New preview

[WorstUsernameEver]

Now I feel like I need everything there is to know about the game from previews.

It also looks like some gaming mags/sites are really close to releasing reviews too, so I guess we'll see what the general receptions will be (my guess is pretty positive, though I'm not sure it will be positive enough to garner Alpha protocol that 90+ on Metacritic and the likes that seems so crucial for some people to buy a game).

[Starwars]

I think as far as reviewers go, the scores will generally be in the 80s range with occasional dips into 70s as well as occasional peaks into 90s. I don't get the feeling that people will go gaga over this game like they do with the real "blockbusters" so to speak.

[Sannom]

I think some magazines that have a "Great Hit" award in their policy could also give it even if it to the game doesn't reach the 90% threshold but stays in the high 80%. I've seen it for other games.

[Starwars]

A guy on the SomethingAwful forums says that he's been playing the preview build a bit, and here's what he has to say.

 

I've been playing a preview build for a few days now and the game's definitely interesting. The role-playing, character building and equipment tinkering is fun and lays the groundwork for a nice experience, but the actual combat doesn't seem entirely finished.

 

Enemies seem omniscient: an inch of your BDU flashes by in the horizon and ****ers are sniping you with 50 cal MGs through two wire-link fences. Enemies also don't communicate, get fooled by your actions or hesitate: they seem to know where you are and how to swarm you the second someone spots you.

 

It doesn't help that pistols, for instance, are weak as hell and inaccurate too. You try to pop some ****er in the back of the head from two feet away, only to end up missing (the aiming reticle is the size of a manhole cover even with an external sight) at which point the alarm immediately sounds and it's time to switch to the assault rifle.*

 

The upside is that if you enjoy taking an assault rifle and gunning some ****ers down, you'll probably have a great time, because I sure am. The AR feels nice and powerful and the missions are fun. But really: this is a preview build, so it's not final yet. I hope some of this stuff gets tweaked for the final build, because it would really be nice if all those varied playstyles were actually realistic options.

 

Even as it stands, the game is fun with a capital F. I actually FEEL like a badass spy on a badass spy adventure, building my smartass spy persona and ****ing up various bearded extremists with my trusty, modded out assault rifle and being all cool and smooth about it. So really right now it's a question of ending up as a good game that could've been great, or an actual great game. Come on, Obsidian!

 

* = confession time: I have put like three points into my pistol skill, so if I put all my points into pistols, maybe I would be better at it, but I don't think "worse shot than an ADHD addled 12 year old" is a good baseline for a super secret spy dude, especially when other weapons are much more useful even out of the blue and only get better from there.

 

The combat isn't ****ty, it's just that right now it seems pretty hard to play the game in certain ways. Maybe this is intentional, maybe the idea is that a stealthy badass isn't possible until you put in certain amounts of points, but the game doesn't really communicate the fact.

[WorstUsernameEver]

The fact that he complains about pistols being inaccurate when he puts 3 points there.... really, since when character development became just an interface in which you put funny points but you don't expect your perfomance in the game to depend on those?

[Starwars]

Yep. Still, I don't think it's an all-together unfair point to bring up in a game with action-y gameplay where you also happen to play a spy, as well as the fact that he feels the game doesn't communicate this to the player.

 

I mean, I think I'll like it the way it is personally, but it could be a problem if some people feel that the game "tricks" them.

[Thorton_AP]

The fact that he complains about pistols being inaccurate when he puts 3 points there.... really, since when character development became just an interface in which you put funny points but you don't expect your perfomance in the game to depend on those?

 

It was probably more of a concern due to the range of the attack. If he really got as close as he said he did, it probably wouldn't require any pistol skill (i.e. me) to effectively shoot the guy in the back of the head.

[WorstUsernameEver]

The fact that he complains about pistols being inaccurate when he puts 3 points there.... really, since when character development became just an interface in which you put funny points but you don't expect your perfomance in the game to depend on those?

 

It was probably more of a concern due to the range of the attack. If he really got as close as he said he did, it probably wouldn't require any pistol skill (i.e. me) to effectively shoot the guy in the back of the head.

 

It may be just me but I smell an hyperbole. You also have to consider that in this game while putting skill points helps A LOT the reticule ALWAYS goes down to the minimum, you just have to wait more time.

Seems perfect for stealthy character, doesn't it?

[Thorton_AP]

That is true. We're only able to take it at his word.

 

Though his comments was a concern I had in the first splinter cell games (pre Chaos Theory). If it's like Deus Ex though, then yeah hyperbole seems to be the case here.

[Starwars]

Judging from further comments, it doesn't sound like he's a hardcore roleplayer. He says that stealth seems to be very hard. But I'm not sure on his skill allocation, he hasn't pumped his stealth skill at least.

 

Some other points of interest that he's pointed out are that conversations, while they are cutscenes, still take place in "real-time" which means that it can be beneficial to keep a guy talking for as long as possible after combat if you want to go into combat again, because stuff like armor regen and cooldown on skills are happening in the background.

