Review: Alpha Protocol

[Nimzabaat]

PS3 must be a bad port, i haven't encountered any of the problems the reviewer had in the Xbox 360 version. Actually i haven't noticed any bugs in the AI that are unique to AP (enemies think they are in cover when they're not fully covered, like Mass Effect, Army of Two (both) Gears of War (both) etc etc etc, just for some reason they're hating on AP for this). Graphics are dated but that's my only complaint so far.

 

[Susan Arendt]

Spoiler: The problem is...

The Konstantin boss fight. Apparently, doing Blow makes you immune to bullets, and a history of carving up unarmed civilians that have been tied down means that he can instantly block and counter every blow from a skilled martial artist? I think I had about four ranks on my pistol at that point and a maxed out Martial Arts tree - I'm not a fan of a game telling me I can choose how to play the game, then shoving me into a situation that I can't talk, stealth or fist fight my way out of when that's what I've specialised in.

Yeaaaaahhhh....there's a lot of that in the game. There's another boss fight (I won't spoil it and say with who) that's even more "are you serious?" You just kind of have to roll your eyes and shrug it off.

 

[Lolth17]

Is anyone else scared to death for Fallout: New Vegas? I was really excited until I heard Obsidian got their hands on it. Have they ever made a game that wasn't damn near fatally broken? At least Bethesda's many glitches didn't actually take control away from you...

 

[Vierran]

Having now logged in over 50 hours and completing 3 playthroughs (PC on steam) i have found the game quite enjoyable, that's not to say it isn't buggy because it is.

The graphics are dated but that is not a deal breaker for me, there are glitches though textures taking time to load in especially at the market and the occasional jittery frame rate are probably the main ones to mention nothing too game breaking and often not noticed, i have not noticed any control issues except when the frame rate gets jittery on the occasion which will cause you to be pointing in strange directions but nothing too big.

The AI does some odd things such as stop pathing if you move to a different area and come back, not to mention that if you invest in stealth and you have the right armour you can sneak up to them on their side, the occasional enemy that sticks halfway through a wall or door.

On the shooting side (i will say that it could have been a lot better and needs polishing at the least), you must invest in points in your weapon of choice in order to be able to crit them from afar as not waiting for crit shots leads to a ridiculous amount of missed shots, the assault rifle isn't too bad at this as it does fairly often hit but the SMG can miss from point blank range whic is ridiculous; the shotgun will hit almost every time but its damage is too low to be usefull unless again you invest upon which the knockback effect is quite nice; lastly there is the pistol which has so far proven the best weapon especially when invested in, once enough points are put in the range at which you are able to crit increases and you get a skill that allows you to do it from cover so unless the enemy charges which it does sometimes you can sit and kill everything in range.

The voice work in the game is superb and the dialogue in general is great leading to a good story which some great options that have consequences later on.

In all i found it an enjoyable game despite the flaws which it does have and well worth the $80 i spent to play it but at the same time it is not for everyone especially if any of the flaws i mentioned ruin the game for you.

I will end in saying that i enjoyed this game and the comments i make are my opinion which may be biased

 

[Thanatos5150]

Spoiler: The problem is...

The Konstantin boss fight. Apparently, doing Blow makes you immune to bullets, and a history of carving up unarmed civilians that have been tied down means that he can instantly block and counter every blow from a skilled martial artist? I think I had about four ranks on my pistol at that point and a maxed out Martial Arts tree - I'm not a fan of a game telling me I can choose how to play the game, then shoving me into a situation that I can't talk, stealth or fist fight my way out of when that's what I've specialised in.

Spoiler: That's odd...

Maybe it was the fact that I purchased the "Poisoned cocaine" intel piece before the mission, but I had no "Immune to bullets" problem. I just ran around for a bit while Chain Shot cooled down and shot him a second (Okay, fith-through-sixth, but that's being technical, here) time.

 

[Thanatos5150]

Spoiler: The problem is...

