Play Alpha Protocol in San Francisco

[WorstUsernameEver]

It's like they picked the worst previewer they have and said them 'Look, this is Alpha Protocol and you shoot things here. Should be fun'.

It's good to see that while being an action-rpg AP will be heavy on the RPG side, however.

[Sannom]

Also Gamesradar preview. They like that you have choice but don't understand the appeal of any choice beyond "shooter". Pretty negative.

 

I didn't feel that it was negative, really... not completely convinced, but it had less retarded moments than the Eurogamer one! And it is very reassuring overall, for people who's been following the game for a long time...

[Gorth]

Also Gamesradar preview. They like that you have choice but don't understand the appeal of any choice beyond "shooter". Pretty negative.

 

I didn't feel that it was negative, really... not completely convinced, but it had less retarded moments than the Eurogamer one! And it is very reassuring overall, for people who's been following the game for a long time...

"Playing as a stealthy Thorton certainly worked, but we struggled to see the appeal. Why bother creeping through a mission when you can shoot your way to victory in half the time?"

 

You probably shouldn't ask this guy to play any of the Thief games

[Tigranes]

If reviewers think stealth is a lot more difficult than shooters, sounds good to me. Easy stealth is a lot less fun than easy shooter, because stealth really lives by that knowledge one wrong move will see you dead.

[Jokerman89]

http://www.gamesradar.com/xbox360/alpha-pr...313161521713022

 

 

another on from gamsradar

[Humodour]

Where you put your stat points, then, really does determine how you can play the game. Sadly it also means that players will necessarily pigeonhole themselves into a particular approach. It's literally impossible to change tactics for later missions, because your stats won't allow it - you can't suddenly roll out with a shotgun for a level that's giving you trouble if you've been pouring all your points into stealth abilities and pistols.

 

Apparently that's a 'problem' in an RPG.

Wow.

 

Bad preview is bad.

 

It kind of is. RPGs should make it impossible to branch out. If Alpha Protocol has it so that you can only max one weapon class if you ignore all others, that's a problem. I don't expect you to be able to max everything by the end of the game, but variety rocks man. When you constrict it artificially it feels ****.

 

I know the devs must be tired of the comparisons, but Deus Ex managed to do it pretty well - allowing you to both max a few augs and also max a few weapon skills (though certainly you still had to think hard about where you put your points, it was a rewarding system).

 

System Shock also did it well, IIRC.

[Jokerman89]

Dont think it will be like that, there previews said they were only half way through....only being able to max a few by Half way is fine.

[Oner]

They played one mission around the middle of the game using pre-built characters, apparently.

[Raithe]

Pre-built characters that were all designed to fit several "extreme" character types from the sound of it. Which is one way to highlight the differences in the skills use..

 

What was it, the tough/shooter guy, the sneaky/martial arts guy, and the slightly sneaky/tech/sabotage guy from the sounds of it...

 

Not exactly balanced characters but if you have limited time to show off concepts to a previewer it's one method of handling it.

[Oner]

I'm just saying that if they had free reign over their characters (and/or more AP), they may have been able to build characters more suitable for them.

 

Aaand, we (and neither the previewers for that matter) don't know how a different build would've looked like. Since different skills cost different amounts of AP*, a guns blazing character may have 2-3 weapon skills and some points in sabotage and such.

So.. maybe we will be able to have several skills, not just three (that's the impression I had from earlier material anyway), and the preview complaint of run-'n'-gun characters being tormented with hacking is pretty moot.

 

IMO

 

*and we don't even know if the pre-built characters missed any XP opportunities

[Starwars]

As far as I know, it's been mentioned before that a more jack-of-all-trades character is viable. Can't remember where though and it was a long time ago, so maybe it was changed.

 

Personally, I tend to prefer specialized characters so I hope it feels like there is a very tangible reward to maxing out skills.

 

One thing I also kinda fear about the preview is that it seems like a run-and-gun character is easy to play. While I think it's good that the choice exists to offer different ways to play through the game, like one of the quotes that I responded to in a sarcastic manner earlier, it'd suck if making a combat character is the easy way and making a stealth character is the hard way.

It's never gonna be completely balanced of course, but I really hope the combat character isn't just the "easy way".

 

I

[Jokerman89]

As far as I know, it's been mentioned before that a more jack-of-all-trades character is viable. Can't remember where though and it was a long time ago, so maybe it was changed.

 

Personally, I tend to prefer specialized characters so I hope it feels like there is a very tangible reward to maxing out skills.

 

One thing I also kinda fear about the preview is that it seems like a run-and-gun character is easy to play. While I think it's good that the choice exists to offer different ways to play through the game, like one of the quotes that I responded to in a sarcastic manner earlier, it'd suck if making a combat character is the easy way and making a stealth character is the hard way.

It's never gonna be completely balanced of course, but I really hope the combat character isn't just the "easy way".

 

I

 

 

Its because they maxed toughness, if you made a tougher stealth guy or a weak combat one it would be different.

