Alpha Protocol impressions

Okay wow, I didn't see that score coming - maybe a modest 7.5ish (like Bloodlines), but not a 6. :|

I'll be the first to admit that it's neither a great shooter nor a great stealth game, but I thought the combination of those and the interesting roleplaying mechanics were enough to make it worth playing...so...hm, maybe they'll raise the score. Alternately, maybe they just did one review for one console version and copy-pasted it to the other platforms, and now they've changed their minds.

[QUOTE="Masculus"]

A question:

Does the main character looks like the douchebag I've seen on all trailers or can you customize his face like in ME2?

dakan45

You can't change the shape of his face, but you can alter his skin colour, hair, facial hair, eyewear and hat.

Most of the reviews i've seen so far are in the 7-8ish range. Regardless, It sounds like a great game with a lot of replayability; but also some quirks and minor flaws.

God, I still have to wait until June 1st. xD

Quick question: The graphics looked bad on a video I saw of the game. How well does it look on your rig and what settings are you playing on?

The-Mosher

How is the performance for you illmatic?

can you give me a brief rundown of:

1. the hand to hand combat system

2. the stealth system

thanks!

Finally! I got the game :D

I'll probably post some impressions later on.

[QUOTE="The-Mosher"]

God, I still have to wait until June 1st. xD

Quick question: The graphics looked bad on a video I saw of the game. How well does it look on your rig and what settings are you playing on?

illmatic87

Ok I played it a bit now. Kb & mouse controls are fine after you turn mouse sensitivity up, and it runs at 60+ FPS on my PC (Core 2 Duo @ 2.4, 2 GB RAM, Geforce 260 GTX and Win XP 32bit) with everything maxed out.

So far it seems like a very fun game. I didn't find any problems with AI and no bugs at all as of yet. As with Mass Effect, I find it annoying that I can't see beforehand what you're going to say in conversations but that's a minor complaint. Gameplay and dialog seem very solid, stealthing is fun. I don't know why the heck anyone would give this 5 or 6 /10 - I guess the reviewers were expecting a Gears Of War clone.

Ok I played it a bit now. Kb & mouse controls are fine after you turn mouse sensitivity up, and it runs at 60+ FPS on my PC (Core 2 Duo @ 2.4, 2 GB RAM, Geforce 260 GTX and Win XP 32bit) with everything maxed out.

So far it seems like a very fun game. I didn't find any problems with AI and no bugs at all as of yet. As with Mass Effect, I find it annoying that I can't see beforehand what you're going to say in conversations but that's a minor complaint. Gameplay and dialog seem very solid, stealthing is fun. I don't know why the heck anyone would give this 5 or 6 /10 - I guess the reviewers were expecting a Gears Of War clone.

HenriH-42

What resolution bro?

What resolution bro?

Lach0121

I use 1600x1200 since 60Hz hurts my eyes, but I tested 2048x1536 and it ran just as well.

Seems like there's no anti-alias in the options though. I wonder if it can be forced on.

[QUOTE="Lach0121"]

What resolution bro?

HenriH-42

I use 1600x1200 since 60Hz hurts my eyes, but I tested 2048x1536 and it ran just as well.

Seems like there's no anti-alias in the options though. I wonder if it can be forced on.

Sweet, I play at 1680x1050 but I think my monitor can handle 75hz, Yeah if you don't mind could you check on the forcing of AA, and if it works, could you check the performance of it then? It would be greatly appreciated.

Sweet, I play at 1680x1050 but I think my monitor can handle 75hz, Yeah if you don't mind could you check on the forcing of AA, and if it works, could you check the performance of it then? It would be greatly appreciated.

Lach0121

Seems like AA doesn't work.

[QUOTE="Lach0121"]

Sweet, I play at 1680x1050 but I think my monitor can handle 75hz, Yeah if you don't mind could you check on the forcing of AA, and if it works, could you check the performance of it then? It would be greatly appreciated.

HenriH-42

Seems like AA doesn't work.

Really, hmm, maybe Nvidia will release some drivers soon that will be able to force enable AA on Alpha Protocol.

@ the dude with the Zoe avatar

i think just general interface things I am used to. Several times I would naturally hit the escape button to close out a menu or command (its common to PC games) but its no go here, rather you are forced to click around in a linear fashion as opposed to using the keyboard and mouse in unison; not sure if that makes sense, but put it simply the WASD seems to be preferrable for menus which is the prime indicator of a console driven interface. Plus the the radial menus are still present with the inventory and gadgets. its not 'bad', it is just not as intuitive as it should be. The usual hotkeys or shortcuts to a particular menu eg 'M' for opening a map are at least there so its no Fallout 3.

