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Alpha Protocol


True_Avery

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We got to sit in on a showing of Alpha Protocol, and this is what we saw:

 

It started off with the main character starting off in a house/condo or sorts, which also had hidden spy gear and such all over. Basically a type of missions select, shop screen. We ran around, changed our look a little in the bathroom, then set out to do great justice.

 

The devs started off by explaining the many different types of guns and pirks yo can use in and out of battle. They went onto explain that there are basially two ways to play this game: Guns blazing, or stealth. They chose to play a mix.

 

From afar, you've got your guns and gadgets. In stealth, you can use things to stun, confuse, distract, etc your enemies as you move about. As action, you can just shoot them. Pretty basic cover system for shooting.

 

You can also use martial arts (which cn be upgraded) and take on enemies hand to hand, which is very satisfying to watch. You can also go into a slow down mode where you move faster and do more damage to your helpless foes.

 

The models, maps, and particularly the weapons are very well done. The models and textures are superb, even though the animations can be a little buggy in the alpha we watched.

 

The main attraction to this game is the dialogue system. While talking with someone, a bar will appear and a Mass Effect style conversation circle will appear with things like "aggressive, blunt, honest, sly" and other responses. Depending on what mood you choose, the conversation will go different ways. Each reply gives you roughly 5-10 seconds to respond so it wont be too much of a quick-time-event rush but it does add to the suspense.

 

The version we watched was the alpha, so it had some bugs but it definitely looked like it was shaping up to be a fun action/stealth game.

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Very cool. I like the idea that you can accomplish things without the standard 'mow them down every encounter' mentality. I'm not sure about the timed response thing--I know I can read quickly, but not everyone can. Still, it sounds like they have some good dialog ideas going and different avenues to explore.

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Very cool. I like the idea that you can accomplish things without the standard 'mow them down every encounter' mentality. I'm not sure about the timed response thing--I know I can read quickly, but not everyone can. Still, it sounds like they have some good dialog ideas going and different avenues to explore.

The timer is long enough to read the "Aggressive, honest", etc options it gives you. Those are -literally- the options given. No full dialogue. No hint at what you'll say. Just what mood you'll say it in, which can be anywhere from brutal to sexy. We were shown an option in which we could either be hostile to this woman or not, and we chose to flirt at first then be hostile.

 

The dialogue played out as it would, but the options were simple enough to understand and read that the timer did little more than add suspense to the conversation.

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I asked them about whether you would lose potential experience for sneaking past enemies rather than killing them all, and they said you'll get experience for stealth as well as killing, and would probably even get more experience for stealth than you would for killing. Then at the end, they showed how the experience for that level was divided among how it was received, with combat experience, stealth, and something else that I can't recall.

 

Also, this was funny: Matthew Rorie from Obsidian was the one kind of leading the demo as somebody else played, and at one point you see a file with someone's password, and the password is something like "m1lfl0v3r", and his comment was "humor from the mind of Chris Avellone" or something like that. XD

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Also, this was funny: Matthew Rorie from Obsidian was the one kind of leading the demo as somebody else played, and at one point you see a file with someone's password, and the password is something like "m1lfl0v3r", and his comment was "humor from the mind of Chris Avellone" or something like that. XD
Haha, Chris. Cool.

 

Looking forward to this game. Am still a bit wary about the timer, but I think it's going to turn out well.

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The models, maps, and particularly the weapons are very well done. The models and textures are superb, even though the animations can be a little buggy in the alpha we watched.

Yeah, the FLASH hand-combat made animations were bugging me on all the trailers. I sure hope they fix it.

 

I asked them about whether you would lose potential experience for sneaking past enemies rather than killing them all, and they said you'll get experience for stealth as well as killing, and would probably even get more experience for stealth than you would for killing. Then at the end, they showed how the experience for that level was divided among how it was received, with combat experience, stealth, and something else that I can't recall.
Finally! Really, now investing on stealth skills is gonna worth something.
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The game is really starting to shape up into a substantial product. The only thing with combat that has really irked me was the poor aiming, but that was because all of the demos are probably on a 360, so the aiming universally sucks. :xp:

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Decisions. Decisions. Right now it looks like Alpha Protocol is going to come out around the same time as Mass Effect 2. That is too bad. I'm pretty sure I'll go with ME2 first and then pick up Alpha Protocol later.
Actually, AP is supposed to be out on October 9, while ME2 is supposed to be out in January of next year.
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