Alpha Protocol: Hated by the same critics who loved Dragon Age 2

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Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Torsade de Pointes posted:

Heck: "Do you want a loud distraction or a hot distraction?"
Scarlet: "What's the difference?"
Heck: "Hot distractions have more fire!"

"Hey buddy, you like those TV cooking shows?"

Jumping in to add my praise to the game. I've played through it six or seven times and this is definitely my favorite RPG of the last few years. I'd advise anyone on the fence to fix it up.

One thing I think makes this game special that I never see many people praise is its complete lack of filler. You are always moving forward in this game. There are no fetch quests, you'll never have to run around a "Rome" consisting of two blocks looking for NPCs with exclamation points over their heads, and there are no party members you have to chat up after every mission if you want to unlock their sidequests. Every mission, whether optional or not, ties into the main storyline and is pretty much guaranteed to be referenced later. Best of all, you actually converse with NPCs, not just pull information out of them like computer terminals. You will never have a conversation that goes, "Tell me about this area... tell me about X... now tell me about Y... now back to my other questions... I have to go!"

One thing I would recommend is to play the game with a 360 controller, rather than the keyboard, if you have the option. It supports the pad natively, and I think it plays better with one.

Jokymi fucked around with this message at 22:50 on Jul 4, 2011

# ¿ Jul 4, 2011 22:47

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# ¿ May 13, 2024 23:09

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

One more piece of advice for newcomers: Don't shut the game off the instant the credits start. There's a newsreel voiceover that plays while they roll that gives closure to a lot of the major events of the game. There were a few people in the last thread who didn't realize that even after playing a few times.

# ¿ Jul 5, 2011 04:54

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

GetWellGamers posted:

Also, I've heard about several game reviewers that initially gave middling to poor scores to AP who, a few months later, called Obsidian back and said "You know, after I learned the ropes and was able to really get into it, this was pretty great!" So, to re-quote the last recommendation:

At least Obsidian knows they made a great game, and the players do, even if the critics don't.

The sad thing is, you just know that five years from now it's going to be showing up in articles like "Top 10 underrated gems" from the exact same publications that panned it, and they'll be asking why there aren't more games like it.

# ¿ Jul 5, 2011 07:08

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

ToxicFrog posted:

^^ The PC version comes on two DVDs (~9GB, decompressing to 11 when installed). The PS3 version is (I think) a single blueray disc. Don't know about the 360.

The 360 version is only on on DVD. I don't know what they did to cut it down, but I've played both the PC and 360 versions multiple times and they're pretty much identical.

# ¿ Jul 5, 2011 23:04

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

WhenInRome posted:

So, just did my first playthrough, and this game is awesome. It's the only game where I've truly felt bad for killing someone. I maxed out Martial Arts and Toughness, so I could punch a sentry gun until it exploded. (Spy ~~sappin'~~ punchin' mah sentry!) One question (spoilers related to the endgame)If you chose to talk to Parker instead of downloading intel to your PDA, was he telling the truth when he said that Mina gave them the coordinates for the missile strike?

If you really don't want to go back and find out for yourself... Yes, he was.

Mina was inserted as a mole into Alpha Protocol by another organization, most likely the NSA, to bring it down from the inside. She is the one responsible for sending the missiles at you and cutting your communications with Westridge. She did this so that you would be forced to work as a rogue agent, because she believed it was only in that capacity you'd be able to take down Alpha Protocol and Halbech.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2011 06:19

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Jelly posted:

Am I right in assuming the first four "classes" are the same, given that you can remove skills during character creation? Or do certain skills cost more for different types of classes? I'm planning a mostly stealth/pistols/hand-to-hand style play through, and I went with freelancer. If I made a mistake I should start over while it's still early.

You're fine. The only difference between the standard four classes is a tiny bit of flavor dialogue during the tutorial. Since you can remove skills the starting allocations are really just suggestions.

Both the recruit and veteran classes do you give you some additional options from time to time, but those are mostly during the tutorial as well.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2011 18:31

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

My favorite email of them all is the sarcastic Time-cube rant you can send to Heck. I've been looking for a screenshot of it, but I haven't had any luck. I'll have to remember to get one the next time I play.

Best part is it actually gets you +2 rep with him.

