Cl_Flushentityhero

Well, AP isn't exactly the most widely-publicized game out there.

First of all, I'm ridiculously stoked to see some in-game footage and it looks good. Secondly, on to details. Facial animation and models look great. Voice acting: well, Thornton's VA sounds really nondescript, which I guess fits the part. Environments look . . . well, decent. I don't think the critics will be particularly wowed in that department, though the lighting in the office-type area is pretty nice. The cover system seems to be channeling Gears in how fast and apparently responsive it is. This is probably a good thing, given that a slow cover system is usually a recipe for players ignoring it. The actual shooting looks, well, I dunno. It's good to see that you can drop an enemy with a single AR burst. That said, it almost looks like the recoil is just shaking the screen more than forcing the players to correct their aim (either that or whoever was playing is *really* good). Also, the RPM on automatic weapons sounds and looks artificially low. The CQC, well, eh, *sigh* . It looks flashy, and I guess that's what you were going for. On the plus side, whoever did the mocap appears to have pretty sound body mechanics, and that IMO will play even to the "martially naive" audience. On the minus side, the whole "ignoring the fact that the enemy is armed" gets my goat, though it might not bother the general audience (then again, it might). So, I'm still amazingly excited about AP, but pre-release material upon which I do not offer criticism is like a day without sunshine. P.S.- SoZ rocks my socks.

Heh, I thought Too Human *did* bomb. I liked it though.

Heh, I meant "sophisticated" in a less ambitious sense. More like having to do something more involved than a single button press per CQC. That said, hard to argue against having more info, so thanks again. That seems like a pretty fair rendition of CQC within the larger scheme of things. On a related note, how reluctant is the AI to open fire on Thornton while he's in a scuffle? Realistically, hitting both or the wrong combatant is a very real concern. At the same time, having an army stand around and watch while Thornton beats their buddy up is a little questionable too.

Knife hand (aka karate chop) is in one of the screenshots, so that's definitely in. Thumbs up for using a karambit; AP might be the first game to do it. As always, it's great to hear more info. The system sounds potentially more sophisticated than I expected, hopefully it is also somewhat balanced compared to just shooting somebody in the head.

Sweetness. I think I'll hold out for scans, though.

Yeah, I would include it in the progression from Goldeneye to Die Another Day. It was a palatable Bond flick, just not as cool as one where Sean Bean is the villain.

Yes, my apologies, it *is* pretty forgettable

The world is not enough. I felt like Goldeneye was good, TWINE was okay, and Die Another Day was meh.

I thought Brosnan was great as Bond . . . After Goldeneye, I didn't think the Bond movies he was in were that great though.

I assume that among our customization options in AP will be this level of tailoring . . . http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/...0,4098995.story I mean, what if we want to look like Roger Moore Bond instead of Timothy Dalton Bond? Freedom to play the sort of character we want is *essential* in a RPG, including the freedom to be amazingly superficial. That said, I'm sure Craig fares better with the ladies than I do, so whatever works.

Shoot, I totally remember a screenshot that had the Xbox 360 button prompts for dialogue stance . . . can't seem to find it though.

There's a screenshot of it floating around somewhere, and it was mentioned that certain NPCs have specific interrogation options like kneecapping or bottle smashing. My educated guess is that you can intimidate any NPC Thornton talks to during a mission that he wants something from. Not sure though. Obs?

Thanks. It seemed like a no-brainer to me way back when cover systems came into vogue, but for some reason the only game I've seen do it is SC: Double Agent. I felt betrayed when Kojima didn't include it in MGS4.

Cool. That part was a bit more informative. For example, it confirms that AP is a pushing-ladies-in-front-of-buses simulator, and these actions will have consequences at bus stops later in the game.

IMO, being shot at is pretty extreme.

This is exactly what I like to hear. And, IMO, it's reasonable for Thornton to call up his factions before a plot mission and say "hey, I'm about to put my nads on the chopping block, could you guys be on standby?" Not to suggest AP do the same thing, but the buddy rescues were IMO one of the highlights of Far Cry 2, and they were a pretty contrived mechanic.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that what you want is . . . uhh . . . ninjitsu?

Well, given that it's a world of international espionage, I believe the implicit assumption is that the government is well-informed (hah!). But seriously, it makes sense that the US gov would keep tabs on the VCI and keep tabs on their own agents. They find out you had a meet & greet, suddenly Thornton is a wanted criminal. I'm not saying it's the most sophisticated or fun system possible, but it isn't as far-fetched as it might sound.

Will the player be able to use CQC from the cover system? I.e., you're pushed up against a corner, and as the enemy walks around it you beat the crap out of him without having to first unstick from the cover, then reorient, then attack.

Ah, this is more like it: an interview with some substance. I was kind of hoping there'd be a comment about the release date, but le sigh. The VCI sounds pretty interesting, and seems to be a way of substantially changing the way the game plays. It's good that the A.I. is improving, although the term "crack shots" has a bit of a bad connotation in video games. Hopefully it's actiony enough to allow for dynamic movement, and there's a progression in skills from rent-a-cop to elite PMC. Anyway, sounds good, looking forward to more pre-release info

And just to piss off JB, I've uncovered early concept footage for AP's CQC.

I don't really see how you can make generalizations on the interests of gamers based on what games are being released. If you waited for successful modern RPGs to make one, that would by definition be poor timing.

But wait, how would Mass Effect with spies not be fun?

My friends, we must join in a show of strength to support the inclusion of glue-on unibrow in Alpha Protocol.