Alpha Protocol - June 1st 2010 - New Trailer

[Odesseiron]

I want to know why this game freaks the fuck out of my nvidia drivers and windows decides to uninstall my GTX260 anytime I alt tab from the game. My GPU will not display again until I power down, kill the charge (push power button while unplugged), and then reboot.

Fucking weird error, only AP is doing this.

Strange. I picked it up today. Not doing that to mine. I'm running a 285 GTX. The game is pretty fun. I got out of Afghan, and am exploring Russia now. The core game itself is fun. A lot of what the earlier poster said is true though. Some of the dialogue seems way too forced. Almost like they're trying to be Bioware, but failing at the humor. The gameplay is well... kinda really buggy. I've seen tons of crazy bugs in the few hours I've played. The most of them involving the AI. It's absolutely retarded. They know where you are before you do anything, then they start shooting at air. Then they'll get stuck in the walls constantly.

I still like the game though! It's a fun time passer, in a kind of dead phase in gaming right now. Would give it like... a 6.5 or 7/10

[BRP]

Actually he probably rubbing oil on his fat disgusting man titties and "wanking" to some "bloke" giving a "english slang for blowjob".

[TheDirtyHobo]

Find a "professional" or "honest" review that did happen to coincide with your opinion on AC2. A "pretty meh" review certainly isn't the 80%+ that 60/62 reviewers on gamerankings gave it, but somehow only 2/62 actually gave it under that. Chances are more than 3.2% of people agree with you and Jim Sterling and yet no other reviewers are giving those reviews. So, ask yourself, who is being professional and honest, the guys who make sure they're within a standard deviation of the mean score or the guys, like Jim Sterling and the rest of the Dtoid crew, who actually honestly tell you how they enjoyed the game, hype be damned. He's as credible as a reviewer can be. Games aren't fact sheets with checkboxes for graphics and features, they're experiences, they should be reviewed as such.

I don't put my full stock into any reviewer's reviews, but when I see a score above a 9 on IGN, I couldn't care less and when I see a score above a 9 on Dtoid, I take notice.

I thought AC2 was meh, but I don't think it was a bad game. I didn't enjoy it but I see how most people could and would. I don't take Yahtzee's reviews as serious reviews because he's trying to nitpick all the tiniest flaws and make them seem like they're massive and game-breaking (and turn them into comedy). Sterling tends to do the same for games he doesn't enjoy, which he seems to make up his mind on within the first 20 minutes of play. I would rather take "mainstream" reviewers that actually pretend to do some sort of critical analysis instead of 'hurr i dnot liek game bcuz itz bad'.

[Hyan]

Find a "professional" or "honest" review that did happen to coincide with your opinion on AC2. A "pretty meh" review certainly isn't the 80%+ that 60/62 reviewers on gamerankings gave it, but somehow only 2/62 actually gave it under that. Chances are more than 3.2% of people agree with you and Jim Sterling and yet no other reviewers are giving those reviews. So, ask yourself, who is being professional and honest, the guys who make sure they're within a standard deviation of the mean score or the guys, like Jim Sterling and the rest of the Dtoid crew, who actually honestly tell you how they enjoyed the game, hype be damned. He's as credible as a reviewer can be. Games aren't fact sheets with checkboxes for graphics and features, they're experiences, they should be reviewed as such.

I don't put my full stock into any reviewer's reviews, but when I see a score above a 9 on IGN, I couldn't care less and when I see a score above a 9 on Dtoid, I take notice.

Tbh, I think game critics should be able to review these games objectively. If you don't know what said critic's preferences are, you'll easily get misinformed and what you would consider a good game gets low score just because the reviewer didn't like it.

Like let's say if I reviewed Oblivion or Fallout 3 I'd give them pretty low score if I only based it on my preferences. But I realize even though I don't like the game doesn't mean it's bad, and would (at least try) to give it a 'fair' score regardless of what I like personally.

Then there are those 2 reviewers out of 62 that aren't objective but are scoring the game solely based on what they like. Thus I usually ignore these kind of (biased) reviews, because their preferences may not reflect mine.

So yeah, I don't think games should be reviewed as experiences, since that holds no value to someone with a different taste.