[Oner]

And they're probably better in GoW than in Thief.

[WorstUsernameEver]

Variety issues aside, am I the only one who liked the screenshots shown in the previews? There are still low-res texture here and there, but the lighting seems atmospheric and the environment is varied and detailed enough.

[Raithe]

Maybe it's just my age and how long I've been playing computer games.. But I didn't see any real issues with the graphics shown.. It amazes me the comments that have shown up on some of the sites showing the developer diaries and walkthroughs complaining about the graphics.. It's a freaking rpg, it's not meant to be a Crysis/Splintercell type of game..

Personally, it mostly looks smooth and from what I've seen, seems to fit the mood of the levels they've shown off. So it works for me so far.

 

Of course, I still hold the right to change my mind on how well it handles when I actually sit down and play it for x many hours

[Jokerman89]

Maybe it's just my age and how long I've been playing computer games.. But I didn't see any real issues with the graphics shown.. It amazes me the comments that have shown up on some of the sites showing the developer diaries and walkthroughs complaining about the graphics.. It's a freaking rpg, it's not meant to be a Crysis/Splintercell type of game..

Personally, it mostly looks smooth and from what I've seen, seems to fit the mood of the levels they've shown off. So it works for me so far.

 

Of course, I still hold the right to change my mind on how well it handles when I actually sit down and play it for x many hours

 

 

I never really see much in graphics either....looks are looks...I would rarther have a good art style than realistic graphics.

[Oner]

My only complaint is that shock trap/grenade lightning effect. There's a difference between not cutting edge and out-of-place-ugly.

Edited March 22, 2010 by Oner

[Slowtrain]

Great graphics have never made a bad game good.

 

 

They can make an already good game more pleasant to play, but they don't work as an end in themselves.

 

I think the graphics in AP are great personally, but I'm not particularly demanding in that area.

[Jokerman89]

New preview, same stuff but still good

 

http://seganerds.thekartel.com/blog/2010/0...d_good_and_evil

[Starwars]

And another preview: http://news.gotgame.com/alpha-protocol-impressions/39454/

[almehdaaol]

Man can't believe that I missed this. Glad SEGA is having more community events like this... and it really seems that ones that are first to the game get first dibs on these first looks.

 

Imagine how crazy it'd be if they were to do something with Sonic 4.

[Sannom]

I have a question for a dev : is it me or does Mina use a different object to smash Mike into submission at each different demonstration??? Some talked about a taser to the chest, others said she hits us with a (non-mobile) phone and some say she hits us with a statue!

[kreese12]

It's just amazing to me that a game that is skill-based gets a write-up that's somewhat negative because the skill choices you make actually matter and that you can't just ignore your skill choices and do whatever you want with equal effectiveness.

 

*shakes head*

 

Ya big time -- what's up with that?

 

I totally don't get how the pro-game reviewer dude faulted the game for not letting people max out their skills. I'm really surprised.

 

If I was the reviewer and played a game where you could easily master all your weapons and therefore there wasn't really much character customization (or variation) then I would be panning the game for it. I'm stoked that in A.P you have to carefully choose how you want to develop your character. That's great. It's not like Mass Effect 2 where you only have 4 skills, which are easily maxed out...

 

Maybe because the game has shooter qualities that this automatically translates into this reviewer's mind that like all shooters, you should be able to use all guns really well. I could see a casual gamer thinking this..but it's distressing to see a reviewer from a pretty big games site saying this garbage.

 

Way rather have the AP system where if you want to max out and specialize in one skill, say the shotgun, then you have to sacrifice being able to do other things. Maybe this is considered 'old school' design now a days? I dunno.

Edited March 24, 2010 by kreese12

[Slowtrain]

Way rather have the AP system where if you want to max out and specialize in one skill, say the shotgun, then you have to sacrifice being able to do other things. Maybe this is considered 'old school' design now a days? I dunno.

 

 

Agreed. For me, it is always the choices about what you can or cannot do that make a game interesting. If, as a player, I can do everything, have everything, be everything, then a game becomes much less interesting.

 

I guess that is somewhat a minority view these days since most games seem to like just the opposite.

 

So, anyway, I'm highly supportive of AP's direction in this area.

 

I'm just really hoping the game sells well, so we can see more games like it.

[Bos_hybrid]

Agreed. For me, it is always the choices about what you can or cannot do that make a game interesting. If, as a player, I can do everything, have everything, be everything, then a game becomes much less interesting.

 

I guess that is somewhat a minority view these days since most games seem to like just the opposite.

 

So, anyway, I'm highly supportive of AP's direction in this area.

 

I'm just really hoping the game sells well, so we can see more games like it.

 

So your hoping the game sells well because of the skill system? So the characters and story mean nothing? Way to make Avellone cry.

 

Seriously though I agree. I just hope that the skill system is implemented in the game well enough for it to matter. If playing a stealthy tech Thorton feels/plays the same as a war machine Thorton, the system will be worthless.