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One aspect where there really is a 'best' choice just got brought up earlier, which has always bugged me a bit: when Mina asks who you want to dig into, Parker Westridge or Darcy, there's no reason not to choose Parker. As far as I can tell it doesn't alter dialogue or have any other real affect on the other two, you still kill Darcy and fight/completely miss seeing Westridge. Or am I missing something? Still, a minor quibble, but one of the few times the game seems to fall into the 'your choices matter BUT here is the obviously better one' Mass Effect trap.
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Jul 5, 2012 15:57
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Even with absolutely max skill the others are hit or miss. Which isn't to say they are not fun. I just finished a bumbling recruit who started idealistic but ended up jaded and angry. He focused on max shotguns and toughness, and it was pretty fun. I'll warn you about shotguns/smgs, for the love of god make sure you bring emps to the last mission. There is a door you have to pick under fire and you really don't have much in the way of fighting back with. ARs, meh. Ok, but not great. The active skill is bad too. Chain Shot is seriously the most broken skill in the game. Room Sweep isn't bad, but having to follow up shots with stomps when you are getting swarmed blows. And even with like a 200k shotgun/mods and max skill it's hard to one shot enemies. This time I'm going to try for a mix of stealth/pistols/martial arts in only plain clothes like bourne. Maybe play it on vet and go out for only myself from the start. This game, so many options. AP and VtM: Bloodlines are the only two games I can just play over and over.
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Jul 5, 2012 17:10
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A Duck! posted:I'll warn you about shotguns/smgs, for the love of god make sure you bring emps to the last mission. There is a door you have to pick under fire and you really don't have much in the way of fighting back with. ARs, meh. Ok, but not great. The active skill is bad too. Chain Shot is seriously the most broken skill in the game. If you're talking about the door to the sniper tower in the Darcy fight you should be able to kick that in even without EMPs.
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Jul 5, 2012 17:31
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I always found ARs pretty decent early on, because they're the most accurate weapon at that point. I don't recall using the special ability for it though; I probably re-allocated the starting veteran points away from it and into something else, since I was doing a stealth/pistol run. And yeah, I don't suppose there's much more broken than six automatic critical headshots during slow motion...
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Jul 5, 2012 18:10
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hectorgrey posted:I always found ARs pretty decent early on, because they're the most accurate weapon at that point. I don't recall using the special ability for it though; I probably re-allocated the starting veteran points away from it and into something else, since I was doing a stealth/pistol run. The special ability for ARs is outright awful. It gives you a few seconds of auto-aim. That's it. Not only is this boring compared to the other abilities, it's actually worse than aiming manually if you have any skill at all, since it always goes for center of mass.
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Jul 5, 2012 19:41
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ToxicFrog posted:If you're talking about the door to the sniper tower in the Darcy fight you should be able to kick that in even without EMPs. motherfucker you can kick down doors in this game?
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Jul 5, 2012 19:54
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ToxicFrog posted:If you're talking about the door to the sniper tower in the Darcy fight you should be able to kick that in even without EMPs. What. Seriously? I reloaded like twenty times trying to do that. I knew you could bash in some doors but I don't think I had that option that time.
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Jul 5, 2012 21:31
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I think bashing is tied to your Martial Arts skill actually.
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Jul 5, 2012 21:55
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hectorgrey posted:Incidentally, are pistols actually the best weapon in the game? They're awesome, to be sure (especially with chain shot), but can the other weapons be equally broken at high skill levels? Pistols are hands down the best in boss fights because of Chain Shot. But I was surprised when assault-rifle rear end in a top hat Thorton could do some missions stealthily just by mowing down fuckers before they could ever reach the alarms. If you don't mind the occasional ruckus and want to speed through the game, assault rifle is very good.
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Jul 5, 2012 23:21
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hectorgrey posted:I always found ARs pretty decent early on, because they're the most accurate weapon at that point. I don't recall using the special ability for it though; I probably re-allocated the starting veteran points away from it and into something else, since I was doing a stealth/pistol run. ARs are good most of the game through if you stop and aim from far away. You can kill most guys before they can even see you. In open areas like the helicopter fight you can kill guys who are so far away that their heads are just a few pixels wide. If you don't have time to aim and need to just shoot from the hip the AR is way better than the pistol. You can empty an entire pistol clip and still not kill a target, but most things will fall to 2 or 3 AR shots even without a head shot.
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Jul 6, 2012 02:02
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1stGear posted:I think one of my favorite parts about Heck is that you can tell how much Nolan North is enjoying not having to play Nathan Drake for once. The best is that Heck is probably the craziest character he's ever voiced, and this is a guy who voiced Deadpool.
