Alpha Protocol

[Jeivar]

I grabbed Alpha Protocol off Steam last year, just because it was so super cheap. I haven't even installed it yet, but I think I might finally give it a try.

I've heard that it's a good game with severely flawed gameplay. Are there any character building pitfalls I should beware of? Some skills that just aren't worth leveling up?

[Weezer]

Just level up pistols. I stopped playing when I unlocked the pistol ability to make critical hit head-shots that one hit enemies without even sticking my head out of cover. It's incredibly broken, to the extent that all the fun went away. Which is a shame, because it seemed like it would be a decent game.

[Jeivar]

Just level up pistols. I stopped playing when I unlocked the pistol ability to make critical hit head-shots that one hit enemies without even sticking my head out of cover.

So . . . it seems I shouldn't level up pistols.

[warty goblin]

So . . . it seems I shouldn't level up pistols.

I've pretty much uniformly heard that pistols are fairly broken. I rolled a hybrid assault rifle/ pistol build when I played, and found the ARs more useful. But then I played it like a shooter, which is to say I ignored the activated abilities and went around penetrating craniums the old fashioned way. The assault rifle did this better, and was more fun to use in that capacity. By probably the later half of the game I simply ignored the pistol and either shot everybody with the AR or used martial arts.

Really, I'm not sure it's particularly likely you'll end up screwing yourself over. Since you never really pick a class and leveling is fairly gradual if you pick some weaker options there's plenty of time to self correct.

Also, hacking can die in a fire. Lock picking is nice and easy, and the minigame for cracking electronic locks is actually somewhat enjoyable, but terminal hacking is a sort of rarified anti-fun.

[Morty]

I was very disappointed in Alpha Protocol, also having picked it up when it was dirt cheap on Steam. I was expecting a stealth-based game... but it turned out stealth sucked, big time. It was very hard to sneak around and the lack of saving at will made it even worse. It frustrated me so much that I quit. Maybe it's an enjoyable game if you just shoot your way through, but I haven't tried.

[Joran]

I was very disappointed in Alpha Protocol, also having picked it up when it was dirt cheap on Steam. I was expecting a stealth-based game... but it turned out stealth sucked, big time. It was very hard to sneak around and the lack of saving at will made it even worse. It frustrated me so much that I quit. Maybe it's an enjoyable game if you just shoot your way through, but I haven't tried.

Well, until you level up stealth to the point where you can physically bend light around you with the power of your sheer awesomeness. Then you can waltz up to someone in the open, stab him in the neck in full view of his partner and not trigger any alarms. Rinse and repeat and suddenly the game is trivial.

[GloatingSwine]

I was very disappointed in Alpha Protocol, also having picked it up when it was dirt cheap on Steam. I was expecting a stealth-based game... but it turned out stealth sucked, big time. It was very hard to sneak around and the lack of saving at will made it even worse. It frustrated me so much that I quit. Maybe it's an enjoyable game if you just shoot your way through, but I haven't tried.

It's actually very easy to sneak around if you've ever played a stealth-em-up before and don't expect it to be "I am in stealth mode how can I be seen?".

Stay out of sight by using cover and watching enemies' patrols to keep behind them and don't wear armour that has the "Noisy" property in its description and all of a sudden you are a ninja.

[Morty]

Doesn't help that if I'm noticed, it all goes to hell and I have to go back to a checkpoint that was quite a while ago, forcing me to replay a fight and two hacking attempts. :smallannoyed:

[Philistine]

I'm surprised by some of the responses here. I found AP's shooter-play so clunky it even bothered me, and I Do Not Like* shooter-play. In my experience the game actually worked quite a bit better as a stealther - which seemed logical for a spy-themed game. (Though you absolutely need a Plan B for "boss fights;" stealth won't help you there.)