The Konstantin boss fight. Apparently, doing Blow makes you immune to bullets, and a history of carving up unarmed civilians that have been tied down means that he can instantly block and counter every blow from a skilled martial artist? I think I had about four ranks on my pistol at that point and a maxed out Martial Arts tree - I'm not a fan of a game telling me I can choose how to play the game, then shoving me into a situation that I can't talk, stealth or fist fight my way out of when that's what I've specialised in.

Yeaaaaahhhh....there's a lot of that in the game. There's another boss fight (I won't spoil it and say with who) that's even more "are you serious?" You just kind of have to roll your eyes and shrug it off.

Spoiler: Is it...

... The one with the helicopter at the endgame which takes no less than five direct hits with shoulder-mounted missile launchers, along with a peppering of assault rifle and pistol rounds that somehow, despite being a Blackhawk, is not only armed, but armed with missiles that are able to lock onto your /body heat/ and track you, insta-killing you if you're not wearing the highest grade armour in the game or your haven't invested ridiculous amounts of points in the toughness skill?

 

[WeAreJimbo]

I played through the PS3 version and had no problems either. So whats that all about?

 

[Cake-Pie]

I have it on PC and controls work just fine for me ,except that it sometimes lags when you move mouse around (my pc is pretty powerful ,im not the only one with that problem) and shooting mechanics are terrible ,60% chance that you will miss a headshot even if your target isnt moving and he is pretty close + other problems that the review mentioned. All in all its playable ,i liked the story so far and im a major rpg junkie so i like it ,its not great but i dont wanna play mass effect 2 for the third time yet.

Is this a product of aim issues or it this because of RPG specs for that weapon being too low?

I haven't played Alpha Protocol yet, and I'm so sad that it's a buggy mess. I was excited to play it also. I WANTED IT TO BE GOOD! ): Of course, maybe the PC version is salvageable with a patch?

Is it so wrong to want to be Sam Fischer with RPG stats and dialogue trees?

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I was very weary when I first heard of this title and what it wanted to be. Knowing who were making it only made me a bit more apprehensive about it. If I am able to rent it I will probably do that but I didn't plan on buying this game and I was sure there would be issues with it [not that everybody is experiencing those same issues but, dumb AI is dumb AI]

This game did have potential though and it's too bad it was rushed out. What ever happened to hard work in the industry?

 

[Chipperz]

Spoiler: The problem is...

The Konstantin boss fight. Apparently, doing Blow makes you immune to bullets, and a history of carving up unarmed civilians that have been tied down means that he can instantly block and counter every blow from a skilled martial artist? I think I had about four ranks on my pistol at that point and a maxed out Martial Arts tree - I'm not a fan of a game telling me I can choose how to play the game, then shoving me into a situation that I can't talk, stealth or fist fight my way out of when that's what I've specialised in.

Yeaaaaahhhh....there's a lot of that in the game. There's another boss fight (I won't spoil it and say with who) that's even more "are you serious?" You just kind of have to roll your eyes and shrug it off.

Uuuurgh... Tell me it's not in Taipei, I'm there now (wanted to meet up with Scarlet again, doesn't look like that's happening), and I could do with a segment that doesn't have an uber-boss. It utterly destroys the atmosphere the rest of the game builds up.

If I'm being honest, I think Sis was about the perfect power level for bosses in a game that's trying to be realistic. Great use of cover and her guns, but doesn't take too much damage. Of course, I'm also aware that I'm willing to overlook a great many things when it comes to a cute late-teens girl with purple hair, tattoos and just the right number of piercings

Spoiler: The problem is...

The Konstantin boss fight. Apparently, doing Blow makes you immune to bullets, and a history of carving up unarmed civilians that have been tied down means that he can instantly block and counter every blow from a skilled martial artist? I think I had about four ranks on my pistol at that point and a maxed out Martial Arts tree - I'm not a fan of a game telling me I can choose how to play the game, then shoving me into a situation that I can't talk, stealth or fist fight my way out of when that's what I've specialised in.

