Along with Singularity, imho.
Alpha Protocol
Game » consists of 11 releases. Released May 27, 2010
Control rogue agent Michael Thorton as he tries to unearth an international conspiracy in the near future (where everybody seems to have a hidden agenda or two) in this third-person action RPG.
This is the most underrated game of the year.
I want to marry Stephen Heck." @Geno: Good old Nolan North is the voice of Stephen Heck. "
Well, thanks to it's extremely bad optimization (pretty much unplayable at 640x480 with worst settings possible, 30 fps+ in source games on high graphics at 1360x768 on this PC) I haven't been able to check it out seeing as my real PC has been broken for almost 2 months now and when I did get it back the case was broken.
" @Geno: Really? I'm fps stuttering so fucking harshly when playing it even when I put the settings to the lowest of the low. I know you're probably not supposed to use an onboard GPU but well, it works with most games and yeah, can't shell out for a new PC atm. "If you're using an onboard GPU you're probably not even meeting the minimum specs. You said you're getting around 30fps in Source games; although UE3 is very optimized and more or less a mainstream engine, it's still a lot more demanding than Source so the lower framerate and stuttering are to be expected.
I enjoyed it during my playthrough with it. It is definitely broken in spots though. I'm reminded off the boss battle against the 80's Eastern Euro Mobster. I couldn't beat him to save my life. Finally, I ran in circles until he got stuck on the wall.
However, once I beat it, I did not have any interest to go through it again.
Yeah, no. Alpha Protocol is a game brimming with promise that is continually squandered throughout the game in both the gameplay and story departments.
" @Jack268: The game runs on UE3, there is no better optimized engine at the moment. "UE3 is capable of many optimizations, but if you as a company cannot harness the technology, you can have the most amazing software in your hands and make a badly performing game.
That said, I'm enjoying Alpha Protocol. It suffers on the technical side, and the gameplay systems are over-designed, but I like the timed conversations, keeps things going and gives me a sense of urgency.
Agreed.
It's a superb RPG.
The amount of decisions you can make and how they all affect the game in a huge network like fashion is insane. Other games don't even come close.
After Alpha Protocol, choices and consequences in games like ME2 make you laugh.
Just like Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines this will be remembered fondly as one of the RPG classics in the following years.
@Meltac said:
This." Yes it is! People are playing it the wrong way, and when that's not working for them, they just call it a broken game. "
@wjkelso said:
Can you explain what was so much broken to place it into the most broken category?" @pretender15: You mean the most underated "broken" game of the year. "
The game mechanics are not broken, people just don't even bother to understand them, then complain.
Bugs and game glitches are very rare, this game is nowhere near as broken as Fallout New Vegas for example. There are just as many bugs in Mass Effect 2.
" @Meltac: If you're able to play a game "the wrong way", generally that's considered the developers fault, not the players "You can play any game the wrong way. I can play ME2 the wrong way trying to scan every planet or Black Ops looking for an engaging story.
There are a plethora of people complaining about guns in AP without realizing that this game is first and foremost an RPG not a shooter or even a stealth based game like Splinter Cell, it has those elements but they are not a priority. Those people are playing it the wrong way.
" @Meltac: If you're able to play a game "the wrong way", generally that's considered the developers fault, not the players "When people are playing the game like any other third person shooter, and not taking their time to understand the different mechanics, then it isn't the developers fault, but the player. The game isn't about shooting everyone, and everything, and that's why your shots are so inaccurate, it's on purpose, and I think it's great. It makes you think about the situation an extra time, and makes you consider if you really want to go out guns blazing. In the first place, the game is dice rolling RPG, and people need to realize that before complaining, and throwing out "The game is broken".
Alpha Protocol is a mishmash of genres, and it doesn't do any of them particularly well. To me, it feels like an RPG that tries to be an action game, but doesn't know how to make the two genres match. In my opinion, the whole dice role system is what hurts this game. It hurt the combat in Fallout 3 as well, but in that game, at least, the horrible shooting mechanics were saved by the VATS system.
I bought this game during the Christmas sale, for 7.50, and even that was too much money. It isn't a matter of understanding the mechanics--I understand them perfectly fine--but a matter of them simply being poorly implemented.
I'm getting sick of seeing "underrated/overrated" threads. Categorizing games as underrated is overrated :/
However, I've heard some good things about this game, and that the people who love it, really love it. I'm sure I'll give it a look-see sometime down the line. Might have to pick it up on Steam when it's practically free.
@zombie2011 said:
aka: I haven't played the game so I should shut the fuck up" I watched the Quicklook and nothing about it looked good to me. "
I feel like I've posted this same answer 2 other times but, I liked it. It was cool how the choices you made effected all characters you've met or meet. The gameplay is a little silly if you master stealth and turn invisible all the time, but if you can get it cheap I say get it. I originally beat it off a rental but more recently picked it up for $5 and am going to play it again.
" I stayed away from this game based on bad reviews and freinds owning it, just a bad experience. Shoud I a waste rental? "It will be on sale again on Steam, check it out.
I agree, I think this game is absolutely fantastic, its attention to story and decision making make this game worthwhile, there are literally dozens of variables at play that really impressed me; such as characters responding to passed actions, difficult split-second decision making and a dynamic story that's entire plot can seemingly change depending on how you played that game.
I just bought it for €15. I'm hoping I'll love the game despite its faults. Many games are great despite being kind of broken like Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines which had problems, but I still consider it to be one of the best games I've played. It's not like the market is full of RPG's to choose from. I can't think of anyone doing story driven WRPG's except for Bioware and Obsidian. Borderlands or Fallout are good games, but I prefer the type of RPGs that Bioware makes, too bad no one else does it like Bioware.
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