards shot of retarded opinion is that you guys just decided it would suck and did not explore the gameplay or learned to play it.
(tldr: fuck you jay
)I played well over 3 hours of it yesterday, trying to grasp at some straws of goodness. The awfulness of the game fueled me on until I got game breaking issue. The AI is terrible, absolutely terrible, the storyline isn't great and the main character is staler than a 3 day old loaf of bread. This is a terrible game. Trying to give this game some credit is counterproductive as it fucken sucks balls. Sadly, don't take it personal but it's gamers like you who buy these terribad games and support money hungry game developers who throw half-baked products on the market that inspire this to keep happening again and again. The fact you're trying to defend this terrible game is asinine to me. Then again, I know I won't change your opinion, giving this game a 8 on 10 puts you well over my reach of wisdom.
If Socrates himself tried to explain his philosophy to a dog, he could talk for days on end until he is blue in the face and the dog will never understand it. This doesn't mean his philosophy is wrong, or that Socrates is bad at explaining it, it doesn't even mean that the dog is stupid for being a dog. If the "philosophy" is common sense, and Socrates is "SeriousJay", then you are the dog.
Don't ask me why this is in green. I certainly didn't ask for it.
If Socrates himself tried to explain his philosophy to a dog, he could talk for days on end until he is blue in the face and the dog will never understand it. This doesn't mean his philosophy is wrong, or that Socrates is bad at explaining it, it doesn't even mean that the dog is stupid for being a dog. If the "philosophy" is common sense, and Socrates is "SeriousJay", then you are the dog.
Don't ask me why this is in green. I certainly didn't ask for it.
Bug I encountered many times in my gameplay :
There were more times than I'd care to belive I literally stood in front of enemies and they wouldn't even react. I'm jumping up and down in front of the guy and he doesn't react at ALL and goes back to his patrol. I mean, comon, what the hell is this? My immersion was shot to hell. The physics are also all over the place, I saw a couple of bodies go "Mr. Fantasic" with 3 foot long necks, 6 foot long arms... etc. Ugh.
There were more times than I'd care to belive I literally stood in front of enemies and they wouldn't even react. I'm jumping up and down in front of the guy and he doesn't react at ALL and goes back to his patrol. I mean, comon, what the hell is this? My immersion was shot to hell. The physics are also all over the place, I saw a couple of bodies go "Mr. Fantasic" with 3 foot long necks, 6 foot long arms... etc. Ugh.
God, the game, like as in the meat of the game, the combat, is just terrible. Like, really, really awful proto-Mass Effect shit. The worst part about it is the story and dialog and such around it is so much fun. It's probably what frustrates me most about Obsidian. These are the guys responsible for some of the absolute best RPG stories of all time. From KOTOR 2's amazing look at how the dichotomous nature of the force predisposes people to their destinies and some of the deeper questions about the grey areas of the force in Star Wars, something no one had ever really done successfully before (and even then, with the forced early release of KOTOR 2, debatable on the successfully part) and Mask of the Betrayer, easily the best D&D based story ever put to game or otherwise to going back to Black Isle and games like Fallout and Planescape Torment. These assholes can do compelling, fun, interesting RPG stories far and away better than any of the large developers. They're just the fucking worst when it comes to the technical aspect of game making. THE WORST. Alpha Protocol, complete mess. KOTOR 2, completely unfinished. Neverwinter Nights 2 was nightmarishly buggy for years through patches.
God, I want them to team with Bioware or something, have Bioware do the technical side, fire those hack fucks they have writing their fantasy shit like Dragon Age and have Obsidian do all the creative work. That would be a fucking dream team right there.
God, I want them to team with Bioware or something, have Bioware do the technical side, fire those hack fucks they have writing their fantasy shit like Dragon Age and have Obsidian do all the creative work. That would be a fucking dream team right there.
The underlying story in KOTOR 2 is leagues better than in the first. It's unfortunate that that story was not properly finished. KOTOR was very, very straightforward in comparison.
And Dragon Age is once again, VERY straightforward as all Bioware games are. I'm not saying they are bad stories (though in the last post I did call their writers hack fucks), though if you've read Gaider's work, the writer of Dragon Age, you'd disagree on his writing being awesome. I wonder how much of his garbage is cleaned up by other people. Have you read the first Dragon Age book? It's probably the most dreadful thing I've ever sat through.
