The Reviews

[ProtocolX]

Just finished my first playthough. Took me about 20 hours or so, so not bad really.

 

Had a blast with the game, really enjoyed it. The plotline was fun.

 

I went Rome > Moscow > Taipei

 

Ended up with Mina.

 

I was freelance/operative and speced in Stealth, pistols, sabotage with a few ranks in Toughness and capped Martial Arts (as a secondary skill).

 

Beat Deng down with kung fu.

 

Pistols is almost cheating at high level, Even big bosses are maybe 2 chain shots and done. Was fun though.

 

My one real gripe was WHY does the stealth armor look like someones BMX gear? If you want to be stealthy you don't have hard plastic/metal all over you. Stuff looked horrid. I ended up in tactical armor, and just took the stealth hit.

 

I do not understand the low ratings, as the game was very fun and enjoyable to me, did not want to stop playing, and am about to start my recruit playthrough. )

 

Awesome job Obsidian! You even have an excellent ending finally! (Yeah I have been critical regarding the poor endings of Kotor2 and NWN2) but MOTB and SOZ were good and this is awesome!

 

KUDOS!

[qaz123]

From Destructoid:

 

Generally speaking, writing a bad review is never fun, and only a sadist would derive pleasure from crucifying a videogame in public. However, when a game comes out that's so bad only the willfully ignorant could deny its awfulness, harsh and cruel criticism is thoroughly deserved. Because there's no excuse for stuff like this. There's no justifiable reason you could have for essentially conning people out of their hard earned money for a game so badly cobbled together. There are games in their beta stage that are more complete, better designed, and more worth paying for than this mistake.

 

2/10 Ouch, that's pretty harsh.

Edited May 29, 2010 by qaz123

[Thorton_AP]

I don't know what to think about the Destructoid one.

 

This is the same guy that was pimping up Deadly Premonition while at the same time spending good chunks of the review totally ripping on Heavy Rain (to the point where it seemed like it was more of a review of Heavy Rain than Deadly Premonition).

 

A bit of me thinks he might post crazy **** for laughs and/or hits.

[qaz123]

I don't know what to think about the Destructoid one.

 

This is the same guy that was pimping up Deadly Premonition while at the same time spending good chunks of the review totally ripping on Heavy Rain (to the point where it seemed like it was more of a review of Heavy Rain than Deadly Premonition).

 

A bit of me thinks he might post crazy **** for laughs and/or hits.

 

Oh, no doubt. I'm just saying that was awfully harsh even for him.

[Thorton_AP]

My thoughts are that he probably posts scores to create a buzz, and probably tends to go in extremes.

 

I mean, from his Deadly Premonition review, he actually said: "This game is so bad, it's not just become good. It's pretty close to perfect" 10/10!

[Libertarian]

The 1UP review was very solid. They gave AP a B+.

[Oblarg]

The 1UP review was very solid. They gave AP a B+.

 

The 1UP review was one of the most reasonable ones I read.

 

Honestly, I have a hard time taking the scores of 2/10 seriously when a slew of European gaming sites (some of them quite reputable) all gave it ~8.5/10.

 

The polarization of the scores is quite interesting, though.

 

I still can't wait to play it. Gamersgate better put up those serial codes at midnight on June first. A pity I didn't buy it while they were breaking the street date.

[Tigranes]

I think you can safely ignore destructoid, it's well known the guy likes his joke reviews. There is definitely a love/hate thing going on with gamespot and the like, though.

[GreasyDogMeat]

Gametrailers review. http://www.gametrailers.com/video/review-h...protocol/100743

 

They're not too happy about it. 6.4.

 

Some of the complaints may ring true, like when they show the ai trying to walk through a wall... other times they complain about the stat system effecting weapons and complain about not being able to pull off a pistol shot. To me, that makes sense... you keep pumping your stats up and by the end of the game you are pwning with that pistol that you couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with at the start.

 

I was really hoping AP would be received as well as ME 1 or 2 but it doesn't seem like it will be the case. I think AP will be a bit like the recent AvP. It didn't receive very good critical reception but fans of the style/setting will end up enjoying it.

[kratier]

my favorite and most reasonable look at this game is the giantbomb preview

 

he actually understood the game was an rpg rather than trying to play it like a shooter

[fuZZ]

not sure if this is already up... but 6.4 from GT???

 

they truly SUX ass the game is good but not awesome and deserving of better than that!

 

http://www.gametrailers.com/game/alpha-protocol/9237

[Jaesun]

I think you can safely ignore destructoid, it's well known the guy likes his joke reviews. There is definitely a love/hate thing going on with gamespot and the like, though.

 

yep especially if you look at his "other" reviews.

[fuZZ]

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=248379

 

good review but really short!!!

[The Jackalope]

Game Trailers video review: 6.4/10

 

GameSpot video review: 6/10

 

Just Push Start: 2.5/5

 

1UP: B+

 

 

So 3 out of 4 are pretty negative. This worried me. But in all honesty I think the negative ones were a bit unfair at times. Havn't heard what Game Informer has to say yet. It"ll probably be negative too. But I have little respect for them these days. These being the people who gave Bioshock and God of War 10s.

 

I don't give a damn personally. I'm still going to play this game and pay my 60 bucks for it with a smile on my face. This won't be the first time I loved a game that the general populace hated. Case-In point Advent Rising.

