Well it's been a year, so this thread needs a bump back up to either introduce those who never played it or re-introduce those who did to another playthrough.
After the fantastic South Park SoT, I just had to give Obsidian some love by replaying this gem again (and FO:NV too, but that's gonna take a bit more time). Alpha Protocol is such a great game, I wish they had spent more time on it for some spit polish. But fuck the haters. If you can't find something to like about this game, then you're just not into gaming as far as I'm concerned.
Having your choices and actions truly affect what happens next is such a joy that is still rarely seen in any game that offers multiple endings and considers itself to be an RPG (just how many different ending variations are there in this game??!!). Yet it delivers in spades in this game. It seems like every time I play it, I choose something just a little bit different and the whole goddamn game changes.
Main gripes:
1. More time needed for some dialog choices (or at least lemme pause for a sec so I can think about it!)... I found myself caught up in the dialog and story and was caught off guard sometimes when a dialog decision came up. I'm still 50-50 on whether to have a time limit on the choice at all. *Some* choices, yes. But maybe not for all (i.e. quick decision-- defuse the bomb or save the girl).
2. clunky controls for hacking... fixed somewhat with ini editing, but still some of it is frustratingly horrible. I do like the lockpick mechanic. Better than most games. Not sure about adding a "time limit" to lockpicking. I imagine the fact that it's in realtime and that a guard could walk right up behind you if you take too long should be enough of a "clock".
3. Checkpoint save system. Hate it. In every game it's in.
It's been several years since I played it and I think I enjoyed it even more this time. Maybe I'm just hurting for a good RPG.
If you haven't played it recently or ever, I highly suggest doing so. Use Sabin's ini tweaks as they did help with gameplay. Unfortunately, ini tweaks can't fix the fact that if you die and reload a mission checkpoint, sometimes everything is all fucked up to hell-- missing boss, no enemies, etc. and you have to reload an even earlier CP and hope that one works.
I wish it were 10x longer with 10+ missions per city, etc. Great great game.
I wish it were 10x longer with 10+ missions per city, etc. Great great game.
This. Emphatically this. Fantastic game that could have only been better had it been longer and with more missions/sidequests, etc. Damn it.. now I want to reinstall and play again
I wish it were 10x longer with 10+ missions per city, etc. Great great game.
This. Emphatically this. Fantastic game that could have only been better had it been longer and with more missions/sidequests, etc. Damn it.. now I want to reinstall and play again
Yes, except for the first part - middle east or whatever deserts. At first it was kind of meh to play it, but after the deserts my interest jumped to "wow, that's quite interesting"
Are there any mods for this game that fixes any of the issues that it had?
Edit: ah i see that a few tweaks are posted by sabin.. i take it that there are no mods for it?
Yep, sadly no big modifications/conversions are available as far as I know due to the game not being mod-friendly at all (Obsidian's forums are quite desert, too). The various ini. tweaks however are really good, and improve both the graphics and gameplay whenever it's possible, definitely a must have.
The best you could hope for is probably some texture mods. You can extract the game's resources, but without a repacking tool (like the ones made for Mass Effect) there's not a great deal you can do with most UE3 games mod-wise.
I do realize people here have crazy love for this game and are gonna hate me for posting something negative, but actually this video pretty much sums up my feelings about Alpha Protocol
Even if you don't agree, I honestly and deeply recommend this Youtube channel. The videos are quite long and don't have great production values, but I really agree with his opinions and he is a good talker and gets his points across. Even though he has quite few videos until now, this is definitely my favourite gaming channel ATM.
“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”
- Albert Camus
And pretty much everyone else. There really isn't much to discuss what makes AP good. Dialogues and player's choices' feedback: one of the best ever. Everything else: sub-par.
AP offered something no other game had done as well and til this day it is still the best at it. That's what made it a classic. And I dare say this is pretty much general consensus.
Yup; flawed diamond. Pretty easy way to sum up AP .. still one of my all time favourite games, but even I recognise and acknowledge its failings. I keep hoping for AP2 or at least another similar game.
That wesp guy need to drop that crappy overhyped Bloodlines already (like 10 years ago?) and start working on this game instead..
(i'm sneaking away now, silently).
seriously though, too bad it seems like it can't be modded.. that could've made this game a true classic (unlike certain other overhyped.. ok i'll leave now).
Revisiting Alpha Protocol, Obsidian's flawed but fascinating spy RPG
Quote:
Alpha Protocol is peak Obsidian—or, at least, peak Obsidian before Pillars of Eternity set a new, more stable direction for the studio. It’s a wonderful mess, full of great ideas, but hampered by the sort of behind-the-scenes development troubles that plagued the studio for so much of its life. It was delayed multiple times, spent the early part of its production cycle with no project director or lead designer, faced numerous production issues, and, due to differences in opinion between Sega and Obsidian, had time consuming, pricey scenes cut.
All of this shows in the final product, and yet it’s still full of things that make it memorable. This was an ambitious undertaking, and the ideas shine through even as the execution is so obviously lacking.
The first, best idea is the setting. Alpha Protocol is an RPG about espionage, in which you play a Bourne-style rogue agent attempting to thwart a global conspiracy. This is fertile territory for an RPG adventure—a fiction that lends itself to complex stories full of branching possibilities. And it works. There’s intrigue and drama, and a cast of people all with hidden motivations. How your character, Michael Thornton, navigates these relationships is one of the best parts of the game.
[...]
Unfortunately, the ending feels rushed. The final act threatens the imminent arrival of WWIII—a scenario that never felt earned based on my broadly competent handling of previous missions. The conspiracies start to collide, from Halbech’s corruption of Thornton’s bosses, to the treachery of journalist Scarlet Lake and the manipulations of your primary handler, Mina—something you never get the chance to resolve, even if you end up riding off into the sunset together. Some of this works. The revelation of Scarlet as the assassin you were chasing in Taipei has a nice payoff, and checks another important spy cliché off the list. But everything else feels like it needs more time to breathe. The final revelations come quickly, reducing their impact, and are paired with a final mission that features multiple, terrible boss fights.
But it’s hard to stay mad at Alpha Protocol. It throws a lot of design spaghetti at the wall, and some of it sticks. More importantly, there are lessons here that should be learned from and built upon. There’s potential in the idea, be it of letting players experience a more open, branching form of spy fiction, or just not letting RPGs languish in the realms of fantasy or post-apocalypse. Alpha Protocol isn’t a classic, but it’s earned a place as a cult favourite—just like everything Obsidian does.
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Always a blast.
(Obsidian's forums are quite desert, too). The various ini. tweaks however are really good, and improve both the graphics and gameplay whenever it's possible, definitely a must have.
