Obsidian, you guys gotta polish up the gameplay BEFORE Oct. '09

[AJdaTruth]

The RPG elements are there. But this is, all in all, first and foremost, a third-person shooter! NOT a RPG. So, I believe the primary focus should be on that aspect. From the aiming, shooting, overall gunfights, cover system to the walking & running animation, melee attacks (thats all I canthink of right now.) I mean, you guys are kinda venturing out of the Star Wars: KOTR/Neverwinter Nights gaming ---- to ---- games like, Metal Gear Solid 4, Red Faction: Guerrila, and Splinter Cell. So, in that retrospect... for crying out loud, please DRASTRICALLY improve the gameplay. Even IGN said in a recent article that its alittle disappointed in on how the gameplay and mechanics feel.

 

Whats fantastical about your RPG elements, is the: experience points for level progression, acquiring certain skills, different weapon layouts, gadets & tools, character uniqueness in determing on how you let the player/buyer to play your game.

DO NOT let all those things go to waste!

 

I feel, maybe a later release date into 2010 would give it more developing time to make the gameplay as enjoyable as the 3 games I mention before(or close to). Or you developers try and crunch down and put in extra hours in front of those computer, reprogramming what should make this an awesome shooter/rpg that your readers and gamers hope it to be by this October.

 

P.S. AND whats the whole deal with the ganga-style-sideways dual gun holding thing? not cool

Edited September 2, 2009 by AJdaTruth

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Uhhh... Alpha Protocol is a roleplaying game "first and formost" not a "third-person shooter."

[AJdaTruth]

Uhhh... Alpha Protocol is a roleplaying game "first and formost" not a "third-person shooter."

 

 

If so, is that a reason or an excuse to not have, at least, *good* gameplay? My point in this topic is not (Is this a 3rd-Person Shooter OR RPG OR Both), it is the simple fact that player can enjoy the game he/she is playing for what it is. Gameplay, it's one of the core elements in a video game. Of course you have other catergories: graphics, sound, replay value, etc. But nothing is more important than the enjoyment of playing the game and how it makes the user feel like they are the character in the game.

 

For example, I hate to bring in this very old topic, but many gamers know of the time the NFL 2k series and Madden were at the top of NFL football games. And a majority of them say NFK 2K5 was 'funner' to play than Madden at that time. Maybe it was the gameplay, maybe the presentation, i dunno. But I do know all that stuff was 'squashed' this year when EA succeeded with Madden 2010. It has a slightly slower game speed to help the running game, you have half-time presentations, graphics are alittle improved, Pro-Tak, new animations, etc. Now there's talk of the ghost of the NFL 2K series is put to rest because the development team at EA Sport wanted SOOOO bad to stop the talk on how NFL 2K might have been better, even though EA owns the license.

 

So, yeah, if it is a RPG, it an RPG then. Great job on the level-upping, skill aquiring, yadda-yadda-yadda. But why are you leveling up anyway?... to just level up some more. ....Or to put those cool, new skills and weapon upgrades to the test and have fun doing it. If not, then whats the point of leveling up anyway, Deadly_Nightshade??

[Cl_Flushentityhero]

To play devil's advocate, it looks like the majority of the game will be the shooting and stealthing with conversations and safehouse stuff more to give an occasional change of pace. I agree that the RPG elements seem much cooler and make AP stand out more, but the footage so far suggests they are auxiliary to the combat sections in terms of gameplay hours spent. So, if we're spending most of our time in AP shooting and sneaking, it stands to reason that those elements should be solid. Otherwise we'd all just sit around customizing our gear and talking to NPCs on the phone, yet put the game down when the time comes to actually do a mission.

 

Don't laugh, it's happened to me with other titles.

[Anarchosyn]

So, yeah, if it is a RPG, it an RPG then. Great job on the level-upping, skill aquiring, yadda-yadda-yadda. But why are you leveling up anyway?... to just level up some more. ....Or to put those cool, new skills and weapon upgrades to the test and have fun doing it. If not, then whats the point of leveling up anyway, Deadly_Nightshade??