# ¿ Jul 8, 2011 20:19

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Captain Oblivious posted:

Mass Effect 1 got off scott free from everyone and it had gameplay just as bad.

I'd say it's quite a bit worse, personally. The enemies didn't even react to being shot in that game. They were just walking health bars with erratic AI that took way too long to kill (and god help you if they have immunity).

Not too mention it was even buggier and was completely lacking in polish. But, since it had Bioware's name on the box it got off scott-free and won multiple GotY awards.

That's not to say I disliked Mass Effect, it was fun for what it was, I just think it's criminal that it got such warm reception while Alpha Protocol got poo poo on for pretty much the exact same problems.

# ¿ Jul 8, 2011 21:27

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Yes! Thank you!

# ¿ Jul 8, 2011 21:42

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Lotish posted:

I have 75%. I figured the remaining 25% was going to come out of her own mouth. If that's the case, I must have missed something obscure, because I try to be thorough as I can.

You have to have 100% before the conversation, the revelation is then added to her dossier as a secret fact.

There's a piece of intel in the last area of the Roman ruins that's easy to miss. I don't think I noticed it until my third or fourth playthrough.

# ¿ Jul 10, 2011 03:03

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

I just got the Brayko killing Surkov scene and it was just as hilarious as I remember.

For those having trouble triggering it, I'm pretty sure the key thing is that Surkov dislikes you. I also gave Brayko all suave answers when dealing with him and took his offer immediately, if that makes any difference. Worked for me anyway.

I'm doing this playthrough as a mostly suave amoral freelancer. I intend to join Halbech without betraying Leland at the end, which is something I still haven't done. I'm also playing as a technical idiot by not doing any minigames (or using EMPs) unless they're required by the plot (although I am freely using the bash option when it comes up). It really hasn't changed much, mostly just missing out on some cash and intel and causing far more alarms to trigger, but it's a nice change of pace since usually I try to use everything no matter what.

# ¿ Jul 13, 2011 08:41

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

dmccaff posted:

Just looked that up on YouTube and it seems I did skip it somehow. I don't remember purposely skipping a mission though... I usually did them all in order from top to bottom as they were presented in the mission choice screen.

Look for missions that have an Alpha symbol on them. Any time you do one of those, it will close off any other missions you currently have available.

# ¿ Jul 14, 2011 17:46

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Syvere posted:

I meant story-wise. Any recommended allies and such for the first playthrough?

Just pick whichever options feel natural, and let the story flow. This game pretty much rewards every option, both gameplay and storywise, so it's best to just go with whatever for the first playthrough.

# ¿ Jul 18, 2011 19:08

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Speedball posted:

There's a perk for getting placed explosives to take out enemies; so how many of you ever took advantage of the fact that all grenades can be used as land mines? I still keep forgetting it.

I do it all the time, even when I'm not on gadget-focused playthroughs. It's really easy to take advantage of when you know an ambush is about to happen, but it's usually pretty easy to get enemies to run right into them anyway.

I still don't think it's possible to get the perk/achievement for having 100 traps detonate without cheesing it, though.

# ¿ Jul 18, 2011 21:50

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Category Fun! posted:

To kill Marburg in Rome, you have to piss him off enough to provoke him, and to do that you need to be a smug little bastard (Take the suave dialogue option as often as possible). If he's angry enough he'll try to fight you to the death instead of leaving once his job is done.

To expand on that you have to have a reputation as a suave rear end in a top hat to really piss him off. You can't just use the options on Marburg when you've been professional or aggressive to everyone else, or he'll realize you're just trying to get under his skin. That means the majority of your choices up to that point have to be suave. You'll know you're on the right track if he comments that you prefer talk over action in the first meeting with him.

Having his completed dossier helps too, but I don't think it's mandatory.

# ¿ Jul 19, 2011 02:39

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Lotish posted:

By the way, I'm not really clear on just what the numbers on guns really mean. Damage is obvious but "high stopping power" and "below average stopping power" in a weapon is usually a difference of 2 points out of 30. What exactly do recoil and stability mean in the game world?

I'm pretty sure accuracy determines how accurate you are when standing still, recoil is how big your cone grows when you start firing, and stability is how big your cone grows when you're moving.

# ¿ Jul 19, 2011 02:41

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Speedball posted:

What I need to know for sure for this is, do you need to execute everyone it is possible to execute?

