Nigel

Deus Ex had 'free roam' so apparently it will not be like Deus Ex. I'm actually surprised that it is missing this feature, or did CVG not describe it properly? I have never played an action RPG that didn't have at least some amount of exploration, that's a defining characteristic of the genre! Gameplay previews seem to describe an action game with light RPG elements like NOLF or BioShock while Obsidian videos seem to describe an RPG with action elements like Mass Effect. I'm confused as to just what to expect from Alpha Protocol.

Yep, so far Rome looks the best. There's one in Taipei too I believe but it's the most generic 'techno' looking (so far).

I see here that the word "identify" is causing a problem. The part that I bolded in your reply is an almost textbook definition of what it means to identify with someone. To enjoy a game this ability to identify with the character is absolutely essential. Players therefore must identify with Pac Man and the frog in Frogger. If they didn't there would be no game. Imagine that Pac Man and the ghosts looked exactly like the white dots that Pac Man eats. Not only would it be difficult to tell what is what (identity at its most basic), players really wouldn't care what happens to the white dot. That would eliminate all the tension and challenge from the game as players wouldn't even try to eat the dots or avoid the ghosts. One thing that separates Pac Man from being perceived as a simple maze game is the ingenuity of its character design. Pac Man is pretty one dimensional though so it is not difficult for most people to identify with him. When you make an RPG with more complex characters and interactions than in Pac Man it becomes harder to craft a "one size fits all" character that everyone will respond to in the same way. However that need for the player to identify with the character remains.

The character doesn't need to be an exact copy of the player as if they were digitized into the game by the MCP, but on some level the PC is designed to be relatable to the player. The player needs to identify with that character even if the character is not the player. Playing a character who is your same race, gender, age etc helps create that bond between player and character. These are not the only or even most important characteristics for bonding a player to a character but they are not irrelevant. I didn't play characters in Oblivion or Fallout 3 that looked or behaved anything like me, but you can be sure they didn't look like Michael Thorton either. About games being bad for storytelling though, as humans we make stories out of everything; it's how our minds work. If you mean that games are bad mediums for movie-like storytelling then I agree. Storytelling in general is too broad to say that games can't do it effectively.

Except...you're not a CIA agent. This went right over my head, everywhere I read M.T. is a rookie CIA agent? No, you are not a CIA agent, whereas the OP is a woman. Capice? Also I don't understand why people are ragging on the OP for liking Deus Ex. She made it pretty clear that her beef was with Obsidian whose previous games allowed players to choose female characters. Deus Ex is not an Obsidian game. Her expectation is that AP will be like DX but this time she's sitting it out. That sounds reasonable enough to me. I can also relate to her frustration. It gets tiring playing the same looking character after a while, especially when the character in no way represents you. In an RPG this is even more disappointing because RPGs usually provide an escape from the typical focus group designed everyman. For instance the heroes of Alpha Protocol, Drake's Fortune, Wolfenstein and Shadow Complex all basically look the same. Sometimes I get confused when I see screenshots from these games as to which is which because of this similarity. Sure, in NOLF and BG&E you have to play a female character but guess what? Those games didn't sell particularly well despite raving critical acclaim and being all out awesome. I think A LOT of gamers feel like the OP, but they tend to be white males so this isn't usually an issue for them.

Interesting, based on that preview I'd say Bond is the only thing they got right.

Not if they choose natural colors. Hair style also helps a lot.

They didn't always use hubs? I haven't played any Bioware or Obsidian (when they were Black Isle or whatever) games prior to Kotor so I don't know of any other way one of their games could be. The earliest hub game I remember playing is Secret of Monkey Island 2 so maybe they picked it up from LucasArts through Kotor. I can't imagine that they hadn't used it before though.

HALLELUJAH!!! That's good enough for me. In addition to clothing and hair the eyes and skin tone closed the deal.

I agree, but it looks like the face is fixed. I was hoping they were going to pull a Bioware on us and reveal a deep character customization system after showing a default character for so long but no dice. This is a surprising choice on Obsidian's part. Some things look very promising while others are really disappointing. I was initially excited for this game but now I'm firmly in the wait and see camp.

Not sure how you get that. Because they had stores? That hardly makes them "hubs". And because they had multiple missions. Anywhere you could dock your ship was a hub in Mass Effect, if we're using Kotor as a reference. Alpha Protocol doesn't look as if it diverges from this model.

Feros and Noveria are hubs too. Not necessarily. I'm not sure we have a full sense of how the game will be structured. Also judging from Kotor2, Obsidian can craft some really long conversations, which I'm actually looking forward to. *fingers crossed*

That looks like placeholder animation from Kotor2. I hope. Otherwise the game is shaping up nicely.

They *could* have changed their minds, but as recently as the latest developer diary they haven't, making the date of the second quote irrelevant because it is consistent with the latest comments on the game. Therefore it doesn't matter when it was said, get it?

Read alanschu's post again. Check out the most recent developer diary. Then read my posts thoroughly.