Alpha Protocol is $2 on Steam today

[kingcomrade]

Oh no, I don't play non-lethal. That's for pussies. I just try not to get into firefights or set off alarms.

edit- yet another game that can't handle someone with dual screens.

 

[Silellak]

That you were always forced into that position and every single dialogue choice resulted in the same outcome (getting shocked and being forced to fight a few guys unarmed regardless of your martial arts skills) was utterly terrible. If Avellone was my DM I would have pushed the table over and walked out then and there.

Yeah, this was easily the worst part of the game. I actually had the same thought...any DM would tried to pull off such blatant potentially-out-of-character railroading would get kicked in the balls.

"Okay, so your character marches into Marburg's house and meets with him face to face."

"Wait, what? I have a stealth build. Why would I do that?"

"Because I'm too lazy to write an alternative solution or outcome. Also, now you get tasered and have to fight 3 guys hand to hand."

"...I don't have any hand to hand skill! I'm a stealth/pistol build!"

"Well, maybe you should've tried to sneak in instead of just marching up to Marburg. Did you ever think of that? Choices and consequences, bitch."



Yeah, C&C alright...Obsidian makes the Choices for you, and you have to suffer the Consequences of their shitty game design.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

It is literally impossible not to be able to beat those three guys with just basic hand to hand. That or you must suck enormously.

Also, similar complaint counts that JC has no choice but to air the broadcast and get captured and escape UNATCO.

Claiming the C&C in AP is flavour lines and cutscene changes is also a load of bullshit, especially when you remember that even in that category it outperforms most Codex favourites, like Fallout, Bloodlines and Arcanum.

 

[kingcomrade]

Ok so now when I try to run the game again, it spends 3 minutes installing Direct X again, then does that shit where it opens/closes over and over.

 

[Silellak]

It is literally impossible not to be able to beat those three guys with just basic hand to hand. That or you must suck enormously.

Have you done it on all difficulties? I was doing it on the Hardest, and the only way I could survive was to run around the room like a moron while occasionally running close and landing a blow. My "skill" as a gamer has nothing to do with it. If you try to stand and fight, you die. Period.

And no, it's not really comparable to the Deus Ex thing. WHY IS MY STEALTH-BASED CHARACTER MAKING DECISIONS WITHOUT ME? That would've been a perfect opportunity for the game to really shine and offer multiple paths to the same objective based on your character build. Instead, it forces your character - who has probably stealthed through everything else at this point - to decide that maybe stealth isn't so great.

 

[Roguey]

What about slowly building up rep with Leland over the course of the game to potentially unlock another two different endings with a different boss battle (Westridge) and setup?

Endings = different cutscenes, pointless.
As for the choice itself, I went through it and you do the exact same things you'd do if you were going against Leland with absolutely no changes except this time Leland tells you to kill Mina yourself instead of letting the AP guys do it... for some reason. And as for the "different" boss battles here's how it went down:
Leland: Chainshot, instawin.
Westridge: Chainshot, instawin.
I'll only give minor points in AP's favor because you can win the Leland fight without firing a shot (invisibility spell, then use an EMP to unlock the door and it'll automatically go into the cutscene) but that trick won't work on the more combative Westridge. But they still don't feel very different, nothing to put on a pedestal. DS3 also did "doing x unlocks a harder/easier boss" better and I'd still hardly consider it worth mentioning.

 

[AlaCarcuss]

I actually bought it again even though I have a physical copy. £1.50 is a good price to pay for a digital backup of a game I quite enjoyed.

Did the same.

Yeah, I just bought it again by fucking accident. I forgot I already owned the sucker and just hadn't played it yet. Picked it up in a previous sale on another site. Never mind, it was less than a cup of coffee.

Actually, with my insatiable inability to pass up a bargain, along with all the torrenting I do (which just adds to the confusion), I find myself doubling up on occasion. Now, every second game on sale that I'm considering picking up, I'm asking myself - "wait-a-sec, don't I already own this??"

 

[J_C]

I actually bought it again even though I have a physical copy. £1.50 is a good price to pay for a digital backup of a game I quite enjoyed.

Did the same.

Yeah, I just bought it again by fucking accident. I forgot I already owned the sucker and just hadn't played it yet. Picked it up in a previous sale on another site. Never mind, it was less than a cup of coffee.

Actually, with my insatiable inability to pass up a bargain, along with all the torrenting I do (which just adds to the confusion), I find myself doubling up on occasion. Now, every second game on sale that I'm considering picking up, I'm asking myself - "wait-a-sec, don't I already own this??"

I had the same experience a few months before. I bought Europa Universalis on Steam, then I realized that i already owned it in disc format. Oh well, it was cheap.

 

[kingcomrade]

I've done that with a couple games, just to get a backup or my discs were scratched. Beyond Good and Evil was one, Psychonauts another. I think both cost me 5 jewgolds each because they were on sale.