[BRP]

Tbh, I think game critics should be able to review these games objectively.

http://i49.tinypic.com/vxdavm.png

[Akucaen]

Strange. I picked it up today. Not doing that to mine. I'm running a 285 GTX. The game is pretty fun. I got out of Afghan, and am exploring Russia now. The core game itself is fun. A lot of what the earlier poster said is true though. Some of the dialogue seems way too forced. Almost like they're trying to be Bioware, but failing at the humor. The gameplay is well... kinda really buggy. I've seen tons of crazy bugs in the few hours I've played. The most of them involving the AI. It's absolutely retarded. They know where you are before you do anything, then they start shooting at air. Then they'll get stuck in the walls constantly.

I still like the game though! It's a fun time passer, in a kind of dead phase in gaming right now. Would give it like... a 6.5 or 7/10

I'm running the lastest beta drivers though, which I assume is that. Still though, that's a crazy fucking error. No other game is doing it either.

[Hyan]

http://i49.tinypic.com/vxdavm.png

Ohshi-

Am I already dead?!

[Maxxthepenguin]

Tbh, I think game critics should be able to review these games objectively. If you don't know what said critic's preferences are, you'll easily get misinformed and what you would consider a good game gets low score just because the reviewer didn't like it.

Like let's say if I reviewed Oblivion or Fallout 3 I'd give them pretty low score if I only based it on my preferences. But I realize even though I don't like the game doesn't mean it's bad, and would (at least try) to give it a 'fair' score regardless of what I like personally.

Then there are those 2 reviewers out of 62 that aren't objective but are scoring the game solely based on what they like. Thus I usually ignore these kind of (biased) reviews, because their preferences may not reflect mine.

So yeah, I don't think games should be reviewed as experiences, since that holds no value to someone with a different taste.

Nobody's view fits the 'objective view'. The idea that there is such a thing is ludicrous and only serves to homogenize gaming even more according to some false ideal where graphics must always be turned up to 11 (in 3d, at least) and gameplay must either conform to age old traditions (SMG2) or the the mandated features list (a game with local multiplayer and not online multiplayer? LUDICROUS!) The fact is, games like Oblivion checked off the list perfectly but nevertheless, despite the high scores, turned a lot of people off for a variety of reasons. It got no score below an 80% (on gamerankings, at least) despite its broken leveling system, the fact that all but one storyline in the entire game are dull, and the horrific character graphics. Why? Because reviewers were aiming for this idea of objectivism. Look at GTA4's reviews. Was it worth all those 10/10s? I don't know a single person who had a 10/10 experience, so how helpful was that objectivism then? No other medium seems to have this dichotomy. When people say The Wire is a 10/10 show, it's because they had a 10/10 experience. When people say OK Computer is a 10/10 album, it's because they enjoyed, admired, and appreciated it that much. When people say There Will Be Blood is a 10/10 movie, it's because it resonated with them personally. Why do we have to treat games with kiddie gloves and not subject them to personal taste? Why does the gaming community always cry over reviews of people who just didn't like the sequel to their favorite game? It's pathetic.

In any case, seriously writing off reviews because they agree with you is all kinds of fucked in the head.

I thought AC2 was meh, but I don't think it was a bad game.

4.5 is a meh review, not a bad review.

[Hyan]

Yeah, you have a point there. Gotta think about it for a bit.

In any case, I think there are critics out there that review games they shouldn't be reviewing in the first place, and people take their word for granted. That's what annoys me. Or maybe not the critics, but the dumb people instead.

[BRP]

The AI in this game pisses me off sometimes. There was this guy with a mounted machine gun who saw me from than half the map away with no line of sight and he would constantly shoot at me. Made it a pain in the ass since I am trying to go for 95% of so melee takedowns.

[Hellfury]

Just picked it up, time to see what all the ado is about. This install is taking bloody forever though.
anyone have any superduper beginners tips? :D

[BRP]

Wow, hacking is so annoying to do. One side is mapped to WASD and the other to mouse? Wtf? Most my deaths come from me failing hacking lol.

[Tyrath]

Wow, hacking is so annoying to do. One side is mapped to WASD and the other to mouse? Wtf? Most my deaths come from me failing hacking lol.

This. Hacking sucks.


Also this game feels like a less fleshed out version of ME2 to me. Though I'm only about half an hour in right now.

[Hellfury]

having fun, somewhat, but I really dislike the hacking aspects, the ones including mouse anyway.

[BRP]

In this game there is a boss fight which spawns you in front of people pointing their gun at you and shooting. I am not even exaggerating. There is no way to prevent you getting hit a few times. Most of the time it is the minions that hit, but sometimes when I spawned it would be the boss and I'll be at 50% Health(armor stripped) in the first two seconds. REALLY?

