Plus, it's a Sega published
Mass Effect in present times.
Can't be anything but good.
Isn't this Obsidian's first original ip?everyone tells me Obsidian is the best wrpg developer out there
CD Projekt says hi.
Isn't this Obsidian's first original ip?everyone tells me Obsidian is the best wrpg developer out there
CD Projekt says hi.
Yeah, this is their first original IP.
And Obsidian is a great up-and-coming WRPG developer, but so far they've only done two games and they were both sequels that had a good base to build from.
CD Projekt is another up-and-coming developer, but I need to see more than just one great game from them.
Isn't this Obsidian's first original ip?everyone tells me Obsidian is the best wrpg developer out there
CD Projekt says hi.
Yeah, this is their first original IP.
And Obsidian is a great up-and-coming WRPG developer, but so far they've only done two games and they were both sequels that had a good base to build from.
CD Projekt is another up-and-coming developer, but I need to see more than just one great game from them.
But Obisidian is just Black Isle under a different name, so they aren't really an "up-and-coming" developer, but rather a longtime pro.
From that video it looks heavily inspired by Mass Effect's gameplay and skill system.
It's Mass Effect re-skinned. That's how Obsidian works.
It was awful when I played it a year ago.
Looks like it has potential and is worth following. I wish my PC was up to snuff so I could see if NWN2 delivered or not, but KotOR 2 did not.
It's got Chris Avellone, though, and that would make any game warrant some hype.
I've heard the same, but like I've said before elsewhere, I don't think I'm going to just blame LucasArts alone.
Until Gizka finishes up, that game's a broken shell of what could have been, and a waste of $20.
the setting is so goddamn boring.
i need to escape from reality bro and this just reminds me of my shitty, lonely virgin life. :'(
i work for jinfash.
[youtube=560,345]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmXrbo3sRrM[/youtube]
That trailer was remarkably awful. I'm looking forward to the game and that trailer has a "pass" vibe all over it.
That trailer was remarkably awful. I'm looking forward to the game and that trailer has a "pass" vibe all over it.
The graphics aren't great and the animation is pretty weak. That tends to make for a bad trailer. Although like I said I'm not really leaning either way on this one until I see more actual gameplay footage.
looks better than Mass Effect 2.
looks better than Mass Effect 2.
can't wait
combat looks better, levels and setting look more interesting. better weapons / gadgets - the whole package, really
okay some of animations don't look that fluid, but hey, I can live with that.
[youtube=560,345]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wdj2VxFsiA[/youtube]
you know this game is gonna be shit, right?
you know this game is gonna be shit, right?
Yeah...I doubt that.
[youtube=560,345]bjrqeuMgOAw[/youtube]
Looks like it's going to be pretty awesome to me.
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.
Of course, this is only about half of the game. The rest is that running-around-and-shooting-guys thing that you might have done in a videogame from time to time. Alpha Protocol is competent here, and while there are a lot of options for customizing your character and approaching a mission, they mostly boil down to either stealthing around, or bashing through everything like a machine gun-equipped bull in a china shop full of C4, or something in between. Both approaches are satisfying enough to warrant a replay, but even with a handful of nifty spy gadgets this is still a pretty bog-standard third-person shooter. The A.I. is kinda squirrelly, too. Badguys are prone to piling up in doorways, running in circles, or even head-assing you on a ladder because they're too thick to just shoot you instead of chasing you up the thing. Nothing's outright busted here, but it can get a little goofy sometimes. Also, maybe this is just me, but I can't help but feel like the assault rifle is so boss that there's little reason to mess with any of the others all that much, especially the spray-and-pray machineguns.
