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Fun Stuff => CLIKC => Topic started by: ackblom12 on 26 Feb 2013, 00:31

Title: Alpha Protocol
Post by: ackblom12 on 26 Feb 2013, 00:31
Alright, it's been a few years since this game came out, but I recently played through it again and it goddamn deserves it's own thread. It's got some serious game balance problems, but it's Obsidian levels of writing, great characters, embarassingly detailed and a baffling amount of branching depending on the choices made in game. It's actually one of the only games that I think genuinely creates a real dynamic story created almost entirely from player choices.

The game has so many ridiculous stats for missions. Not only do you have a Kill tally, you also have a Orphans Created tally. If you do a lot of non-lethal melee takedowns, you also get a tally of medical bills you've forced upon others. There are point where conversations are affected by what clothing you are wearing. Yahtzee put it pretty well when he said that it almost feels like they were just showing off at times with the level of detail they put in the game. My most current playthrough, I decided I was Sterling Archer. It was amazing. He created 517 orphans and saved the world from the bad guys. Mostly. There may have been a bit of collateral damage.

Anyone else have any interest in talking about this flawed gem of a game?
Title: Re: Alpha Protocol
Post by: LTK on 26 Feb 2013, 03:25
I've read lots of good things about this game but I haven't picked it up yet, since most critics were fairly damning of the game's faults when it first came out. I plan to get it as soon as I see it on sale again, however.
Title: Re: Alpha Protocol
Post by: de_la_Nae on 26 Feb 2013, 03:48
I played it some, own it these days. Definitely intrigued, if a little annoyed by how uh...'amusing'...some of the actual gameplay elements can be. Still pretty fun usually though.

And having a few different options for how you want things to play out with the Target Enemies is neat. I was severely disappointed with
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Alpha Protocol
Post by: ackblom12 on 26 Feb 2013, 11:01
The different options turn into a bit of a rabbit hole if you start looking. Especially the end game, which has at least a dozen different sequence of events that can happen depending on things that you've done earlier in the game. They range from Badass to Incredibly Badass.
Title: Re: Alpha Protocol
Post by: Game and Watch Forever on 26 Feb 2013, 11:12
I could have sworn I heard less positive things about this game, but it sounds like it really is just lacking polish.

On the one hand, I'm disappointed in myself for writing it off based on reviews when I had a pretty solid interest in it at first, but on the other I'm sort of glad since it should be way lower in price by now. >_>

Either way, thanks guys for making me rethink this one.  :-D
Title: Re: Alpha Protocol
Post by: ackblom12 on 26 Feb 2013, 11:17
Well, keep in mind the kind of press Obsidian got before New Vegas turned out successful. It wasn't all undeserved mind you, polish has never been their strong point, but they have had a lot of development problems due to their relations with publishers and their own style of work. Alpha Protocol for example was in development for yeeeeears due to a lot of angry back and forth between Obsidian and Sega. It didn't get any work done on it in the last 6 months or so because Sega didn't want to give them more money and wouldn't release it for some reason or another. I mean, even New Vegas got a lot of shit for stuff that Bethesda always gets a pass on, purely for the fact it was Obsidian who made it. While they have a rather devoted set of customers, they get a loooooot of hate.
Title: Re: Alpha Protocol
Post by: LTK on 26 Feb 2013, 12:40
Quote from: Game and Watch Forever on 26 Feb 2013, 11:12
I could have sworn I heard less positive things about this game, but it sounds like it really is just lacking polish.

On the one hand, I'm disappointed in myself for writing it off based on reviews when I had a pretty solid interest in it at first, but on the other I'm sort of glad since it should be way lower in price by now. >_>

Either way, thanks guys for making me rethink this one.  :-D
That's the impression I got as well. Anyway, it's a good thing to form an opinion based on reviews rather than marketing alone - otherwise you might end up playing Aliens: Colonial Marines - so you shouldn't blame yourself for not buying it, but when a game shoots for the stars and arrives there in a wrecked spaceship, so to say, it's still very much worth a look.
Title: Re: Alpha Protocol
Post by: Pilchard123 on 26 Feb 2013, 12:55
Quote from: LTK on 26 Feb 2013, 12:40
when a game shoots for the stars and arrives there in a wrecked spaceship

...the chances are good that the crew is all dead and the ship is full of critters itching to eat your skull from the inside.  :-P
Title: Re: Alpha Protocol
Post by: de_la_Nae on 26 Feb 2013, 17:51
That usually makes a pretty good video game though.