Review Alpha Protocol Reviewed

[Jason]

Tags: Alpha Protocol; Obsidian Entertainment

<p>The first totally illegal scans of an <a href="http://www.sega.com/alphaprotocol/us/index.php" target="_blank"><strong>Alpha Protocol</strong></a> review come to us from Spanish magazine Playmania. <a href="http://free-pc-guides.com/games/alpha-protocol-review-scans-surfaces-01553" target="_blank">Free PC Guides</a> (yep, that's the site name) were kind enough to link to the scans and provide a translated overview.</p>
<blockquote>
<ul style="z-index: -10;">
<li>Graphics -&gt; 80 - The exteriors are not so bad but the models and their animations are far from perfect.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="z-index: -20;">
<li> Sound -&gt; 90 - Appropriate soundtrack.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="z-index: -30;">
<li> Diversity -&gt; 89 - Even though it's the same game, there are many possibilities when it comes to customizing your character and deciding how to play.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="z-index: -40;">
<li> Duration -&gt; 90 - The replayability factor is really high. You can play Alpha Protocol a lot of times without experiencing the same adventure.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="z-index: -50;">
<li> Overall -&gt; 88 - A spy role playing game that succeeds in blending action with stealth and gives players a high degree of freedom in choosing how they want to proceed.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: left;">The Best parts of Alpha Protocol -&gt; The freedom to choose how you want to acoplish your objectives and a great decision making system.<br />The Worst parts of Alpha Protocol -&gt; Outdated graphics and basic AI.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Spotted at: <a href="http://www.rpgwatch.com/">RPG Watch</a></p>

 

[1eyedking]

My torrent bin. It wants it.

 

[sportforredneck]

Already preordered it yesterday.

 

[Azrael the cat]

Anyone know much about that site/mag? For some reason, I'm made more positive these days by cautious 80s scores than a '95+ AAA GREATEST GAME EVAR!!!' review. Is it a decent source, or at least a decent reviewer?

 

[Konjad]

The Best parts of Alpha Protocol -> The freedom to choose how you want to acoplish your objectives and a great decision making system.
The Worst parts of Alpha Protocol -> Outdated graphics and basic AI.

Perfect.

 

[Jaedar]

The Best parts of Alpha Protocol -> The freedom to choose how you want to acoplish your objectives and a great decision making system.
The Worst parts of Alpha Protocol -> Outdated graphics and basic AI.

Perfect.

 

[fastpunk]

This is all pretty much in line with expectations. Good to know.

 

[Turok]

Nice, time to buy :D

 

[someone else]

Basic AI, what? Like Deus Ex? Do they get stuck in doors?

 

[fastpunk]

Basic AI, what? Like Deus Ex? Do they get stuck in doors?

Kind of like DX I imagine. Haven't noticed major pathfinding issues though. At least that's the impression I got after watching this full mission walkthrough:
http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/29327

 

[entertainer]

My torrent bin. It wants it.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

My torrent bin. It wants it.

 

[Barrow_Bug]

Average scores and out of dates graphics? I can smell the RPG Codex river of semen already. Followed by, 'it's actually fucking crap because= wall of text. And then topped off with 'it's good for what it is'.

 

[Felix]

In before Skyway's tsuntsun.

 

[Redshirt #42]

My torrent bin. It wants it.

 

[AlaCarcuss]

Already preordered it yesterday.

You can't preorder from piratebay dipshit - just keep hitting F5 until it shows up

 

[TNO]

<Skyway> FFS. How can you give 90 for a merely 'appropriate' soundtrack. BSB. </Skyway>

 

[Black Cat]

So the graphic sucks, the soundtrack doesn't shine and thankfully goes unoticed, the game tries to acomodate several half assed genres instead of taking just one and taking it to the extreme so the stages will probably be retard friendly and will require only the barest skill, and the game's short but you can play the same stuff a lot of times while reading somewhat diferent text and watching somewhat diferent cinematics and that's Codex Porn? Carry on, i guess.

 

[Azrael the cat]

Ah screw it, can't be assed.

 

[Azrael the cat]

So the graphic sucks, the soundtrack doesn't shine and thankfully goes unoticed, the game tries to acomodate several half assed genres instead of taking just one and taking it to the extreme so the stages will probably be retard friendly and will require only the barest skill, and the game's short but you can play the same stuff a lot of times while reading somewhat diferent text and watching somewhat diferent cinematics and that's Codex Porn? Carry on, i guess.

Well, the review doesn't seem to say any of that. Your description might be more accurate - certainly the previews didn't look at all promising (to the extent that I've been expecting NV to be the better game despite the shit engine and abused setting). But folk here are just reacting to the summary of the review that they've received. And their reaction is entirely reasonable: lots of choices and decisions and replayability ARE much more important than graphics and AI. If the review is accurate, then it looks like the game might actually have the same strengths and weaknesses of Deus Ex (proof that a game doesn't need cutting edge AI if the maps are well-designed, with multiple paths through).