The dialogue is what does it here. When your secret agent alter ego isn't shooting people, he's talking. Thankfully, it's never the "put the controller down and go make a sandwich" variety of chatter. Think Mass Effect, but without a moral spectrum. The three most common dialogue options (Professional, Aggressive, and Suave) pretty well encapsulate the emotional range of your usual covert operative. Well, except for Suave, which here comes off less like James Bond and more Leisure Suit Larry. A little disappointing, but at least it doesn't fail to amuse. How every other character reacts to your dialogue decisions, and how this changes their attitude toward you is a high point, but I'm more impressed by the fact that this actually affects the game's larger plot.
Alpha Protocol's ambitions are commendable, and if you're a role-playing fanatic, you'll enjoy investigating its intricacies. It's unfortunate that its various ingredients are so undercooked. The flaky cover system, the mediocre production values, the fundamental blemishes gone unchecked--these elements add up quickly and drag the experience down. The elaborate storytelling and character progression are impressive. It's too bad that the gawky, glitchy gameplay can't rise to the same standard.
It's an Obsidian game, if you go in expecting it to be polished and without fault...well...you'll probably be disappointed.
It's an Obsidian game, if you go in expecting it to be polished and without fault...well...you'll probably be disappointed.Fallout New Vegas will also have an incredible amount of jank. Although its not like the first game wasn't full of it also.
Wow, the reviews for this game are all over the place. :lol
It's an Obsidian game, if you go in expecting it to be polished and without fault...well...you'll probably be disappointed.
I read somewhere that someone compared this to Mass Effect 1. It's not that polished, but it's got that feeling that with some focus they could make a really awesome game.
You can build the most magnificent castle in the world, but if the foundations are made out of wet feces, everything's going to crumble and fall apart before your very eyes. Alpha Protocol is a castle that's collapsed in crap. Proof that even the most accomplished of visions are worthless if the fundamentals aren't in place.
Quote from: Jim SterlingYou can build the most magnificent castle in the world, but if the foundations are made out of wet feces, everything's going to crumble and fall apart before your very eyes. Alpha Protocol is a castle that's collapsed in crap. Proof that even the most accomplished of visions are worthless if the fundamentals aren't in place.
:rofl still can't wait to play this game. I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy it. Is anyone playing the 360 version here?
a tired dev @ May 28th 2010 2:37PM
I worked on this game (a fact of which I am not proud). I'm not here to defend it; I agree with all these reviews.
First, a comment for the guy at Cheesecake Factory - Most devs eat in the office most days, if they do go out they tend to grab something at the food court and head back. I know the execs take long lunches, but they often use them for informal meetings as well. Most of the programmers and designers very rarely ate outside the office during the time I was on this project.
There was a ton of work put into this game. The problem is that is was a ton of undirected work, or work on things that were just stupid. The Executive Producer for the game, Chris Parker (also an owner of the company), seemed to think he was the world's greatest designer ever, and created all these absolutely shitty systems and wouldn't listen to any of the real designers or devs about things that just didn't work. And you can't exactly argue with one of the owners of the company when he doesn't want to listen. He basically took over the game and dictated exactly how everything would work (or not work, as the case may be). The other producers realized this early on and just gave up, leaving Parker to micromanage all the designers and programmers directly.
Sega also was a factor, because they kept changing the design requirements (yes they had heavy influence there), which never gave the producers and designers time to actually decide on one set of features to make and polish. The blame is still mostly Obsidian's because the execution was absolutely terrible, and it was obvious 2 years ago that this game should have been scrapped. Instead, though, they focused on adding still more features and never fixed the ones they already had. That is a recipe for tons of bugs and no polish... as is obvious.
This game was just an absolute failure of production, and it's no wonder that so many of the developers left the company, even after the 40% staff layoffs. I am still happy about some of Obsidian's other current projects, New Vegas included, because they are going pretty well. Their big unannounced project is looking great and is already much better than AP ever was, and that may end up being the game that everyone was looking for with AP.
Sega should have canceled AP instead of Aliens...
:bow2This is the same Jim Sterling that gave Assassin's Creed II a 4.5 out of 10.
The dude's got the most vitriol of any writer I've read and he's the living embodiment of all that's wrong with game journalism. I'm all about the real talk but he's downright venomous at times. How the hell does he still have a "job" is beyond me.
