edgarcuk

The reason: Obsidian, I've been playing since Fallout days... they've been craft masters of RPG games, despite the flaws in some games, Obsidian is a reference and a model in RPG creation. As for the reviews, I never give them too much credit, I rather look for the elements I'm interested: replayability, character development and content; since AP seemed to deliver those elements, I decided to buy it.

Interesting, I assumed they'd be somewhere, but I had no idea Play had it. Yes, currently most of the games with pre-order bonus are either in Game.co.uk or Play.com, the Stealth pack was in Play.com and I think the Assault pack was in Game.co.uk...

Yes, it happens, sometimes, this is a bug, indeed. The workaround I use: do not press "A" to be in cover mode, instead, cover behind... or on cover mode, go to the very edge and aim...

The Stealth Pack was available in Europe as well, via Play.com and gameplay.co.uk for preorder... But I recommend to take a look at ebay.co.uk, you can buy the code and it works... Edit. Nevermind, the code is not there anymore BTW, the packs only works for PS3 and 360, you need to get the proper console code

I would like to suggest a more charming Thorton, not as good as Connery's Bond or Brosnan's Bond... but at level of Craig's Bond... even Jason Bourne has got more charm...

Right, Condition 1. Awareness stop working when upgrade to basic awareness Workaround 1. Upgrade to master awareness. 2. Start a new game... I agree with you.. yes, this is a bug and should be fixed... I haven't cross across it, perhaps is random... I just wonder if any other factors could come into consideration. 1st play: Recruit, on normal, focused on stealth, pistols, martial arts, wearing Night Operations Armor, Tactical Utility Armor, Tactical Stealth Armor and Advanced Stealth Armor. using pistols and assault rifle. No bug. 2nd play: Veteran,on normal, focused on stealth, pistols, technical aptitude, wearing Night Operations Armor, Tactical Utility Armor, Tactical Stealth Armor and Advanced Stealth Armor. using pistols and assault rifle. No bug. 3rd play: Veteran, on normal on normal, focused on pistols, toughness and martial arts, wearing Night Operations Armor, Tactical Utility Armor, Tactical Stealth Armor and Advanced Tactical Armor. using pistols and assault rifle. No bug.

I encountered this issue, where the icon flashes & never activates when you have basic Awareness. It worked fine during my first playthrough, then quit working during my second playthrough when using the Veteran background & starting off with the skill immediately. Once I upgraded to Advanced Awareness, it started working again since it was "always on". It seemed to stop working about the time I upgraded to basic awareness. I'll try master awareness and see if that helps. Yes, this is a bug, indeed. Any other factors that could trigger the bug?, i.e. skill combinations, armour, mission? since we are on 360, we cannot apply a patch as in a PC, so we've got to figure out what are the factors that trigger this bug and post a workaround until Obsidian delivers a patch. So far: Condition 1. Awareness stop working when upgrade to basic awareness Workaround 1. Upgrade to master awareness ( to be confirmed). 2. Start a new game...

Well, Awareness is working fine in my 360, doing the 4th playthrou.... have you installed the game in the Xbox?, or reinstalled?... In the game, did you upgrade to master awareness??

To be honest, you already have a basic proficency with all weapons at the beginning of this game (if you invest no points). Mike can hit any and everything right from the start it's just that the conditions under which he can do so are severely limited unless he's more experienced. (A pistol shot won't necessarily hit unless he's taken the time to line up a critical shot, etc) Which, well, makes sense. A basic proficency implies that Mike's only really "experienced" on the firing range. Since he's not used to taking shots under fire (at least initally), everything's going to be out of wack. That said, I do think that all the "classes" should have started out with more AP in their respective fields. Or perhaps have been given some inherent bonuses to further differentiate themselves from each other. Soldiers getting a flat bonus to all weapon skills, for example. As I agree to certain level, much of the thrill resides on a recruit, having "classes" is fine, but still, it has to be as it is.. the more you progress, the more you are an expert,... IMHO, this is one of the special features of AP... same applies to assassin, ninja, or whatever class you want to build... it is beyond character creation, but within character development as you evolve in the game...

I agree with the rest of you, a sequel should be done as long as Obsidian do not get rid of the unique features of this game (dialogue, RPG elements, narrative, choices and results) in order to attract casual gamers. I would request just more refinement or "polishing" first, then more features.

Agree, I'm playing my 3rd playthrou with the Rambo approach... not good, here is when you see the combat not as good as ME2. Well, Shepard comes firing and making explosions ("Things explode around you Shepard"). That rambo approach simply is not well implemented (reason of many complains), which makes sense, Mike is a "secret" agent and should be stealth and discreet, following the same logic, the less kills, mess and hassle, the better. Besides, evading enemies gives you the same points as killing them...

I think we should wait for an official statement, usually they do it 3 months after the launch of the game or when the sales are higher than expected.

Those 2 bugs seem more like a console problem, have you installed the game into the 360?. Freezes usually happen when the console tries to read from disc and fails, and the long loading times seems to be part of the same problem: the laser disc is not reading the disc properly... you can check installing the game into the 360

I agree, but the big difference is that all the bugs the OP's are talking about are in the PC version. The Xbox version is almost bug free and plays more smoothly than the PC version. You can compare in the tech forums and see how many posts are for the PC and for the consoles, so far in Xbox there are about 4 meanwhile for the PC there are about 74... I am the OP. I know what I am talking about. I am not saying you don't know what you are talking about, I just highlighted the difference between the PC version and Xbox 360 version... not all the comments are from Xbox users and those ones with Xbox, they state it in the comments...