Edit: actually disregard what I said about some of the interfave, right click = escape button :/

Here are some screens; 60FPS on the corner for my humble systemand the visual options available

Nice, Even the Aliasingdoesn't seem TOO bad without AA, from that picture.. Like I said Nvidia may release a driver that takes care of it, they have done it for previous games.

Seems like it runs fantastic though So I should have constant 60-75fps on my rig at 1680x1050 then no problem.

I'm excited, The gameplay, theme is kinda what drew me into the game, but knowing now that it has some optimization excites me even more.

Seems like a deviation from the normal pc games as of late. I can't wait till later when I can get it.

What does distortion do? is that like motion blur, or that distortion like on l4d2?

Go with Planeys word, the game is great so far, besides the consolish menus, controls, camera and one hacking mechanic.illmatic87

Computer hacking took a while to get used to, yeah, but after a while you'll have enough practice to whiz through PCs in a few seconds. My biggest complaint about the minigames is that sometimes when you're moving and clicking the mouse, I accidentally click the 'abort' button and fail the hack.

can you give me a brief rundown of:

1. the hand to hand combat system

2. the stealth system

thanks!

mrbojangles25

Sure.

1 - This seems slightly simplistic, actually...unless I'm just missing a few things.
You press 'e' to perform a melee attack, and depending on your skills, you can chain together a bunch in a combo, hold 'e' to perform slower, stronger attacks, perform running kicks, entry fury mode (like melee bullet time), etc. I think blocking is automatic...maybe? Enemies can and will block, but for the most part it works quickly and quietly - although charging at a gun-toting enemy usually results in them walking backwards and shooting at you. :P

2. It is mainly based on sight, sound and proximity, rather than darkness or anything like that. Running makes you instantly noticeable (unless you've learnt silent running, and even then that's only for a few seconds), but for the most part you can crouch around between cover and remain unseen for a short while. If you sneak up behind people you can knock them out or perform stealth-kills. Enemies have three levels of awareness, and will notice each other's bodies (these disappear over time, though) and react to noises.

You've got heaps of gadgets and skills that help with stealth though, and it is a very viable option for most of the missions (although it seems like you absolutely have to fight some of the big bosses - fortunately there's heaps of cover in those areas, and usually easier ways to kill the bosses, but they're the main sections you can't get through quietly). You're rewarded xp for every enemy you knock out, and you even get xp and perks for avoiding enemies entirely.

Oh, there are also security cameras and alarms to deal with, but you've got gadgets and hacking for those. Still, they'll keep you on your toes.

What does distortion do? is that like motion blur, or that distortion like on l4d2?

Lach0121

I'm guessing that that's the static-y/distorted effect that occurs during the flash-forward sequences between important missions.

[QUOTE="illmatic87"]

Computer hacking took a while to get used to, yeah, but after a while you'll have enough practice to whiz through PCs in a few seconds. My biggest complaint about the minigames is that sometimes when you're moving and clicking the mouse, I accidentally click the 'abort' button and fail the hack.

[QUOTE="mrbojangles25"]

can you give me a brief rundown of:

1. the hand to hand combat system

2. the stealth system

thanks!

Planeforger

Sure.

1 - This seems slightly simplistic, actually...unless I'm just missing a few things.
You press 'e' to perform a melee attack, and depending on your skills, you can chain together a bunch in a combo, hold 'e' to perform slower, stronger attacks, perform running kicks, entry fury mode (like melee bullet time), etc. I think blocking is automatic...maybe? Enemies can and will block, but for the most part it works quickly and quietly - although charging at a gun-toting enemy usually results in them walking backwards and shooting at you. :P

2. It is mainly based on sight, sound and proximity, rather than darkness or anything like that. Running makes you instantly noticeable (unless you've learnt silent running, and even then that's only for a few seconds), but for the most part you can crouch around between cover and remain unseen for a short while. If you sneak up behind people you can knock them out or perform stealth-kills. Enemies have three levels of awareness, and will notice each other's bodies (these disappear over time, though) and react to noises.

You've got heaps of gadgets and skills that help with stealth though, and it is a very viable option for most of the missions (although it seems like you absolutely have to fight some of the big bosses - fortunately there's heaps of cover in those areas, and usually easier ways to kill the bosses, but they're the main sections you can't get through quietly). You're rewarded xp for every enemy you knock out, and you even get xp and perks for avoiding enemies entirely.

Oh, there are also security cameras and alarms to deal with, but you've got gadgets and hacking for those. Still, they'll keep you on your toes.

What does distortion do? is that like motion blur, or that distortion like on l4d2?

Lach0121

I'm guessing that that's the static-y/distorted effect that occurs during the flash-forward sequences between important missions.

thank you very much.

i know you just got it, but any idea how long it is? What do you think the replayability will be like?

thank you very much.

i know you just got it, but any idea how long it is? What do you think the replayability will be like?

mrbojangles25

Absolutely no idea about the length, but after...15 hours (?) of slow, methoodical play I'm only just finishing up on my second country, with at least two others to go before the next big plot event. So I'm guessing it'll be at least 30 hours long.