What I'm saying is Obsidian's work is far deeper and generally far more intelligent than anything else in gaming, though that's like being the skinniest kid at fat camp.
And Dragon Age is once again, VERY straightforward as all Bioware games are. I'm not saying they are bad stories (though in the last post I did call their writers hack fucks), though if you've read Gaider's work, the writer of Dragon Age, you'd disagree on his writing being awesome. I wonder how much of his garbage is cleaned up by other people. Have you read the first Dragon Age book? It's probably the most dreadful thing I've ever sat through.
What I'm saying is Obsidian's work is far deeper and generally far more intelligent than anything else in gaming, though that's like being the skinniest kid at fat camp.
R
rvdleun
Got this game two weeks ago and finished it in about a week playing on and off. Had been looking forward to this game for a long time, specifically because of the choices you could make and it's an Obsidian game. Thus I had sorta expected gameplay to be bit wonky from experience, but I was still disappointed in some of the flaws that appeared. When I heard that the game had been postponed last year, I thought that it was to tighten up the game, but from what I've heard, they never touched the code afterwards with the only reason being that the game would've been released amongst giants like Modern Warfare 2 and Dragon Age. Understandable from a business sense.
Still, I have to admit that the game gave me a good time. Gameplay wasn't too interesting, but I have to admit that it's somewhat rare for me these days to play a game that keeps my interest for too long, especially shooters. Story can generally keep me going, good pacing/variation is a huge plus and character development(in the term of levelling, not just strictly story-based) can be a carrot on a stick. Out of these three things, story and character development is likely what kept me going through AP.
Story-wise, it held my interest. Specifically, the fact that I got to make choices to drive the story helped alot. I made some good choices, but bad ones as well. I was able to align my interests with one party after turning them down earlier, rather liked that, especially given the circumstances. Character development-wise, I built a commando-style Thorton. Assault Rifles and Martial Arts, with a secondary focus on Sabotage and sprinkled with some Stealth so I could scout ahead where everyone was before killing them.
Most of all, it really felt like the events I was going through were built on the decisions I made in the game. NPCs would mention stuff I'd done earlier, both the big and the minor stuff. By the time I reached the latest hub, Thorton's reputation was already pretty well known. One NPC aligned with me due to a choice I made in the very first hub. I was able to get some Intel and make a boss fight easier, just because I was friends with someone in another hub. (keeping it all vague to remain spoiler-free)
What stands out for me is that once the credits had rolled, I fired up a new game to build a Thorton with a 'recruit' background and planning on what choices I was going to do this time around. Due to my limited time to play games, I rarely replay any that I've finished, so this is a first.
I'm somewhat on the fence about the 'warehouse -> mission -> warehouse -> mission' structure. On one hand, it removes most of the exploration and discovering new sidequests. On the other, it keeps the pace going and removes some of the bullshit as well.
As for the gameplay... eh, it works. Again, I'm not too big a fan of shooters as it is, so I can't really judge how good or bad it is. The AI is known to be wonky, but it's pretty much the same stuff that I see in other games at times. The graphics feel slightly subpar to me, but that's likely because I played ME2 earlier which had a powerhouse like Bioware working on it. A studio like Obsidian can't really hope to compare to that.
Finally, this game has made me play 'Turn on the Radio' on a daily basis now. That's pretty evil of them.
Edit: Warhouse? Not once, but twice?! Leun, you dolt!
Still, I have to admit that the game gave me a good time. Gameplay wasn't too interesting, but I have to admit that it's somewhat rare for me these days to play a game that keeps my interest for too long, especially shooters. Story can generally keep me going, good pacing/variation is a huge plus and character development(in the term of levelling, not just strictly story-based) can be a carrot on a stick. Out of these three things, story and character development is likely what kept me going through AP.
Story-wise, it held my interest. Specifically, the fact that I got to make choices to drive the story helped alot. I made some good choices, but bad ones as well. I was able to align my interests with one party after turning them down earlier, rather liked that, especially given the circumstances. Character development-wise, I built a commando-style Thorton. Assault Rifles and Martial Arts, with a secondary focus on Sabotage and sprinkled with some Stealth so I could scout ahead where everyone was before killing them.