Spoiler: That's odd...

Maybe it was the fact that I purchased the "Poisoned cocaine" intel piece before the mission, but I had no "Immune to bullets" problem. I just ran around for a bit while Chain Shot cooled down and shot him a second (Okay, fith-through-sixth, but that's being technical, here) time.

Spoiler: Oh, don't get me wrong...

After many, many, many, many, many, many deaths, I eventually ended him with two Chain Shot's to the face. The problem was dodging his menials while I lined up my gun. Eventually I got so used to the numbers that would come out of each side door that I could kill the majority of them before they appeared, but until then? Disproportionately hard and flow-breaking boss.

Also, the order you do missions seems to be pretty important, I'm wondering if I didn't get the Posioned Cocaine intel because I hadn't done another mission - any chance you'd done Rome or Taipei first? I seem to be getting N22-specific stuff in Taipei now I helped them in Moscow...

 

[Thanatos5150]

Spoiler: The problem is...

The Konstantin boss fight. Apparently, doing Blow makes you immune to bullets, and a history of carving up unarmed civilians that have been tied down means that he can instantly block and counter every blow from a skilled martial artist? I think I had about four ranks on my pistol at that point and a maxed out Martial Arts tree - I'm not a fan of a game telling me I can choose how to play the game, then shoving me into a situation that I can't talk, stealth or fist fight my way out of when that's what I've specialised in.

Spoiler: That's odd...

Maybe it was the fact that I purchased the "Poisoned cocaine" intel piece before the mission, but I had no "Immune to bullets" problem. I just ran around for a bit while Chain Shot cooled down and shot him a second (Okay, fith-through-sixth, but that's being technical, here) time.

Spoiler: Oh, don't get me wrong...

After many, many, many, many, many, many deaths, I eventually ended him with two Chain Shot's to the face. The problem was dodging his menials while I lined up my gun. Eventually I got so used to the numbers that would come out of each side door that I could kill the majority of them before they appeared, but until then? Disproportionately hard and flow-breaking boss.

Also, the order you do missions seems to be pretty important, I'm wondering if I didn't get the Posioned Cocaine intel because I hadn't done another mission - any chance you'd done Rome or Taipei first? I seem to be getting G22-specific stuff in Taipei now I helped them in Moscow...

Spoiler: In short, yes.

The long version of it is: I went to Taipei first and got in good with a certain delusional psychopath. And whilst I got some G22 stuff in Taipei, I got a great deal more in Moscow, even going as far as having Albatross e my handler for one mission, and the conversation about me not killing Sis when I had the chance went smoothl, with lots of Mike going "I didn't want to kill her if she was cavorting around with your goons."
Come to think of it, compared to Taipei and Moscow's interactions, especially with G22, Rome feels kinda tacked-on.

Also - I beat Brayko the first time around.

 

[TheDoctor455]

Poor Obsidian, and they try so hard....

Ehh...
They'll probably patch this up at some point...
although... its worth noting that the PC version's biggest problem is getting the mouse to cooperate... the bloody thing controls the camera, half of the hacking mini-game, and aims the sniper-rifle... all of which it will invariably erratically fluster about and even worse, will randomly jerk around.
I would happily sacrifice the "precision aiming" that we PC gamers are promised if we could avoid this shit.

But... overall... I rather like this game.
The story is well written and well acted.
The gameplay... while not free of its issues... manages to be pretty fun.

 

[nipsen]

I never noticed any control problems or visual glitches on the PC version. Bad port maybe?

Quite possibly, yeah. And yes, he really does just go wandering off on his own from time to time. The controller will also just plain stop working - you'll be moving the blocks around to hack a computer and suddenly, nothing works. Very disappointing.

