I don't really anticipate this being a super popular thread, but after playing the game for roughly 2 hours at the recommendation of some other users on here I thought that making a thread based on my experiences thus far would be an interesting thing to do.

Now with that being said... this game really isn't living up to the hype that people were laying on me. It isn't a bad game by any means... it is just incredibly mediocre (that is a far worse offense to me than just being a steaming pile of shit). It is like they decided to program in so many ideas that looked interesting on paper that they forgot too (or perhaps didn't have time too) fully flesh them out to make them interesting in game.

The decision system is a neat little idea... too bad it is hampered by the rather boring writing & less than stellar voice acting (particularly that of the main character who sounds like he is always bored out of his mind).

The stealth aspects of the game are forgettable when they should have been one of the main focuses... I mean this is a game in which you play as a spy right? There is something that is just super clunky about the system... it never truly feels like you are sneaking up on your enemies to me & as such is completely unsatisfying. One cool thing about what little bit of a system that is in place is the stealth KOs... yet I would have honestly liked to have seen some stealth KILLS as well (Ala MGS). Another cool thing that I would have liked to have seen added in to the system would be the ability to do stealth kills from above or below an enemy (& truthfully you may be able to & I just haven't got that far yet. Somehow I doubt it though).

Now on to combat... the gun fighting is seriously lame. Your weapons barely do any damage & the accuracy is just terrible. On the other hand(s) the hand to hand combat is for the most part pretty good & would be something else I would like to see expanded on if there is ever a sequel.... maybe mix in some throws & whatnot.

I think this game is a good building block, but as a fun experience it is failing thus far.

I actually agree completely with your assessment of the game. Like most Obsidian games, it just doesn't feel like a complete game. I always felt like they were going somewhere cool with it, but never quite got there. By the time I got to the boss battle in the "disco room", I just gave up on it out of frustrating boredom.

I have the same opinion of the game but according to a lot of people on this forum if you endure the crappiness of the first missions the game gets much better later on. I guess they mean that the story gets much better because I don't think the broken game mechanics will improve over time unless you learn to stop caring about them.
This game is on my list to give a second chance but it may take a while until I install it again so my original impression that it's a mediocre game with very vocal fans remains.

I can tell by some of the things you said you simply haven't figured out some ways the game works yet.

I'm pretty damn sure there are stealth kills along with stealth knockldowns. (And compared to Deus Ex 3, at least you don't have to eat a candy bar every time you knock someone out or wait 20 seconds lol)

Ok, the gun thing i in Alpha Protocol is odd , it is like the original Deus Ex in a way. But if you keep leveling up a single gun eventually it will be very strong, some even overpowered such as the pistol with the chain shot ability. But I'm guessing you haven't realized that cause you're still early on in the game. Also, when using guns especially in the beginning make sure you wait for the circle to get tighter before shooting. If you try to shoot guns like in most video games they don't work that well especially at the beginning. In a sense, the game is more of an RPG than an action game, how you level up is more important than your actual stealth or shooting skills I think. Which I actually ilke because my reflexes are terrible so in fact I actually ENJOY the gameplay in Alpha Protocol.

Not going to comment much on the story cause I don't think it is easy to get a grasp on what you think of it until after Saudi Arabia in the game.

(BTW, this is not because I'm an Obsidian fanboy which I thought. After playing Star Wars KOTOR II, Alpha Protocol and Fallout New Vegas, I got NWN2 which I found terrible. Bad story and incredibly bad game design,gameplay. Everything was just so awkward to me in the game. To the point where even Mask of the Betrayer annoys me even though it has a better story because it still shares the annoying camera angle. Lol. I probably would have enjoyed Mask of the Betrayer more if I didn't bother with the original campaign.)

I love the concept. My experiences thus far have been... well, I'm still downloading it. 10 gigs is a lot. :-p

While I think game mechanics of it are mediocre, I just LOVE how Alpha Protocol presents itself - I have put about 4 hours into it so far and I really, really love the game. I tend to give a lot of weight to story, decisionmaking and writing in a game and those parts of Alpha Protocol just feel right. I loved raise of the Argonauts thou so .. My opinion doesn't quite count :D

lol. I liked Rise of the Argonauts too which is truly a bad game but I liked it. I don't think Rise of the Argonauts choices matter at all really story wise (unlike Alpha Protocol) except for who would join you after a one level though which still had no real effect on the story. I just enjoyed rise of the Argonauts because it felt like Jade Empire in ancient Greece instead of ancient China.

In other words, I don't thikn of Alpha Protocol as a bad game I like but I do think of Rise of the Argonauts as bad game I like. lol

you can kill lethally. Don't remember what button exactly but one is KO and one is for a kill. and it is pretty impressive.

Cant do that at first tough aka the first level.


on my first playthrough i did go melee. Practically never used guns except to weaken bosses a bit but even then I relay mostly on gadgets as I never put any points in guns.

Punching guys in the throat was so much fun.

I have this game on PS3 and now PC. I can say with full confidence that this game, while not stellar. is still damn good. But I do agree with you for some parts Robert.

The game is a RPG.

The reason people hype it up so much is because the review scores for it were considered very mediocre, and a lot of people treat it as that.

But the inter-personal relationships, the difference in character Thornton actually becomes based on the options chosen, the likeability of the cast and a solid chunk of ideas that unfortunately don't quite make it are what make people so pleasantly surprised when they actually do play it, and so vocal about how good it actually was.

You see the game would have been a hit had it been a little tighter, the problem was it didn't feel finished in the actual combat department.

I hope to be able to play it soon, I found a brand new copy of the game in a bargain bin in a supermarket. 2€, even if it's an average game, it is a steal.

I "hope" to play, because the %$# protection system wants me to register online and doesn't seem to understand my internet connection is up and active... :(

The patch removes the DRM. I don't think the activation servers work anymore.

Thank you Aningan, that's all that needs to be said about this game

It's an RPG with shooter elements, not the other way around

People try to play it like Gears or Cawwadooty and then wonder why their get their ass kicked in the game

Many people got this game for 2 bucks during the steam sales and that's a good thing because the more people play this great game - the better