Most of all, it really felt like the events I was going through were built on the decisions I made in the game. NPCs would mention stuff I'd done earlier, both the big and the minor stuff. By the time I reached the latest hub, Thorton's reputation was already pretty well known. One NPC aligned with me due to a choice I made in the very first hub. I was able to get some Intel and make a boss fight easier, just because I was friends with someone in another hub. (keeping it all vague to remain spoiler-free)
What stands out for me is that once the credits had rolled, I fired up a new game to build a Thorton with a 'recruit' background and planning on what choices I was going to do this time around. Due to my limited time to play games, I rarely replay any that I've finished, so this is a first.
I'm somewhat on the fence about the 'warehouse -> mission -> warehouse -> mission' structure. On one hand, it removes most of the exploration and discovering new sidequests. On the other, it keeps the pace going and removes some of the bullshit as well.
As for the gameplay... eh, it works. Again, I'm not too big a fan of shooters as it is, so I can't really judge how good or bad it is. The AI is known to be wonky, but it's pretty much the same stuff that I see in other games at times. The graphics feel slightly subpar to me, but that's likely because I played ME2 earlier which had a powerhouse like Bioware working on it. A studio like Obsidian can't really hope to compare to that.
Finally, this game has made me play 'Turn on the Radio' on a daily basis now. That's pretty evil of them.
Edit: Warhouse? Not once, but twice?! Leun, you dolt!
i could not agree more with this statement.
Frank, i would agree with you if Kotor 2 had been finished... it's not. Kotor was HUGE. Polished, great vilain, great plot hooks, etc.
Dragon age's story is straightforward, i'll give you that. But it's a time fo war, it's a time for heroes. And the way it's told is great. I could care less about the books. I don't read books based on video games. That does not interest me. i have real books waiting
Black Isle was great 15 years ago. Obsidian not so much. Yet, alpha protocol deserves the shot you're not giving it. Honestly, if you can accept some of the flaws, there's really something underneath.
Frank, i would agree with you if Kotor 2 had been finished... it's not. Kotor was HUGE. Polished, great vilain, great plot hooks, etc.
Dragon age's story is straightforward, i'll give you that. But it's a time fo war, it's a time for heroes. And the way it's told is great. I could care less about the books. I don't read books based on video games. That does not interest me. i have real books waiting
Black Isle was great 15 years ago. Obsidian not so much. Yet, alpha protocol deserves the shot you're not giving it. Honestly, if you can accept some of the flaws, there's really something underneath.
Bioware - over 3 years to develop KOTOR 1, Obsidian had less than one.
Knights of the Old Republic II beats the living shit out of the original, rushed ending and all. The first game is great in its own way, but it clings far too much to the flims, and it has a campy style to it that makes it very difficult to take seriously. The Sith Lords actually has deep, interesting discussions and commentary upon very real, relevant, philosophical topics, such as, say, the nature of and motives for good and evil, something the first game barely even bothered touching. It also has some extremely memorable and well-written characters, ones who you can affect in significant ways based on your actions. The depth with which it explores the universe really is unparalleled in anything else Star Wars - while I love the series, I think it's criminal that The Sith Lords is one of the only ones that treats it in the way it deserves. I really don't care that Obsidian had to truncate things - I felt it could have been better in the end, but the rush at the end didn't make it a "bad game".
But I guess at this point we're just beating each other up with the same arguments. Black Isle was great, and their storytelling ability never left them, just seemingly their technical skills.
I'm going to both agree and disagree with Frank.
I liked Dragon Age's story. It wasn't super spectacular, but I thought it was told really well.
KOTOR2 though had a much better story and atmosphere than kotor1. As much as I loved KOTOR, and as much as I initially hated KOTOR2 for its initial bugginess, once I got into it, the story was amazing. I'd LOVE to see more of what Obsidian could do with the star wars universe. They did the dark side RIGHT.
I liked Dragon Age's story. It wasn't super spectacular, but I thought it was told really well.
KOTOR2 though had a much better story and atmosphere than kotor1. As much as I loved KOTOR, and as much as I initially hated KOTOR2 for its initial bugginess, once I got into it, the story was amazing. I'd LOVE to see more of what Obsidian could do with the star wars universe. They did the dark side RIGHT.
The problem is that Obsidian has never to my knowledge released a "finished" product. KOTOR 2 was rushed out the door in a disgustingly incomplete form. I mean you read about some of the stuff they had programed out but couldn't add because they had to make something sellable and boot it out the door and I just get misty eyed. I think that is much the same thing with Alpha Protocol because the bread and butter of the gunplay just isn't fun if they had the time they could have made it an epic game but instead they just kinda slapped a coat of paint on it and shoved it out the door.
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