Preview Achievement Unlocked: Get With All The Girls

[Edward_R_Murrow]

Tags: Alpha Protocol; Obsidian Entertainment

More Alpha Protocol previews coming in, though these actually have some snippets of "new" information. First we have <a href="http://www.maximumpc.com/article/%5Bprimary-term%5D/e3_impressions_bond_bourne_both_or_neither_alpha_protocol_it%E2%80%99s_your_choice">MaximumPC</a>:<blockquote>We were also shown a bit of stealth – which, I imagine, terrified enemies allowed to be performed on them simply because they’d already seen their comrades’ barely recognizable husks and wanted their demises to be quick and clean. Stealth takedowns came in two flavors: lethal and non-lethal. Apparently, non-lethal takedowns are best used when infiltrating friendly territories. Beyond that, well, just remember, God is watching.
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[...]
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Color me impressed. After the presentation ended, though, I still had one ace up my sleeve. Jokingly, I asked if – like James Bond – your main character could potentially romantically “get with” all the main female characters in the game. “Yes,” said the presenter. “There’s even an achievement for that.”</blockquote>Next up is <a href="http://www.gamingangels.com/2009/06/e3-2009-segas-alpha-protocol/">Gaming Angels</a>:<blockquote>There are even mini boss battles - if you choose the attack option while in conversations, certain characters will go into a mini-boss battle mode. These generally don’t end in death but can change how the characters align with you.
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When you complete missions, you go back to your safe house, your RPG hub, where you can check your email or go to the store to buy intel or buy and upgrade your weapons. There is even a dialog system within emails where you can choose to be brief, direct, or snarky!
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[...]
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You can only go to Level 15, however, you will not max out your abilities your first run through. You will need to play the game a few more times in order to fully max out all your levels. The game promises 25+ hours of game play with over 40 missions available. With the new dialog system, playing the game 2-3 more times seems likely as the outcomes will be change dramatically each time you choose a different approach so there seems to be some replay value to the game.</blockquote>Some sort of Successive Play mode, or a preview error?
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Spotted at: <A HREF="http://gamebanshee.com/">Gamebanshee</A>

 

[DarkUnderlord]

Brief reply.

 

[Pliskin]

I am so fucking tired of Achievements and Unlockable Content in my games. I can barely stomach a single play-through of most of this tripe, so trying to force me to re-play it in order to get the "full experience" just makes me not want to buy the game in the first place.

 

[Barrow_Bug]

I really like the idea of a Safe house with all that other crap thrown in. Then again, I'm gay for that kinda shit. Loved the idea of Havens in Bloodlines. So, anything like that gets me rock hard.

 

[Andhaira]

I HATE forced replays too.

Moar like forced rapelays. heh heh/

 

[baronjohn]

This game is just an incredibly shitty young adult fantasy. I don't know why teh codex bothers. Oh wait.

 

[humble pie]

Every video game uses the same "get the girl" recipe.

For each chick NPC:
Make a witty comment: +1 point;
Tell her you like her: +2 points;
Do a favor for her: +4 points;
Get her a gift: +4 points.

Accumulate 5 points and she'll sleep with you. Mission accomplished. Yay.

It'd be nice if they mixed it up a little. Some ideas:
- You have to first frame her current boyfriend so it looks like he'd been cheating on her. (And then you gotta make your move at exactly the right moment while she's crying, or the difficulty/timeline for closing the deal is going to increase quickly.)

- You need to strike just the right balance between insults and compliments so as to bring down her general self-esteem while making her think she's special to you. (Alcohol level could be a third variable, but that might make the minigame too complicated.)

- After this announcement, they should add a tease NPC just for kicks. She seems like all the other girls you can sleep with, but you can run around giving gifts and doing favors for this girl all day and never get more than flirtatious dialogue. You've just been wasting your time. We would get some entertaining rants from sexually frustrated teenagers about how "I restarted 30 times trying to save her from kidnappers, and all I got in the end was a kiss on the cheek! That frigid bitch!!11!" The poor lad wants to see those digital boobs. The trick he missed was that before you rescue her you have to sneak in and negotiate with her for the post-rescue sex. It might be ethically questionable, but thus is the price of real achievement.

Alternatively, I think it'd be a better lesson for kids everywhere if they portray sleeping around as a quick way to make some very devoted enemies. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

 

[MetalCraze]

Alpha Protocol appears to be more retarded with each passing day.
Achievements, mini-bosses - what?