Pretty much! I'm pretty sure the only exceptions are Westridge, Parker, and Marburg. Also, you have to kill either Albatross or Sie, but you can't kill both.

quote:

You'd need some clever plot-tweaking to get it just so...

You do!

It's a pretty annoying achievement to get, since you pretty much have to know what you're doing pretty early on to get. A few things:

-Make sure you execute your handler at Brayko's mansion.
-As mentioned, don't kill Brayko until you have the info to go after Surkov
-Get Mina to dislike you. You have to go to the bomb room and make the choice to kill her for the achievement. You can't just ignore the room, and if your approval is high enough you may not get the option to kill her.
-Take Heck as your handler, don't take Leland's deal, and don't visit Scarlet in the Greybox. Then, after fighting Leland, go against your instinct and choose the option to spare him. Scarlet will show up, and you'll get a very amusing option to kill her. After that, you'll be given the option to kill Leland a second time. Just as you put a bullet through his skull the achievement will unlock if you did everything else right.

Edit:

gohuskies posted:

First: Are you sure you get an execute option? Under what condition? I was at -10 and only got leaver her or save her

"Leave her" counts for the achievement

Jokymi fucked around with this message at 08:00 on Jul 22, 2011

# ¿ Jul 22, 2011 07:55

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

The Automator posted:

I have the game for 360. I've seen little in the way of bugs, however, my character likes to randomly walk to the right for no reason. I can have the controller sitting on a table and out of nowhere he'll just truck on over to the right.

This obviously fucks me over quite a bit.

I have unfortunately not been able to update the game (no internet at home until July 30). Is this fixed in a patch or is it a controller issue? I haven't ever had a problem in any other game with this particular, fairly new, controller.

I played through four or five times on the 360 and never had an issue like that. I've never heard of it affecting anyone else, either. I don't want to say for sure it's a controller issue, but it's not a common bug in the game.

There hasn't actually been a patch released for the console versions of the game either, just a small one for the PC, so you don't need to worry about getting up-to-date.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2011 20:07

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

mrs. nicholas sarkozy posted:

ARghghgh I was absolutely loving this game until my first boss fight in Taipei and now I'm too frustrated to play anymore. I'm playing a stealth/pistols/tech guy and can't get Omen Deng down below about half health, and that's with whittling away about 1/6th of it in the parts when you're chasing him. He beats me to poo poo when I let him get close enough since I have about 2 points in martial arts, and I only have basic chain shot and it does barely any damage anyway. And I don't have any remote mines or grenades left. Up until now I've pretty much only done takedowns so I don't actually know how the combat works in this game except that I'm bad at it? At this point I'm nearly giving up with this game, it's too annoying to retry this 30 more times. I wish there was a way you could re-spec!

Don't forget the game always makes an autosave everytime you leave the safehouse, so if you don't mind replaying the mission you can load from that checkpoint to stock up on supplies before going in. That fight is a cakewalk if you line the pillars with frag grenades when he's hiding.

Also, if all else fails, you can go to another hub and gain some more experience before doing that mission again.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2011 23:48

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

FronzelNeekburm posted:

In more recent news: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2011/05/22/obsidian-still-wants-to-make-alpha-protocol-2.aspx

quote:

The conversations may seem similar to Mass Effect�s on first glance, but where that title keeps players engaged with constant choices, Alpha Protocol doesn�t put the system (and, by association, the characters) at the forefront.

Gaming journalism!

# ¿ Jul 27, 2011 19:05

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Cemetry Gator posted:

Also, it just sounds really weird when half of Shepard's lines are "Tell me about x."

"I have to go."

# ¿ Jul 28, 2011 20:06

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Rhaegar posted:

I've already tagged Pistols, Stealth and Technical Aptitude though. I've used all my AP points. I've also picked at least three skills that have that down arrow in the slot.

The down arrow just represents that its an active skill you select from the radial menu, it doesn't have anything to do with your tag skills. When you tag a skill, it should make the bar for the skill look 'longer' to represent the fact that you can unlock the last five ranks of the skill.

# ¿ Aug 1, 2011 18:18

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

I preordered the 360 version (and got the overpowered assault pack as a result) and played through it around 5 times, getting all of the achievements in the process. I then bought the PC version during a Steam sale and have played that one three times.