I'm convinced this is some sort of PC apologist thing
I'm convinced this is some sort of PC apologist thing
Mass Effect 2 doesn't have Steven "Don't call me Steve" Heck.
The difference with Chick is that he's highly likely to have a column that's 11 ways Alpha Protocol is worse than Mass Effect 2. He did it with Infamous, went with the things he hated first, but then the things he loved. The Heavy Rain/Deadly Premonition diaries were great too, dealing with the same themes across both games.
If you look at them in isolation then they definitely give off the vibe you mention. But if you read the QT3 forums, he's pretty consistent with his tastes.
I'm convinced this is some sort of PC apologist thing
Heck is an awesome character, one of the emails he sends you is incredible.
(http://i46.tinypic.com/2ymi1pv.jpg)
:(
one thing that's neat about the conversation system is that as you become more friendly with people, their attitudes change a bit. Some seem to be more willing to talk casually while others care less for it and are all concerned and shit.
I did the gadget training and he's like "ok there are alarms and the guards want to beat you up" so the door opens and WOOOPS theres a fucking guard shooting at me already so I start running like a headless chicken and using the alarm gadgets. Then its like "ok you did it, you win" and I got $20000
I did that too, it's shitty design. You just have to use the gadget three times in that mission and you complete it as long as you don't die.:rofl
Read those reviews and destructoid really needs a real editor on staff.
AP sounds like a game full of typical PC flaws and bugs that PC fans just ignore because they love shit with tons of menus.
No, I'm trying to play a majority stealth character, but sometimes you get seen and that's why I'm maxing out Pistol as well as Stealth 8)
No, I'm trying to play a majority stealth character, but sometimes you get seen and that's why I'm maxing out Pistol as well as Stealth 8)
You HAVE to be Stealth, the shooting is abysmal
No, I'm trying to play a majority stealth character, but sometimes you get seen and that's why I'm maxing out Pistol as well as Stealth 8)
You HAVE to be Stealth, the shooting is abysmal
Hard Recruit? anyone? i cant be the only one with hairy nuts here
AP sounds like a game full of typical PC flaws and bugs that PC fans just ignore because they love shit with tons of menus.
Yeah, I heard someone on the gaf thread had "reload checkpoint and all enemies are missing" bug.
But considering there are like 100s of bugs reported in the gaf thread already, it's not a big deal. We should be thankful that apparently no one's hit a game ending bug that's caused them to restart from scratch or something. All the bugs are minor and harmless or resetting back 5 mins fixes them.
Still, I wasn't around during the launch of a lot of the old-school buggy rpgs like Troika stuff, so it's exciting being a part of a super buggy game launch because you get all these :lol moments.
I have a weird ass fucking bug with the PC version. If I get caught and let myself die, next time I respawn the game doesn't spawn any enemies at all. So I was able to kill the arabs bodyguard without actually having to fight anyone because thy werent spawned. Just got to run up to the mission marker.
Anyone else getting that bug?
Yeah that's usually what happens to me, it's just in the area but it happens almost every single time. It's funny. :lol
If you get caught though and die, does that count towards getting caught on the mission? Also, any tips for doing the computer hacking game on PC? :(
I dunno man, I can't think of any game I've played that's been crazy buggy like this in the last few years. I feel like console games aren't anywhere near as buggy as PC games and since it's been console focused for a while games haven't been full of bugs.
Care to name some?
the only enjoyment this game provides is to laugh at how ridiculously awful it is.
the only enjoyment this game provides is to laugh at how ridiculously awful it is.
obsidian should get an award for how fucking terrible the AI is.
What class?
I'm still not sure if I want to do Mage or Soldier when I do play it. I want both. Where is my Paladin :X
I have a weird ass fucking bug with the PC version. If I get caught and let myself die, next time I respawn the game doesn't spawn any enemies at all.