Stealth takedowns - especially lethal stealth takedowns - killing enemies is what is considered stealth this days?

You will need to play the game a few more times in order to fully max out all your levels.

"Replayability" with maxing out stats, Obsidian way.

This game is just an incredibly shitty young adult fantasy. I don't know why teh codex bothers. Oh wait.

But... but it is labeled as RPG. Codex will buy anything labeled with RPG these days.

 

[Wyrmlord]

Stealth takedowns - especially lethal stealth takedowns - killing enemies is what is considered stealth this days?

Skyway...

Don't. Just don't.

 

[DriacKin]

Fixed:

But... but it is labeled as RPG. Codex will torrent anything labeled with RPG these days.

 

[Barrow_Bug]

Alpha Protocol appears to be more retarded with each passing day.
Achievements, mini-bosses - what?

Stealth takedowns - especially lethal stealth takedowns - killing enemies is what is considered stealth this days?

You will need to play the game a few more times in order to fully max out all your levels.

"Replayability" with maxing out stats, Obsidian way.

This game is just an incredibly shitty young adult fantasy. I don't know why teh codex bothers. Oh wait.

But... but it is labeled as RPG. Codex will buy anything labeled with RPG these days.

Metalcraze, Posts: 8120, Lulz: Never ending.

 

[BlitzKitchen]

In before Arbiters of Heretical Speech Directed Towards Obsidian.

 

[M_I_C_K_E_Y_M_O_U_S_E]

Alpha Protocol appears to be more retarded with each passing day.
Achievements, mini-bosses - what?

Stealth takedowns - especially lethal stealth takedowns - killing enemies is what is considered stealth this days?

You will need to play the game a few more times in order to fully max out all your levels.

"Replayability" with maxing out stats, Obsidian way.

This game is just an incredibly shitty young adult fantasy. I don't know why teh codex bothers. Oh wait.

But... but it is labeled as RPG. Codex will buy anything labeled with RPG these days.

lol.

Say hi to Cleve.

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

I am so fucking tired of Achievements and Unlockable Content in my games. I can barely stomach a single play-through of most of this tripe, so trying to force me to re-play it in order to get the "full experience" just makes me not want to buy the game in the first place.

I HATE forced replays too.

Moar like forced rapelays. heh heh

What. The. Fuck. The Codex is bitching about mutually exclusive paths in an RPG, something truly worthy of praise? Really?

In other news, there is also an achievement for going celibate and ignoring romances.

 

[Krash]

I don't see why some people cry about achievements. They don't really add anything, but then they don't take away anything either.

Sometimes they're really, really retarded though. *Achievement* You successfully escaped the vault!

 

[M_I_C_K_E_Y_M_O_U_S_E]

Or *achievement* You unlocked hard mode! and, *achievement* Your future characters are now 25% stronger. Theres no toggle for it, and if you don't like you can suck my big fat dick.

 

[Pliskin]

I am so fucking tired of Achievements and Unlockable Content in my games. I can barely stomach a single play-through of most of this tripe, so trying to force me to re-play it in order to get the "full experience" just makes me not want to buy the game in the first place.

I HATE forced replays too.

Moar like forced rapelays. heh heh

What. The. Fuck. The Codex is bitching about mutually exclusive paths in an RPG, something truly worthy of praise? Really?

In other news, there is also an achievement for going celibate and ignoring romances.

Obviously, English is yr second language, so I'll say this again, slowly and loudly, just for you:

There is a difference between mutually exclusive paths --- you know, the C & C everybody is always bitching about --- and being UNABLE TO CHOOSE THAT PATHWAY AT ALL UNTIL YOU"VE UNLOCKED SOME COMPLETELY ARBITRARY ACHIEVEMENT, USUALLY FORCING YOU TO REPLAY THE GAME WITH AN ONLY EVER-SO-SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT CHARACTER, YET NOW COMPLETELY AWARE OF EVERY TWIST THE GAME HAS TO THROW AT YOU.

Ooooh, fun.

 

[Jim Cojones]

I don't care about achievements unless they don't come with huge pop-ups and trumpets. And adding achievements to the game shouldn't be time consuming maybe developers are wasting some time which could be better spent but it's not a crucial amount.

Or *achievement* You unlocked hard mode! and, *achievement* Your future characters are now 25% stronger. There's no toggle for it, and if you don't like you can suck my big fat dick.

