Alpha Protocol $13.99 (PS3) $15.69 (360) @ Amazon FSSS

Really underrated game. Developed by crappy ass Obsidian, so you know it's filled with bugs and glitches, but the ideas for the game were great. Probably the best dialogue system ever. You only get like three seconds to make choices that have lasting consequences, it actually gets pretty intense.

When you play it, I strongly recommend you put your AP when you level up into Stealth and Pistols, it makes the game MUCH more playable when you play it as a stealth game. Try to play it as a shooter and the problems with the game become much more noticeable.
 
This was definitely my favorite underrated game of last year. AP is a must buy if you're itching for a spy-themed game.
 
Picked up the PS3 version. Thanks for the heads up OP.

FYI, Amazon credit doesn't seem to work with this deal since it's a third party seller (fulfilled by Amazon).
 
I bought it at the gamefly sale a while back, finally got around to playing it last month... played it for a couple of hours and that was it. I was hoping for a poor man's Mass Effect (until DA2 or ME3), but for me it didn't deliver. Didn't pull me in.

I guess I'd compare it to one of those movies that you'd watch that's on TV while you're cooking or web browsing or hanging out. That's fine for a movie, but for games, I've got way too big of a backlog to play a "meh" game.

I'm not trying to put the game down, if you don't have a backlog and go through games quick enough or just want to play something, go for it, but if you've got a backlog or just don't have the time, I say move onto something better. There's ALWAYS something better.
 
[quote name='whoknows']Definitely worth it. Yeah it has it's issues, but in the end it's a really fun game.[/QUOTE]

Well said. I had a lot of fun with it. The dialog system was awesome.
 
This is a great game. During my two playthroughs, I ran into one bug. Surprising since Obsidian was in charge of this.

It's too bad people didn't seem to like it. This is one of those few games where your choices actually DO seem to affect your future gameplay. Something 'open' games seem to miss.
 
Thanks OP. I always had an interest in this game and I can't complain with a price this low.
 
[quote name='BinaryTB']I bought it at the gamefly sale a while back, finally got around to playing it last month... played it for a couple of hours and that was it. I was hoping for a poor man's Mass Effect (until DA2 or ME3), but for me it didn't deliver. Didn't pull me in.

I guess I'd compare it to one of those movies that you'd watch that's on TV while you're cooking or web browsing or hanging out. That's fine for a movie, but for games, I've got way too big of a backlog to play a "meh" game.

I'm not trying to put the game down, if you don't have a backlog and go through games quick enough or just want to play something, go for it, but if you've got a backlog or just don't have the time, I say move onto something better. There's ALWAYS something better.[/QUOTE]

You nailed it for me. My feelings xactly. I enjoyed Dark Void more than this one.
 
Thanks OP! In for one PS3. I was kicking myself last month when it kept dropping on Amaz to $16 and I missed it, as it then went to $39 the next day. Awesome, but you don't get FSSS with it!
 
I'm definitely down for a poor man's spy-themed Mass Effect 1, and $15 is my price for it, but now that Dragon Age II is out I know I wouldn't be touching this for a long time. Does everyone think this will stay at this price or lower?

Semi-serious question: Can you romance the goth-looking chick on the cover? That could sway me one way or the other. :lol:
 
[quote name='djricekcn']what is this? Fallout but a Spy theme?[/QUOTE]

I got the impression that it was more like the original Mass Effect than Fallout.
 
It's definitely "Mass Effect Spy." If you get it make sure you finish Saudi Arabia before you quit. When you get the choices of mission is when it gets good. I considered quitting because the first mission is so bad, but I wound up playing it through 3.5 times to get all the achievements. It's fun if you don't have high expectations.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']

Semi-serious question: Can you romance the goth-looking chick on the cover? That could sway me one way or the other. :lol:[/QUOTE]
Nope.
 
Thanks for the post. I was about to grab the PS3 version but the PC version is 10 bucks.. Now I need to decide on which version to get x_x
 
[quote name='prettycrazy']Thanks for the post. I was about to grab the PS3 version but the PC version is 10 bucks.. Now I need to decide on which version to get x_x[/QUOTE]
I've beat it on both and I've honestly had a LOT more issues with the PC version. Freezing, annoying bugs, getting caught in the environment and not being able to move, etc.

