As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/
Options

Alpha Protocol:The **** offspring of Ronald Reagan and an **** American Ninja !!!

15657586062

Posts

  • Options
    AlsoDAlsoD Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    I think the thing that made this game worth it for me (although I've only done one Chainshotting playthrough) is that, unlike ME2 or Dragon Age, you can't get in a loop in a conversation. This is bliss.

    AlsoD on
  • Options
    seabassseabass Doctor MassachusettsRegistered User regular
    edited August 2010
    Fiaryn wrote: »
    Spoit wrote: »
    If you got through Russia, and still think it's awesome, the only potential area that might sour you now is some of the bullshit in the last level. The boss fight, and mission before it in Moscow are the biggest complaints of people that were able to get through Saudi

    Something whined about by whiners.

    Shit is easy, don't believe them.

    I didn't find it to be that bad, even though I was totally optimized against those sections, what with my heavy reliance on stealth and kung fu.

    Also, now that I've beaten the game I have two things to say:

    Punching that goose in the throat was one of the most satisfying thing in the history of ever.

    I don't understand the massive hate for the game. I also don't understand the massive love. It was alright, I might even pick it up and play again on veteran some day, but I'm in no rush to play again. To each their own I suppose.

    seabass on
    Run you pigeons, it's Robert Frost!
  • Options
    C2BC2B SwitzerlandRegistered User regular
    edited August 2010
    AlsoD wrote: »
    I think the thing that made this game worth it for me (although I've only done one Chainshotting playthrough) is that, unlike ME2 or Dragon Age, you can't get in a loop in a conversation. This is bliss.

    That's actually my most beloved thing about the game too. Conversations actually felt real in a game with Dialogtree.

    C2B on
  • Options
    FiarynFiaryn Omnicidal Madman Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    No conversation loops is something more RPGs need. Sure, having only one shot at a conversation is more unforgiving but goddamn it does help make things feel less hokey.

    Fiaryn on
    Soul Silver FC: 1935 3141 6240
    White FC: 0819 3350 1787
  • Options
    jefe414jefe414 "My Other Drill Hole is a Teleporter" Mechagodzilla is Best GodzillaRegistered User regular
    edited August 2010
    Yeah it was really the next gen of dialog. Picking the "mood" of what I am saying (plus action options like headslam) was a nice "next step". The play mechanics were.... OK I guess. I had fun and everything and I'll go through it a couple more times I'm sure (recruit and veteran).

    jefe414 on
    Xbox Live: Jefe414
  • Options
    seabassseabass Doctor MassachusettsRegistered User regular
    edited August 2010
    jefe414 wrote: »
    Yeah it was really the next gen of dialog. Picking the "mood" of what I am saying (plus action options like headslam) was a nice "next step". The play mechanics were.... OK I guess. I had fun and everything and I'll go through it a couple more times I'm sure (recruit and veteran).

    Some of the responses were way out of the scope of what I'd imagine he'd say with the given mood. I wish it would have the mood, then expand the text somehow. Like maybe printed, or maybe he thinks what he's about to say or something. There was something unnerving about just going into the next step of the conversation partially oblivious to what you were about to say.

    I did love that there weren't loops though. That was nice.

    seabass on
    Run you pigeons, it's Robert Frost!
  • Options
    cooljammer00cooljammer00 Hey Small Christmas-Man!Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    I want to be able to do a Veteran run eventually because I want to feel like a badass, but getting through Recruit might be tough with the smaller amount of starting points.

    cooljammer00 on
    steam_sig.png

    3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
    Battle.Net: JohnDarc#1203 Origin/UPlay: CoolJammer00
  • Options
    SpoitSpoit *twitch twitch* Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    It's not really that much more difficult. But if you really want to get through it quickly, go easy and do a "shoot first, ask questions never" run

    Spoit on
    steam_sig.png
  • Options
    captainkcaptaink TexasRegistered User regular
    edited August 2010
    Focus on toughness, technical aptitude and a 'loud' weapon skill. Then blaze through with zero finesse.

    captaink on
  • Options
    StollsStolls Brave Corporate Logo Chicago, ILRegistered User regular
    edited August 2010
    C2B wrote: »
    AlsoD wrote: »
    I think the thing that made this game worth it for me (although I've only done one Chainshotting playthrough) is that, unlike ME2 or Dragon Age, you can't get in a loop in a conversation. This is bliss.

