Alpha Protocol deserves way more attention

Pauson · 1年前

putting aside the glitches, crap AI, and wonky shooting

That's probably why it didn't receive more attention. The gameplay is a bit weak, and since it's a game it matters a lot. Yes the story is interesting but if the gameplay is just an obstacle to get more of it then it's a bad design. The story deserves attention, not the game as a whole.

Krautmonster · 1年前

Agreed, I also played this recently and enjoyed A LOT of the aspects of being a spy, and man, that cocaine-fueled boss fight was VERY memorable, had a great scarface feel to it. By no means is this a well polished game and has lots of problems with it, but I think if obsidian were to make a sequel, it'd fix those mistakes. But for getting it on sale for a few bucks, I really enjoyed the game and would definitely give a sequel a chance. Not enough spy games out there.

StarTrekMike · 1年前

I also enjoyed Alpha Protocol but I feel like I was more attached to it's potential than the actual game itself. Perhaps it was because I had hoped that it would (in conjunction with Mass effect) finally provide developers with the incentive to make more dialogue heavy games with less and less focus on everything turning into a action scene.

To put it more directly. I had hopes that it would pave the way for a good Bond game. Alpha Protocol hinted at the idea of actually playing a movie style spy in a way that a lot of games before it failed to live up to.

IAMA_dragon-AMA · 1年前

I absolutely loved both the levels and the dialogue in AP. I really enjoyed the characterizations of nearly all the characters in the game, especially Steven (not Steve. Never Steve) Heck.

There were definitely a few... interesting glitches (the most memorable being in "Intercept Nasri the Arms Dealer," where Mike Thorton would slide vertically up a wall while I used it for cover), but for the most part, nothing even remotely game-breaking, and some things that probably weren't glitches but seemed to be, like Mike's death animation, were hilarious.

The few gripes I have are that I kind of wish I was able to switch handlers more frequently than the start and the end, although I might've just missed something, and for some reason, stealth seems to be the most effective way to get stuff done. Oh, and the computer hacking minigame was terrible to control with keyboard + mouse.

AquaSky · 1年前

I've been playing my way through Alpha Protocol lately, and I agree with this. I like games with lots of player agency and decisions that affect the storyline, which AP has in abundance. Linear shoot-em-ups really don't interest me; this is one of the few action games I've thoroughly enjoyed. Even if the Brayko fight did take me a dozen tries and several threats from my husband to mute the TV.

bigblackcouch · 1年前

I enjoyed Alpha Protocol a lot, I had a great time of playing it, but it had its issues, and those issues were far and away worse when the game came out, which really killed off a lot of positive feedback the game could have had.

Personally the way I played through it though had me almost in tears laughing, I know it can play fine as a spy-thriller but I chose pretty much every option for Mike to be a dick to everyone. Which somehow had me wind up banging 3/4ths of the girls in the game, despite my Mike being a sarcastic asshole to everyone and everything. Also, my character looked like Bob Vila/Al Borland.

Sturm_the_Radio_Mann · 1年前

Alpha Protocol is and remains in my top 5 games. This is despite the glitches, the frustrating boss battles, and some enforced combat sections that don't jive well with the controls.

You feel like you're playing a spy movie, you really do. Except for Tapei and Moscow (which each feel a little self-contained from the plot), it's a solid ride through a classic spy movie and my God is it fun. The setpieces and boss battles are friggin' awesome. Konstantin Brayko's boss fight in particular is amazing. Fighting a Russian street thug while Autograph's "Turn Up The Radio" blares in the background is fun as fuck. That video also does show one of the few downsides I have with the game:

The combat sucks. Well, more specifically, the gunplay sucks. Melee combat, while simplistic, feels good, but the gunplay is weird. You lose accuracy as you move your mouse around, and even at high skill levels weapons are really, really inaccurate, so you spend a lot of time spraying bullets. The PC port just exasperated it, because the PC port was pretty bad.

Overall though, I love the game. The characters and the story. The conversation system is just so good. You get only a few seconds tops to make a choice, and your choice can change a lot. How a person talks to you later, whether they help you or not, whether they'll survive an encounter, it even changes a boss fight a bit. But there's no surprise that the conversations, characters and writing were that good: the game's made by Obsidian. The same guys who did Fallout: New Vegas, Planescape Torment, Fallout 2, and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2. They're usually top notch at this stuff.

It's one of the few games I feel needs a sequel. Not just should have one because the first one was good, but needs one. It flew so far under the radar and got a lot of bad reviews, but I feel there was so much potential that it deserves a second swing at the bat. Bring Obsidian or the new Black Isle Studios on board, get some better gameplay mechanics, some new graphics, a bit of a wider storyline with better choices, and you'd get a great game.

AmnesiaCane · 1年前

I played through a good chunk of it. It had many choices, a really strong spy story, and it made you want to keep playing. It does those things, and those things only, really well.

Unfortunately, the game seemed to be fighting, at a core level, to keep me from enjoying it. I had to restart my game twice due to a game-changing glitch that totally corrupted my save. In literally every cut scene, random angles suddenly ran off into infinity. Random objects flashed like they were taken from a rave scene. Combat was completely broken, some skills and weapons were utterly useless, others were so powerful they were boring. It was not fun to play at all.

Alpha Protocol had really great writing, and one of the top two or three choice systems in any game. But, seriously, it's a terrible, embarrassingly unfinished game. It's like trying to bake a cake, and you use great, interesting ingredients, but it tastes bad, looks like it was dropped on at least two occasions, wasn't even close to finished baking, and under some of the frosting, there's not cake, there's just vacant, open space.

maico3010 · 1年前

I will say this much, I too got it on steam during a sale. It still remains the best 2 dollar game I've ever bought.

