Is AP worth buying? If so why?

[Gh3ngis Kh4n]

Sorry about my rude Title, but this game kinda just came from nowhere and got my attention today, I've played Oblivion and Fallout 3 with all the DLC, and I have watched every newsflash from Fallout New Vegas, Just to be sure that I don't Miss out on anything. Fallout New Vegas has been the big thing for me the past months, and I haven't even noticed that AP was produced by Obsidian, so I have to ask you guys, since you probly know way more then me, is this game worth it? it's RPG and it's from my Fav RPG Producers, but it hasn't been promoted that much, so is it just a game for us waiting till the great New Vegas comes or is it this ganna be another HIT from Obsidian? Nobody knows this yet, but what do you guys know about the work behind this game? is a project that has been worked on for a long time? I guess you guys know how to answer me from here? ;D

 

 

I will Be back to chat in 1 hour I am ganna do some Photoshop 4 and Fix me a Signature

Edited April 3, 2010 by Gh3ngis Kh4n

[Starwars]

Hey there. Obviously we won't truly know until the game is finally released!

 

The game has been worked on for a long time, though I'm not really sure now when the development started. What appeals to me personally about the game is that it's A) a RPG set in present time and B) that they have a lot of focus on choices.

When you first look at the gameplay, it looks similar to Mass Effect. But the gameplay seem to have a few noticeable differences, such as you can stealth through large parts of the game, you can use spy gadgets, you can knock people out instead of just killing them (and the game/story will react to this). It depends on what choices you make and what skills you decide to level up.

 

There are some gameplay differences from many other RPGs. You play as a guy called Mike Thorton, and you can't change that (though you decide on choices and his appearance). It's not "freeroaming", it's mission based with you returning to a safehouse in between missions.

 

I have it pre-ordered. It looks like a great game to me, and I'm just really happy that they decided to try on a new setting for RPGs.

[Gh3ngis Kh4n]

Sounds interesting, Tho I didn't like that part where you mention no "Free Roaming" Which is something I love, going around discovering and find hidden armor etc. Since the game comes from Obsidian I have Decided to buy it, but by no means end this discussion, as i still wan't to know more peoples opinions.

 

you said there will be a LVL system? only for the skills or will the character also lvl up? I guess there will be no Co-op?

 

Just to say it, and to be on the sure side, to me it sounds like a resident Evil 5 looking game? please don't tell me that it's ganna be like that, cus i 101% hated that game

[mr insomniac]

No co-op, it's a single-player game. IMHO, it's one of Obsidz's true strengths to make a solid entertaining single-player game. One thing I'm really looking forward is the timed dialogue system. I like the idea of thinking fast about how to respond to what people are telling you, and knowing my choices will affect how the game plays out. I also can't wait to karate chop bad guys.

 

June can't get here quick enough.

[Starwars]

I'm not 100% sure how the leveling up will work, but there is a skill system where you choose to put points into the various skills such as Shotguns, Assault Rifles, Stealth, Technical aptitude, Martial Arts and so forth.

Every skill level will bring a bonus, and then certain skill levels will grant you special abilities that you can make use of (Chain Shot is a pistol ability for example that will allow you to pick shots in slow mo, sorta similar to VATS in Fallout 3).

 

We know that your skills will play a huge role in how the game plays out. If you want to play the game using Assault Rifles, you better raise that skill. A lot of focus is on replayability, so that one playthrough will feel completely different from another.

No co-op.

 

I'm not really sure how to describe the game. It sounds like a sort of mix between Mass Effect, Splinter Cell and maybe Metal Gear Solid. Resident Evil 5? Well... maybe it'll feel slightly like that when shooting stuff, I'm not sure. But again, there is a fair amount of depth and choice in how you'll play the game.

[Raithe]

Quite a few people are comparing it to a Deus Ex style of gameplay from what they've seen..

 

Various hubs that you can move between, and can choose when and which you move between them. Different missions opening up in the hubs that again, you can choose to do in different order... Within each mission there are multiple ways to carry them out.. not sure how much back and forth/exploration can occur while on a mission or whether you'll be channeled always forward by events... But they wanted to make sure that if you choose to put all your skill points on Technical Aptitude/Sabotage or Sneak/Martial Arts you can go through without having to wave guns around .. or if you've dumped all your skill points on the different guns you can blow lots of things up and expend large amounts of lead

 

Obsidian hasn't really mentioned much about the levelling up that I've seen, but the choosing how you spend your skill points has been fairly covered. As you put more points on a skill you gain a mixture of passive abilties that are always active, and active abilties that grant special moves when you activate them.