    That's actually my most beloved thing about the game too. Conversations actually felt real in a game with Dialogtree.

    They don't loop, per se, but on my first playthrough three separate characters went over the exact same information twice in the same conversation; was most noticeable with Brayko, after Surkov admitted
    he had past dealings with Halbech. Brayko tried to confront me with it, Mike went all "Yeah, I know," then a couple options later Brayko mentioned it again and Mike acted like it was new information.

    Then upon chasing down Surkov, he basically repeated what he said at his office as if that was new information. It took a second playthrough to make any sense of what was going on there.

    I've gathered that the game gets kinda weird if there are big gaps in your dossiers.

    Stolls on
    kstolls on Twitch, streaming weekends at 9pm CST!
    Now playing: Teardown and Baldur's Gate 3 (co-op)
    Sunday Spotlight: Horror Tales: The Wine
  • Options
    AstaleAstale Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    I want to be able to do a Veteran run eventually because I want to feel like a badass, but getting through Recruit might be tough with the smaller amount of starting points.

    I did Recruit as my first playthrough and I can assure you the old standby "stealth+pistols" will see you through! I mean, it may be a teensy bit harder, but you're still going to be deadeye the invisoninja by about the halfway point.

    Astale on
  • Options
    seabassseabass Doctor MassachusettsRegistered User regular
    edited August 2010
    Astale wrote: »
    I want to be able to do a Veteran run eventually because I want to feel like a badass, but getting through Recruit might be tough with the smaller amount of starting points.

    I did Recruit as my first playthrough and I can assure you the old standby "stealth+pistols" will see you through! I mean, it may be a teensy bit harder, but you're still going to be deadeye the invisoninja by about the halfway point.

    Yeah, but there are a couple of forced firefights that are a real bear as a result.

    seabass on
    Run you pigeons, it's Robert Frost!
  • Options
    gjaustingjaustin Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    Just beat Taiwan this weekend.

    The boss fight was a bit BS, but I'm loving this so far. I really like how much your choices seem to affect your missions.

    I also stopped right before Shadow Operative in Stealth, which is making a stealth playthrough quite exciting.

    gjaustin on
  • Options
    BiopticBioptic Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    seabass wrote: »
    There was something unnerving about just going into the next step of the conversation partially oblivious to what you were about to say.

    I actually found this to be an eerily accurate simulation of my own conversations.

    Bioptic on
  • Options
    urahonkyurahonky Resident FF7R hater Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    Jesus. The entire game was great, minus a few bosses, and minus the last two bosses.
    Darcy killed me a TON till I found out that you can use the sniper rifle in the second tower.

    And the last boss. Seriously, what the fuck? How is it possible to make it through the game as a martial artist if you can't kill him???

    e: Overall this game got a bad rep for some odd reason. It was definitely good.

    Question, is there a new game plus? I clicked resume but that took me to that last fight again.

    urahonky on
  • Options
    SpoitSpoit *twitch twitch* Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    Not quite. Veteran gets you a bucketload of stat points and a few easter eggs.

    And you can get to the very last boss, you just have to go around the catwalk to the door. Once you get inside, he dies incredibly easily to melee

    Spoit on
    steam_sig.png
  • Options
    SheepSheep Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    edited August 2010
    urahonky wrote: »
    Jesus. The entire game was great, minus a few bosses, and minus the last two bosses.
    Darcy killed me a TON till I found out that you can use the sniper rifle in the second tower.