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Jul 7, 2012 12:59
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So last year after buying it I tried to play this game and got stuck in Russia. I got to the end of some mission where I had to get a guy out of a building where at the end you're in some courtyard, and kept getting loving destroyed. I had been playing pure stealth and had no defense against the wave of shot gun guys who would run straight up to the dude I was supposed to be protecting and one shot him. It frustrated me enough that I didn't touch the loving thing again till tonight. This time I'm going through specializing in pistols and rifles, and I went to Rome first instead of Russia. Having a much better time with it now. The poo poo in Saudi Arabia is still loving terrible though.
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Jul 8, 2012 11:13
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You never bought the sniper rifle? That being said, in this game, going pure stealth is generally a mistake, but going stealth and pistols will make you unstoppable.
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Jul 8, 2012 12:07
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I've been sneaking as much as I can, and then if poo poo goes pear shaped, I just waste everyone. The only exception to this so far was at the CIA place, where I went out of my way to make sure I didn't kill anyone.
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Jul 8, 2012 12:27
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Stealth/pistols is easily the most efficient way to play the game. Any group fight is made much easier by having the ability to headshot six of your enemies instantly and even the odds out, and if it's really an enormous fight then you can probably just use the ability to recharge all your other ones and headshot another six. Also, that mission in Russia is made much easier at the end if you buy a sniper rifle from intel before the mission. It gets put on a roof overlooking the courtyard, and you just climb a ladder outside to get up there and then kill everyone while the embassy guards draw fire.
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Jul 8, 2012 15:09
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I had pre-ordered this game but it ended up getting put off to the side and forgotten. I finally found it and just finished my first run. Really good characters and writing. The gameplay is clumsy at times, but it gets the job done. I used stealth, pistols, rifles, and bumped up my health to the max. Never had any problems. Guys too far away for the pistol? Pull out the rifle. Unseen in a room of 4 guys? Turn invisible and knock them all out. There always seemed to be plenty of options in how to take care of business.
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Jul 9, 2012 02:59
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Only thing I've found in my most recent playthrough is that there's no point putting points into rifles. They're better used for sniping enemies than for actual fighting, and even with no points, an unaimed burst or a crit headshot will still kill even the tougher opponents. Add sub-sonic rounds, and it's basically a silenced sniper rifle; great for levels where long range firepower might be useful, even if you don't spend a single AP on it. So yeah, the shotgun is fun, and I've found it more useful in missions where I ended up running and gunning, but the pistol is by far the best weapon to put points in. Funnily enough, this is the only RPG I've ever played where I didn't want to piss off certain characters. I like Mina and respect Marburg too much to want to be assholes to them. TFG?
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Jul 9, 2012 03:19
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On the other hand, being an rear end in a top hat to everybody is kinda fun. I usually want to play all buddy-buddy with everybody, but it's nice to know that if I want to have a playthrough where I just decide that I'm going to hate Albatross and annoy him whenever possible, I can do it and it'll be a hoot.
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Jul 9, 2012 03:25
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Hannibal Smith posted:There's actually one mission in the game where it does make a small difference. You get a different perk in the CIA mission if you remain unseen and don't knock anybody out. I don't think it affects any dialogue, though. I had no idea that this was a thing. Nevertheless, when I eventually get around to it (Saudi Arabia is super loving boring the third time around) I will check this out and see if anybody says anything.
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Jul 9, 2012 05:24
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Dreggon posted:I had no idea that this was a thing. Nevertheless, when I eventually get around to it (Saudi Arabia is super loving boring the third time around) I will check this out and see if anybody says anything. You can speed through Saudi Arabia in about thirty minutes if you just run through each level as fast as you can and don't bother doing missions that are left over once the final mission appears. You will miss intel, though, so don't do this if you're doing a completionist run. I'm doing a full-fledged rear end in a top hat aggressive Thorton run and I was surprised by how quickly Saudi could be ended by basically speedrunning every section and hanging up on every conversation.