As for the shooting, I could never get the sensitivity to a place where it felt right, so I was constantly swinging back and forth with the reticle. Again, possibly just a bad porting issue.

...sort of sounds a bit like the re-sync bug for the wireless controllers. It's not easy to replicate it, but it happens if you switch controllers, and have some interference going on (like wifi, rockband controllers, other bluetooth devices). It starts, and then it's sluggish until you restart the box.

(Doesn't happen often, but it happens... Sony just seems more interested in sending people more junk-mail than fixing things like that..).

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

there are far, far better spy games out there.

Any recommendations?
OT: Ah, just what I expected. Weak, weak gameplay but RPG elements good enough for me to constitute a "wait-for-price-drop".

 

[Samurai Goomba]

I remember somebody on the forums totally called this several weeks ago.

 

[Yossarian1507]

I'm playing Alpha Protocol on PS3. The game never froze on my system, controller works just fine, Mike is not moving on his own. I'm really surprised that kind of bugs exist.

I actually love this game. Beat it once, now I'm beating it as a Recruit on Hard difficulty mode. Stealth is just fine on Hard, AI is not that dumb anymore (still stupid but not as much as on Normal), and after putting several skill points in Assault Rifles, the shooting part is now pretty comfortable as well.

Minor graphic bugs are not bothering me.

And choices system? Dialog system? Perks system? Reputation system? Brilliant and awesome. I do not regret any of those 60$ (after revaluing from Polish currency) i paid for the game. I feel I'll beat it at least few more times.

I'm really surprised so many reviews are so negative. It surely isn't 'BEST RPG EVAR!', there are some glaring flaws, but 2 stars for game someone is actually enjoying? I always thought 2 stars mean 'Horrible. There are worse things on the Earth, but this is really close', and not 'nice but really flawed'.

I think, in a year AP will become a typical case of cult classic. And I know already I'll be one of leaders of that cult...

Don't let your hopes down on it, folks. It really isn't THAT bad. Rent it if you don't want to buy it, but at least give it a chance.

 

[dbmountain]

The concept was fresh and had potential, to bad it got screwed up so harshly

 

[Susan Arendt]

I'm playing Alpha Protocol on PS3. The game never froze on my system, controller works just fine, Mike is not moving on his own. I'm really surprised that kind of bugs exist.

I actually love this game. Beat it once, now I'm beating it as a Recruit on Hard difficulty mode. Stealth is just fine on Hard, AI is not that dumb anymore (still stupid but not as much as on Normal), and after putting several skill points in Assault Rifles, the shooting part is now pretty comfortable as well.

Minor graphic bugs are not bothering me.

And choices system? Dialog system? Perks system? Reputation system? Brilliant and awesome. I do not regret any of those 60$ (after revaluing from Polish currency) i paid for the game. I feel I'll beat it at least few more times.

I'm really surprised so many reviews are so negative. It surely isn't 'BEST RPG EVAR!', there are some glaring flaws, but 2 stars for game someone is actually enjoying? I always thought 2 stars mean 'Horrible. There are worse things on the Earth, but this is really close', and not 'nice but really flawed'.

I think, in a year AP will become a typical case of cult classic. And I know already I'll be one of leaders of that cult...

Don't let your hopes down on it, folks. It really isn't THAT bad. Rent it if you don't want to buy it, but at least give it a chance.

If it weren't for the bugs, I'd have given the game a 3. It's still only half a game, but there's fun to be had. But given how broken it is, I had to mark it down.

Also, just because I enjoy a game, that doesn't mean the game is good. When reviewing a game, you have to keep the greater audience in mind. Sure, I enjoy that the AI is so stupid they never hear me coming, because I'm really lousy at stealth, but will the typical person looking for a fun spy experience feel the same way? Probably not. And while I might be willing to put up with intermittent control issues because I find the RPG elements to be a hoot, it's unreasonable to expect the same of someone else. All I can do is tell people that these things happen and let them decide how to proceed.