Preview Alpha Protocol is sneaky

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: Alpha Protocol; Obsidian Entertainment

Gamesradar are <a href="http://www.gamesradar.com/xbox360/alpha-protocol/preview/alpha-protocol-one-mission-three-ways-to-kick-ass/a-201003191629697075/g-20080313161521713022">previewing Alpha Protocol</a>, and they took a sneaky route too.
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<p style="margin-left:50px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;border-top-color:#ffffff;padding:5px;border-right-color:#bbbbbb;border-left-color:#ffffff;border-bottom-color:#bbbbbb;">Being invisible is obviously brilliant. But the skill timer took an age to reset (something that can be reduced by attributing skills in the right places) and prevented us from simply dashing unseen through the mission and murdering everyone before they even knew we were there.
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Even so, with plenty of skills piled into the 'Martial Arts' branch, fighting with fists and feet was an efficient way to neutralize threats. Even the lieutenant 'bosses' could be swiftly dispatched with little more than a couple of blows.
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Playing as a stealthy Thorton certainly worked, but we struggled to see the appeal. Why bother creeping through a mission when you can shoot your way to victory in half the time?
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Stealth = sneak killing
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Also it's slow, so just shooting everyone the old fashioned way is more appealing.
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Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/97263-alpha-protocol-preview.html">GB</A>

 

[Mister Arkham]

Despite the fact that they're bitching, I'm going to take this as a sign that at least some different play-styles have been considered and accommodated. Whether or not they are well accounted for...I guess we'll just have to see.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Being invisible is obviously brilliant.

I hope he isn't being literal about "invisible".

Playing as a stealthy Thorton certainly worked, but we struggled to see the appeal. Why bother creeping through a mission when you can shoot your way to victory in half the time?

sounds like they're eager to get finished with the game

 

[DraQ]

Being invisible is obviously brilliant.

I hope he isn't being literal about "invisible".

Sounds like he is.

See "skill timer".

 

[Clockwork Knight]

I know, but I hope the skill just makes you harder to see or something, not ezmode invisible.

Or, if you really become invisible, you at least still make noise with your steps. I really don't see the appeal in walking in front of enemies because they can't see me, no matter what sort of gadget they'll use to justify it, or how long the cooldown is. I think it does have an disadvantage, or else they wouldn't bother taking down the guards.

 

[denizsi]

Not surprising since stealth for Obsidian is

 

[denizsi]

I know, but I hope the skill just makes you harder to see or something, not ezmode invisible.

Or, if you really become invisible, you at least still make noise with your steps. I really don't see the appeal in walking in front of enemies because they can't see me, no matter what sort of gadget they'll use to justify it, or how long the cooldown is. I think it does have an disadvantage, or else they wouldn't bother taking down the guards.

I bet it's something like a visibility cool down, eg. whenever you're within LOS of an NPC, this bar starts filling up and you have until it's full to get out of LOS to avoid getting detected but until then, you are invisible. However, faster you move while invisible, faster it that bar fills up. If it's anything even slightly more dumbed down than that, fuck Obsidian. Or fuck SEGA, to give the benefit of doubt.

Now that I wrote that, I remembered that's exactly how it was done in Hidden & Dangerous 2, except it was for disguises, eg. moving aggresively in front of ze german sped up how soon they'd noticed you were an imposter, and was also modified by the character's stats.

And that game wasn't even claimed to be an RPG.

R00fles

 

[denizsi]

I remembered this only now: it's perfectly ok even if stealth in Ape ProtoKool is teh suckz because we all know that AP is Mass Effect with a face lift and there is no stealth in Mass Effect.

 

[poocolator]

and prevented us from simply dashing unseen through the mission and murdering everyone before they even knew we were there.

Yes. Wouldn't it suck to be force to actually play the game?