Also I am noticing retarded loading times that come out of nowhere. Like you walk into a big room and you game just stutters for a whole second. Happens at the same spot every time. Unfortunately this is sometimes in front of an enemy, lol. Other than those moments and an odd corner by the TV in the Rome safehouse I run this game at 60 FPS constantly.

EDIT: Also meleeing said boss, even with stuns and etc isn't viable lol.

[BRP]

lol, apparently during a subway level the only way to progress is to unlock a door by doing that circuit mini-game. Not too weird, except it is a rather high level one so you need to do like 11 connections in 20 seconds or use an EMP grenade. If you have neither you need to restart the level and this is like at the end of the level.

[Hellfury]

took me 13-14 hours playing through it, doing every mission I could find (disclaimer: played on easy like a little girl), need to dig up some guide to see how that can last up to 30 hours w.out replays.

Was good fun except for the bug moments, camera going boink, odd AI behavior, scripts (probably) not triggering, the more nutty locks, my lack of ability to figure out how to open objectives journal and

Spoiler: show

The initial hope I had that you would actually need to remember facts and figures and use your mind, I have 3 massive A3 sheets in front of me with facts and figures from the introduction, character references, names and so on, that turned out to be completely pointless since as long as you picked up some datafile you never really even had to look at, the "character" would know.

I look great in fisherman's hat and sunglasses in a dark building in the middle of the night though :D

tl;dr: good fun, might play again after a patch or two!

[TheDirtyHobo]

In this game there is a boss fight which spawns you in front of people pointing their gun at you and shooting. I am not even exaggerating. There is no way to prevent you getting hit a few times. Most of the time it is the minions that hit, but sometimes when I spawned it would be the boss and I'll be at 50% Health(armor stripped) in the first two seconds. REALLY?

Sis? That one was pretty bad too. There was some cover nearby but it was the one where he doesn't like to crouch quite enough to not get shot.

[BadKarma]

Whoever made this game is bad, and should feel bad.


This flaming piece of trash is the worst game I have ever played.


EDIT:

The hacking minigames made my eyes cross, and my head throb.

The gunplay is attribute based and you can fire an entire clip at someone 4 feet in front of you and miss every shot. Attribute based gunplay is fucking stupid.

The graphics are very 2005, and sometimes the textures don't even load till halfway into a level.
The animations look like you're playing as a fucking retarded marionette.

Also "Hi my name is Mike Thorton and I am even uninterested to be in my own game". Most of the voice acting is atrocious.

[BRP]

Finished the game. All in all, it was quite decent. I would describe it as a stat-heavy Mass Effect with better melee and better stealth. A very unpolished Mass Effect(which are not the most polished games to begin with!). So allow me to ramble on a bit:

The abilities are cool. I didn't like how you selected them. You basically had to equip them one at a time before you use it. I got used to it, but it seemed so odd to me. The skill system is straightforward and adequate. I loved the perk system. Some great ideas there. (If were are going to compare this system to Fallout 3, it beats the hell out of it.)

Shooting, especially with the pistol, is very weak in the beginning. To be honest I didn't use the shotgun once. If I recall it takes something like 5-6 ranks in pistol for it to be usable. I went with a stealth + melee build for the most of the game, later put a lot of ranks in pistol and it worked out fine, but I probably melee'd 8 grunts for every one I shot. The assault rifle is always useful though - 0 ranks and it was still my go to weapon for most bosses. (Doing all-melee is impossible on plenty of bosses. You'll need gadgets and guns and for some of them their melee attack is so strong that it is basically suicide to fight head on.) (Also the shooting problem probably matters less if you don't pick recruit.)

What they should have done is not reset your focus/aim after you shot something, simply lower it a bit. Oh and maybe increase the range for that crosshair thing with the pistol(at least). If a mod could do this, it would make shooting in the low levels(and beyond) a lot more bearable.

Speaking of bosses, many of them were quite tough. Some took me over 5 tries to beat. From a dramatic standpoint only two or three really stick out. To give them nicknames: Chinese assassin(the whole level leading to this was probably the coolest one because of all the allies you had. Funnest boss to melee) and 80s crackhead(don't even try to melee him) come to mind at the moment. Not to say the other boss fights weren't fun, they just lack flare. Goth mute and glove-wearing corporate minion were certainly hard enough to be memorable. The final boss fight(at least one of them, there are at least two I know of) wasn't too interesting though. The one before it was a nightmare though! Douche rival.

