Zero Punctuation: Alpha Protocol

[Enoch]

I thought it was a pretty fair review. I must confess the plot lost me as well sometimes. I felt like you didn't spend enough time at each hub to fully understand the nature and purpose of each mission besides trying to stop Halbech.

That's a fair point. Taipei was pretty well directed in that you know from the outset that Halbech is involved in a plot to assassinate Sung, and that you're trying to figure out who else is involved and prevent it. But the other two hubs were essentially stumbling around until you find out who the lead antagonist is, then focusing on defeating that guy. The connection to the overall story gets a little lost.

 

 

Edit: I rather liked the "poncemaster general" line.

Edited June 17, 2010 by Enoch

[Thorton_AP]

I was able to successfully melee Brayko.

 

Aside from Darcy, I don't think there's a single person you can't beat with high martial arts skill, especially if you have stealth.

 

Against Brayko all I did was hide and Shadow Op, then I ran up beside him and did a 6 hit combo on him or so. I immediately put him into cokehead mode, and when game control was restored I comboed him to death.

 

This is on Normal.

 

/shrug.

 

I may have used Fury. I don't remember.

[zkylon]

I think the plot not making sense is part of the charm. Together with no saving and dialoguse sytem it adds to the general sense of dealing blindly with forces greater than you.

I got more of a feeling that Mike knows more than me rather than i don't understand what forces are in motion here.

 

That's a fair point. Taipei was pretty well directed in that you know from the outset that Halbech is involved in a plot to assassinate Sung, and that you're trying to figure out who else is involved and prevent it. But the other two hubs were essentially stumbling around until you find out who the lead antagonist is, then focusing on defeating that guy. The connection to the overall story gets a little lost.

Exactly. It was kind of predictable that Halbech was trying to build up global tensions (in fact, i think Mike says it around the beginning of the game) but how what you were doing in each place relates to that is sometimes lost.

[Kileyan]

As far as Zero reviews go, that was actually a positive review.

[Niten_Ryu]

Good review.

 

Mike is ultimate douchebag

[C2B]

I think the plot not making sense is part of the charm. Together with no saving and dialoguse sytem it adds to the general sense of dealing blindly with forces greater than you.

 

Uhmmm, the plot makes sense actually. Very much, even. It's just complicated. There's a difference.

 

Godd review. Anyway. I'm glad.

[Oner]

Exactly. It was kind of predictable that Halbech was trying to build up global tensions (in fact, i think Mike says it around the beginning of the game) but how what you were doing in each place relates to that is sometimes lost.

Isn't every hub-centered game like that? Which is the reason I don't like it.

[C2B]

Exactly. It was kind of predictable that Halbech was trying to build up global tensions (in fact, i think Mike says it around the beginning of the game) but how what you were doing in each place relates to that is sometimes lost.

Isn't every hub-centered game like that? Which is the reason I don't like it.

 

Uhmmm, which hub do you mena?

 

First of all: Micheal goes to every city just KNOWING that Halbech is somehow involved here. He does NOT know what exactly they do. So he has to gather intel.

 

Moscow was about arms dealership. Where the origin of Halbechs weapon dealership lies.

Tapei was about a planned assassination

Rome was about a planned Terrorist attack

 

After that, he realizes that the only chance to lure Leland/Halbech out is to surrender to Alpha Protocol which starts the endgame.

 

There are lots of other plotthreads to the story, but I have met NONE that didn't make sense in the Alpha Protocol continuity.

 

They even managed to avoid (I was burned by my own agency) Which does mostly not make sense for various reasons with the NSA and Mina.

 

 

So yeah, complicated NOT plotholes

[zkylon]

Isn't every hub-centered game like that? Which is the reason I don't like it.

Probably. I think Deus Ex did a better job at that, even if it most Deus Ex was spent jumping from mission to mission.

 

And no one' saying there were plotholes (at least not right now), it's just hard to follow it when there's so much going on and so little time spent on developing the unfolding of each particular event. The overall plot in fact is very basic regardless of what you do, but the way it's told and the amount of secret agendas and sometimes lack of proper explanation (as in, who's the Gelato Guy, what's the real deal with Heck, etc...) turns out making appear more complex than it is. It's all in-character with the game's context and style but it gets difficult to track.

[C2B]

Isn't every hub-centered game like that? Which is the reason I don't like it.

Probably. I think Deus Ex did a better job at that, even if it most Deus Ex was spent jumping from mission to mission.

 

And no one' saying there were plotholes (at least not right now), it's just hard to follow it when there's so much going on and so little time spent on developing the unfolding of each particular event. The overall plot in fact is very basic regardless of what you do, but the way it's told and the amount of secret agendas and sometimes lack of proper explanation (as in, who's the Gelato Guy, what's the real deal with Heck, etc...) turns out making appear more complex than it is. It's all in-character with the game's context and style but it gets difficult to track.

 

True, its very character focused.

[Kasabian]

That was actually quite a restrained review for him. He obviously liked the game.

[Fallen Ghost]

Don't get me wrong I absolutely love AP and consider it better than any and all RPGs released since KotOR but I have to agree with pretty much everything that Yahtzee said....took me about 3 playthroughs to really get a grasp of the finer details of the game and another 5+ playthroughs to earn all 50 achievements as well as see another billion variations of the ending lol. But yeah all his criticism is spot on.....plus like the others said Yahtzee wasn't nearly close to as harsh on this game as he was on 99.9% of the other games he reviewed....for him that's high praise.