 

You seem sincere so I'll be nice (RPG lovers can be notoriously unfriendly at times*)

 

As you've been made aware, this game is not a third person shooter with RPG elements but rather a RPG with shooter elements. RPGs are, traditionally speaking, far more strategic affairs than action titles (though this is not to claim the action/adventure genre doesn't call on tactical thinking from time to time). Until VERY recently RPGs were primarily turn-based and focused more on probabilistic models of the character's, opposed to the player's, skill. Certainly this was partially a result of technological limitations but ultimately RPGs were merely a different breed of gaming experience, no more inferior to generating "fun" than, for example, chess. They weren't attempting to stroke the same passions that reflex based "twitch" titles, like Doom or Super Mario Brothers, did.

 

Running with my previous example, though chess' theme sits squarely on the battlefields of ancient India and Europe (depending on your version), it certainly takes an abstract approach to simulating combat. For some this is fun, for other it's a bore.. however, the emergence of battlefield simulators like Call of Duty 4 haven't stopped people from playing chess. One is not really attempting to be the other or stimulate the same kind of response in the brain.

 

So, if you accept that different breeds of games exist to scratch different itches and that Alpha Protocol's pedigree sits in the RPG camp then you can probably appreciate that Alpha Protocol actually looks pretty damn good (from a twitch players perspective). At least for a genre which traditionally looked like this:

 

 

or

 

 

 

Heh, honestly I'd be happy if Alpha Protocol was an isometric turn-based RPG based solely on skill percentages. Be happy the definition of what constitutes a RPG has veered so close to the twitch kind of games you seem to enjoy..

 

So, as a simple summery, the third person action of Alpha Protocol, when judged by the standards of a traditional third person action title, might look a bit undercooked. However, compared to what passes for "action" in the RPG universe, you're looking at a wondrously fluid and dynamic experience. Certainly more intense than Deus Ex. Certainly better than Morrowind or Oblivion. Way more fluid than Fallout 3 and - I hope - way less wonky than Mass Effect.

 

 

* - You might want to permanently avoid a little place called the "RPG Codex" and their forum.

 

ps: I anticipate my Deus Ex slam might ruffle the feathers of my brethren. Let me assure you I'm *solely* equating the combat, not the overall play experience, scope or mechanics.

Edited September 2, 2009 by Anarchosyn

[Purkake]

Why doesn't anyone ever speak of RPGWatch? Is it worse than the Codex?

[Nepenthe]

ps: I anticipate my Deus Ex slam might ruffle the feathers of my brethren. Let me assure you I'm *solely* equating the combat, not the overall play experience, scope or mechanics.

 

I dunno, I always found emptying clips of assault rifle ammunition at mooks on lower difficulty levels to be kind of... uncool. That's my only qualm with deus ex, really.

[Purkake]

In Deus Ex you make your own fun. You could have stun proded them, set up a grenade trap, hacked a sentry gun, set a robot on them etc.

Edited September 2, 2009 by Purkake

[Bos_hybrid]

Why doesn't anyone ever speak of RPGWatch? Is it worse than the Codex?

 

Well going by there user poll:

 

Best RPG from E3?

Arcania

(6.9%)

Alpha Protocol

(24.44%)

Disciples III

(4.48%)

Divinity II

(20.71%)

Dragon Age

(29.48%)

Mass Effect 2

(12.13%)

Venetica

(1.87%)

 

They are normal.

[Humodour]

I actually found Deus Ex combat adorable.

[Nepenthe]

In Deus Ex you make your own fun. You could have stun proded them, set up a grenade trap, hacked a sentry gun, set a robot on them etc.

 

Oh, I did. I've completed the game dozens of times. I still would have liked the AR to have a bit more sting.

[alanschu]

The AR is weak. Like 3 damage.