The AI is terrible. I got through my stealth run by doing the silent run or invisibility. Even without those, there would be times when Mike would take a guy out feet away from the enemy, but because their back was turned, it didn't matter. The only nice thing about the AI is that if an enemy spots you, the alarm won't go off like crazy. They physically need to run to the alarm panel and signal others. Even that has been done far better in stealth games from a decade ago, like, think shooting out pocket radios in MGS2.
I only played the Peace Walker demo and the AI was there. But to be fair, the AI in Alpha Protocol is probably better than the AI in the Splinter Cell Conviction demo.
In my shooting run now, using the assault rifle is surprisingly not that bad. It's better than ME1 combat, at least, and gets better as I upgrade. I'm also surprised by how different the game is playing as a raging asshole. Like, at one point I pissed off an arms dealer and when I was going to assault a location, the people guarding it were now heavily armed soldiers. In my previous run they were just regular security dudes and I was able to get past them by shooting the shit. Here, I just resorted to shooting him in the face because he was all about checking my credentials.
i wish i would have stopped playing this before i got an achievement. now i feel compelled to finish this fucking turd :(NO! Leave the single 'cheev; as time passes it will serve as a warning to any "Compare Games..." Friends on your list who are considering picking up the game.
This game is great. I did the Villa mission in rome last night, came into a room with 6 guys, popped the Invisible perk, KO'd 3 guards, popped Brilliance, popped the invisible perk again and KO'd the remaining 3.
Obsidian are fantastic.
Such different responses...who to trust?
If you want a game developed by college students, that's Alpha Protocol
Then Rumbler and Bebpo will defend your book for its high quality if people would only read it upside down.
Such different responses...who to trust?
You should just rent it and ignore the thread.
Such different responses...who to trust?
You should just rent it and ignore the thread.
Not an option. If I played it, it would be the superior PC version.
Such different responses...who to trust?
You should just rent it and ignore the thread.
Not an option. If I played it, it would be the superior PC version.
Well then I'll guess you'll have to man up and just buy the game. I know buying games is not an option for a lot of PC gamers but I think you'll make due.
Don't worry, I'm calling his bluff. Everyone knows PC Gamers don't buy any games unless they're 95% off on Steam.
WTF :lol
Shouldn't you be banning Slime instead?
* Why can't I knock people out by zip lining?
* Why does being caught once say 2 alarms went off at the end of the training mission?
Jesus I could write a novel on how shit this is
AP is not for everyone. It either clicks with you and it's total fun and you love it or it doesn't and you get aggravated/bored and you hate it.
Gelato Shop mission is awesome.
um, what if I like Alpha Protocol but think most of the action stuff is crap?
Yeah, that's why I really like the WoTS games too. Haven't played 3 yet. How does that kind of stuff compare to 1/2?Gelato Shop mission is awesome.
The first time I played it I thought the guy was actually just a gelatto shop owner. I walked in, upgraded his servers, walked out.
The 2nd time he pulled a shotgun on me when I blew my cover and I realized he wasn't a shop owner!
guys it's really not cool trying to encourage people to buy this shit game, ok?
it's a bad game and has a hell of alot more than a "few issues".
almost everything is flawed. about the only thing they did right was the like/dislike dialogue system and dynamic way the story chances depending on you actions.
the rest is poop.
Do you really want to use analog sticks for something like this?
Do you really want to use analog sticks for something like this?
Better than tapping a dpad like some terrible driving simulator developer.
I don't mind the lock picking, or the keypad bypass. They're relatively harmless.
guys it's really not cool trying to encourage people to buy this shit game, ok?
it's a bad game and has a hell of alot more than a "few issues".
almost everything is flawed. about the only thing they did right was the like/dislike dialogue system and dynamic way the story chances depending on you actions.
the rest is poop.
but you liked...Nier. Which is just as rough.
guys it's really not cool trying to encourage people to buy this shit game, ok?
wtf? :lol
I lock picked a door and a guy caught me (for SOME REASON, but you know)
So I load my checkpoint, and everyone prior to the checkpoint is GONE. LMAO
So I can freely explore the other rooms I avoided now.