As for skills: There are only 9 in the game, and the only two to really avoid are Shotguns and Submachine Guns. Stealth was my Numero Uno, and Pistols have already been mentioned. Also, a pistolero probably won't have points to spare for Assault Rifles, what with the other goodies on offer. The technical skills are relatively cheap to level and rather useful - Sabotage is especially noteworthy, as it maxing it will keep the various minigames at tutorial-level difficulty all the way through to the endgame. And when I said you'd need a Plan B for when stealth wasn't an option? Martial Arts and Toughness, especially taken together, can be that for you if you're reluctant to embrace the ridonkulusness of Pistols.

Also, have you seen the currently active Let's Play thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=228338)? It's spoileriffic, naturally, but... Eh. I don't know. I don't think advance knowledge ruins the story here, since actually watching it unfold (and changing how it unfolds) is the more interesting part, but YMMV. I don't think I'm spoiling anything, though, if I say that my very favorite things about AP didn't become apparent until I played through the game a second time, with a character who made very different choices.


* I actually preferred the action-y bits of ME to those ME2, just because at least in the first game I didn't have to pay attention to the boring, repetitive filler that padded out the game between the fun story and character bits - ME2 made the boring, repetitive filler in between the fun story and character bits even more tedious and frustrating. That's IMO, obviously - I am well aware that I'm in the minority on this.

[DaedalusMkV]

I don't think I'm spoiling anything, though, if I say that my very favorite things about AP didn't become apparent until I played through the game a second time, with a character who made very different choices.
I agree completely with this. I thouroughly enjoyed AP on the first playthough, fully admitting that it was a badly flawed game that I only liked so much because it happened to fall into the stealth game niche that I adore so much, combined with an engaging enough plot and a solid dialogue mechanic. On the second playthough, though, I realized that Obsidian had actually managed to do something truly remarkable; you know all those games that go on and on about how much your choices matter? The Fable promise and what have you? Alpha Protocol actually does. How the endgame goes down depends very, very heavily on the decisions you make leading up to it, to the point where different playthroughs can lead to not two distinct ending, but something more on the order of twelve. Who lives, who dies and who fights on which side is entirely up to the player, and I thought it was absolutely amazingly well done. The dialogue system is also excellent, as I said, much more interesting (if occasionally more obtuse as well) than what Bioware tends to do.

Overall, if you like Stealth games, interesting conversation mechanics and a branching plot based on player input, you'll probably enjoy AP. Unless poor game balance and a bit of bugginess drive you into a blind rage, of course, in which case stay away.

[Lord of the Helms]

Doesn't help that if I'm noticed, it all goes to hell and I have to go back to a checkpoint that was quite a while ago, forcing me to replay a fight and two hacking attempts. :smallannoyed:

While I agree that not allowing free saving is one of the eternal, unforgivable sins of truly stupid game designers, I really didn't find it hard to sneak through AP once I had the second version of the invisibility skill. Especialyl since there also is a silent running skill.

However, one thing I really had trouble with was starting my char as melee-only. Stupid, stupid, stupid. There are a few fights you cannot avoid in this game, and fighting multiple opponents at once with only CQC is extraordinarily frustrating. Doesn't help that I picked SMGs as my weapon skill after that, and had to learn that they suck big time compared to assault rifles.

It should be noted, though, that with one exception (BRAYKOOOOOOOOO!) CQC is really, really good for boss fights, especially paired with toughness. Beating Marburg or Omen Deng to a pulp with your bare hands is awfully satisfying.

[Cespenar]

I personally remember distributing my points between stealth, martial arts, pistols and toughness in a manner that the playthrough wasn't neither a cakewalk by judicious use of some broken skill nor a lockdown in a difficulty chokepoint.

Oh, I had to retry Brayko a couple times (or eight), but I hear that's common.

So, naturally, I'd recommend my build.

[bluntpencil]

When I played AP, I went full out with unarmed combat, toughness, and some stealth.

I ran around punching people, and completed the game without killing a single person. I did make friends with Heck, though. :smallamused: