Alpha Protocol

[Herr Mafflard]

looks better than Mass Effect 2.

can't wait

[Great Rumbler]

looks better than Mass Effect 2.

Shots fired.

[Stoney Mason]

looks better than Mass Effect 2.

can't wait

lol. Which part. The shitty looking combat or the shitty animation.

[Herr Mafflard]

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.

[WrikaWrek]

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.

Combat looks better? Blind.

Levels look better? Blind.

Setting looks more interesting? Dude what the fuck

Better weapons/gadgets? If you like real weapons and james bond gadgets sure.

The whole package looks like a Sega game.

[Himu]

I agree the setting looks more interesting, but combat looks bland and it's too early to judge the combat or the levels.

As for weapons, I don't know or care, we'll have to see upon release.

[Stoney Mason]

Some of these may be old but I noticed a bunch of trailers up that I hadn't seen before. Might as well catalog them here.

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]
[youtube=560,345][/youtube]
[youtube=560,345][/youtube]
[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[Stoney Mason]

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[Cormacaroni]

My enthusiasm dampens with each video

Still looks like a janky last-gen Splinter Cell wannabe at best. I like the studio but am just not feeling this.

[cool breeze]

agreed with Cormacaroni

I don't know how much "but it's also an rpg" can excuse all the jank.  I'm still hopeful.

[Stoney Mason]

I'm quietly excited for the game because I've already conceded it will be incredibly janky in nearly every area. That being said there have been great games that were incredibly janky. Deus Ex springs to mind.

It seems like its doing a lot of cool stuff so I'm looking forward to it.

[Bloodwake]

I'm going to give it a shot on Obsidian's name value alone.

It still looks like shit though.

[pilonv1]

I'm hopeful because I'd like to see more of this sort of game. Don't have high hopes though.

[demi]

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/alpha-protocol/achievements/

[chronovore]

Creepy acting animation is creepy. I can't stand it when people spend so much time getting the mouth to move and rig it, and then forget to do anything with the eye tracking, head movement, or any other unconscious gestures.

I want this to not suck. I don't care if it's another spy game -- I just want more original titles in games, whether or not they suffer from a lack of originality.

[Stoney Mason]

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[Stoney Mason]

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[Great Rumbler]

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

That kind of dialog system looks pretty cool. Rather than a summary of what you want your character to say, ala Mass Effect [only sometimes what you character actually says is different], it gets right down the point and directly asks you in what manner you want to respond.

A lot of the responses look pretty good too, like smashing a glass over an old guy's head or just straight up shooting some guy. 

[Stoney Mason]

It honestly depends on how they do the repercussions. Also hopefully the game doesn't have a good/bad system. I'm alright with it in Mass Effect but the real problem is that system tends to overly encourage you to be all evil or all good. I would prefer a system that acknowledges the world is a complex place and sometimes you have to do the wrong thing.

[Stoney Mason]

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[Bebpo]

I'm in media blackout for this game (haven't seen any trailers, don't plan to) but I think I'll pick this up day1 to support Obsidian.  I really like their staff and the idea behind this game.  Hearing people talk about the reviews/previews make it sound like outside of the combat/stealth/graphics the core rpg story-telling "different experience for each person playing the game" part is intact and that's really exciting.

Also getting pretty excited about New Vegas even though I didn't care for Fallout 3 much.

[Great Rumbler]

One week to release.

So far I've only seen one review, it was from Spanish magazine that gave it an 8.8.

[demi]

PAL version is on the net... lets get some impressions here people

[Jansen]

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

you know this game is gonna be shit, right?

[demi]

Better than Star Ocean 4

[Jansen]

setting the bar high i see

[demi]

You wrote the book

[Great Rumbler]

you know this game is gonna be shit, right?

Yeah...I doubt that.

[Jansen]

wanna know a better game than SO4?

nier. now that game is awesome. you'd love it!

you know this game is gonna be shit, right?

Yeah...I doubt that.

the only thing they've shown of this game that doesn't look like total shit is some stat screens. the writing, characters, voice-acting, graphics, ALL LOOK LIKE SHIT.

[Third]

Wow, I have to say. Just saw the video's. I'm quite surprised. It's shittier than I thought.

[Jansen]

http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/29327
http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/29329
http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/29330

bububut he just doesn't know how to play. yeah, that must be why the game looks so terrible.

[Great Rumbler]

[youtube=560,345]bjrqeuMgOAw[/youtube]

Looks like it's going to be pretty awesome to me.

[WrikaWrek]

Game is out for the 360.

Will wait for PC.

[WrikaWrek]

[youtube=560,345]bjrqeuMgOAw[/youtube]

Looks like it's going to be pretty awesome to me.

Looks like shit man.

[demi]

Watched a stream. Oh man this game is turd central.

[Jansen]

http://www.justin.tv/tyndis#r=T3o1C1Y~

hahahaha

it looks so bad that i'm even reconsidering wasting a gamely slot on it.

[pilonv1]

I'm going to get this today. Love me some BOURNE

[Great Rumbler]

Will look forward to hearing impressions.

[pilonv1]

I'm more excited to play this than Red Dead at the moment

[Great Rumbler]

I'm holding out for a PC port of RDR, so Alpha Protocol for now.

[pilonv1]

Couldn't find the PC version tonight. I need someone from the UK to gift it to me since it's half my local price through Steam.

[maxy]

http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/xbox-360/2010/05/27/alpha-protocol-review/1

[naff]

Damn, this game doesn't look or sound promising and I had been looking forward to it. I really liked Deus Ex and ME so this could still be enjoyable. Interested in what Boritos impressions are like, I'll give it a rent soon as it comes out here. It reminds me of an up rezzed PS2 Syphon Filter 

[Jansen]

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.

lol i bet they just didn't "get" alpha protocol.

[naff]

One review Maybe they didn't 'get it' who knows, it's one review. Smh. Obsidians graphics engine sucks but there are more favourable impressions coming in now of the other aspects of the game.

[cool breeze]

Reading impressions and reviews of the final game makes me want to cancel my order.  Sounds like the choices and consequences of actions are neat, but everything else is bad.

[WrikaWrek]

Imma let you know this, it's installed and ready to go, but the stench the game  is preventing me from booting it.

[Stoney Mason]

Quick Look

http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-alpha-protocol/17-2551/

Eurogamer review

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/alpha-protocol-review

[WrikaWrek]

7?

Damn. That's way higher than i expected.

[Bloodwake]

Everything I'm hearing about this game is that Obsidian took all the worst parts of Mass Effect 1 and putting them all together with a shitty plot.

Pass.

[Eel O'Brian]

oh man, i hope they don't screw up fallout new vegas

[cool breeze]

that quick look makes ME1 look polished by comparison

[Great Rumbler]

It's an Obsidian game, if you go in expecting it to be polished and without fault...well...you'll probably be disappointed.

1Up review:

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.

http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3179545&p=4

B+

Gamespot review:

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.

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/rpg/alphaprotocol/review.html?page=2

6.0

Kind of reminds me of Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. It's a great experience with some truly remarkable aspects, but other portions of the game are really horrid. Whether you like it or not will depend on how much patience you have for the things that just don't work.

[Stoney Mason]

It's an Obsidian game, if you go in expecting it to be polished and without fault...well...you'll probably be disappointed.

This.

Obsidian has a lot of fanboys from the old days but they are not the same company and times have simply moved on. They don't put out polished products.

Fallout New Vegas will also have an incredible amount of jank. Although its not like the first game wasn't full of it also.

[Great Rumbler]

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.

Obsidian is usually pretty good at working off an established system, which is what they're doing with Fallout and what they didn't do with Alpha Protocol, so I don't see it being any more janky than Bethesda's efforts.

[Great Rumbler]

Wow, the reviews for this game are all over the place.

Like I said, whether you see this as 6 or 8 will largely depend on how patient you are with the things that don't work.

[demi]

It's an Obsidian game, if you go in expecting it to be polished and without fault...well...you'll probably be disappointed.

So why are they in business again? I've seen better companies go shit first that did better games than this

[Great Rumbler]

Because underneath the glitches and quirks are some aspects that are pretty good, like the writing and role playing elements. I think with RPGs its a bit easier to overlook the former if the latter is solid, more so than, say, a game focused more solely on action.

Or just the randomness of the universe maybe.

[WrikaWrek]

Just finished the first mission.

It just....

Writing has been crap so far, the gameplay is...remember spy fiction? Kinda reminds me of that, control wise. There's 0 production values up until this point, this could've been made by a mod team.

But it's not a chore to play. It's kinda fun so far, maybe because i love stealth. When the action comes into play its holy hell batman, get me of here where are my cheat codes cuz the combat sucks but you know.

It's trash, but it's not the kind trash i throw away quickly.

[pilonv1]

Wrika is spot on from my first few hours too. I'm enjoying it but I think a lot of that is because I was on a media blackout for it and am experiencing everything for the first time. I like the conversations so far, and the skills and gadgets seem interesting.

I find the stealth hit and miss, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Combat is terrible, and that's being polite. The email hacking game is atrocious. But the setting is great and I'm not hating the characters and dialogue so far. It's just different enough to be interesting, and for me the whole game will be getting my skills up to avoid using the terrible gameplay mechanics. Plus my agent has a giant beard.

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.

I paid $35 for this from Steam and don't feel ripped off at all, I feel like that's a good price for it. $50+? Not worth it.