Good game. No one playing it?

Ruds · Post by **Ruds** » Sat Aug 14, 2010 12:42 pm

I'm surprised at how few people *seem* to be playing AP. The Gamebanshee crowd strikes me as this game's target audience, yet this forum is super dead. I'm playing it on PC and have yet to encounter any major bugs, and really only one crippling design decision (timed responses - really?).

Anyway, don't buy into the 1-star-out-of-10 reviews. This game is actually really good.

Kurli · Post by **Kurli** » Thu Aug 19, 2010 3:45 am

I am. It's a genius game and I'm a big fan of spy fiction. Which makes it all the more enjoyable.

But to be honest, I actually liked the timed responses. Bound with the voice acting it really gave the feel of actual interactive dialog.

They felt a lot more lively than in other rpgs.

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Thu Aug 19, 2010 9:02 am

I played it too, and enjoyed it a lot. Timed-responses are actually a great thing. Makes you choose instinctively.

swcarter · Post by **swcarter** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 12:12 am

The only thing I didn't like about the timed responses is that the timer always starts before the other person has finished talking, and sometimes you almost have to give an answer before you know what the question is.

SWC

jack828 · Post by **jack828** » Sun Aug 22, 2010 10:39 am

I've played this game on PC and loved it. I didn't come across any bugs and I loved the timed responses. They anoly thing that annoyed me was the way Mike looked while sneaking. I thought he looked like he had a stick stuck up his rear.

Scully · Post by **Scully** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 12:58 pm

It's actually good? It drew a lot of attention for some reason, even though it wasn't supposed to be a typical fps targeted at mainstream gamers. But it still drew a lot of negative attention from 13 year old kids saying "wow what ****ty graphics, was this game made last year or something?". Also bad reviews discouraged the real target audience from getting it I think.

Ruds · Post by **Ruds** » Sat Aug 28, 2010 7:02 pm

Yeah, bad reviews very nearly stopped me from playing it. I hated the timed responses because I don't play RPGs to see how I'd respond in a situation - the "do what's instinctive" doesn't appeal to me. I want to play an RPG to do something different and explore other possibilities. I often want to consider my options and weigh them.

Also, like was already mentioned, some answers were required before the question was asked. Also, sometimes I just didn't have my hand on my mouse or just wasn't ready to respond...

Otherwise, I really liked it. I really think it's a shame it's doing so poorly. Like I already said, I very nearly didn't buy it because of the bad reviews. I only bought it because the Gamebanshee review did it some justice and changed my mind.

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Sun Aug 29, 2010 3:12 am

Just being the Devil's Advocate: RPG = Role Playing Game, and you take on the Role of Thorton. When the responses are timed (barring a few questions not finished, that was a mistake), you simply don't HAVE the time to weigh your options.
Don't get me wrong: I understand what you're trying to say, but the point is that those timed responses made more sense than thinking about things over and over.

jack828 · Post by **jack828** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 12:34 am

I agree with Gawain on this one. I was also surprised by some of the opions I read in reviews. One of the reviewers here in Belgium said that he didn't like the fact that his soldiercharacter (who apparently was specialized in assault rifles) was no good when using pistols. he went on to say that he had had several enemies dead in his crosshairs and still missed when using pistols on point blank range. He then stated that because of this the game was basicly not worth playing (although he did give other reasons). When I read this I just laughed out loud. He must not have realised he was playing an rpg!

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 9:15 am

Yup, most reviews of AP were inane, or overly critical. If Bethesda makes those mistakes, it's labeled close to art, if someone else makes them, they get the sack.
Jack, did it happen to be the Power Unlimited review? I know those guys can't write a decent review if their lives depend on it.

jack828 · Post by **jack828** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 11:06 am

No it was the one in Pcgameplay. i usually like their reviews but the one alpha protocol got was a bit unfair in my opinion.

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 11:21 am

Ah. I don't recall it being that bad, but I certainly disagreed with it too. They magnified every single flaw and marginalised every good point.
Now that you say so, I recall the Pistol passage. Pretty sad, really.

Nightmare · Post by **Nightmare** » Tue Aug 31, 2010 2:33 pm

The best game I can compare it to is Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines; it'll be more of a cult hit in the future. I really enjoyed the game when I played it, and it had the same attributes as V:tMB, like sometimes-shoddy gameplay with fantastic writing and story.

All in all, it felt like playing the first Deus Ex again, which is never, ever a bad feeling.

vio · Post by **vio** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 12:38 pm

I got this as a gift, have to admit I hadn't even heard of the game before then (or I probably had but just forgot about it as from screenshots it looks more like a first person shooter than an RPG. thankfully though it IS an RPG)

anyway, I've been playing it a bit and enjoy the game but unfortunately I seem to be one of the unlucky ones hampered by the crazy-camera bug, meaning half the time I end up riddled with bullet holes before I can even see what's going on. after trying all the .ini tweaks I can find it's still pretty bad and I refuse to buy a joypad/controller/whatever they're calling them these days since I'd never use it for anything else and much prefer my faithful mouse and keyboard anyway

bugs aside though, it's a lot of fun

DesR85 · Post by **DesR85** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 5:52 am

vio wrote:anyway, I've been playing it a bit and enjoy the game but unfortunately I seem to be one of the unlucky ones hampered by the crazy-camera bug, meaning half the time I end up riddled with bullet holes before I can even see what's going on. after trying all the .ini tweaks I can find it's still pretty bad and I refuse to buy a joypad/controller/whatever they're calling them these days since I'd never use it for anything else and much prefer my faithful mouse and keyboard anyway

I recall that even the console versions also have the same bugs so getting a controller won't help either, even if you're playing the PC version. I chalk it down more to poor coding than a problem with either the keyboard + mouse or the controller.

Haven't played it yet, but if I do get a chance to watch some friend play it, then maybe I might borrow his copy to give it a try (assuming that I like what I see).

vio · Post by **vio** » Sat Nov 13, 2010 5:36 pm

some people have reported having the mouse-camera-lag issue solved by using an x-box controller instead, so it was a potential thing to try, just not one I'm willing to

anyway, I finished my first playthrough of AP today and I'm close to the end on my second (I started the second not long after starting the first and have been alternating between them, I tend to do this in RPGs where you have a moral compass; one good and one evil) and it's amazing just how different the two playthroughs are, especially how even the small details have an effect. even the outfit you wear gets different NPC dialogue at some points!
but anyway, despite many flaws (though most of them thankfully minor) AP has become one of my favourites. having an extremely high replayability potential helps a lot too
for one thing I have to make at least one more replay (likely many more) so that I can

Spoiler

kill Conrad Marburg, twice he has escaped from me alive in Rome, and he doesn't have the decency to show up in the ending, but I hear rumours that he can be provoked into a fight to the death in Rome.

I'll get revenge next time!