I haven't played many games with achievements but in most getting achievement don't have an impact on gameplay and it's only an information. Although I may be wrong. And I didn't see anyone bitching about achievements in Fallouts (the old ones, off course) also known as "player reputations". I'm more interested in finding out what is this shit:

There are even mini boss battles - if you choose the attack option while in conversations, certain characters will go into a mini-boss battle mode. These generally don’t end in death but can change how the characters align with you.

battle mode - so it's different than standard combat? In what way? Is it a mini game? QTE?
don't end in death - because characters being almost defeated is probably the worst element of hero vs. vilain fiction.
Can change alignment or will always change? It's difficult to imagine a situation when trying to kill somebody won't have any impact on your relations.

 

[Jim Cojones]

There is a difference between mutually exclusive paths --- you know, the C & C everybody is always bitching about --- and being UNABLE TO CHOOSE THAT PATHWAY AT ALL UNTIL YOU"VE UNLOCKED SOME COMPLETELY ARBITRARY ACHIEVEMENT, USUALLY FORCING YOU TO REPLAY THE GAME WITH AN ONLY EVER-SO-SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT CHARACTER, YET NOW COMPLETELY AWARE OF EVERY TWIST THE GAME HAS TO THROW AT YOU.

Ooooh, fun.

You can only go to Level 15, however, you will not max out your abilities your first run through. You will need to play the game a few more times in order to fully max out all your levels.

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

There is a difference between mutually exclusive paths --- you know, the C & C everybody is always bitching about --- and being UNABLE TO CHOOSE THAT PATHWAY AT ALL UNTIL YOU"VE UNLOCKED SOME COMPLETELY ARBITRARY ACHIEVEMENT, USUALLY FORCING YOU TO REPLAY THE GAME WITH AN ONLY EVER-SO-SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT CHARACTER, YET NOW COMPLETELY AWARE OF EVERY TWIST THE GAME HAS TO THROW AT YOU.

Ooooh, fun.

Where does it say something like this? All conversation choices are available on your very first playthrough.

 

[Luzur]

achievements are just dick enlargers for modern console kids.

 

[Vibalist]

There is a difference between mutually exclusive paths --- you know, the C & C everybody is always bitching about --- and being UNABLE TO CHOOSE THAT PATHWAY AT ALL UNTIL YOU"VE UNLOCKED SOME COMPLETELY ARBITRARY ACHIEVEMENT, USUALLY FORCING YOU TO REPLAY THE GAME WITH AN ONLY EVER-SO-SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT CHARACTER, YET NOW COMPLETELY AWARE OF EVERY TWIST THE GAME HAS TO THROW AT YOU.

Ooooh, fun.

You can only go to Level 15, however, you will not max out your abilities your first run through. You will need to play the game a few more times in order to fully max out all your levels.

Seconded. What a fucking moron.

 

[MetalCraze]

Where does it say something like this? All conversation choices are available on your very first playthrough.

How do you know this game will have any C&C? So far everything points at this game being a retard-friendly piece of shit. Just how many Obsidian games have C&C at all? 1 out of 4? And that one was a niche PC-exclusive addon with terrible combat and terrible character development. So explain to me why are you Obsidian fanboi always crying about AP having C&C when Obsidian is well known for doing the contrary?

A less important complaint: It even says that you can max out your character oblivion-style except on the following playthrough(s) making the game... UH OH! Even easier. And ultimately making all content available.

 

[Rhalle]

I don't see why some people cry about achievements. They don't really add anything, but then they don't take away anything either.

Look at HL2:Episode 2 level design and you will see that Valve is ahead of the curve also on why achievements are bad and where the inclusion of achievements is naturally headed-- which is towards becoming something other than junk tacked on to an already completed game.

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

How do you know this game will have any C&C?

It's one of the main selling points?

Just how many Obsidian games have C&C at all? 1 out of 4?

More like 3 out of 4. Only SoZ didn't have any.

It even says that you can max out your character oblivion-style except on the following playthrough(s) making the game... UH OH! Even easier. And ultimately making all content available.

1. You can't max out your character in one playthrough. I think that's a pretty big moment.
2. There are unlockable difficulty levels, and high level characters will be challenged accordingly. You'll need those skills.
3. Not all content will be available even to a character like this. You can't solve a quest in all possible ways at once, and you still will have to decide what faction you want to align yourself with.