 

[Clockwork Knight]

So, another stealthy character ends up being the one with most kills and DPS

 

[poocolator]

At first I was like:

Not surprising since stealth for Obsidian is

]

But then:

 

[Silellak]

For that it's worth, certain characters in the game will respect you more if you finish missions in a more stealthy/less violent way. Whether this actually factors into anything besides different VO lines remains to be seen.

 

[Azrael the cat]

For that it's worth, certain characters in the game will respect you more if you finish missions in a more stealthy/less violent way. Whether this actually factors into anything besides different VO lines remains to be seen.

For that to be useful, you need stealth to be open to multiple builds. I hate to say it, but if stealth/non-killing has C+C relevance, then you're better off NOT having it overly stat-based (and here it seems like it's completely reliant on levelling up stealth abilities). I'm thinking Deus Ex, where stealth is available to pretty much anyone, but dfferent augs make it easier and different weapon-styles are better or worse at complementing it.

Otherwise it just becomes a locked in route for that character build rather than a 'choice' per se. Well, there is a choice but it is only the choice of build at the start of the game - which means you have to play through multiple times for it to actually feel like a choice. Loose stat-based-stealth, like Bloodlines, where 1-2 points makes stealth a common option, but a proper stealth build is needed if you want to go through all the stealth quests/options, also works.

My main reason for doubting the efficacy of stealth here is that the limited scenes I've watched seem to be the typical 'disguised corridor design' that is used in 90% of third person shooters - see Mass Effect or Dead Space. That's fne for shooting (though I still greatly prefer first person), but stealth requires an open map. There's nothing fun about going invis down a corridor - you need to be able to circle enemies to get behind them, stealth from one safe building to another (some parts of Hitman, the Paris level of Deus Ex) and so on.

Still hoping the best for the game though.

 

[BLOBERT]

BROS I FEEL BAD FOR US IT IS HARD TO KNOW WHO TO MAKE FUN OF MORE THE GAMING MEDIA OR FAG PROTOCOL TOO BAD THIS IS TO COMPLEX FOR MOST OF THE BRIAN SURGEONS HEAR TO TACKLE

 

[poocolator]

Yeah, BLOBERT, life in michigan does suck, innit?

 

[BLOBERT]

BRO I HAVE IT GOOD HERE MY FAMILY IS GOOD AND I MAKLE ENOUGH MONEY TO GET RELLY DRUNK ON MY DAYS OFF AND LIFT WEIGHTS AND PLAY VIDEOGAMES I LIVE IN A TOORIST TOWN OTHER PEOPLE ACTUALLY PAY TO COME HERE!!!!??!

 

[poocolator]

BRO your new sig totally blows my mind.

 

[Jim Cojones]

Yeah, BLOBERT, life in michigan does suck, innit?

That leads to a question: how was it possible for BLOBERT to write Michigan instead of MICHIGAN?

 

[MetalCraze]

Stealth = sneak killing
Also it's slow, so just shooting everyone the old fahsioned way is more appealing.

Especially considering that you have health regen and retarded enemies which according to gameplay videos spend 5 seconds before they notice you and then 5 seconds before they will hit you


This is gonna b ze best RPG evar!

 

[BLOBERT]

BRO THAT WAS BEFORE I SPILLED BEER ON MY KEYBOARD LOLOLOLLO SPEAKING OF TROLLS SKYWAY BRO THIS IS NO NWN LOLOLLOLOL NOW THAT WAS AN RPG

 

[Suchy]

On-screen arrows now indicated enemy locations and temporary invisibility

 

[Clockwork Knight]

It's not real stealth until you have big green arrows indicating when it's safe to sneak by enemies, who wouldn't be able to see you anyway because you're invisible

 

[racofer]

You guys bitch too much. We should all be thankful to have a developer putting effort into developing games for us so we can enjoy them into our free time, for free.

 

[poocolator]

Yeah, BLOBERT, life in michigan does suck, innit?

That leads to a question: how was it possible for BLOBERT to write Michigan instead of MICHIGAN?

FUUUUUUUUUU-

 

[Jaedar]

Why can't we get any good games?