I’ve been waiting for it to drop to $20 or less because I’ve heard complaints about the PC version’s interface and the DRM is of a variety that I particularly dislike. I played a friend’s 360 version.
Hmm, definitely missed it then. Perhaps I’ll add it to my wishlist and keep a closer eye on it.
Fuck you, now I have the uncontrollable urge to steal your Archer playthrough idea and run around in a black turtleneck. Unfortunately, my Steam copy seems to be fucked up since I uninstalled. All new installations won’t launch.
Anybody else had the same problem?
Speaking of keeping a closer eye on it, I noticed today that it has permanently been dropped to $29.99 on Steam (not a sale, that’s regular price). Perhaps bigger sales are on the way.
Wolff
1565
In the past I had this problem with oblivion, grabbing revo uninstaller fixed it. Make sure you don’t blindly select all though, because it will take out alot of steam with it.
Awesome, thanks. I’ll check it out tomorrow.
I bought this really cheaply on the 360 recently, and I was forewarned by this thread that it would feel unpolished but still have some interesting things worth seeing.
So far, having finished 2 missions in Saudi Arabia, I’m kind of surprised that I’m enjoying this game far more than I would have expected. By that I mean, I’m even enjoying things like all the minigames: the lock picking mini-game, the hacking mini-game and the bypass mini-game are all kind of enjoyable.
The dialog system is very different. Perhaps it’s because I haven’t played the Mass Effect games yet, but I’m finding it completely novel. It’s almost like the old dialog trees except you don’t get to see what you’re picking and you’re on a timer. I’m not sure what to think about that yet. I don’t mind the timer, because it’s not as if I’ve got much information to go on anyway. I usually just pick professional with this character right now, and I’m enjoying where the conversations end up so far.
Miramon
1568
Really the fact there is so much discussion here shows the game has something more than the stupid cover-based shooter it appears to be at first glance. A pity it was made on such a tight budget, and a pity some of the design decisions were just plain wrong, but even so, it’s not that bad.
I just get the feeling that most people were approaching this game looking for something it wasn’t. I approached it looking for exactly what it was and I loved it.
Things it is not: An advanced tactical FPS with deep combat gameplay. An RPG with deep and meaningful character interactions. A great stealth FPS with new innovations.
Things it is: A decent RPG with interesting plot divergence and passable cover mechanic FPS (I am using FPS and Third person shooter interchangeably because there really isn’t much of a difference) based combat.
Yeah. Often I play games like SC: Conviction or the new Bond game and think to myself “man, why couldn’t AP play more like this?” Well, a large part of it is logistics, Obsidian being a small studio operating on various publishers’ bread crumbs. The other part is laying the entire RPG framework onto action game mechanics. So, basically, AP required more work with better design done by fewer people on less of a budget than big-name action titles.
IME a lot of RPGs are lacking in combat mechanics anyway, and it’s the ability to make meaningful decisions that keeps them interesting. In this regard AP was excellent, which is why I too loved it.
Honestly, I think Obsidian could take their winnings from New Vegas, upsize, tell Sega to blow it out their ass, and make a spiritual successor to AP that delivers more on the action. But that’s probably wishful thinking.
pilonv1
1572
I think he means style of game, that generally they’re pretty similar. I don’t agree but I understand the comment.
Quitch
1573
I do wish AP had been less linear in its level design. Yeah, I can shape the plot and that’s nice and all, but I think the Deus Ex shaping your route from A to B was more effective in making me feel I was making a difference.
Joe_M
1574
I don’t know what you’re talking about. The choose your own shoebox brand of gameplay is relentlessly exciting.
Wolff
1575
I’m sorry are you trying to say the control and general playstyle is significantly different between FPS and 3PS?
Quitch
1576
Pretty much, yes. Cover systems are prevalent in 3rd person games while in FPS they’re almost non-existent. It makes all the difference in the world as to how you play them. Hell, the way you play an FPS can vary quite a bit across that genre alone, from stealth to all out action, though that’s probably unfair as my experience in FPS is much more varied than 3rd person.
Yeah, in hindsight I think I would’ve been more forgiving of AP’s other flaws if it just allowed for multiple approaches more often. That was one of the big appeals of DE and, well, it’s kinda sad it did it better 10 years ago than AP does it now.
As a counter-example, the recent Rainbow Six games are FPS which shift to OTS while using cover. Worked pretty well, I thought. And while not a cover system in the usual sense, one of the things I liked about MoH Airborne is the ability to lean sidewise or up while in iron sights mode, so you could aim over or around cover. Not that leaning is a huge innovation per se, but I liked the way they handled it.
However, now we’re getting into distinctions about not just perspective but also game mechanics. A run-n-gun shooter doesn’t play exactly like a cover-based shooter which doesn’t play exactly like a stealth-action game.
Quitch
1578
No, but the view point massively changes how you play. A stealth game in first-person is radically different from a stealth game in 3rd person.
I just prefer first-person because I find it so much more immersive, I love the limits the perspective places on me. Unless it’s a racer, I never found one (not that I tried many) where first-person didn’t feel like I was blinkered.
I think you mean 3rd person at the end Quitch. And I agree, even though I don’t know what blinkered means.
Though I did love the Rainbow Six Vegas cover system with the smooth transition to 3rd person when you’re in cover. That game had the extra immersion provided by first person, plus it still had the situational awareness of a 3rd person cover-based game.
Getting back to Alpha Protocol: I’ve already ran into a number of bugs in this game, even though I’m just on the 3rd Saudi mission. Nothing big, but it really does detract from the experience.
Oh, can I say how much I love the automatic evasion ability? I can’t count the number of times I’ve almost gotten spotted but managed to get away because of evasion. Brilliant skill, and one that would be hard to show in first person, I might add.
