TizzytheTormentor said:
I also didn't like Alpha Protocol, mostly because it was full of bugs and the game was a wreck, sneaking was 100% pointless and you weren't penalized for just killing everyone. Also, why do my bullets go all over the place, If I am 8 feet away from someone and I have the crosshair right on their face, why does it hit their shoulder?
- Sneaking wasn't pointless. There is one mission in fact where you get a fantastic perk if you manage it remaining unseen. Failing to stay hidden results in alarms and reinforcements that have an immediate effect on gameplay.
- Your bullets go everywhere because it's an RPG with guns and die rolls, not a shooter with RPG elements. Also, you need to hold your cursor steady for a time (time decreases as skill increases) to get better aim.
- It does penalise you for killing everyone. It penalises you sometimes if you kill a single, specific person. You lose or gain affection with your handler, you miss out on different perks, later missions will be harder because of increased numbers of enemies, a potential friend could become an enemy, you may not get access to some sellers on clearing house, etc.
It wasn't a perfect game by any stretch, though I don't think I encountered many, if any bugs whatsoever, beyond the odd bit of texture pop in. A lot could have been made better (the mini-games, VAing, quicksave instead of checkpoints that prevent you going backwards, more open level design, more weapons and more differences between them). The invisibility thing and regenerating armour thing made no sense in a contemporary setting, even if they work in the genre as a whole.
But it was very far from a wreck. It was, like Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, Fallout: New Vegas, Borderlands and many others, a flawed gem. A brilliant game, brilliantly made but with some serious flaws. Flaws that were unintentional (bugs, AI issues) or intentional (stupid minigames, menus, story or level design). They're still popular, much loved but failed to live up to their potential. Some like Borderlands get a second shot, others don't get the luck.