At least they give you the option to "buy" most of the goons away or give you a bonus mission perk (sniper rifle drop off, etc)
Lock picking is so awful. What part are you supposed to put th line at. The middle right? I swear my icon doesnt highlight at all. Ridiculous when trying to pick a safe.
if it helps, when I played with my hacking skill maxed out, I had no trouble with lock picking. the icon not lighting up happened on my assault run when I didn't put anything into that skill. they just do a really bad job at explaining this I guess.
I'm going to give this an earnest effort and try to enjoy it but I just played for a half hour and I'm already impressed by how bad it is. The game really does try to do a lot of cool shit but man oh man is the combat atrocious.
At least I get to play as Super Spy Fidel Castro. :hyper
What's a good order to do the 3 missions? Rome, Taipei and Moscow
yes. I was stuck there too because the solution is really dumb.
you need the overload ability or w/e that makes attack gadgets more powerful, then use it on an emp and toss it into the room. once the two turrets get knocked out, you can pretty much run into that room and take care of everyone. You don't even need to sneak or anything since only the turrets trigger the alarm.
don't hack the computer next to that window, btw. it sets off the alarm and starts shooting the enemies.
Why the hell does Steven Heck trigger the guards to red at the very beginning of the hotel mission? This game is so obtuse
This may or may not be a bug but it seriously annoys me; reloading from a saved checkpoint will wake up all the enemies you had previously killed.
Wow, awesome, an escort level. I'm so glad this is in.
Omen has 2 guys come out every 25% of his health.
And Great Rumbler, did you instantly kill him with a chain shot or something? Normally guys spawn out of the elevator 2 at a time for 3 times total during the battle (75% HP, 50% hp, 25% hp).
So the gameplay is awful?
Abysmal. Tempted to delete the accounts of anyone who enjoyed this horrific game just so I dont have to read it.
Last mission was fucking horrendous. Plus I have no idea what happened but all of a sudden Mina was dead.
beat it last night. WTF was going on around the end of the game :lol I was all cabbed out on sedatives and my brain basically imploded during all the Endgame stuff.
Seems like a pretty good story overall, my ending was:spoiler (click to show/hide)I pretended I was going to join Halbeck but then right at the end my Thorton was like: "fuck you I'm running shit with my worldwide connects" and punched Leland over. I made a lot a lot of friends during the game (Surkov, Braykov, Deng, Heck etc.) so I nabbed the "Thorton inc." achievement. I then quit to dash and reloaded, and watched the ending if you actually join Halbeck. It was pretty funny, Leland and Thorton get their bromance on and hang out and smoke cigars lolozlzozlzoz[close]
I'm gonna run the game again on easy going all Rambo like with shotguns and rifles (for dem cheevs), I'm also going to piss off and/or kill everyone. What a sweet game.
beat it last night. WTF was going on around the end of the game :lol I was all cabbed out on sedatives and my brain basically imploded during all the Endgame stuff.
Seems like a pretty good story overall, my ending was:spoiler (click to show/hide)I pretended I was going to join Halbeck but then right at the end my Thorton was like: "fuck you I'm running shit with my worldwide connects" and punched Leland over. I made a lot a lot of friends during the game (Surkov, Braykov, Deng, Heck etc.) so I nabbed the "Thorton inc." achievement. I then quit to dash and reloaded, and watched the ending if you actually join Halbeck. It was pretty funny, Leland and Thorton get their bromance on and hang out and smoke cigars lolozlzozlzoz[close]
I'm gonna run the game again on easy going all Rambo like with shotguns and rifles (for dem cheevs), I'm also going to piss off and/or kill everyone. What a sweet game.spoiler (click to show/hide)I got pretty much EVERYONE killed- my ending was just me on a boat sailing off into the sunset.[close]
beat it last night. WTF was going on around the end of the game :lol I was all cabbed out on sedatives and my brain basically imploded during all the Endgame stuff.
