Yay!

[Oblarg]

Gamersgate just put up the Alpha Protocol serial key.

 

Time to play.

[MysterD]

Cool. Gonna give us some impressions, once you've taking a break after a good deal of playing?

[kirottu]

Meh. I

[Oblarg]

Just played through Saudi Arabia hub and arrived in Rome.

 

The gameplay isn't fantastic, but it's not terrible. The stealth walking animation is pretty bad, but overall I still feel like a badass super-spy most of the time. Been playing almost exclusively with the pistol. It feels a lot less clunky once you realize how the mechanics actually work and stop trying to snipe people from 100+ yards away - you won't hit someone at that range unless you're incredibly lucky, regardless of your aim. Chain shot is ****ing awesome, though - removes the range limit on the pistol, so you can snipe away if you get into trouble. The stealth is pretty good, as well, though it's a bit unforgiving and it's very difficult to go through a level without being spotted at least once. The good news is that the levels are segmented - being spotted in one area only alerts the guards in that area, so it doesn't ruin the rest of the level.

 

The dialogue flows very nicely, and the plot is thickening. Can't wait to see how it unfolds.

 

So far I'd give it an 8.5 to 9.

 

Edit: The hacking minigame is nowhere near impossible. I have no skill in technical aptitude or sabotage, and I can handle all of the minigames without issue. It strikes a nice balance between being challenging and being annoying, something that most minigames can't manage (all the ME2 minigames were mindnumbingly easy).

Edited May 31, 2010 by Oblarg

[Oner]

Edit: The hacking minigame is nowhere near impossible. I have no skill in technical aptitude or sabotage, and I can handle all of the minigames without issue. It strikes a nice balance between being challenging and being annoying, something that most minigames can't manage (all the ME2 minigames were mindnumbingly easy).

Maybe it's just my lag speaking, but code-breaking and lock picking after the 2nd hub became nigh impossible.

[Tigranes]

Might be the clunky controls for the hacking, I get almost every hack attempt within 10 seconds now. Would be faster with better controls (as probably intended).

[Thorton_AP]

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon

 

But not fast enough! :D

[Oblarg]

So, I'm not quite sure how any reviewer could have given this a 2/10. I've beaten Rome and Moscow now, and the combat is getting quite good - now that my pistol skill is nearly maxed, I can land a critical strike from across a fairly large room, and chain shot is as awesome as ever. They could have made the weapons a bit less pathetic at the lower skill levels, sure, but the combat is actually pretty good once the game gets going.

 

The graphics aren't anything spectacular, but they're good enough to not be a nuisance - they're about on par with DA:O.

 

Plot is great so far.

[Tigranes]

The 2/10 was a joke review.

[Deng]

I read that review.

 

 

Is the 360 version completely different? Did the guy have a pre-release version? Or was he just plain lying?

 

 

I have played 1.5x through now and things like bullets going through cover have NEVER happened to me. I read that review after I played the first time and many of the issues seemed like either total fabrication or willful ignorance (i.e. ignoring the RPG element)

[Zoraptor]

To be fair, he's pretty (in)famous for his reviews and their (lack of) quality, and there's a fair chance he is doing it deliberately but without any malign intent.

Edited June 1, 2010 by Zoraptor

[kirottu]

Meh. I

[Morgoth]

Meh. I

[Flouride]

Meh. I

[Oblarg]

Just finished my first playthrough. That was a blast. Never saw the ending coming - though I'm pretty sure it'll be quite different on my next playthrough.

 

The main thing about combat (at least with the pistol) is that it differs from your average shooter in that to be effective you have to be able to hold the reticle over the target for a few seconds before firing. Spamming shot after shot, even if they're well-aimed, is just a way to waste ammo. It's a bit more meticulous than your average shooter, but once you figure it out it works very well.

Edited June 1, 2010 by Oblarg