My Story and why I'm here

[cernex]

Hello, you can call me Cernex. Let me tell you my story and the reason I'm here.

 

I'm an... ex-Bioware fan, I guess you could say. I was a big Bioware fan back when Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age were released for the PS3. Long story short, I loved those games and they were, for quite some time, the only ones I played over and over again. Those two were great titles, albeit a little buggy, but nothing too bad or to make the games unplayable. I thought Bioware was "it" and that, outside the occasional retro game (Splatterhouse) or "franchise" games (Metal Gear, which I've been a fan since Metal Gear Solid back in 96-98), it was going to be pretty much the only company that I would need to follow.

 

Then DA2 came along. I must admit, I never dared touching the game, so I can't complain. Heard the fan outcries, read the reviews, saw the videos on youtube... that for me was more than enough for me to stay as far away as humanly possible from it. I saw how Bioware staff behaved on the forum, and it was such a colossal disappointment...

 

"But no matter," I thought. "A simple slip. Surely Mass Effect 3 is going to make everything worth it."

 

Ironic, ain't it?

 

Long story short: bought it one day after it came out, refusing to listen to the leaks... what a massive mistake. Bugs, bad decisions all over the place, horrible continuity issues in the story, poor production quality, day 1 dlc which (most of it) came already on the disk, the endings, and once again, how Bioware behaved to the fan outcry.

 

I'll stay out of the whole "entitlement" and "artistic integrity" discussion here. Those I've heard enough already.

 

So lo and behold, the company I thought was "it" had in just two games completely disappointment me, and judging from their behavior, they really didn't seem to care much. Mind you, that I can sort of understand: they're a business, after all.

 

That doesn't make it right, or that I should "like", let alone agree with it.

 

So I was, like always, venting on 4chan (and I wasn't the only one, I tell you that), almost as if it was a therapy group of sorts in order to try and deal with what a flop the whole thing had become, when somebody there asked about a game that felt like ME but "could erase the sour taste from my mouth," (wasn't me, btw) and somebody else went "Try Alpha Protocol."

 

Checked a couple of stores, found the title was quite cheap, so I though, "Well, why the hell not? It's cheap enough. Can't be worse than ME3 anyway."

 

Take in account that I really didn't checked youtube vids, clip, reviews... I was as green as they come to this title.

 

Let me tell you something: I think I owe the anon who suggested the title.

 

Although I could go paragraph after paragraph after paragraph describing how much the game has completely blown me away, I think I will rather summarize it with two simple statements:

 

I wasted two years of my life by NOT playing this game when it came out. Obsidian is now the "it" company for me.

 

So that's my tale. Just by mere coincidence of a suggestion from 4chan (of all places), now I'm here, thanking you guys (if the staff reads the forums, of course) personally for making such a great game, a game that managed to remove the horrible taste ME3 left.

 

I'll be buying more of your games as soon as I can.

 

Sorry for taking so long to do so, :/

Edited April 3, 2012 by cernex

[Tigranes]

The devs don't post much, but they definitely read the forums, so you can be sure at least one of them will see this.

 

If you tell us more about what you like / dislike about AP we can probably help you figure out which Obsidian (or non-Obsidian) game you'll most want to go for next.

[cernex]

Honestly? I like that every single choice actually matters (unlike... well, you know...),

 

What I disliked? Huh... well, guessing the graphics were a bit glitchy, and I did get stuck once on a ladder once after I started to go down and suddenly a friendly soldier unit went down too, locking me in place and forcing me to load the last checkpoint.

 

Other than that... I really can't think of anything else. Is "needs more SIE" a valid complain? xD

[Alvin Nelson]

Glad to hear you liked AP.

 

That ladder bug was pretty rare.

[Humodour]

Hey Alvin, is your Xbox gamertag a typo for 'Spliffer'?

 

Edit: Yep, I'm definitely picking up a green vibe.

Edited April 3, 2012 by Krezack

[zinccopper]

Every single choice actually matters:

1. Fallout New Vegas

Quote your sig: "Life sucks, then you change that."

2. NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer

Various outcomes within a strong narrative. Though the story is a direct continuation of the Original Campign of Neverwinter Nights 2.

3. Dungeon Siege III

Your choices mainly change the endings.

4. Knights of the Old Republic II

The choices are mostly about your character's alignment and relationship with companions. However the story is strongly tied to the Bioware's KOTOR.

5. NWN2: Storm of Zehir

There are some small choices, but the whole campaign is quite casual in style, so...

 

Glitches and bugs:

1. Dungeon Siege III

The most polished one, as long as you stay away from the co-op first.

2. Fallout New Vegas

Almost all the bugs and broken things are fixed now. Try not to get it for your PS3. Bethesda's engine tends to dislike that platform.

3. Neverwinter Nights 2

I heard some small bugs like one particular broken spell still exists after myriad of patches. Otherwise as long as you save often and in different slots, it will be alright.

4. Knights of the Old Republic II

The ending is still bugged.

Though you can try the Content Restoration Mod.

[cernex]

Every single choice actually matters:

1. Fallout New Vegas

Quote your sig: "Life sucks, then you change that."

 

Ok, I'll get that next then.

 

2. Fallout New Vegas

Almost all the bugs and broken things are fixed now. Try not to get it for your PS3. Bethesda's engine tends to dislike that platform.

 

Afraid I'm stuck with PS3 only. Have no 360 and I'm running on an Aspire One, first gen. Not the best PC to run games.

 

If I could survive ME2 and ME3 (which were glitch-fests on the PS3), I think I can handle New Vegas.

 

As long as they're not game-crashing or save-corrupting bugs, that is.

Edited April 3, 2012 by cernex

[C2B]

As long as they're not game-crashing or save-corrupting bugs, that is.

 

They are, (Sadly)

[cernex]

Oh jeez... how bad are they?

[80Maxwell08]

Well I like Obsidian a lot too. I have since KOTOR 2 which I like even more than the first. I still need to beat Obsidian's best works (Mask of the Betrayer and if you count this from Black Isle Planescape Torment) but so far I have liked all of their games. Still a word of advice don't have an "it" company at all. Listen to what people say since regardless of what some of the internet says if people actually have problems with a game they aren't just hating on it. Still glad to hear you had a good experience with Alpha Protocol. I need to play that game some more. I have it installed right now but haven't done much with it.

[C2B]

Oh jeez... how bad are they?

 

On the PS3? Really bad. F3 already suffered from it and so did Release Skyrim. Basically at a certain point the game can become unplayable and crash almost instantly. There are examples of people that managed to get through normally but chances are good you are going to encounter it.

[cernex]

Oh jeez... how bad are they?

 

On the PS3? Really bad. F3 already suffered from it and so did Release Skyrim. Basically at a certain point the game can become unplayable and crash almost instantly. There are examples of people that managed to get through normally but chances are good you are going to encounter it.

 

Even with the patches?

[Hassat Hunter]

Welcome.

Yeah, AP is kind of a pearl, that for some strange reason got crushed by the gamerpress and many gamers for reasons unknown. I certainly class it up there with Deus Ex and Vampire: Bloodlines.

 

KOTOR2 should be a lot better now, probably want to wait for 1.8 (soon, not much left to do), and you probably can handle it on your PC since it's so old now (for example, on my old PC I could already max it, while Fallout:NV crawled at 10FPS at the lowest).

 

Can't say I liked DS3 much from the demo, and FN:V (aside from said 10FPS gameplay at no patches at all) and NWN2 Platinum are still unplayed in my Steam account, so can't really tell you much about them...

[Nepenthe]

I've also found it impossible to like more than one studio at a time.

 

[HoonDing]

I've also found it impossible to like more than one studio at a time.

 

The solution is to dislike everything.

 

[Alvin Nelson]

Hey Alvin, is your Xbox gamertag a typo for 'Spliffer'?