There are, 9 skills I believe: Assault Rifles, Pistols, Shotguns, Submachine Guns, Martial Arts, Toughness, Stealth, Technical Aptitude, and Sabotage.

 

From what's been said, missions can be changed to differing degrees depending on what missions/hubs/people encountered previously.. so different options and attitudes will open up depending completely on what order you've chosen to do things...

 

Also, the morality of the game has been discussed a fair bit. There's no good/bad switch, they're keeping to the idea of the "grey" spy lifestyle. Characters in the game are supposed to react to you depending on the choices you've made, whether you've been aggressive, professional, suave.. whether you've approached things in a "kill everyone and their mother" or if missions have been ghosted and no deaths... You can research characters and find out what sort of approaches they favour, so it's possible to try tailoring your choices to how you want them to respond to you... but other characters will react differently.

(That's one of the key points to me.. I really want to see how much the "choice & consequences" will play out)

 

The game's been in development for awhiles, but it's been delayed a few times. I've had it on pre-order since it was originally meant to be released back in February last year.

[Gh3ngis Kh4n]

You coverd alot there, both of you starwars and raithe, But while i was reading me to the end of Raithe's Reply i started thinking of how many hours the game are set to be before you complete it? will there be a never ending or a later DLC like fallout where u can Continue the game after u finished it?

 

If you Avoid most of the fights by using stealth woulnd't the game end quickly? I hope the game will last for some weeks, I know I Enjoyed Fallout for 176 Hours so far and I still play it now and then for fun.

 

But out from what Iv'e read the game seems pretty cool, and I am already getting that stupid feeling that I always get when I start Wanting a game, and Normally I end up heart broken lol becuz the game didn't give me what i expected, Like Final Fantasy 13... thats 3 hours I won't get back of my life lol. But I know that Obsidian won't bring me down like that, I hope not.

[Raithe]

One of the journalists who got to see/play one of the previews did say that going through the mission guns blazing was much faster then sneaking. Apparently, you actually have to be careful if you try being discrete and sneak past people... and this takes longer then just running around with bullets flying...

 

The storyline mechanic also uses a flash forward / flashback technique.... Almost as if Mike (your character) is being debriefed on what's happened and then it flashes back to the mission and you make your choices... Then it jumps back to the debriefing/conversation. (and I'm fairly sure it was mentioned that choices in the debriefing converstion will affect the way flashbacks happen). Also the flashforward is to help reveal some of the consequences of the choices you make..

 

Not sure on the total "length" of the game in a single playthru.. but it has been reported that there are 12 hours or so of cinematics in the game. In a single playthrough, a player will see about 4 of them. Also, since so much has been made of how different choices and play styles will really alter how the game goes, I'm seeing a lot of replay value in it...

[Slowtrain]

Going to be the best game of the year. DOn't miss out!

[WorstUsernameEver]

IIRC one playthrough should be around 20-30 hours. It's a game tailored around replay value not length, as far as I understand Obsidian's intent.

[Tigranes]

If you're just coming from Oblivion & FO3 and want to know what kind of experience AP will give in comparison, yeah, there will be no free roaming - but there will be that same sense of building your own character, making decisions that affect the world, gaining levels and becoming powerful in the area you want to specialise in, gaining loot and feeling good. The main difference is that instead of doing this roaming in the world, it'll be more focused, it'll be a bit shorter, but there will be a lot more changes in the world and a lot more different ways you can play the game. Sort of imagine the Megaton blow up / not blow up decision in FO3, but imagine that if you did blow it up the rest of your game changes, not just 'can you do the Tenpenny quest'.

[Rostere]

None of you mentioned you can replay the game with the character you finished it with in a harder mode, with some extra quirks. Kind of like Nightmare and Hell in Diablo 2 I guess :]

[I want teh kotor 3]

Think more of Mass Effect (sorry guys) than Oblivion... No free roaming, more dialogue-driven, doesn't look like a PS2 game, etc...