Alpha Protocol on Steam

[Cit Phil Cit]

For those who saw the reviews and hesitated, I bought it and was very reluctant to play it passed the training mission.

HOWEVER. I continued anyway.

It entirely reminds me of all the good stuff of Deus Ex. Play through the first hub in Saudi and you'll find the game is amazing.

It's nothing like Mass Effect 2, which had a topically similar presentation - in regards to cut scenes and feel. It's entire a revamped up version of Deus Ex, where many excellent elements have been included with an interesting story too.

Get it on Steam when you have the chance, it's a really good find.

[J Arcane]

I wish you could turn off the timer for the dialogue options. I find myself falling on default because I feel rushed in choosing. It's a pointless feature and while I marginally understand why it's there, I'd rather the pause in the dialogue than the pressure of trying to turn conversation into a QTE action game.

Also, the hacking system is really damn stupid.

[Dukefrukem]

Oh man, they put a timer on the dialog? Why??

[Cit Phil Cit]

I understand what you mean, but you can always hit the pause button during a break in the dialogue to decide. Of course, since the options aren't colour coded anyways, it's almost moot.

I'm on the wall about it, I think the timing is fine, because it carries the flow of the conversation - if if I have a frantic moment trying to decide which one might increase my rep or whatever. At the same time, I'm glad it isn't colour-coded - it would be too easy.

[Ravenlock]

I think the timer on the dialog system is actually a really good move. I agree that it doesn't always work, and I wish that the timer started AFTER the other person was done speaking, because it's hard to know how you want to respond without hearing everything the other person has said. I find that keeping subtitles on and reading ahead of the NPC is the only way I can feel like I'm keeping up.

That said, I find it way more compelling than the dialog tree structure where you can walk away for a half hour, come back, and the other character is still just sitting there waiting for you to respond to what they said. This feels like you're having to make decisions on the fly that will have actual consequences, and that's pretty sweet in my book.

All of which is to say, I also picked it up, and I agree with Cit. It's a lousy shooter but a pretty strong RPG in other respects. Set it to Easy, max out your favorite weapon skill, and enjoy the story and dialog.

[AversionFX]

Oh man, they put a timer on the dialog? Why??

It definitely makes conversation flow.

Rather than:

Dwarf: "Yo ho ho! Let's go get drunk, fight stuff, and then pillage places for treasure (in no particular order)!"

1 - That sounds great, little man!
(But I hate dwarves... but drunk and treasure is cool...)

2 - Dwarves suck!
(What if he wants to fight me? Fuck. But I hate dwarves...)

3 - Can we make paper mache ducks, first?
(What if he thinks I'm a sissy and wants to fight me? Or tells me I'm not invited for the debauchery? :( )

None of that shit. I really appreciate the natural flow of conversation in the game. But the power-gamer in me wishes there was a pause so I could always choose the "right" option to maximize my relationships.

[J Arcane]

I found Mass Effect's ability to queue responses ahead of time to be more than adequate to maintain sufficient flow without hampering my decision making time.

[Karak]

I think the timer on the dialog system is actually a really good move. I agree that it doesn't always work, and I wish that the timer started AFTER the other person was done speaking, because it's hard to know how you want to respond without hearing everything the other person has said. I find that keeping subtitles on and reading ahead of the NPC is the only way I can feel like I'm keeping up.

That said, I find it way more compelling than the dialog tree structure where you can walk away for a half hour, come back, and the other character is still just sitting there waiting for you to respond to what they said. This feels like you're having to make decisions on the fly that will have actual consequences, and that's pretty sweet in my book.

All of which is to say, I also picked it up, and I agree with Cit. It's a lousy shooter but a pretty strong RPG in other respects. Set it to Easy, max out your favorite weapon skill, and enjoy the story and dialog.

Agreed. The timer system is much appreciated by me. One of the things I felt really made me pay a bit more attention to what was up. Love it.
The decision on the fly thing is exactly how we felt when we were playing it in our gaming group. Sort of like, make the choice and GO.
Can't say I agree or disagree on the shooting. It...just is what it is. Some of us have no problem at all, and some of us have problems with it. Personally I love it but many others in the group arn't so keen on that.
As you said, just sit back and enjoy. The storyline hooks and splits and random things occurring really make this just a fun title to play.

Also if anyone is having issues or questions you should check out the original thread. Lots of good setup ideas and hacks and discussion went on when it first came out and we all found out how cool it was.