On the PS3 version, it froze up on me once really early in the game and that's it.
 
[quote name='frankmackeyspam']Picked up the PS3 version. Thanks for the heads up OP.

FYI, Amazon credit doesn't seem to work with this deal since it's a third party seller (fulfilled by Amazon).[/QUOTE]

Amazon credit works just fine. Any order that is fulfilled by Amazon accepts Amazon credit/gift card as a payment option.



Items: $15.68
Shipping & Handling: $0.00
pixel-grey._V192251177_.gif

Total Before Tax: $15.68
Estimated Tax To Be Collected:* $0.00
Total: $15.68
Gift Certificate/Card: -$15.68
transparent-pixel._V192234675_.gif

Order Total: $0.00

Amazon Prime Shipping has been applied to the eligible items in your order.

$15.68 in gift account balance was applied to the Go Crazy Games parts of your order.
 
[quote name='captaintek3304']Amazon credit works just fine. Any order that is fulfilled by Amazon accepts Amazon credit/gift card as a payment option.



Items: $15.68
Shipping & Handling: $0.00
pixel-grey._V192251177_.gif

Total Before Tax: $15.68
Estimated Tax To Be Collected:* $0.00
Total: $15.68
Gift Certificate/Card: -$15.68
transparent-pixel._V192234675_.gif

Order Total: $0.00

Amazon Prime Shipping has been applied to the eligible items in your order.

$15.68 in gift account balance was applied to the Go Crazy Games parts of your order.[/QUOTE]

I'm sure gift cards work just fine, but Amazon credit doesn't. At least it didn't for me. I have $20 credit from my KZ3 purchase and it didn't work with Alpha Protocol.
 
[quote name='frankmackeyspam']I'm sure gift cards work just fine, but Amazon credit doesn't. At least it didn't for me. I have $20 credit from my KZ3 purchase and it didn't work with Alpha Protocol.[/QUOTE]

That wouldn't work, but trade in credit would work just fine.
 
Have to get this. I'll add a deadpool trade to the order so I can get free shipping. Wanted to play this game but I was waiting for a price like this.
 
[quote name='whoknows']That wouldn't work, but trade in credit would work just fine.[/QUOTE]

That's because trade in credit is applied to your account in the form of an Amazon Gift Card.
 
Which seller are people using - Galactics or Crazy Games? Does anyone think it makes a difference? I know they're both fulfilled by Amazon. I just don't want a reseal job.
 
[quote name='frankmackeyspam']That's because trade in credit is applied to your account in the form of an Amazon Gift Card.[/QUOTE]

Pretty much.

The bonus credit from buying games is really just more of a $20 off coupon than it is credit.
 
Decent game, basically Mass Effect with the Gears of War replaced with Syphon Filter. Decent characters, alright writing, lousy plot, fun boss battles, conversation system is dumb as hell, but otherwise pretty good.

Like most RPGs of the sort, the choices you have are pretty much limited to behind the scenes stuff. Only one level really changes based on your choices apart from incremental buffs or enemy reskins. Everything else is dialogue.
 
[quote name='RollingSkull']Decent game, basically Mass Effect with the Gears of War replaced with Syphon Filter. Decent characters, alright writing, lousy plot, fun boss battles, conversation system is dumb as hell, but otherwise pretty good.

Like most RPGs of the sort, the choices you have are pretty much limited to behind the scenes stuff. Only one level really changes based on your choices apart from incremental buffs or enemy reskins. Everything else is dialogue.[/QUOTE]
Conversation system is dumb as hell? Wtf? Alpha Protocol probably has the best conversation system ever. It's one of the only games where conversations DO affect what happens in the game.
 
[quote name='TraBuch']Conversation system is dumb as hell? Wtf? Alpha Protocol probably has the best conversation system ever. It's one of the only games where conversations DO affect what happens in the game.[/QUOTE]
Apart from Mass Effect, KotOR, Fallout, etc.