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Jul 9, 2012 11:48
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vyelkin posted:You can speed through Saudi Arabia in about thirty minutes if you just run through each level as fast as you can and don't bother doing missions that are left over once the final mission appears. You will miss intel, though, so don't do this if you're doing a completionist run. I'm doing a full-fledged rear end in a top hat aggressive Thorton run and I was surprised by how quickly Saudi could be ended by basically speedrunning every section and hanging up on every conversation. You can also save your game at the end of Saudi and run any future games from that point. If you want to be able to play different skills, use the save before the final mission so that you can reroll your skills (this would also let you change whether you kill or spare that one guy). You get a few perks in the grey box/saudi that you won't be able to change, but nothing really essential. Facebook Aunt fucked around with this message at 15:58 on Jul 9, 2012 |
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Jul 9, 2012 15:55
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Ok, done. I'll try to avoid parroting what others have said: a great game only severely marred by its technical problems. It's probably the best I've ever played in terms of giving players major consequences with regards to the plot and relationships with other characters. Difficult moral dilemmas are something I really want to see in more games these days and AP nails it incredibly well, not like the pussy options in games StarCraft 2 where the player's decision is always right because the designers didn't want them getting upset for not thinking out an option. I also went guns and martial arts, I'd generally sneak around and take down guards and then switch to my pistol in a firefight. I barely used any skills other than chain shot, partly due to the chaotic combat caused by the ailing game engine. In terms of my choices: I pretty spared everyone in the game, with the only exception being Bradyenko, the Russian gang leader. I partly did this because he's a vicious, drug-addled gangster with no real ideology or agenda compared to everyone else, besides wealth. And that decor. Urgh. I was intending on killing Surkov after he betrayed me, but during the end cutscene I opted to shoot him the leg and spare him in exchange for information on Halbech. I guess that worked out in the long run, but the conversation felt really off and jarring due to the preceding scenes with him. Other than that, I very much went against Halbech, the US and AP during the endgame. The only regret that my Thorton had, which was mentioned several times by other characters, was the killing of 'NSA agents' in Rome - however this was only that one person in the listening outpost (the scene at the gelato place). This happened because I suspected something was wrong due to the guard's behaviour, which meant that Mina panicked and I choose to shoot him and plant the listening device instead. It wasn't until much later that I realised he was a normal (US?) agent but I choose to stick with that decision. I attempted to spare all other guard's lives throughout the game, though, like during the CIA outpost mission and even the endgame. I'm a little miffed that there are few characters (that I recall) who you can regret sparing. Everyone seems to turn out to reward you in some way. I suppose this is a small consolation and a design choice aimed at rewarding mercy. I guess the whole game is about a spy who realises how the military-industry complex and US foreign policy uses people like himself and manipulate the world so they can turn a profit, thus the player may come to regret killing everyone until that realisation in the game becomes apparent, thus altering their future actions and making them live with the consequences. And I have to confess that the Scarlet scene at the end came out of nowhere and completely surprised me. I choose to let Mina spare her and she shot Leland instead. I actually thought I may get another chance to shoot her - after all, why did she shot me if she wasn't going to kill me? Bitch. In the end I sailed away with Mina on the boat, hoping for a few surprises in the future. Does the red text in the epilogue mean I did something wrong? http://imgur.com/1H60r And finally, my handler options for the last mission (tiny spoilers): http://imgur.com/1fauV 1. SIE: I did Russia last and I figured that she'd be one of the personalities in the game that appreciates aggression (You know, her being a German woman and all) so I managed to impress her in the first conversation, email and during the embassy assault I resisted killing any of the VCI. Other than one chat and one email, I don't know her at all, but she's willing to assault a top secret US spy agency? 2. Albatross: Like Thorton said, for some reason I found myself trusting Albatross and G22. He's a very cool character. It's a shame I didn't learn everything about him as I generally tried to please (and save) him where possible. I wonder if Sis is his child? What does G22 do anyway? I was hoping Mike would get hired by them at the end of the game. 3. Heck: What a guy. Characters like this are great because they're pure fun, though I guess that's not to everyone's taste. Deadpool (as someone said earlier), Minsc ... I may go back and do a finale run with him just to see what happens. Wait, is Heck at a bowling alley in that photo?  What do you guys recommend for my second playthrough and based on this post? I did buy the game on X360 for cheap so I can play it without so many technical issues, but I could do a veteran run with my PC save. I'm not sure about a lumberjack commando run just yet, but someday... Magic fucked around with this message at 21:15 on Jul 9, 2012 |
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Jul 9, 2012 19:21
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I keep recommending the Two-Face Run and nobody else will do it. Flip a coin before every level. Heads, kill everyone and execute anyone you can in dialogue. Tails, ghost it or tranquilize everyone and spare anyone you can in dialogue.