The dialog is engaging and the gameplay isn't too bad. I didn't hit too many glitches that I can remember and for a stealth game the AI was decent as well.

My only regret is that I didn't play it through as thought I was Archer on the first play through =/

flyliceplick · 1年前

I loved the game to bits and have argued friends to a standstill about it. I'd gladly play AP again rather than Mass Effect or pretty much any other modern RPG. I played it on PS3, and there were very few bugs, and I absolutely adored how the story was implemented, the conversation and decision system, the gameplay possibilities, and the sheer amount of options open to you.

I've played through it several times, and it's a classic.

Sturm_the_Radio_Mann · 1年前

I'm a little confused about everyone agreeing that Alpha Protocol had "wonky shooting". I played AP on PC, and I have zero memory about game having bad shooting mechanisms. Sure, I had low expectations about the game because I bought it for 2€ in Steam sale and I'm quite familiar with games like Surgeon Simulator or QWOP that have bad controls on purpose, but I remember it had okay shooting system and one of the best stories and dialogue options in any games.

What was so bad about shooting? Was it worse on consoles (then again, every shooter is just horrible to play with a controller IMO)? Was sniping or other long range shooting bad (I played with shotgun)?

Edit: If you are interested in buying Alpha Protocol but you're afraid of the alleged wonky controls, I recommend tanky shotgun/close combat dude. And playing with keyboard+mouse, but I recommend that to every game, even when the game itself tells you play it with controller (looking at you Super Meat Boy).

HeloRising · 1年前

AP was a great concept that had shaky execution.

There was so much that was just glossed over in the story department that could have led to so much interesting interactions that the designers didn't take.

It also didn't help that the game was buggy as shit and could have some seriously screwy AI.

If it got a re-release or a massive overhaul I could see it getting more attention than it got.

Cryse_XIII · 1年前

it is already in the list of best RPG's of all time, I believe under the top50 or 30.

the mechanics are working great, some are unbalanced though, which I don't mind since its a single player game. Max out stealth and you are good for the entire game.

then there is stuff we have seen already like the hacking, it's entertaining but nothing new, we have seen it in bioshock and the like.

seriously this game came out for the ps3 when the main demographic was all over graphics, and during that time I heard them bash the game for its poor opening cinematic. I'd blame the graphics for its downfall rather than its poor AI and mediocre shooting.

Non_Causa_Pro_Causa · 1年前

For what it's worth, the bugs don't appear so much in the console versions (for whatever reason). A lot of things people bring up with respect to difficulty (hacking, etc.) are also considerably easier. I know people get up in arms with the PC Master Race stuff, but I think the QA might've not been as good on the PC version (perhaps because it was Sega?).

At any rate, I'll always defend Alpha Protocol as an experience because I feel it's an apex of choice and consequence in games. You just can't beat it for reactivity with respect to character choice in a modern game.

I think the setting (present day, present time... fairly grounded sorta) is somewhat unusual, as is the role as a spy. What bothers me most about the reception is that it seems it might doom that sort of setting for RPGs by its failure despite being such a stellar game in many ways.

PM_ME_UR_RAINBOWS · 1年前

Alpha Protocol seemed like an excellent game, but I could never get past the first hacking minigame, thus I could never complete even the tutorial. Since I suffer from a mild form of dyslexia that has to do with rows arrangements, I simply am unable to play this game.

EquipLordBritish · 1年前

but putting aside the glitches, crap AI, and wonky shooting (along with the PS2/XB era boss battles)

I'm pretty sure these reasons are exactly why I played the game for 20 min and then never touched it again. I could go back and reinstall it to make sure, but judging by your consensus with my memory, I'll pass.

arcainzor · 1年前

I had the opposite experience, where I felt none of my actions warranted the shitty ending I got. To be honest I probably just really fucked up someplace and everything happened for a reason.

Phos_ · 1年前

You got me interested, so I go to check on Steam... but then

An error was encountered while processing your request: This item is currently unavailable in your region

I guess I'll pass on this one.

xtravar · 1年前

I played it through two or three times in a row. Few games do that to me. It's good to hear other people enjoyed it, as well, since I was really bummed when they announced no sequel.

NeuerOrdner · 1年前

I liked the story and the way they handled the question about morality. The fact that the game didn't apply any arbitrary binary moral-scale to you was refreshing and even though it didn't you still felt bad for some decision you had to take.

Like for example the decision to let Madison die to defuse the bomb.

However, the game itself was abysmal. Through the whole game I didn't really enjoy myself but was forced to complete it due partially my completionist-attitude towards games and due to me being interested in the story.

It could also be the case that me trying to "Deus-Ex" the game, when allmost every mission was finished with a huge fucking shoot-out, was hindering my enjoyment. I only skilled stealth, hacking and the gadget-tree if I recall correctly, but was later forced to cheese my way out of allmost every bossfight with the retardedly strong pistol-skill that let you shoot a whole mag into your enemys head in an instant.

It was a bad game, with an outstanding storyline and delivery of that story. I'd probably have had more fun with it in a VN-form.

sofawall · 1年前

I just remember that after rebinding keys, I was completely unable to participate in the hacking minigame, making the game impossible to complete. Kinda said fucck it at that point.

Falcker · 1年前

Now, now, I know that's a grandiose claim, but putting aside the glitches, crap AI, and wonky shooting

No.

You don't just ignore 90% of the gameplay because the last 10% is good.

truegaming

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