    And the last boss. Seriously, what the fuck? How is it possible to make it through the game as a martial artist if you can't kill him???

    e: Overall this game got a bad rep for some odd reason. It was definitely good.

    Question, is there a new game plus? I clicked resume but that took me to that last fight again.

    Closest to New Game + is veteran.

    Sheep on
  • Options
    urahonkyurahonky Resident FF7R hater Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    Spoit wrote: »
    Not quite. Veteran gets you a bucketload of stat points and a few easter eggs.

    And you can get to the very last boss, you just have to go around the catwalk to the door. Once you get inside, he dies incredibly easily to melee

    I didn't realize you can walk around the catwalk. I tried to enter the room, but it looked blocked off..

    What's this Veteran you speak of? Difficulty?

    urahonky on
  • Options
    urahonkyurahonky Resident FF7R hater Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    Oh I see. Shit I have to beat the game again as a recruit to unlock veteran?

    urahonky on
  • Options
    SpoitSpoit *twitch twitch* Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    Just go easy and take the 4th option to kill everyone. Can probably do it in less than a dozen hours

    Spoit on
    steam_sig.png
  • Options
    cooljammer00cooljammer00 Hey Small Christmas-Man!Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    That ice cream man did nothing wrong!

    cooljammer00 on
    steam_sig.png

    3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
    Battle.Net: JohnDarc#1203 Origin/UPlay: CoolJammer00
  • Options
    OlivawOlivaw good name, isn't it? the foot of mt fujiRegistered User regular
    edited August 2010
    Still don't care for the shooting in this game

    Not at all

    Olivaw on
    signature-deffo.jpg
    PSN ID : DetectiveOlivaw | TWITTER | STEAM ID | NEVER FORGET
  • Options
    SpoitSpoit *twitch twitch* Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    And I still say that the gunplay was more fun for me than ME2.

    Opinions!

    Spoit on
    steam_sig.png
  • Options
    OlivawOlivaw good name, isn't it? the foot of mt fujiRegistered User regular
    edited August 2010
    Well your opinion is wrong

    Olivaw on
    signature-deffo.jpg
    PSN ID : DetectiveOlivaw | TWITTER | STEAM ID | NEVER FORGET
  • Options
    JohnDoeJohnDoe Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    Olivaw wrote: »
    Still don't care for the shooting in this game

    Not at all

    Agreed, except for the pistols. It feels quite badass staying in cover while a guy sprays your position with bullets, and you calmly headshot him with a blindfire from cover. Chain shot was cool too, but it got too powerful with 3 shots+.

    The game was still awesome. Its level of interactivity has ruined me for other games now :(

    JohnDoe on
  • Options
    urahonkyurahonky Resident FF7R hater Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    Well I got the game from Gamefly. Now I have to decide if I want to keep it till I beat it on Recruit or send it back and try again later when the game isn't so fresh in my head.

    I think I may send it back. I have too many games in my queue to marry one for now.

    urahonky on
  • Options
    SpoitSpoit *twitch twitch* Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    Up to you, but if you did a professional runthrough first, like most people, you should seriously think about a psychopath run. It's way more rewarding

    Spoit on
    steam_sig.png
  • Options
    urahonkyurahonky Resident FF7R hater Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    Spoit wrote: »
    Up to you, but if you did a professional runthrough first, like most people, you should seriously think about a psychopath run. It's way more rewarding

    Oh I know. I just finished the Saudi missions already. :P Feels good to click "execute" every time it shows up. I just don't know. Are (is? I can't tell) there any DLC planned?

    urahonky on
  • Options
    SpoitSpoit *twitch twitch* Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    Nope, how would you make it fit with all the interactivity anyway? And SEGA is dragging their feet at even getting a patch out.

