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f13.net  |  f13.net General Forums  |  Gaming  |  But is it Fun?  |  Topic: Alpha Protocol - Obsidian Entertainment - PC (& PS3/Xbox 360) 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
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Author Topic: Alpha Protocol - Obsidian Entertainment - PC (& PS3/Xbox 360)  (Read 27261 times)
bhodi
Moderator
Posts: 6817

No lie.


Reply #35 on: December 23, 2010, 09:54:43 AM

You did miss it. It was the thanksgiving sale. Maybe it'll come around again, like Reccatear did.

Sadly I am already sort of bored with it, though I'll probably go back and finish. The combat is so incredibly shallow, in a console-itis sort of way. It's not awful, it's just you move from a set piece room full of guys to another and another. Since I'm specalizing in stealth and takedowns it's more like a puzzle game, which can I hit first so the others won't see, and then I take them all out and move on. The sad part is the rooms are always fairly small and have no more than 4 or 5 guys in them. The story is good though!

My OCD made me bring up a gamefaqs guide to what responses give what +/- rep and such, I couldn't stand the randomness.
« Last Edit: December 23, 2010, 09:57:50 AM by bhodi »
Rasix
Moderator
Posts: 15024

I am the harbinger of your doom!


Reply #36 on: December 23, 2010, 09:59:20 AM

You did miss it. It was the thanksgiving sale. Maybe it'll come around again, like Reccatear did.


Speaking of.. on sale today.

-Rasix
bhodi
Moderator
Posts: 6817

No lie.


Reply #37 on: December 23, 2010, 10:03:38 AM

I was just going to post that! It's 7.50 today.
Rasix
Moderator
Posts: 15024

I am the harbinger of your doom!


Reply #38 on: December 24, 2010, 10:56:52 PM

The UI.  ACK!

-Rasix
bhodi
Moderator
Posts: 6817

No lie.


Reply #39 on: December 24, 2010, 11:07:29 PM

There is only one or two skills that are useful, and one or two gadgets, so doing the whole switch thing isn't as bad as all that.
LK
Terracotta Army
Posts: 4268


Reply #40 on: January 19, 2011, 12:47:27 AM

My first five minutes of the game were disorienting, confusing, and left me with a longing for some Ming time. But the shitty dialog (from OBSIDIAN??), the weird animations and stealth / gunplay, and just generally unsatisfying play experience made me turn it off and I don't plan to turn it on again.

"Then there's the double-barreled shotgun from Doom 2 - no-one within your entire household could be of any doubt that it's been fired because it sounds like God slamming a door on his fingers." - Yahtzee Croshaw
Kageru
Terracotta Army
Posts: 4549


Reply #41 on: February 04, 2012, 07:11:02 PM

The game is flawed, but there's not that many espionage based games around and some of the sections can be quite satisfying. And when it works the production values are actually pretty good for what is now a budget title. Worth a play through, but there's a couple of game choices that will make it much more fun and less frustrating (IMO of course).

1. It's probably not worth playing through twice, and the game is best suited to a stealthy approach. Mostly because it's just not that great as a shooter and you get more out of the maps when you see them as a challenge you can slowly "take apart". The pistol is pretty over-powered too and a couple of points in assault rifle are enough to play run and gun if stealth fails or gets frustrating.

2. You want at least two points in sabotage. If you enjoy the puzzles that gives you a bit more time to solve them. The puzzle difficulty is erratic and save points sparse though so there will be times when you just can't be bothered / get frustrated and want to use an EMP grenade to just nuke it. Yes, you can hack a computer or pick a padlock with an EMP grenade, /shrug. Some of the puzzles have such a tight time constraint, and so many steps, I question if they're even possible.

3. If you want to play on hard it's doable. But you almost certainly want to do Taipei and get Stephen heck on-side before you do Russia. Other than that the missions areas can be done in any order.

4. Most NPC characters have a favored response type and they're always in the same place (agressive = top, suave = left, professional = right). So if in doubt use that guide, and the nature of the character, rather than trying to guess what the hint will mean when put into dialog. For most dialogs you could probably just leave it on a favored setting and let it play out and do fine.

The main problem with the stealth is not that it's buggy (it is) or the enemies are all dumb (they are, but sort of need to be) but that at higher levels it becomes cheesy and magical. A high level stealth operative should have toys and techniques allowing lots of tactical options. You don't get that in this game, you just get a magic invisibility spell and the ability to freeze time. Which means the game-play doesn't change that much and after a while you can cheese any encounter (though some of them need it).
« Last Edit: February 07, 2012, 05:34:09 PM by Kageru »

Is a man not entitled to the hurf of his durf?
- Simond
trias_e
Terracotta Army
Posts: 1296


Reply #42 on: February 07, 2012, 04:13:12 AM

I love this game so much.  Way too much.  Obviously very flawed but just so damn fun.  And dare I say ambitious, given how many options there are in the choose-your-own-adenture storyline.  This game actually changes depending on how you act and what you do.  This is what I like about RPGs, so thank you Alpha Protocol for kicking ass in that department, even though you kind of suck in many ways.

I disagree when you say that it's not worth playing through twice.  If you enjoyed it enough to beat it once, it has so much variety in every play-through that you can easily play it 3-4 times and have a very different experience each time.  I played it through 3 times back-to-back.  It's only about 14 hours long for a play-through so not a huge time commitment.

Also, fuck stealth.  The levels are fun when you run around shotgunning everyone in the face.  Or sprinting around punching people out.  Stealth was nothing but an exercise in frustration for me.

Roleplaying is greatly rewarded in AP.  It is actually pretty cool to just stick to one dialog option (suave, professional, aggressive) the entire game.  I'd recommend against 'gaming the system' and making everyone like you.  Someone people you should piss off.  Trust me, it's way more fun that way.
Kageru
Terracotta Army
Posts: 4549


Reply #43 on: February 07, 2012, 05:28:48 PM

I meant more in terms of some of the other modes being problematic and a stealth approach giving you the richest first play through experience since you interact with the maps so deeply and are encouraged to take it slow.

On hard the shotgun barely tickles armored opponents even at very short ranges and it's only use is knockdown so you can go kick them in the head (which is an instant kill... go figure). SMG's are similarly weak and the Assault rifle special ability is laughably bad. If you wanted to play run & gun there's better shooters, whereas there are far fewer covert action shooters. Also the AI is really far too stupid to be much of a challenge to an aggressive approach, it's pretty much a shooting gallery and fighting with the oddities in the cover system.

I loved the role-playing. I don't even mind the delivery which seems to have upset some people on forums. But you'll still end up doing the same action set pieces pretty much any path you take.

« Last Edit: February 07, 2012, 05:35:07 PM by Kageru »

Is a man not entitled to the hurf of his durf?
- Simond
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