 

Edit: Yep, I'm definitely picking up a green vibe.

 

Lol, nah. Spiffer was my tag back in my old Counterstrike days. No idea why I picked it, to be honest.

[kirottu]

Yeah, AP is kind of a pearl, that for some strange reason got crushed by the gamerpress and many gamers for reasons unknown.

 

AP is horribly unbalanced, has shooting mechanic that takes sometime to get used to, was advertised as an action rpg and as an action game it is rather poor, start with unimpressive "GrayBox" level and "OrangeBox" levels.

 

And that's just top of my head. AP is a good game, but it most definitely isn't without it's flaws.

[cernex]

Yeah, AP is kind of a pearl, that for some strange reason got crushed by the gamerpress and many gamers for reasons unknown.

 

AP is horribly unbalanced, has shooting mechanic that takes sometime to get used to, was advertised as an action rpg and as an action game it is rather poor, start with unimpressive "GrayBox" level and "OrangeBox" levels.

 

And that's just top of my head. AP is a good game, but it most definitely isn't without it's flaws.

 

Well, I really never had issues with either balance or its shooting mechanics, being completely honest. I can understand the ad being completely misleading though: this game is many things, but it is NOT an action rpg, let alone an action game per se. Didn't really mind the "GrayBox" levels, since you can actually skip those.

 

I know it has flaws, sure, but the ones I MIND are mostly its graphical glitches and bugs, really.

 

And SIE doesn't appear enough.

[Tigranes]

Depending on your decisions, you can make SIE your handler for the later Moscow missions, and for her to help you out in the final mission - even for you to run off with her in the boat. It's still not as much as Mina or something, but yeah. She does have an 'interesting' scene when she's the one that helps you out of your binds in the last area.

[Sannom]

How did you manage to have SIE with you in the boat? Are you sure you're not confusing with

 

 

Scarlet or Heck?

 

Edited April 3, 2012 by Sannom

[cernex]

Depending on your decisions, you can make SIE your handler for the later Moscow missions, and for her to help you out in the final mission - even for you to run off with her in the boat. It's still not as much as Mina or something, but yeah. She does have an 'interesting' scene when she's the one that helps you out of your binds in the last area.

 

 

 

Oh, that I do know and, needless to say, have done so. Many times.

 

Still not enough SIE time, though.

 

How did you manage to have SIE with you in the boat? Are you sure you're not confusing with

 

 

Scarlet or Heck?

 

 

Just use SIE as your handler for the last mission and don't romance either Mina or Scarlett.

 

Of course, you need to romance her too.

Edited April 3, 2012 by cernex

[Sannom]

Wait a minute, and there isn't one video of that ending on youtube or whatever? Are you kidding me? Of all discussions I've seen about that game, I don't think I ever saw someone mention that ending, heck most of the time I heard people lament that there is no ending with her on the boat. I know the reputation Alpha Protocol as 'This f***ing game' on Something Awful, but come on, that seems too big!

[J.Burke]

Glitches and bugs:

2. Fallout New Vegas

Almost all the bugs and broken things are fixed now.

You, sir, have made me a happy man today.

[Nepenthe]

Depending on your decisions, you can make SIE your handler for the later Moscow missions, and for her to help you out in the final mission - even for you to run off with her in the boat. It's still not as much as Mina or something, but yeah. She does have an 'interesting' scene when she's the one that helps you out of your binds in the last area.

"handler"

[cernex]

Depending on your decisions, you can make SIE your handler for the later Moscow missions, and for her to help you out in the final mission - even for you to run off with her in the boat. It's still not as much as Mina or something, but yeah. She does have an 'interesting' scene when she's the one that helps you out of your binds in the last area.

"handler"

 

Actually, scratch that. The guide I read was apparently wrong. You can't get a SIE ending.

 

Damn shame, really. Was really looking forward to that. Guess the devs didn't know there would be some guys who were going to be into her and her insane accent, xD

Edited April 4, 2012 by cernex