    Spoit on
    steam_sig.png
  • Options
    urahonkyurahonky Resident FF7R hater Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    They could open a new safehouse apart from the 3 that you choose from. Do the missions there to get some new armor or something. I'm not sure. :P

    urahonky on
  • Options
    urahonkyurahonky Resident FF7R hater Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    But seriously this game got way too much heat. There is no reason for it either. I mean, damn, it got a 5.5 on Gamefly's rating. That's just sad. Oh well. I think this will be the game people play in a few years and say "damn, I wish they would have made another one of these".

    urahonky on
  • Options
    StollsStolls Brave Corporate Logo Chicago, ILRegistered User regular
    edited August 2010
    The AR felt all right to me, at least it has an actual reticule that narrows without needing a target first. My last run maxed out rifles with martial arts as a back-up, didn't even bother with chain shot. APDS rounds are good for damaging bosses in one burst by quickly getting through armor; made the Taipei boss a lot easier since I could soften him up along the scaffolding.

    It's still not as tight as I'd like it to be, and there are a lot of environmental hiccups, but the gameplay has grown on me. Delivering one of those slow-mo snap-kicks into a pile of dudes and then running around stomping them is immensely satisfying.

    Stolls on
    kstolls on Twitch, streaming weekends at 9pm CST!
    Now playing: Teardown and Baldur's Gate 3 (co-op)
    Sunday Spotlight: Horror Tales: The Wine
  • Options
    subediisubedii Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    urahonky wrote: »
    But seriously this game got way too much heat. There is no reason for it either. I mean, damn, it got a 5.5 on Gamefly's rating. That's just sad. Oh well. I think this will be the game people play in a few years and say "damn, I wish they would have made another one of these".

    At a guess it's pretty much because coming after Mass Effect, the reviewers expected it to play like Mass Effect. When in actuality its mechanics hew closer to Deus Ex.

    subedii on
  • Options
    SpoitSpoit *twitch twitch* Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    It actually doesn't play that dissimilarly from ME1. You just get upgrades to make the shooting more accurate a lot faster and with greater effect in the other.

    What really killed it was coming out after ME2.

    Spoit on
    steam_sig.png
  • Options
    The WolfmanThe Wolfman Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    I just gave this game a rent on a lark. So far it doesn't seem that bad. The dialog system is pretty neat.

    But if everybody is talking about the combat, then so far I have to agree in saying that it's rubbish. It really came to a head when I was doing some mission where I had to clear the area for a chopper to land. There's a guy, he's not 15 feet in front of me, standing in the open. I'm in cover. I put my targeting reticule on him. I fire my pistol. 2 full clips later, his health bar still hasn't moved half way. I don't know what the hell is going on, but something feels fundamentally broken when I shoot at things, and they don't get hit. The only way I can reliably hit and kill something is to wait the 5 seconds for the cursor to turn red, but you have to be less than 5 feet away for that to work.

    Gonna keep plugging away at it, because it seems like a genuinely interesting game. But these shooting mechanics are wrong. I don't know how you can cock something that basic up.

    The Wolfman on
    "The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
  • Options
    SpoitSpoit *twitch twitch* Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    You're in cover, even if they fire at you, you're going to take next to no damage. So take your time and wait for the aiming reticule to tighten.

    Or if you want to keep firing a lot, use the SMG's, they're the spray and pray weapons, not pistols.

    Spoit on
    steam_sig.png
  • Options
    AlazullAlazull Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    I just gave this game a rent on a lark. So far it doesn't seem that bad. The dialog system is pretty neat.

    But if everybody is talking about the combat, then so far I have to agree in saying that it's rubbish. It really came to a head when I was doing some mission where I had to clear the area for a chopper to land. There's a guy, he's not 15 feet in front of me, standing in the open. I'm in cover. I put my targeting reticule on him. I fire my pistol. 2 full clips later, his health bar still hasn't moved half way. I don't know what the hell is going on, but something feels fundamentally broken when I shoot at things, and they don't get hit. The only way I can reliably hit and kill something is to wait the 5 seconds for the cursor to turn red, but you have to be less than 5 feet away for that to work.