[Purkake]

Just get the Assault Shotgun

 

The AR was more of a SMG anyway.

[Nepenthe]

The AR is weak. Like 3 damage.

 

My point.

 

The only weapon I've ever fired in my life was an assault rifle (7,62x39mm), and it sure seemed like it would do more damage than 3.

 

Of course, the Deus Ex weapon is probably made for your mincy nato 5.56s.

[Skizo]

what happened to the "i play games for the fun of it.." i still play Tetris and i dont whine about the graphics..

alpha protocol may not aspire to be the best game of the decade, but as long as they make it fun to play i dont really care if my legs clip through a sofa.

[ironcreed]

LOL, you are trying to tell Obsidian what their own game is and how they should go about developing it? This IS an RPG, bud. Just because it does not have wizards, warriors, elves, giant free roaming forests and dungeons does not make it otherwise.

[Matthew Rorie]

I appreciate your concerns, but just keep in mind that people who get their hands on the game (as opposed to watching old videos of it) dig the hell out of Alpha Protocol. I just spent three and a half hours talking to GameStop managers and watching them play it and they were really enthusiastic about it. So, in my opinion, I think we're doing something right here...

 

Not everyone's going to like the game, of course, but thus far something like 95% of the people that I've demoed the game for or seen play it have seemed to sincerely enjoy it. And the demos last night were all gunplay stuff, we didn't even get into the dialogue sequences very much.

[gnrfan228]

I appreciate your concerns, but just keep in mind that people who get their hands on the game (as opposed to watching old videos of it) dig the hell out of Alpha Protocol. I just spent three and a half hours talking to GameStop managers and watching them play it and they were really enthusiastic about it. So, in my opinion, I think we're doing something right here...

 

Not everyone's going to like the game, of course, but thus far something like 95% of the people that I've demoed the game for or seen play it have seemed to sincerely enjoy it. And the demos last night were all gunplay stuff, we didn't even get into the dialogue sequences very much.

 

GAMESTOP?

 

Did you bash it into their heads about the PC version bonuses?

[Purkake]

Does Gamestop actually sell PC games anymore?

[Slowtrain]

Does Gamestop actually sell PC games anymore?

 

 

The one down the street from me has a very small rack that's buried in the corner. The wall of shame.

 

 

Whenever I look through it people point and laugh.

 

 

I got X3 Terran COnflict for $10 though. SO it was worth it.

[Purkake]

I guess you can get it from Gamergate with the bonus stuff and minus the laughter

[Bos_hybrid]

Does Gamestop actually sell PC games anymore?

 

 

The one down the street from me has a very small rack that's buried in the corner. The wall of shame.

 

 

Whenever I look through it people point and laugh.

 

Strange, where I am the two major game retailers (EB, Game) have fairly large selection of PC games. And I'm pretty sure EB is Gamestop.

[Purkake]

Retail PC games are ok in most places. The problem is mostly with North-America.

[Slowtrain]

Does Gamestop actually sell PC games anymore?

 

 

The one down the street from me has a very small rack that's buried in the corner. The wall of shame.

 

 

Whenever I look through it people point and laugh.

 

Strange, where I am the two major game retailers (EB, Game) have fairly large selection of PC games. And I'm pretty sure EB is Gamestop.

 

 

This one has been downsizing its pc side for a long time. 6 or 7 years ago, fully half the store was either pc games or pc related products. Now, like I said, there's alomost nothing left that is PC.

 

 

I don't know if individual stores decide what to stock or if all stores operate the same way, but this one is definitely not pc friendly.

Edited September 2, 2009 by Slowtrain

[MacMichael]

I wandered into the closest Gamestop a while back looking from something that had just come out. All I found was a small rack of used PC games. When they asked what I was looking for, I said, "So, you don't have any new PC games?" He turned around and unlocked a wall of console accessories and opened it. They had a small cabinet with three or four shelves filled with games. So, they have them, but they hide them.