Pinken

I don't mind hacking except I can attempt as many times as I want. Failing doesn't seem a punishment.

No offense to the OP, but just sounds like another 'back in our day' post/comment. Its always been the same. Some gamers play maths in RPGs like Might and Magic, some gamers get 'into character', and some just want to see some awesome pictures. Its never really changed and no one was spoiled. That's like saying a couple of pong paddles should be treated like a fully fledged tennis game. They're different products for different people. Just look at games like rockstar etc ... those games are a lot about imagination for some, scores for others, and some just like having a laugh. I don't think anything has changed in this respect. Hell I remember when my friends used to argue about which had better graphics ... Snes or Genesis ... Yes, it seems silly to people now, and people like to look romantically back on it and assume everyone used their imaginations but no ... some people it was really always about the graphics. ;p

Just finished Moscow and pretty happy. Some AI issues, and I didn't like that they introduced bosses with health bars etc ... and attack patterns. Also they refer to a character who looks like they're in their 20s as 'old'. It's good fun but, and I've really felt my decisions have had an impact in my game world. Haven't really felt that way about a game for a while. Not sure about people saying how they're struggling to head shot people etc ... Though I use assault rifles mostly and rambo everything. Still of the opinion the pistol is a bit weak and inaccurate, and the shotgun is like showing up to a Matrix fight scene with a ships cannon and a prayer.

Kind of agree in one way but it doesn't bother me that much. There are a few hard coded moments of sarcasm that feel out of place, and there's the odd moment where you say ... choose aggressive or some other word and it comes out totally different. There are more opportunities to be a jerk than not but I like it in a way - forces a decision. Though is it just me or sometimes does the kill button just exist for fun?

On the xbox you can just aim and that works. Not sure how that works on the PC but.

Not sure the stats is such a big issue ... Early on your receticle is wider but I've hit plenty of head shots. You just can't snipe with a pistol from 25 - 50ft away and expect head shots ... to be honest am okay with this. Biggest issues are empty/unfinished game world but then its not much different from other games of its type.

Just got the game for 360 yesterday and suppose I wanted to add a little to things people have said ... I think Alpha Protocol is getting a bit of a bad rep in some ways from being compared to other games strengths. I'm enjoying it. Negative points do exist, but they can summarised as follows: - Jumping and climbing is motivated by icons which let you perform certain actions. People complain it isn't Assasins Creed but lots of the jumps and moves are placed in locations that keep flow in my game. IE I jump through a roof for a dramatic entrance or zip line through a bad guy. - Special abilities aren't particularly special (it isn't Mass Effect 2) and some are of questionable use - Alarms are a bit ... odd. You can mostly just ignore their existence - There are some polygons which don't have backs which results in see thru mouths and other such randomness - The depth of field effect is ridiculous and looks somewhat like a 40 point gaussian blur - Enemies don't die particularly cinematically - Levels can feel sparse - With a well constructed assault character you simply won't even realise you have medikits to use ... gonna crank my difficulty on next play thru! - Martials arts is mostly spammy punchy mess but it works in a mechanics way since without any training it takes a while to kill someone - Assault rifles are equally good long and short range ... pistols can't be used to ambush making them rather pointless ... There's nothing a pistol can do that an assault rifle can't do faster but the concept was good - Some gadgets are a bit blah - Hacking games I liked but yet to have any wow moments like Deus Ex with it So yes, it's not Assasins Creed, MW2, Mass Effect, or Splinter Cell ... However, in the above games I felt a lot of the story was pretty linear - even in MW2. Dragons Age is a good example of the roleplaying, but some days I just don't want to be juggling numbers and fighting goblins. It feels nice to play as a Bourne style character and have my throw away dialogue actually produce results. I have people who dislike me, and can see immediate results from things my character says. Plus killing/extorting people etc ... feels much more organic than say Bioshock or similar titles. It's kind of like Deus Ex light and Deus Ex IMO had *terrible* combat and AI. The only other thing I would say is sometimes its a bit too easy to use every single strategy - ie hack cameras, kill everyone, fire giant gun, set trap all in one go. It doesn't feel special always. Though I will say I haven't played a single mission that felt like a generic sub quest. So yes it doesn't do anything perfectly, but it does a lot of things each of the regular A-grade titles don't in one game, and I do enjoy it and find it refreshing. Anyone that *needs* A-grade action, hasn't fought their way through a buggy but genius title (arcanum etc ...) or skips every single line of dialogue in Mass Effect will hate it. It'll be the usual suspects that find it enjoyable. The Masquerade crowd et all ... The vampire games always felt empty, but I got a kick out of the choices and freedoms afforded that just aren't in A-grade titles.