    Gonna keep plugging away at it, because it seems like a genuinely interesting game. But these shooting mechanics are wrong. I don't know how you can cock something that basic up.

    Pistols are meant to be used surgically, you can't just fire wildly and expect anything to come of it besides wasting ammo and maybe getting yourself killed. They're the weapon to use if you want an extremely accurate and quiet (since they're the only weapon with an actual silencer) kill, or tranq someone. Also, I've definitely noticed that the damage decreases the further away you are unless you have high Pistol skill and line up a Crit.

    Assault Rifles do a little more damage, but they're kind of the long range version of the Pistol. They're about setting up a shot on something and killing it, then moving on to the next target. When firing on the run without aiming, they definitely don't shine, but they'll get the job done.

    Shotguns are the room sweepers. If you get close enough with the shotgun, anything you line up with can die. The thing is, you have to get close enough to the enemy that they could just run up and melee your ass.

    Submachine guns are the real damage dealers at a distance. They're all about killing the shit out of shit as fast as possible. As a matter of fact, the more shots you land, the more damage you do. So if you're all about killing stuff quickly while being able to move, this is what you bring to that party.

    And all four weapons do perform markedly better the more points you put into them. Like someone with maxed Pistols will probably use them over other weapons simply because he has the ability to line up eight head shots that are all crits anyway, so why would he use a shotgun?

    I'll give you the combat system in the game could use some more polish, but it is actually pretty darn fun if you get right down to it.

    Alazull on
    User name Alazull on Steam, PSN, Nintenders, Epic, etc.
  • Options
    jefe414jefe414 "My Other Drill Hole is a Teleporter" Mechagodzilla is Best GodzillaRegistered User regular
    edited August 2010
    I'm still not sure why people expect this game to play like a 3rd person shooter. It isn't. Sure, same camera, you can take cover, etc. but it isn't a shooter. At all, period. If you don't like that, cool. Not a problem, personal opinions and all that but for those reviewers, getting mad at a game for not playing the way you want it to is simply stupid. "I hate Alpha Protocol/ME2/Fallout3 because it isn't Street Fighter and that is what I wanted/expected".

    jefe414 on
    Xbox Live: Jefe414
  • Options
    captainkcaptaink TexasRegistered User regular
    edited August 2010
    jefe414 wrote: »
    I'm still not sure why people expect this game to play like a 3rd person shooter. It isn't. Sure, same camera, you can take cover, etc. but it isn't a shooter. At all, period. If you don't like that, cool. Not a problem, personal opinions and all that but for those reviewers, getting mad at a game for not playing the way you want it to is simply stupid. "I hate Alpha Protocol/ME2/Fallout3 because it isn't Street Fighter and that is what I wanted/expected".

    When it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it's not unreasonable to expect it is a duck "with RPG elements".

    captaink on
  • Options
    initiatefailureinitiatefailure Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    captaink wrote: »
    jefe414 wrote: »
    I'm still not sure why people expect this game to play like a 3rd person shooter. It isn't. Sure, same camera, you can take cover, etc. but it isn't a shooter. At all, period. If you don't like that, cool. Not a problem, personal opinions and all that but for those reviewers, getting mad at a game for not playing the way you want it to is simply stupid. "I hate Alpha Protocol/ME2/Fallout3 because it isn't Street Fighter and that is what I wanted/expected".

    When it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it's not unreasonable to expect it is a duck "with RPG elements".

    It's also not unreasonable to expect it to be an rpg simply standing on duck feet with a duck bill. essentially no review should be based on preconceived notions. Unfortunately that's not always the case even in the more academic world of writing, let alone game reviewing, which I guess a lot of people consider satan's armpit for journalism.

    initiatefailure on
This discussion has been closed.