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Jul 9, 2012 21:03
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Magic posted:Does the red text in the epilogue mean I did something wrong? Sort of (well no, there are no wrong choices in this game). It usually indicates that you missed something completely (like if you never see Scarlet or Mina at all in the last mission) or did something that has a negative effect (like how killing the NSA guy in Rome attracts attention and hampers your ability to get intel). In your specific case, it's happening because you let Scarlet go and she disappeared. It also happens if you never see her at all (like I mentioned above). If you kill her, or free her and get her to join you on the boat, you won't get the red text, since her plot thread is considered resolved. Magic posted:What do you guys recommend for my second playthrough and based on this post? I did buy the game on X360 for cheap so I can play it without so many technical issues, but I could do a veteran run with my PC save. I'm not sure about a lumberjack commando run just yet, but someday... You won't miss a whole lot if skip out on doing a veteran run. Beyond the extra AP and dialog, the only real advantage veterans have is that they don't have to choose between the intel and the hostage in Brayko's mansion (which you can do normally if you have Brilliance unlocked). While I won't suggest any specific gimmicks (I'm sure plenty of people will have ideas like McMurphy's), here's a couple of general things: 1) Use different responses in conversations. Try pissing people off who you befriended previously; some situations can play out differently depending on what people think of you (Surkov for example, has some fun scenes that you won't see if he likes you). 2) Try mixing up the order you complete the hubs in. While this won't change the plot much, each hub has connections to the others (Taipei and Moscow in particular). Being friends with someone you met in one hub can benefit you in another, usually through the use of buying intel items (i.e. Heck can help with the Brayko boss fight, the Russians won't attack you in the Rome warehouse if Brayko likes you, meeting SIE in Moscow lets you use her as a handler in Marburg's mansion). 3) This should be obvious, but get as much intel as you can. 4) Again, obvious, but there are a lot of things that can change during the last mission depending on your interactions with the characters who show up (particularly Leland, Marburg, Scarlet, Mina, and Parker). Your intel acquired, rep, and certain choices will all come into play here.
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Jul 10, 2012 00:19
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Lynx posted:the Russians won't attack you in the Rome warehouse if Brayko likes you).
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Jul 10, 2012 00:57
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I think that's how you do it. I think you also have to either buy intelligence/send him an email before the mission.
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Jul 10, 2012 01:58
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Yeah you have to side with either one of them and have high enough influence, then it unlocks an intel buy for that mission.
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Jul 10, 2012 02:07
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Role Play McMurphy posted:I keep recommending the Two-Face Run and nobody else will do it. This sounds awesome and is a fantastic combination of username and post!
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Jul 10, 2012 02:32
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Role Play McMurphy posted:I keep recommending the Two-Face Run and nobody else will do it. This goes well with my Bipolar Thorton playthrough- start every conversation with the Professional choice, then Aggressive, Suave, Aggressive, Suave, etc until the conversation ends.
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Jul 10, 2012 03:23
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Torsade de Pointes posted:I think that's how you do it. I think you also have to either buy intelligence/send him an email before the mission. Scorchy posted:Yeah you have to side with either one of them and have high enough influence, then it unlocks an intel buy for that mission. Guess I'll have to be more careful next time I play. It has been awhile since I've run through the game...
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Jul 10, 2012 03:55
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Just finished. So they like, cut out half of the game to get it out on time or something, right? Because the ending was completely unsatisfying, and it seemed incredibly short, my finish time being around 12 hours. It seems like after you finish the three cities, that 3 more should have opened up. If I play through again making different choices, will I actually get to see exactly how he resolved this whole thing, or will it be the same lovely cut scene of him driving off on a boat?
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Jul 10, 2012 14:21
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TheJoker138 posted:Just finished. So they like, cut out half of the game to get it out on time or something, right? Because the ending was completely unsatisfying, and it seemed incredibly short, my finish time being around 12 hours. It seems like after you finish the three cities, that 3 more should have opened up. If I play through again making different choices, will I actually get to see exactly how he resolved this whole thing, or will it be the same lovely cut scene of him driving off on a boat? I didn't know this the first time I played, but if you watch the credits you get some news reports that go into more detail about how you've affected the outcome of events. Also, if it was just you on the boat it's likely you missed some things in the last mission.
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Jul 10, 2012 14:27
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Medium Cool posted:I didn't know this the first time I played, but if you watch the credits you get some news reports that go into more detail about how you've affected the outcome of events. Also, if it was just you on the boat it's likely you missed some things in the last mission. I missed Mina. There were two dots on my radar, but it didn't tell me which was which, and I ended up hooking back up with my handler instead of getting her. Is it worth it to go through again to save her? Will it drastically change the stupid boat scene?