As for replayability, aside from having three main character types (or any combination of those) and three game modes (standard, rookie and veteran - which change the difficulty but also give you alternate convo options, and change how people react to you), there are a whole bunch of factions to side with and big decisions to make (do you rescue the politcal leader or the civillians? delete the data or save it? things like that), so I'm guessing there'll be a fair amount of replayability.

Thanks for the impressions. Watched the training and first mission on youtube this morning. Doesn't look too bad but i think it might be telling of expected sales figures when Amazon has it for only £18 on release day.

Still pick it up in the future when i can buy games again so hoping all the issues will be patched out since then.

Thank you all so much for the impressions guys, I appreciate it, and when I can, this will be the next game I pick up, or order.

Eurogamer gave it a 7/10. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/alpha-protocol-review

Destructoid gave it a 2/10. This is a very polarising game. :P

But I agree with Eurogamer's review. There's charm there, if you can get past everything that doesn't work the way it should.

Germany's gamersglobal.de gave 8/10

http://www.gamersglobal.de/test/alpha-protocol?page=0,3 (in case you are interested)

Destructoid gave it a 2/10.

Planeforger

That means I'll love it.

[QUOTE="Planeforger"]

Destructoid gave it a 2/10.

Baranga

That means I'll love it.

who wrote that review? A 12 year old in advanced english?

[QUOTE="Baranga"]

[QUOTE="Planeforger"]

Destructoid gave it a 2/10.

mrbojangles25

That means I'll love it.

who wrote that review? A 12 year old in advanced english?

No, the biggest and smartest troll ever - Jim Sterling. I love him.

[QUOTE="mrbojangles25"]

[QUOTE="Baranga"]

That means I'll love it.

Baranga

who wrote that review? A 12 year old in advanced english?

No, the biggest and smartest troll ever - Jim Sterling. I love him.

idunno who that is but I will take your word for it, I've never been to that site before. Is that review a good example of what they have to offer most of the time lol

[QUOTE="Baranga"]

[QUOTE="mrbojangles25"]

who wrote that review? A 12 year old in advanced english?

mrbojangles25

No, the biggest and smartest troll ever - Jim Sterling. I love him.

idunno who that is but I will take your word for it, I've never been to that site before. Is that review a good example of what they have to offer most of the time lol

Yes its more of a joke site for reviews, trying to get attention

Okay after messing around for a few hours trying to get the wonky camera under control here are some tidbits to pass along that should help...this for ATI cards.

Update to the latest drivers (released on 5/26...D10-5_vista64_win7_64_dd_ccc_enu), Disable Crossfire (game doesn't really need that much power), AA can be forced via the control panel (got it set to 2x), enable triple buffering (control panel)and turn on vsync (in-game), disabling the mouse smoothing via the confirguration file didn't work for me (actually it just made it worse), disable motion blur (it poorly implemented and looks horrible)

Still not perfect but much better.

My Rig: Core i5 750, Radeon HD 5770, 4 GB DDR3

Boy am I glad I didn't listen to the troll reviews. So far this it has been most fun I've had with a game this year and I've only just finished one mission in Saudi-Arabia. I'm playing ultra-stealthy, being the Thief-expert that I am, the stealth is simple but works. I have no complaints about the AI or anything. The performance is absolutely great, I'm maxing it out with my not-so-good rig @ 2048x1536 with constant 60 FPS. I seriously suggest this game to anyone who likes RPGs and/or stealth games.

Edit: Also the load times are incredibly fast. So far the longest load time I've had was around 6 seconds. For comparison, Max Payne 2 (from 2003) loads a level in 10 seconds on my PC.

Boy am I glad I didn't listen to the troll reviews. So far this it has been most fun I've had with a game this year and I've only just finished one mission in Saudi-Arabia. I'm playing ultra-stealthy, being the Thief-expert that I am, the stealth is simple but works. I have no complaints about the AI or anything. The performance is absolutely great, I'm maxing it out with my not-so-good rig @ 2048x1536 with constant 60 FPS. I seriously suggest this game to anyone who likes RPGs and/or stealth games.

Edit: Also the load times are incredibly fast. So far the longest load time I've had was around 6 seconds. For comparison, Max Payne 2 (from 2003) loads a level in 10 seconds on my PC.

HenriH-42

Thanks for the impressions bud!

So GS has posted the final version of the review (+ video review.)