[Lithium Flower]

It wasn't fucking available in my region! What the hell is wrong with you Sega? I WANT TO PAY YOU MONEY, fuckwad. Don't tell me it's not available in my region, piratebay never does! Assholes.

[Ravenlock]

I found Mass Effect's ability to queue responses ahead of time to be more than adequate to maintain sufficient flow without hampering my decision making time.

Your decision making time is supposed to be hampered - that's the point. In the middle of a tense conversation, the other side doesn't wait an indefinite amount of time for you to come up with your response. While I wish they gave you just a second or two more in Alpha Protocol - enough time to fully hear the other person and then consider your response for a couple seconds would be nice - it's still miles ahead of the "pause forever waiting for player" method of handling dialogue IMO.

[J Arcane]

The problem with that though, is that there's little to no information necessary to make an informed decision. It would be one thing if it gave you a little more to go on as to where the responses might lead when you make that decision but it's frequently not really clear what the hell you're actually going to say on a given option and sometimes the game outright lies to you.

It's easier to make a snap decision with all the facts in front of you, and it's easier to make a decision in absence of facts if you're given time to weigh the possibilities. AP instead gives you the worst of both worlds there.

[BigJonno]

The problem with that though, is that there's little to no information necessary to make an informed decision. It would be one thing if it gave you a little more to go on as to where the responses might lead when you make that decision but it's frequently not really clear what the hell you're actually going to say on a given option and sometimes the game outright lies to you.

It's easier to make a snap decision with all the facts in front of you, and it's easier to make a decision in absence of facts if you're given time to weigh the possibilities. AP instead gives you the worst of both worlds there.

Surely the point is that you're just acting how you think your character would in that situation. It's not about making an informed decision to get the "best" result, it's about reacting quickly, like in a real conversation, and then dealing with the consequences of your actions.

[Farsight]

If anything, you usually have more information than I'd prefer, as each character has pretty easily identified preferences in behavior. Act aggressive with the tough Russian girl, etc. It's really pretty easy to get the results you want, and there's no way to "fail" a conversation - some of the game's best moments are when you stumble into a line of dialogue you didn't see coming.

A nice tweak might be to have a Speech stat that affects the timer, but I greatly prefer the timed dialogue as a system. It reminds me of how people bitched about Dead Rising's timed world - I love it when games force tough choices on the player.

[Abyssion]

It wasn't fucking available in my region! What the hell is wrong with you Sega? I WANT TO PAY YOU MONEY, fuckwad. Don't tell me it's not available in my region, piratebay never does! Assholes.

One time I was out of the country while a sale was going on, and I had a friend log onto my account in America just so I wouldn't have to pay euro prices, of course I could trust him with my credit card number. So if you know and really trust someone maybe you should see about giving that a try.

Edit: of course it might be different if an item doesn't show up in a store altogether. but it would appear on your games list if you bought it, no? Maybe someone has tried it before...

[kyrieee]

Has this been discounted as part of the summer sale yet? I'm thinking about picking it up but it sucks if I buy it at full price today and they discount it tomorrow or some shit like that

[Ravenlock]

You missed it, it was $33 on Friday, which is what convinced me to snag it.

[kyrieee]

Yay or nay? Have you had a chance to play it?

[Ravenlock]

Yay or nay, do I recommend it? Well, you could scroll up and read the things about it I've already said in the thread. :p

I recommend it at a sale price, not sure about full. The combat system isn't great, no question, but the story seems solid, the voice acting is generally quite good, and dialogue system is cool and a legitimate part of the gameplay (there are some missions which are ONLY dialogue, which is awesome), and the spy atmosphere is well handled. I'm having a lot of fun with it despite the flaws.

[Lithium Flower]

One time I was out of the country while a sale was going on, and I had a friend log onto my account in America just so I wouldn't have to pay euro prices, of course I could trust him with my credit card number. So if you know and really trust someone maybe you should see about giving that a try.

Edit: of course it might be different if an item doesn't show up in a store altogether. but it would appear on your games list if you bought it, no? Maybe someone has tried it before...

Thanks. Whoa, re-reading my post, I sound really angry! :p

The sale over now so it's moot. I would have asked a friend to do it but it would create other issues. Firstly, I think you need to use a card issued in the country from which the purchase is being made. I am not sure my non-US card would work. Secondly, the game doesn't show up in the store at all, and I do not know if it would show up on my list later if I bought it using a proxy.

[kyrieee]

Sorry about that

It was very late :o


edit: 666th post? I bet it was satan who gave me the idea to buy this game. Maybe there's some good stuff in it but I won't be seeing it