 

Also, when using stuff like Chain Shot, apparently your skill level in Pistols still affect the reticule. So it's still possible to miss the shots.

 

EDIT: He also mentions that CQC is fun, and his favorite weapon after the assault rifle.

Edited May 10, 2010 by Starwars

[WorstUsernameEver]

Judging from further comments, it doesn't sound like he's a hardcore roleplayer. He says that stealth seems to be very hard. But I'm not sure on his skill allocation, he hasn't pumped his stealth skill at least.

 

Some other points of interest that he's pointed out are that conversations, while they are cutscenes, still take place in "real-time" which means that it can be beneficial to keep a guy talking for as long as possible after combat if you want to go into combat again, because stuff like armor regen and cooldown on skills are happening in the background.

 

Also, when using stuff like Chain Shot, apparently your skill level in Pistols still affect the reticule. So it's still possible to miss the shots.

 

EDIT: He also mentions that CQC is fun, and his favorite weapon after the assault rifle.

 

That's interesting though I don't like the metagaming implications of what he mentioned.

 

EDIT : Though I've been harsh on his previous comments I think it's important to point out that the fact that he thinks the game is apparently 'fun with a capital F' it's refreshing. That's what matters to me. I want to have a great time with this game. And I feel sometimes, discussing design, consistency and all of that it tends to be forgotten on gaming forums (by me too, of course).

Edited May 10, 2010 by WorstUsernameEver

[kreese12]

I only played FO3 once so I can't be sure, but you know, if you have 2 or 3 different endings for each major settlement (and there were, what, 7? more? in FO3), plus the final decision (2 choices, prior to Broken Steel?), then permutations should break a hundred easily?

Good/bad karma, you pushed the button/Lyons pushed the button. Maybe there was a "you walked away" ending too.

That's it, no settlement slideshows.

 

If I may quote something from a few pages back: Yes, like virtually every other facet of Fallout 3, Fallout 1+2 had much better endings, with different outcomes for each major location you visited depending on what you did, not really so much your artificial GOOD/BAD karma score.

 

Fallout 1+ 2 were such better RPGs than Fallout 3, I wish more people realized their truly exceptional brilliance.

Edited May 10, 2010 by kreese12

[Starwars]

The guy just mentioned that it seems like you can stun enemies by kicking up doors in their face.

[Pidesco]

Awesome!

[Sannom]

Starwars, any idea of who that "rope kid" guy on the SomethingAwful forum is? He seems to be Obsidian or ex-Obsidian...

[Alpha]

"For a game that focuses on guns and gadgets, youd think Obsidian would have at least included the trusty headshot. "

 

...I thought there were headshots?

 

I'm actually pretty sure there were and there are headshots, but then, anyway, this preview IS bad.. I mean, hacking is a nod to Mass Effect.. how exactly?

 

I agree with WorstUsername, the review is really bad; the reviewer is simply saying that AP copied a lot of things about ME 2 ; How many games had hacking before ME 1 ? I can mention Splinter cell games and other spy games. Hopefully the game have headshots.

[Pidesco]

Starwars, any idea of who that "rope kid" guy on the SomethingAwful forum is? He seems to be Obsidian or ex-Obsidian...

 

He's JE.

[funcroc]

1UP Game Night with Alpha Protocol Coming Soon

 

Time: Tuesday, May 11th, 2010, 5 p.m. PST

Location: Watch the embedded video player above.

 

For this week, we're gonna be playing Alpha Protocol, the upcoming espionage RPG from Sega and Obsidian Entertainment. In it we'll play a mission from the opening act, with a mix of dialogue, stealth, and just plain shooting. Also, one of the game's central premises is playing it in the style of the three big JBs of espionage: Jack Bauer, James Bond, and Jason Bourne. To that end, you can decide how we'll play this demo. Leave a comment in either this story or the below thread and tell us which spy to act like.

 

As always, be sure to post your questions in our Alpha Protocol thread on the 1UP boards, and we'll try our best to answer them all.

 

We record Game Night live, and we welcome your thoughts and comments on our message board or Twitter account. A recorded version of the show will go up Wednesday afternoon on GameVideos. For past Game Night episodes check out 1UP's Game Night hub page.

[Baeus]

As much as I want to watch this, I don't really want to spoil a whole level for myself.

 

Hmm, decisions.

[WorstUsernameEver]

As much as I want to watch this, I don't really want to spoil a whole level for myself.

 

Hmm, decisions.

 

I won't watch it for this reason. Meh.

[Pop]

I'm guessing it will be the Saudi Arabian mission, in which case you probably won't be spoilt much. I don't think I was.

[Oner]

I'm volunteering to sacrifice myself for the greater good.

[Baeus]

Very noble of you

[Oner]

Yeah, what would you people do without me?

[Raithe]

I'm sure we'd think of a few things... and most of them would even be legal.