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/alphaprotocol/review.html

Seems like Kevin didn't enjoy it as much as I have. :(

@ the dude with the Zoe avatar

i think just general interface things I am used to. Several times I would naturally hit the escape button to close out a menu or command (its common to PC games) but its no go here, rather you are forced to click around in a linear fashion as opposed to using the keyboard and mouse in unison; not sure if that makes sense, but put it simply the WASD seems to be preferrable for menus which is the prime indicator of a console driven interface. Plus the the radial menus are still present with the inventory and gadgets. its not 'bad', it is just not as intuitive as it should be. The usual hotkeys or shortcuts to a particular menu eg 'M' for opening a map are at least there so its no Fallout 3.

Edit: actually disregard what I said about some of the interfave, right click = escape button :/

Here are some screens; 60FPS on the corner for my humble systemillmatic87

during the 2 first hours i thought the game was a piece of crap, i am getting some slowdowns here and there, there are a ton of little bugs and problems. the controls are clearly designed with console in mind and forces you to pause the game to change your selected weapon or skill. i can't stop imagining how great this game could have been on PC if it was not a bad console port.Kaeladar

[QUOTE="Kaeladar"]during the 2 first hours i thought the game was a piece of crap, i am getting some slowdowns here and there, there are a ton of little bugs and problems. the controls are clearly designed with console in mind and forces you to pause the game to change your selected weapon or skill. i can't stop imagining how great this game could have been on PC if it was not a bad console port.GeneralShowzer

Few more reviews for those who care.. seems reviews are all over hte place with this game.

Computerandvideogames.com = 84%

Power Unlimited (Netherlands foreign big game mag) gave it an 8.4

gladriel.com = 7.5

free-pc-guides = 88

1UP = B+

Few more reviews for those who care.. seems reviews are all over hte place with this game.

Computerandvideogames.com = 84%

Power Unlimited (Netherlands foreign big game mag) gave it an 8.4

gladriel.com = 7.5

free-pc-guides = 88

kozzy1234

[QUOTE="kozzy1234"]

Few more reviews for those who care.. seems reviews are all over hte place with this game.

Computerandvideogames.com = 84%

Power Unlimited (Netherlands foreign big game mag) gave it an 8.4

gladriel.com = 7.5

free-pc-guides = 88

TerrorRizzing

Yes I agree, I just posted these for people who swear by reviews, that some love it, some hate it so far, its not all bad so far with the reviews.

For me personally though I dont let review influence me at all, if the game looks interesting to me ill check it out, even if it doesnt look the greatest ill check it out and make my own opinion up. Some of my favorite games didnt get good reviews.

Reason is that alot of reviews seem to just want polish and great graphics, while for me i want good story, characters, gameplay, atmosphere or unique ideas,etc.. sure i like a game to run well or have nice graphics, but if its got a great story or unique ideas even with a few problems that usualyl doesnt bother me as much as most reviewers.

[QUOTE="TerrorRizzing"]

[QUOTE="kozzy1234"]

Few more reviews for those who care.. seems reviews are all over hte place with this game.

Computerandvideogames.com = 84%

Power Unlimited (Netherlands foreign big game mag) gave it an 8.4

gladriel.com = 7.5

free-pc-guides = 88

kozzy1234

Yes I agree, I just posted these for people who swear by reviews, that some love it, some hate it so far, its not all bad so far with the reviews.

For me personally though I dont let review influence me at all, if the game looks interesting to me ill check it out, even if it doesnt look the greatest ill check it out and make my own opinion up. Some of my favorite games didnt get good reviews.

Reason is that alot of reviews seem to just want polish and great graphics, while for me i want good story, characters, gameplay, atmosphere or unique ideas,etc.. sure i like a game to run well or have nice graphics, but if its got a great story or unique ideas even with a few problems that usualyl doesnt bother me as much as most reviewers.

Fully agree with you there Kozzy. Too many reviews i've read of games are too focused on the graphics. Yes AP's ain't cutting edge but they aren't as bad as is being made out by some. The other about the polish aswell is Obsidian aren't that big as a studio so bugs/glitches etc will get called out more in a review than for some other big name studio where they would get a pass.

You guys are saying that graphics don't matter, and I'm at the same spot as you guys, but remember that SEGA pushed the game to 2010 BECAUSE THEY SAW POTENTIAL to an AAA game, and what are AAA games known for?rmfd341

what are AAA games known for?rmfd341

Being overrated? :P

Seriously most of my favorite games of all time aren't AAA. Deus Ex got 8.2 (lol) from GS, so that shows what they know.

I was looking forward to this game, looks like it sucks. I need a pc game to play.

Giant Bomb quick look.

Obvious problems, nothing too bad though. Feels a lot like Deus Ex from this video...

Giant Bomb quick look.

Obvious problems, nothing too bad though. Feels a lot like Deus Ex from this video...

Baranga

Holy god :cry:

It looks awful and cheap in so many ways.

The combat and ai are TERRIBLE.

Especially at the cafe and at those moments that he shoots repeteadly with the pistol and the bad guy runs towards him and bashes him with the rifle, damn how did they manage to mess up so badly?