I would've just bought the PC version at first had I known it had native 360 controller support. Since I play both through the same monitor, it pretty much feels like the exact same game, just slightly smoother/sharper on the PC.

# ¿ Aug 12, 2011 20:50

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

In Training posted:

I had no idea this game has preorder DLC. What did the pack consist of?

There were two preorder packs: assault, which came with a shotgun and rifle, and stealth, which came with a pistol and (bizarrely) SMG. They were about mid-tier, if I remember right, which made the opening a bit easier (you could sell them for a decent amount too). They also gave you a bunch of free items, including 20 of various types of grenades.

The assault pack was at Gamespot, so it was pretty common, but the stealth pack was through Gamecrazy, which went out of business before the game came out. They switched the bonus to Best Buy at the last minute, but it still ended up being comparatively rare. I actually remember a few eBay auctions on launch day where people were buying the stealth pack codes for $30+.

# ¿ Aug 13, 2011 00:23

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Yeah, it works fine using the 360 controller with the PC version

# ¿ Sep 19, 2011 05:23

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Pharmaskittle posted:

So hey I'm playing as a Recruit for my first run-through before my Sterling Archer Veteran game, and the number of Recruit dialogue options appears to have dropped off really sharply after leaving the Grey Box. I mean I only just finished Saudi Arabia so it's not like I'm far in, I was just wondering whether they come back in force or not (I hope they do)

I'm pretty sure there aren't any recruit options after you leave the Grey Box. There are some Veteran ones throughout the game, but they're still fairly rare.

# ¿ Sep 25, 2011 07:14

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Scorchy posted:

I don't know what order you've done the hubs in, but making friends Russia can make that first one way easier.

I've heard people mention this, but it's one of the few things in the game I still haven't seen after all my playthroughs. I did Russia first in my last playthrough and made sure to become friends with Brayko, because I wanted to see that email. I even had him kill Surkov, but when I got to that mission, there was just the one intel for the false-bottom briefcase that there usually is. Is there something else I have to do to trigger that?

# ¿ Sep 28, 2011 16:10

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

etalian posted:

You still have to go through the final level but by signing up you will have option to either join Leeland as his new lap dog or dick him over in a hilarious way.

Doing the latter leads to the best ending in the game by a good amount, if you ask me. The former is surprisingly kind of badass as well. I was never able to bring myself to join Halbech and not betray Leland until my last playthrough, but it felt like a very fitting way to end the game for my amoral freelancer Thorton.

# ¿ Oct 4, 2011 04:59

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

WardeL posted:

Maybe I'm retarded but the story is completely batshit and I can't follow it at all, I stopped trying around the time where Thorton went rogue and I still don't even know why because they never really adequately explained it. My other main grief with the game is that Thorton's voice acting is loving terrible, so not only am I entirely lost story-wise but it's like it's actively trying to put me to sleep.

I just finished Moscow, now doing Rome. Does any of this poo poo ever get explained? Should I just restart and try to follow the story again?

Is there anything in particular your confused about? There are parts of the story you will miss depending on what you do, which is by design, but the general plot isn't very complicated. (spoilers only pertaining up to the end of Saudi) You're recruited into a secret government organization, you get sent on a mission to kill a Terrorist leader who was behind an attack on a civilian airliner, and you find out from him that he worked with Halbech, a large American defense contractor. After you deal with Shaheed, you survive a missile strike sent to your location and then find out Alpha Protocol has declared you a rogue agent. That leaves you no choice but to try and take down Halbech and find out who set you up and tried to kill you.

# ¿ Nov 7, 2011 09:03

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

The glass eye is actually from Shaheed's lieutenant, Nasri's trophy is his barret (which you get for either killing or capturing him). The glass eye only shows up in the Moscow safehouse for some reason, which I always found odd.

# ¿ Dec 8, 2011 19:48

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

khwarezm posted:

Hong, Grigori, and uhhh....?

Heck

# ¿ Jan 25, 2012 02:41

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

The executioner achievement is somewhat difficult to get. It's not enough to just execute anyone you're given the option to in a playthrough, you have to go out of your way to kill almost all of the main characters in the game, which takes some planning. I made a rough guide awhile back with tips on how to get it:

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3423015&pagenumber=38&perpage=40#post393807315

# ¿ Feb 6, 2012 00:14

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

The other most common tip is to put at least one point into the sabotage tree so that you can use EMP grenades to bypass the hacking minigames.