Seems like a pretty good story overall, my ending was:spoiler (click to show/hide)I pretended I was going to join Halbeck but then right at the end my Thorton was like: "fuck you I'm running shit with my worldwide connects" and punched Leland over. I made a lot a lot of friends during the game (Surkov, Braykov, Deng, Heck etc.) so I nabbed the "Thorton inc." achievement. I then quit to dash and reloaded, and watched the ending if you actually join Halbeck. It was pretty funny, Leland and Thorton get their bromance on and hang out and smoke cigars lolozlzozlzoz[close]
I'm gonna run the game again on easy going all Rambo like with shotguns and rifles (for dem cheevs), I'm also going to piss off and/or kill everyone. What a sweet game.spoiler (click to show/hide)I got pretty much EVERYONE killed- my ending was just me on a boat sailing off into the sunset.[close]spoiler (click to show/hide)With Heck? That's the one I got[close]
would you guys recommend starting off on recruit?
would you guys recommend starting off on recruit?
Doing a Shotgun + Toughness Run with Recruit on Hard. Hard as fuck since you need to be fairly close for the shotgun to be at its best and even with high Toughness you can die rather easily. Maybe its me playing at Difficult though, need to really utilize cover. With that said Shotguns main skill 'Room Clear' is awesome for fucking shit up. Terminator Mode.
I've also been playing as a dick and there has been some hilarious moments from it. Thick ass beard too with mirrored glasses.
the SIE "romance" option is ASTOUNDINGLY AWESOME
be sure to read her file after that sequence :teehee
the SIE "romance" option is ASTOUNDINGLY AWESOME
be sure to read her file after that sequence :teehee
Shit, I didn't do that. Spoiler it for me.
the SIE "romance" option is ASTOUNDINGLY AWESOME
be sure to read her file after that sequence :teehee
Shit, I didn't do that. Spoiler it for me.spoiler (click to show/hide)Basically, SIE comes to rescue Thornton at the last mission, but before untying him saucily decides to "have her way with him" and starts undressing. Thornton starts screaming "no, no, no!" as he is semi-consensually assaulted by a middle-aged German dom. The file at the end reveals that the surveillance footage of Thorton's escape was destroyed, so the contents are unknown, but that he made his own remote copy first that they an confirm has been accessed over two-dozen times.
tl;dr: SIE prison rapes Thornton; Thornton spanks it to the footage[close]
the SIE "romance" option is ASTOUNDINGLY AWESOME
be sure to read her file after that sequence :teehee
Shit, I didn't do that. Spoiler it for me.spoiler (click to show/hide)Basically, SIE comes to rescue Thornton at the last mission, but before untying him saucily decides to "have her way with him" and starts undressing. Thornton starts screaming "no, no, no!" as he is semi-consensually assaulted by a middle-aged German dom. The file at the end reveals that the surveillance footage of Thorton's escape was destroyed, so the contents are unknown, but that he made his own remote copy first that they an confirm has been accessed over two-dozen times.
tl;dr: SIE prison rapes Thornton; Thornton spanks it to the footage[close]
Is the 360 version unplayable from bugs, or is it just "quirky"?
I'm on my third play now. I love this game so much.
This time I'm playing on hard and being super stealth man. Got the cheev for finishing 3 missions without being detected by a single baddie 8) Aiming to piss off Marburg and Heck, as well as romance all 4 women in this playthrough, and generally mop up any other achievements I need for my 1000. A shame Sis isn't a valid romance option lol
1000/1000 :pimp
1000/1000 :pimp
1000/1000 :pimp
Nice! Think I got 700+ just on one play-thru on Xbox, not sure what I'm at on PC version. I'm thinking about playing again and trying to beat the shit out of everyone this time. What other skills fit well with melee?