The issue with Mike walking on his own is simply solved by switching controllers. That issue is known to happen on a large variety of games. I see how some of these could be glitches, but like I said, I have experienced a lot more than the few things I mentioned. I just did not think about writing them all down until it was too late. Some of these issues truly are bugs though. For example, the issue with going into cover is not a simple glitch. It could be a program command might have an error of some sort that does not read some of these cover spots as anything but a big wall. Hence the reason why you cannot do anything but move from that cover spot. The issue I had with Margburg ended up happening to Brayko as well. Only Brayko was above the stage. Then even when the blinding lights came about, he was doing the running man with his guns out, and the same would happen after he had his nice hand full of coke. I've experience that bug as well, but if you go into cover and you cannot aim, try to go to the very edge of the wall, pillar or box and aim... well, I've got the Improved Pistol Critical Hit (Advanced) and when in cover, I can do critical hit. I think it's more a design problem, since the cover system is quite dodgy. With regards the other bug, I haven't experience it, so far Margbug and Brayko are fine but I've seem that behaviour a couple of times with other enemies, being stuck moving in a specific location.

I disagree. I certainly don't remember people's faces taking 30+ seconds for their textures to pop in playing Mass Effect 1. This happened multiple times during cutscenes. It was really odd at times with certain peoples faces loading and looking great and one or two faces looking like someone had thrown water at a painting. Even if my memory is faulty and ME1 did have worse pop-in, its still disapointing to see a new U3 Engine game with this problem when most of the newer ones have fixed the problem almost completely. Its not a game killer but its really distracting. While I also get a delay, it is no longer than 2 seconds.... in fact, in the cutscenes I never experienced it. I only experience that effect of "water on painting" when customise Mike.

I only have experience the cover bug, but it depends if you hit the cover button or not, specially behind a column, when this happens, I just get off the cover stance and keep behind the cover spot. I haven't experience the other bugs, they seem more like glitches... sometimes I don't get the signal for hacking a computer, but it never happened in the same computer and when I restart the game, the signal is there. Another thing, is Mike walking by himself, it happened sometimes...

Yes, this one of the best reviews I've read. Here's the prior article. Comparing this review with the rest, good or bad, this guy is able to articulate a proper sentence, It is a very good review, the one you can expect for a RPG.

On regards the technical issues, I'd like to point out that in the Xbox version, the game has minor glitches and it's almost bug free, in fact the game looks really complete, even the graphics seems better... I was with a friend last night and her PC version really looks like an unfinished and unpolished game. On the other hand, if you compare DAO in the Xbox version vs. the PC version, the Xbox version looks really bad and it does have major bugs, but in the PC version it runs smooth and looks very good. Comparing in the Xbox version, AP graphics are far better than DAO and the game runs "bug free"... Saying so, I think much of the technical problems with AP are due to a bad porting to PC, which is something Obsidian should take in consideration when delivering a game. I agree with the OPs with regards that perhaps Obsidian should have stick more to the RPG elements and put less combat, for example, the first Rome missions ( contacting peers, infiltration) fit better to the overall game, than to go around expecting combat. Of course, in all the mission you can stealth and kill no one, but it is not always possible. Also, the way you approach in terms on combat, influences your game fun, i.e. playing stealth, keeping low profile is more rewarding and enjoyable than just shooting everyone; I'm playing my 3th playthrou a la Rambo and it doesn't feel as fun and rewarding as the stealth approach. The only interesting thing in this playthrou is the Pricky Micky approach (aggressive, womaniser, killing everyone) but combat a la Rambo, is rather boring. I think most of the "professional" reviews used this Rambo approach and ended frustrated, in addition to play it on a PC... I picture them choosing any dialogue option saying: "whateva, I just want blood!!"

Yes, he does that, but only when walking if he is under cover, he's alright... that happens to me sometimes with ME2.

I agree, but the big difference is that all the bugs the OP's are talking about are in the PC version. The Xbox version is almost bug free and plays more smoothly than the PC version. You can compare in the tech forums and see how many posts are for the PC and for the consoles, so far in Xbox there are about 4 meanwhile for the PC there are about 74...

DLCs will be great, I'm willing to pay for them... besides is a good revenue source and it can add many enhancements to the main game. I noted with ME2, every DLC adds additional objects and textures to the main game.

I'm not playing for the graphics, but for the experience and I played on pc also with a controller, but the feel wasn't great and now on the 360 I would give the game a higher rating, just because it plays better Indeed, yesterday a friend was playing on PC... not a nice experience. The Xbox version has got less bugs and glitches, plays smoothly and if you don't like the game, you can return it with a full refund... of course, in the Xbox version there is no modding, no console cheating commands and cost almost the double...

I think another factor is the release date, if AP was released before ME2, the reviews would be different. Since one of qualities of ME2 is the combat, it is now a reference and people expect the same sort of combat mechanics. The combat system is au pair of ME1 or perhaps better, if AP was released last year, many of the reviews would take ME1 as reference, not ME2.

Have you installed the game in the Xbox?, I've been throu Rome with no problems... I've installed the game in the Xbox. If you are playing from disk, perhaps it's a problem with it.