Alpha Protocol - News Roundup

There are sidequests for sure (though they may or may not be related to the main plot). Perhaps it would be better to say that there are optional missions. In fact, I read somewhere that you can unlock an optional mission as early in the game as in the tutorial (if I read it right) if you do well at the stealth,
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2008
Messages
231
Bitech gives it 5/10.

Sounds a bit harsh..

What really worries me are the complaints about the writing. We knew (at least I knew :p) from the beginning that the game would have arcade-ish elements and I'm pretty much prepared to stats influencing combat a lot more than in Mass Effect (especially the 2nd according to the info I have of its combat system since I still have to try it), but I don't think I can stand a game by Obsidian that has bad writing.
Opinions seems quite mixed though, while I've heard some people complain that the story feels too standards, many other lauded the writing as 'fresh', 'fantastic' etc... I don't really know what to think.
Guess I'll just patiently wait for my copy.
 
Joined
Apr 15, 2010
Messages
250
Well, he completely misunderstood minigames and so on - they rely on skills to make them easier. I'm not too worried due to the review.

Then again, the inconsistent writing and so on worried me a bit, but I'll wait for more reviews to make up my mind (or simply buy the game, it should be out tomorrow).
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
7,583
Location
Bergen
The lack of reviews from the more well-established sites / mags is almost always indicative that the publisher has little faith in the product. A bad sign...
 
Joined
Aug 18, 2008
Messages
15,679
Location
Studio City, CA
I played the game at a friends house today. I had a ton of fun with it, can't wait until Steam unlocks it. After playing it, I'll say that I can't understand people who've reported not liking the game. I think the bit-tech guy is *completely* wrong about some of the things he mentions (the writing and characters in particular). Then again, his past scores are not something I agree with either, so...
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2008
Messages
231
The lack of reviews from the more well-established sites / mags is almost always indicative that the publisher has little faith in the product. A bad sign…

Well, it's not out in the US until Tuesday next week, as opposed to tomorrow in Europe. I remember sites like Gamespot not publishing their review for Dragon Age until just a couple of days before it was out in the US, so on that basis I'd expect to see the big sites reviewing AP at the weekend.
 
Joined
Sep 30, 2009
Messages
210
Location
UK
PC Gamer reviews the month before release. All there is is a weak preview in this month's issue. It's as if Sega was afraid to give advance copies to reviewers. It's not like they weren't available...
 
Joined
Aug 18, 2008
Messages
15,679
Location
Studio City, CA
There's a review embargo for the US until June 1st - release day. This really isn't unusual. That said, I have no doubt the reviews will be mixed. The decision to use RPG stats for shooting will instantly upset some gamers, end of story.

As for the length, yes, it's reportedly not long. But it was clearly designed for re-playability. Have a look at some of the storyboards we posted about during development - you just can't do modern full-voiced branching content like that for 50-100 hours. Major characters like Sie just aren't in the game with certain choices.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
11,842
Location
Sydney, Australia
Yes, I believe you're right. For some reason it's perfectly okay to use stats to determine a sword hitting something, but not a gun hitting something. The latter is bound to upset quite a few players.

Probably has something to do with the number of pure action based shooters out there compared to action based fantasy games.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
7,583
Location
Bergen
The Dragon Age review on PC Gamer was released ahead of the game release date. Of course it got a score above 9. I'll bet the same won't happen for AP.

And there are others, I'm sure. It seems like companies will only allow an early review from a established source if they know they are glowing. Since there are no early AP reviews from established sources, that tells me that it looks bad for AP.

I'll bet I'll be proved right next week.
 
Joined
Aug 18, 2008
Messages
15,679
Location
Studio City, CA
Yes, you'll be proved "right" in that sense. I'm not sure pre-arranged "we'll let you release early if the score is >9/10" proves much, though.

I admit I've barely scratched the surface but on first glance, it doesn't seem worse than ME1, which everyone fell all over themselves to congratulate.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
11,842
Location
Sydney, Australia
Joined
Sep 6, 2009
Messages
884
Location
US
Back
Top Bottom