 

[Admiral jimbob]

Picked this up even though I torrented it on release and got bored by the end of Saudi Arabia. Played through SA and Taipei, and it's... really funny, at least? The gameplay's flaky, but overall it's pretty much the game form of a funny-bad B-movie. I know that's partially intentional, but I think they succeeded far more than they meant to. Was worth £1.50.

 

[Sceptic]

Endings = different cutscenes, pointless.

OK, now I'm really curious. What counts as a different ending if final gameplay + end cutscene doesn't?

Go on, I'll wait.

 

[Overweight Manatee]

It is literally impossible not to be able to beat those three guys with just basic hand to hand. That or you must suck enormously.

Have you done it on all difficulties? I was doing it on the Hardest, and the only way I could survive was to run around the room like a moron while occasionally running close and landing a blow. My "skill" as a gamer has nothing to do with it. If you try to stand and fight, you die. Period.

And no, it's not really comparable to the Deus Ex thing. WHY IS MY STEALTH-BASED CHARACTER MAKING DECISIONS WITHOUT ME? That would've been a perfect opportunity for the game to really shine and offer multiple paths to the same objective based on your character build. Instead, it forces your character - who has probably stealthed through everything else at this point - to decide that maybe stealth isn't so great.

You could beat those guys and pretty much every other non-boss enemy in the game by waiting until they started their attack and quickly interrupting. Very, very simple.


I do agree that AP's greatest sin as far as gameplay goes is pretending that stealth is supposed to be a viable option until you get 2/3rds though the game and then WHAM BRICK WALL boss.

 

[Gragt]

Watching Brayko sniff his coke with explosions in the background always makes me laugh.

 

[Roguey]

OK, now I'm really curious. What counts as a different ending if final gameplay + end cutscene doesn't?

Go on, I'll wait.

Multiple endings are just a bonus and nothing praiseworthy. I'd be somewhat impressed if working for Leland actually gave you different goals, but no, no matter how you play the earlier parts of the game, the Gray Box always plays pretty much exactly the same with the same setpieces. The only differences being whether you want the big server room with Parker to play like three different kinds of shit (do you want to kill a bunch of respawning soldiers, Marburg, or hack a terminal and kill Parker?) and a marginally different boss at the end. Compare that to New Vegas, where the Legion ending gives you sufficiently different content in the same area.

 

[Sceptic]

Ok, I misunderstood what you meant, but fair enough, even if I don't agree. Multiple endings affected by an accumulation of choices made throughout the game is a big deal for me in a story-driven game, particularly since so few do it (usually opting instead for Biowarian "pick your ending 30min before the end"). Can't comment on NV as I haven't played it yet.

 

[Multidirectional]

Bros fuck weak-ass C&C in this turd, no matter what choices I make I still end up sitting in front of my computer playing a fucking video game. Fuck this flavor bullshit.

 

[J_C]

Ok, I misunderstood what you meant, but fair enough, even if I don't agree. Multiple endings affected by an accumulation of choices made throughout the game is a big deal for me in a story-driven game, particularly since so few do it (usually opting instead for Biowarian "pick your ending 30min before the end").

I liked the new Deus Ex game, but it was even worse in this regard. You had to choose between 4 endings in the last minute of the game, which resulted in a different outro.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Ok, I misunderstood what you meant, but fair enough, even if I don't agree. Multiple endings affected by an accumulation of choices made throughout the game is a big deal for me in a story-driven game, particularly since so few do it (usually opting instead for Biowarian "pick your ending 30min before the end").

I liked the new Deus Ex game, but it was even worse in this regard. You had to choose between 4 endings in the last minute of the game, which resulted in a different outro.

That really pissed me off. I was expecting my choices throughout the game to have an effect, but no. Would have been nice to have had a particular ending for a non-lethal playthrough, for instance.

 

[St. Toxic]

Waste of money.

 

[Admiral jimbob]

2/3 hubs down. You know what this game mostly reminds me of? Those Choice of ______ games, except instead of absurd 5-minute page loads between every interesting choice and narrative thread, you spend five minutes insipidly popping moles. I want to replay and take the exact opposite track to see how the game plays out, but... no.

 

[Erzherzog]

2/3 hubs down. You know what this game mostly reminds me of? Those Choice of ______ games, except instead of absurd 5-minute page loads between every interesting choice and narrative thread, you spend five minutes insipidly popping moles. I want to replay and take the exact opposite track to see how the game plays out, but... no.

Game taught me one thing, C&C don't mean shit unless there's good combat.

So I guess I joined the combatfags.

 

[Metro]

Whether it is worth $2 or not depends on your tolerance for cover shooters. I have developed zero tolerance for this shitty kind of game mechanics so I don't feel like ever wanting to play this again.

Pretty much why I passed on it -- even for $2.

 

[Admiral jimbob]

Finished it. Glad I only paid £1.50, really. I really want to like the game, but bleh.