As for the levels, this game has a rather linear approach to things. The themes of the games(like, the plot) and the skill system sometimes makes me think I am playing Deus Ex, but this is no Deus Ex. There isn't three or four different "paths" to reach one objective. Not that specialist will not be able to continue certain parts or anything - well one exception maybe. In one level the ONLY way to continue was threw a pad(the minigame where you have to click circuits in numerical order). If you don't have sabotage leveled you simply cannot pass it. It is too hard to accomplish normally and you need at least one rank to use an EMP grenade to open it. So I do not see any other way to progress outside putting at least one rank in Sabotage. If someone can correct me, please go right ahead. Anyway, can't really bash the game for it, but it is a missed opportunity.

What is cool is the intel system. Though not every mission goes beyond maps, info on tactics, and etc, the ones that give you access to allies(STEVEN HECK!), sniper rifles, and stuff along those lines are cool. Also adding optional objectives also is fun.

Anyway, I should probably comment on the AI. The AI isn't great. Stooges range from "Too dumb to use cover" to "Use cover, but suck at it"(which is true for every cover-centric TPS there is I think). Enemies(including bosses) rarely on brute strength to be challenging and they have lots of it(in Hard mode). When up against multiple enemies running into fire will take you down in seconds. Bosses don't usually stand around letting you kill them(though from certain angles you can easily beat/weaken a few via shooting through cover), but they are simply not that smart. They become hardest when you face the type which like you charge at you and melee you. (Maybe this is most obvious for a stealth based character?)

Now the mini-games are hit or miss. The lock-pick isn't frustrating. Hacking the numberpads isn't so bad either. Some of them are obviously only meant to hacked by people with the right skills - but you will still come to hate them because the linearity of the levels will shove them in your face(especially with the more "optional" content). Hacking PCs is a straight-up mess. More luck based than anything else. The worst part is that for some reason they mapped the "right" code to the mouse. It controls VERY poorly and is an exercise in frustration just moving it. Bad enough you usually have to be quick about it. You fated to fuck a few times because you mouse simply can't move the row of numbers correctly. It is important to realize that "Abort" doesn't get you detected. Hadn't realized this and caused me to waste about an hour and a half doing a rather simple "CIA" mission lol.

In terms of "RPG"ness this game falls below Deus Ex, but above Mass Effect. The game is sort of a combo which makes it very interesting(not strictly level based like Deus Ex). I believe they advertised it as "many middles", which is partially true I guess. The game still has the same endgame setting. It is actually very entertaining. Missions which you do nothing but talk to people are fun. The best way to experience this is by doing a lot of traveling, not sticking to one region. My biggest complaint is how uneven relationships are. Steven Heck, the love interests(yes, there is romance, sex scenes even - think ME2, not ME1, sorry), the Leland(sp?), SIE, G22 leader, and maybe I am forgetting one get quite a bit of screen time, but there are also plenty of really cool characters who don't. I MIGHT be asking too much, but it is really noticeable when you end up befriending someone at the end of an arc because that guy isn't going to do much(the regions only crossover so much). Also the final set of bosses all could have used more screentime. They were all important characters yet you basically never hear from them during the game.

The conversation system isn't deep or anything. I think works better than Mass Effect's, but it doesn't use much of its potential... leaving it to have the same effect for the most part. The biggest difference between the two would be that Mass Effect is mostly about hearing someone explain stuff to you and it is more based on making people like you. The choices which matter most to the plot are the ones where you pick an "action", just like Mass Effect.

The graphics are not bad, but they are not good. I noticed a fuckton of jaggies, probably the game's biggest problem. I think you would need to use a videocard app to get rid of them because I didn't notice any native AA. Didn't bother to experiment with it. Point is: it is obvious there is some consolization going here. The scenery can be nice(some lovely apartments! lol) and the game goes for a very realistic approach. Which I like. The character models also look good considering where it comes from.

Voice acting at times is very good. Sometimes it slacks a bit. When it does, you notice it because of how it is normally. Script is quite good. Sometimes humorous, but by a lot. The chatter which you hear while sneaking around and fighting minions is annoying though. "Where are you!" etc lol.

I would really like a sequel. Just as much as I would like a sequel to Mass Effect(s). Who knows how that is going to turn out? But a sequel which expands on everything by 50% would be a hell of a game. Hopefully with more polish while we are at it.

(I will edit this post and maybe add stuff to it after I get some much needed sleep.)


EDIT:

Attribute based gunplay is fucking stupid.

Maybe it is the person who can't use attributes right that is fucking stupid.