Alpha Protocol

Will pick it up when it gets a bit cheaper. Which shouldnt be too long if it aint selling.

Looks dont bother me too much as long as the rpg depth is there :)
 
Mercurial said:
Thats way too harsh.

I'm about 6 hours and enjoying the game, it has its flaws sure. The game itself reminds me a hell of a lot of Mass Effect 1.

Graphics really aren't that bad imo, and the story is really quite involving and I haven't found it disjointed at all.

Just remember it isn't a shooter but an RPG, points into your character make a big difference.

It isn't a classic by any means (though it could have been) but its definitely a solid 7.0-7.5 game.

Edit: Actually forget the Mass Effect comparison, its more like Vampire Masquerade:Bloodlines, so if you dig that you will definitely dig this.
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How can you even utter this game in the same sentence as mass effect 1 lol
You must have some low standards to be playing this unless you paid for it trying to justify and want to try and get some worth from it.
 
I got it from direct4drive/onlinekeystore (£17) and yeah it's not a bells and whistles triple A game but it's enjoyable (apart from the frustrating computer hacking minigame, that needs to be patched/fixed), certainly brings back a lot of good memories, with it's rpgness, of Dues Ex.

Was going to get Splinter Cell Conviction but decided on this instead, no regrets at the moment.
 
C64 said:
How can you even utter this game in the same sentence as mass effect 1 lol
You must have some low standards to be playing this unless you paid for it trying to justify and want to try and get some worth from it.
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Heh, I wish I had lower standards I may find more games that interest me. I'm about as jaded as can be with the state of gaming at the moment.

In my opinion its just not quite as bleak as you made it out to be. Maybe its a marmite type of game you either like or you hate it.

Also see my edit, it is much more inline with Bloodlines than ME1.

Purchase justification of a 17 quid game doesn't really register sorry. ;)
 
To be fair, there are still a few things that Alpha Protocol does really well and there are definitely some truly brilliant ideas presented within it, like the notion of collecting dossiers on allies by asking the right questions or following bonus objectives. The perks system too is worthy of praise, as it works alongside the dossier feature in the way it encourages you to interact with characters and consider your actions.

Sadly though, those few ideas which do work well are buried by a multitude of issues which systematically tear down and destroy the huge potential that could have been afforded by Obsidian’s choice of setting and approach. The poor balancing, the rambling speeches, the linearity and the simple fact that the combat doesn’t feel pleasant? These are just the highlights

Alpha Protocol still works in the strictest sense and there’s still doses of fun to be metered out from individual kills, accomplishments and a few standout moments – but on the whole it doesn’t have the focus or quality you’d expect of a modern day RPG. We’re willing to overlook specific weaknesses based on the merits of the experience as a whole – to cite it again, we still love Deus Ex despite the terrible graphics and stiff combat, but Alpha Protocol frankly doesn’t have enough strengths to qualify.
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*** tech review
 
Like the others i will pick up when cheap. Like most have been burned before on full price preorders. I will buy just for the amazing trailer music
 
It has already been cheap, I got it for 23 euros incl. shipping. No reason not to buy for this price. One has to support Chris Avellone aka DevGod.
 
It is tricky, I rage quitted during the tutorial after a few failures :)

However once you get the controls down - awsd + space for the left code and mouse + left button for the right code. The mouse control is a bit sketchy but you don't have to keep moving the mouse to move the code, put the cursor near the bottom of the screen to move down, right edge of screen to move right etc. That's the first hurdle.

Then you just have to look for the static alphanumeric codes on the grid and move each of your codes over them and lock them in place.

Time does run out quickly so when the timer bar gets right near the end click abort and the alarm won't sound, you can just have another go, although the static code positions on the grid will change.

I tend to look for a static code first, if I don't find one within about 3 seconds I hit abort and try again. If it takes much longer you probably won't have time to move the matching code onto it, find the second static code and then moving the corresponding code onto the grid.

When you level you can put a couple of ranks into sabotage which will increase the time limit for hacking. You can put more ranks into sabotage so you get to use EMP grenades after a couple more level ups, they apparently give you access to computers just by detonating them.

It's one of those things that just 'clicks' after you succeed at it a couple of times, don't give up! Although don't torture yourself if you keep failing, give your eyes a rest then come back :)
 
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Maybe I'm explaining it badly :)

Watch this video, although it's the console version, just remember ASWD + space to move and lock the left code bar and the mouse + LMB to move the right code bar.
 
Hostile17 said:
Were not talking a little bit of a difference though mate were talking 6/5 out of 10's etc. If it fails to work/engage even on a basic level I don't think its going to matter how much you like the genre/concept.
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I dunno, to me a game which has reviews of 6/10 and that you already own seems worth at least firing up once to give it a try, I've found enjoyment in such rated games before. It's not a complete failure scoring 30%, there must be at least something it is going right to score 6/10, and of course that's assuming that the reviewer has the same taste in games as you.
 
HangTime said:
^^I don't really understand what lesson you've learnt there - you've never opened the box to play the game yet have written it off on the basis of some reviews? :confused:
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I know, that seems shallow. :)

I bought a load of games at the time, and played the ones that reviewed well. By the time I'd finished them, more games were coming out, and I never got the time to play AITD until a lot later and my desire to play it had cooled. At the time, EVERY review hated it. (It's not the only game I've bought that I still haven't played, but things have got worse in that respect since I started looking at Steam sales :) ).
 
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