Keep in mind there is a sprint button, which isn't really necessary to use until one particular boss that gives many people a lot of trouble.

Any mission with an alpha symbol in the mission select screen will close all other available missions, so if you want to do every mission save those ones for last.

Every piece of intel you buy generates a new email, some of which add to the lore and/or are hilarious. They're really easy to miss, though, and I've seen a few people play through the entire game without realising they're there.

Don't worry about min-maxing the conversations. You'll get rewards and perks no matter what paths you choose.

# ¿ Apr 10, 2012 22:35

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

TechnoSyndrome posted:

2) To kill Marburg in the museum you have to give all suave responses to Marburg in the museum conversations, already have him dislike you going into that mission (so just use suave responses for every conversation with him), and choose to defuse the bombs. If you go into the Marburg fight without him already disliking you he'll know you're just trying to get under his skin and still leave. You also might need to have the suave perk and all of the intel on his file, but I'm not sure about that part. Someone else might be able to clarify.

The suave perk doesn't matter, but you have to have used mostly suave responses throughout the game up to that point. That's the most important part, if you aren't regularly suave you can be at -10 with him and he'll still just run away. If you're professional with everyone else and try to just be suave with Marburg, he'll know you're just trying to get under his skin and won't take the bait. If he mentions during the cafe scene that you have the reputation of being someone who uses words over action, you know you're on the right track.

Having lots of intel helps too, I don't think you need 100%, though, just enough to read about his failed operation that got him burned and cut loose by the government.

weekly font posted:

Thanks. I really, really want to kill him. On the other hand, is there any way that you don't fight Darcy at Greybox? I liked him/her.

No, sadly that's one of the least reactive things in the game. There's nothing you can do that will change the fight, or even the dialogue that goes along with it.

# ¿ May 26, 2012 22:59

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Magic posted:

One difference is in Italy with Marburg where apparently if you have -3 rep or lower with him then he'll STAY to fight you. That almost makes me regret trying to please him when we conversed.

It takes much more than that to get Marburg to stay and fight you, but it's definitely one of the most satisfying moments possible in the game if you pull it off.

# ¿ Jun 27, 2012 22:43

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

mastajake posted:

I was upset that I managed to miss a couple dossiers somewhere along the line. I was at 97%, with one missing from Darcy and G22. I'll have to fix that next time.

It's actually impossible to get 100% of the dossiers. There are a few that are mutually exclusive. At a couple of points, Mina will send you an email asking who you want her to dig up intel on, and there's no way to get the ones that you don't choose there.

# ¿ Jun 29, 2012 22:16

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Dreggon posted:

You mean... ghosting? Not knocking anybody out, just bypassing them? The game doesn't discriminate between "nobody knew you were there" and "nobody saw you, but you knocked everyone out". One alarm or red pointy arrow and you lose the stealth bonus, though.

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.

# ¿ Jul 3, 2012 18:08

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Lynx posted:

the Russians won't attack you in the Rome warehouse if Brayko likes you).

This is one thing I've never seen in the game, does anyone know exactly how to trigger it? On my last playthrough, I went out of my way to try and get it. I befriended Brayko as much as I could, even had him kill Surkov, but I didn't get anything from him in Rome and the mission played out like it always does.

# ¿ Jul 10, 2012 00:57

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

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.

That's strange. I've probably played the game a good seven or eight times and I've never gotten an intel option for that mission aside from the hidden money. It's supposed to work with either Surkov or Brayko?

Guess I'll have to be more careful next time I play. It has been awhile since I've run through the game...

# ¿ Jul 10, 2012 03:55

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# ¿ May 13, 2024 23:09

Jokymi: Jan 31, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy

Yeah, a lot of the gaming blogs picked up the NV Restoration Mod and used it as an excuse to post more headlines about the "Obsidian can't finish their games!" meme.

The creator of the mod even sent out some email corrections to some of the sites complaining that they were misrepresenting his mod.

# ¿ Aug 27, 2012 18:32

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Alpha Protocol: Hated by the same critics who loved Dragon Age 2

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