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Jul 10, 2012 14:34
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TheJoker138 posted:I missed Mina. There were two dots on my radar, but it didn't tell me which was which, and I ended up hooking back up with my handler instead of getting her. Is it worth it to go through again to save her? Will it drastically change the stupid boat scene? you'll still get the boat scene, you'll just have Mina there with you I don't really get the hate for the ending though, assuming you listen to the news reports in the credits, I thought it wrapped up things fairly well. That said, to understand all the intricacies of the story, you have to play through it a few times.
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Jul 10, 2012 14:42
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Insanity Prawn posted:you'll still get the boat scene, you'll just have Mina there with you I didn't know there was poo poo during the credits and skipped them. I might eventually go through and do a complete rear end in a top hat run though. I did manage to James Bond it this time and sleep with every single female character, which is pretty cool. I think it's less the ending itself I'm pissed about and it being so loving short. And it's made even worse by the fact that there will never, ever be a follow up to this game to give me more of what I enjoyed about it.
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Jul 10, 2012 14:46
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TheJoker138 posted:I didn't know there was poo poo during the credits and skipped them. I might eventually go through and do a complete rear end in a top hat run though. I did manage to James Bond it this time and sleep with every single female character, which is pretty cool. I think it's less the ending itself I'm pissed about and it being so loving short. And it's made even worse by the fact that there will never, ever be a follow up to this game to give me more of what I enjoyed about it. I see it being short as a good thing, since it really lends itself to multiple playthroughs, and I don't want to play a 20+ hour game more than once, maybe twice if it's fantastic.
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Jul 10, 2012 14:51
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I hold out hope that eventually Obsidian will make another game like Alpha Protocol, even if they don't have ownership of the IP they could make another game with similar branching story.
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Jul 10, 2012 14:54
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TheJoker138 posted:I didn't know there was poo poo during the credits and skipped them. I might eventually go through and do a complete rear end in a top hat run though. I did manage to James Bond it this time and sleep with every single female character, which is pretty cool. I think it's less the ending itself I'm pissed about and it being so loving short. And it's made even worse by the fact that there will never, ever be a follow up to this game to give me more of what I enjoyed about it. The fact that it's short is one of its major strengths, since the game demands multiple replays to really understand how reactive the story can be.
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Jul 10, 2012 15:12
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Role Play McMurphy posted:I keep recommending the Two-Face Run and nobody else will do it. TheJoker138 posted:Just finished. So they like, cut out half of the game to get it out on time or something, right? Because the ending was completely unsatisfying, and it seemed incredibly short, my finish time being around 12 hours. It seems like after you finish the three cities, that 3 more should have opened up. If I play through again making different choices, will I actually get to see exactly how he resolved this whole thing, or will it be the same lovely cut scene of him driving off on a boat? Lynx posted:Sort of (well no, there are no wrong choices in this game). It usually indicates that you missed something completely (like if you never see Scarlet or Mina at all in the last mission) or did something that has a negative effect (like how killing the NSA guy in Rome attracts attention and hampers your ability to get intel). In your specific case, it's happening because you let Scarlet go and she disappeared. It also happens if you never see her at all (like I mentioned above). If you kill her, or free her and get her to join you on the boat, you won't get the red text, since her plot thread is considered resolved. quote:You won't miss a whole lot if skip out on doing a veteran run. Beyond the extra AP and dialog, the only real advantage veterans have is that they don't have to choose between the intel and the hostage in Brayko's mansion (which you can do normally if you have Brilliance unlocked). quote:While I won't suggest any specific gimmicks (I'm sure plenty of people will have ideas like McMurphy's), here's a couple of general things: 2. Again, definitely. I reckon I'll do Moscow first, then Taipei (for Heck!) and the Rome. 3. Not fussed about this in my next playthrough (I'm on PC so there isn't an achievement as such), I may just focus on action rather than exploration and collecting or buying intel. 4. Yep, I've just spent some time going over the finale a few times to see the different consequences, that was fun. Any other suggestions for my Recruit run, folks? Also: is it possible to have an endgame where everyone virtually hates you? What's the finale like? 
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Jul 10, 2012 18:41
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Magic posted:Any other suggestions for my Recruit run, folks? The only way to do a Recruit run is as Shotgun rear end in a top hat Thorton. Kill everyone, gently caress stealth, lumberjack beard. And if you manage to piss everyone off, you get the one character in the game who can appreciate all the chaos and destruction you've caused.
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Jul 10, 2012 18:45
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