As a general expectation of the game, the previews do much to back you up. I'm not ripping on that. But as a reaction to the review, it's trying too hard. 88% is a very good score for a crpg that isn't made by Bioware or Bethesda, especially when the score has been pulled down by a factor I couldn't care less about (graphics) and one I think is overrated (AI).

I'm more interested in the answer to the question I asked earlier: is this reviewer/site/magazine at all reliable? Most reviewers these days are utterly shite, especially at the crpg genre. Do we have any reason to put any trust at all in this reviewer?

 

[Arem]

the soundtrack doesn't shine

Wasn't the soundtrack composed by Alex Brandon? The samples were great.

 

[Jaedar]

I think we need one of the biggies (Gamespot, IGNorance, etc) to be able to make a proper comparison based on the review score. But from the text it sounds gr8.

 

[Black Cat]

That the visuals, as in graphics and animation, suck badly we have seen by ourselves on the trailers. And let's not mention the design, please.

That the sountrack doesn't shine nor brings attention to itself was what he said when saying the soundtrack was just appropiate, not good nor interesting nor anything.

That the levels will not take any given genre to the extreme is obvious in the kind of game it is, since neither the enemies nor the level design will be focused to push the player skills on any given genre to it's limits because it has to accomodate other gameplay styles as well. Or do you remember for example any mission in, like, Deus Ex or Bloodlines or any other thing along those lines where taking the infiltration route got you into stealth gameplay of depth and dificulty rivaling even the simplest of Thief's missions? The same for any other of the genres it tried to extend itself into.

And about the length, well, they didn't say the game was long, they just said it could be played many times over seeing diferent things. If i go and ask someone if a given game is long and she answers, like, you can play it many times over! what's the safest bet? Sure, i may have spent entire weeks on The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, but that doesn't change the fact the game is twenty minutes long.

Also, wasn't this game a popamole third person shooter? One of those were you get glued to the cover and stuff and thingies? Wasn't that, like, anathema to everything the Codex stands for or something? Maybe i missed a memo.



In any case, I was going more for, like, nothing so far being deserving of so much slurp slurp instead of going game sucks. It sucks, though. The magic cat knows. :3

 

[Grunker]

So, now we trust reviewers?

I trust my own review, and btjunkie provides the means. What looks like Mass Effect 1-style shooting looks terribad, and I still have no idea exactly how much freedom you have during missions.

Still on the fence.

 

[Azrael the cat]

Or do you remember for example any mission in, like, Deus Ex or Bloodlines or any other thing along those lines where taking the infiltration route got you into stealth gameplay of depth and dificulty rivaling even the simplest of Thief's missions? The same for any other of the genres it tried to extend itself into.

If you didn't like Deus Ex, you're not in the target market for the product. Move along and pay attention to something else. Many of us, myself more than most, rate Deus Ex as a genuine contender for 'greatest game ever made'. No, the stealth wasn't as good as Thief. Guess what - the run'n'gun wasn't nearly as good as HL either. And the role-playing wasn't a patch on Torment or even BG2. But what it had was choice, not large-scale choice but micro-scale, where you had multiple ways of solving problems and completing the maps' objectives, many of which were far from obvious.

There's really not much point posting further if you didn't like that gamestyle. I'm not going to criticize you for it, but it's like if I joined the Valve board and flamed Portal for not offering enough dialogue options. Wrong genre, kid. You didn't like Deus Ex. Many of us love it and would dearly love to see something similar. Saying that something shares the same faults and strengths as Deus Ex, and then defending that by saying how crap Deus Ex was, say absolutely nothing relevant to anyone who is even half interested in the game. Even those, like myself, who are skeptical that it will come close to meeting its selling points.

Again, I'm not knocking your tastes. I'm sure there's plenty of folk who didn't like Deus Ex. But I'm hoping this game isn't aimed at them.

 

[Black Cat]

I'm not knocking your tastes, either. I'm just, like, saying a game tries to do too much and ends as a superficial mashup of several genres instead of focusing in a single area may result in a good and immersive experience, sure, but in the end the gameplay will suffer, and that's a perfectly valid complain.

I don't really think having the choice between several half assed gameplay styles makes the gameplay any less half assed once you make your choice. Actually, it works against the gameplay since not only must it catter to the obvious builds, like full infiltration and full combat, but to all the hybrids in between. So the combat can't be really hardcore, since it needs to be doable by a less than ideal combat build, and the stealth can't be really hardcore, as it has to be doable by a less than ideal stealth build, etc. Everything, in the end, will be kind of half assed as it must be approachable in enough ways no build, other than one willingly gimping itself, can't potentially solve it. You will never find a carefully built situation were only a masterfull and precise and perfect understanding and use of several and very specific gameplay mechanics can get you through, because many builds will not be able to exploit that mechanic, etc. And then the game is not challenging, and then the game is not game.

But sure, diferent tastes and stuff. More power to you if you like it, i guess. I just kind of prefer games that are trying to slaughter me and make themselves a rug with what is left of me afterwards instead of games trying to make me feel a superspy or whatever it was this time.