[Tigranes]

There are also at least half a dozen reviews out there that put it between 80 and 90%. Eurogamer also gave it somewhere around 8, and PC Canard is set to give it a 9.

[The Jackalope]

Haha. So I guess everyone here in the States are too spoiled these days.

[ThulsaDooom]

Haha. So I guess everyone here in the States are too spoiled these days.

 

Pretty much but if someone actually trusts a video game reviewer...

 

Best one was Game Informer saying the replay value was moderately low. That's just dumb and poor "journalism."

[The Jackalope]

GI has released a review?

[ThulsaDooom]

GI AP review

[The Jackalope]

Ugh! F**K them.

[Humodour]

Game Trailers video review: 6.4/10

 

GameSpot video review: 6/10

 

Just Push Start: 2.5/5

 

1UP: B+

 

 

So 3 out of 4 are pretty negative. This worried me. But in all honesty I think the negative ones were a bit unfair at times. Havn't heard what Game Informer has to say yet. It"ll probably be negative too. But I have little respect for them these days. These being the people who gave Bioshock and God of War 10s.

 

I don't give a damn personally. I'm still going to play this game and pay my 60 bucks for it with a smile on my face. This won't be the first time I loved a game that the general populace hated. Case-In point Advent Rising.

 

Obsidian needs to get back to their roots.

[Azure79]

I'll have to play it to see if all the negative reviews are mostly true. I'm sure they have some valid points because from all the gameplay videos I've seen, animations did seem a little clunky. I can't believe the kept that ridiculous crouch-walking animation.

 

I'm sure the combat will be like your typical RPG, where your skills are mediocre at first but come to possess an enormous lethality later on. Perhaps a mistake on Obsidian's part to create the main combat system like a shooter. In the post ME2 gaming world, I think a lot of people will expect the game to act like a shooter since it so closely resembles one, even if it is just the outer casing. Perhaps a more top-down perspective in combat would have given it a more RPGish feel with the proper expectations?

 

What I'm really looking forward to is the the dialogue options and the choices that go along with them. I'm looking forward to playing a stealthy, diplomatic type that tries to get as many allies as possible while trying to see all the angles, staying one step ahead of adversaries.

 

The reports of dumb AI don't really bother me. I don't think I've ever played a game where the AI has really impressed. The sneaking up and taking down enemies while other enemies are two feet away? You could do that in Drake's Fortune and Arkham Asylum. Granted it was a minor point on two very excellent games, but I don't see anyone ever knocking off points from those games for poor AI.

 

Looking forward to playing when Steam finally unlocks.

[The Jackalope]

I disagree. I think that them trying to break into something new and fresh should be encouraged. Even if the first attempt doesn't go over so smoothly. I mean I've come to trust Obsidian and will still play and love this game. But I think if they ironed out the flaws and issues, then the sequel would be astounding.

[GreasyDogMeat]

Game Trailers video review: 6.4/10

 

GameSpot video review: 6/10

 

Just Push Start: 2.5/5

 

1UP: B+

 

 

So 3 out of 4 are pretty negative. This worried me. But in all honesty I think the negative ones were a bit unfair at times. Havn't heard what Game Informer has to say yet. It"ll probably be negative too. But I have little respect for them these days. These being the people who gave Bioshock and God of War 10s.

 

I don't give a damn personally. I'm still going to play this game and pay my 60 bucks for it with a smile on my face. This won't be the first time I loved a game that the general populace hated. Case-In point Advent Rising.

I find myself a bit torn. On the one hand the mediocre to horrible reviews make me want to cancel my preorder, but the recent AvP got nearly identical reviews from various sources and I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. I still love the multiplayer. Many things the reviewers pointed out, like the awkward controls were spot on, but a lot of it was the reviewers not understanding the setting.

 

Likewise, when I see some of the complaints about AP it looks like reviewers don't get REAL rpgs while some of the complaints, like the AI which they support with video (enemies deciding to disengage from combat and go climb a ladder for some reason) seem spot on. I also don't give a crap about the graphics if the game delivers as an RPG.

[that guy with hair]

Likewise, when I see some of the complaints about AP it looks like reviewers don't get REAL rpgs while some of the complaints, like the AI which they support with video (enemies deciding to disengage from combat and go climb a ladder for some reason) seem spot on. I also don't give a crap about the graphics if the game delivers as an RPG.

The best bits are the conversations, characters and the chance to impact the story. Pretty much like Obisidian's (and their veteran Devs) track record. It's pretty great how many actions will be recorded and affect dialog (e.g. very rewarding when an important character is impressed with you for not taking lives, or never being seen)

 

Graphics and animations look poor, but I did get used to it after a few missions. Anyone who tells you the graphics are fine, even without considering this is a 2010 game, is delusional. This is coming from someone who has replayed Baldur's Gate 2 and Fallout 1/2 countless time, even just last year, so I am no graphics snob.

 

Like reviews say, gameplay is indeed mediocre at best. At times it was truly horrible, I have to say. Occasionally it has its moments, but I ended up rushing through levels towards the end of the game just to try get to the next 'RPGish' bit (i.e. talking to people about my actions and finding out how it will affect the story).

 

Reminds me of action movies. In most of those films, the poor dialog and story just interrupt the great shoot-outs and explosions, except in AP's case it's the other way around.

Edited May 29, 2010 by that guy with hair