Didn't like the vague choices versus the artificial time constraint. Left you feeling like you were playing damage control to try to keep an autistic dope from spouting the dumb crap that lept into his head.
 
[quote name='RollingSkull']Apart from Mass Effect, KotOR, Fallout, etc.

Didn't like the vague choices versus the artificial time constraint. Left you feeling like you were playing damage control to try to keep an autistic dope from spouting the dumb crap that lept into his head.[/QUOTE]
The decisions in Mass Effect, KOTOR, Fallout, etc don't affect the game nearly as much as they do in Alpha Protocol.

As for the choices in Alpha Protocol being vague:

Left answer = Suave
Top answer = Aggressive
Right answer = Professional

Really, how vague is that? All you needed to know is basically what tone you wanted to use. Being suave with one person might work, but trying that same tactic against someone else would get you shot. You've gotta read the dossiers and actually listen to what people say about others so you know what kind of things to say.

The time constraint only added to the fun. It got intense. Do you go after the bomb or do you save the girl? Do you kill the terrorist or keep him alive and risk letting him kill millions for more info about the conspiracy? Trying to decide what to do in a three second time period in Alpha Protocol is one of the ONLY times in any game that I really felt like what I chose would really affect the game.
 
I'm going to have to agree with the conversation system being very well done. The story was well done also.

Really the only places where this game falters are graphics/gameplay and that it's pretty glitchy. If they spent the time to really polish this game and made the gameplay a little better this would have been a really great game.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
[quote name='TraBuch']The decisions in Mass Effect, KOTOR, Fallout, etc don't affect the game nearly as much as they do in Alpha Protocol.

As for the choices in Alpha Protocol being vague:

Left answer = Suave
Top answer = Aggressive
Right answer = Professional

Really, how vague is that? All you needed to know is basically what tone you wanted to use. Being suave with one person might work, but trying that same tactic against someone else would get you shot. You've gotta read the dossiers and actually listen to what people say about others so you know what kind of things to say.

The time constraint only added to the fun. It got intense. Do you go after the bomb or do you save the girl? Do you kill the terrorist or keep him alive and risk letting him kill millions for more info about the conspiracy? Trying to decide what to do in a three second time period in Alpha Protocol is one of the ONLY times in any game that I really felt like what I chose would really affect the game.[/QUOTE]

Please don't quote the press releases or the manual at me, I did beat the game.

Many of those choices could have given you a couple of more seconds to think about them. That terrorist wasn't going any where. To that end, the 3 second limit hurt immersion.

And the choices were varied but still did not shake up that game THAT much. It's a good game for the price but the praise it gets is often overstated.
 
[quote name='RollingSkull']Please don't quote the press releases or the manual at me, I did beat the game.

Many of those choices could have given you a couple of more seconds to think about them. That terrorist wasn't going any where. To that end, the 3 second limit hurt immersion.

And the choices were varied but still did not shake up that game THAT much. It's a good game for the price but the praise it gets is often overstated.[/QUOTE]
How did the time limit HURT the immersion? I would say NOT having a time limit hurts the immersion. You could sit there for an hour deciding on an answer to one question, where's the fun in that? Especially in a game about spies and terrorists. I could maybe understand your frustration when it's just two people talking in a safehouse (Although I still disagree. Conversations flow much more naturally when you have a time limit IMO), but when it's an important decision that NEEDS to be made quickly? I wouldn't have it any other way.

But eh, we'll just agree to disagree.
 
I loved this game. Anyone hoping for a game that plays like Mass Effect is misinformed and will be disappointed. Combat is based on dice rolls a-la D&D, so it is only good if your character is good at what you are trying to do (obviously). If this game had turn-based combat and the exact same leveling system, dice-roll mathematics, etc, it would have been much more well-received, but because there is a reticle people think "oh it's an action game" and then rage out when they didn't hit what they were aiming at, because their character is shit with assault rifles.

I loved the writing and I loved the conversation system. The branching plot is rad and well-developed.

[quote name='RollingSkull'] It's a good game for the price but the praise it gets is often overstated.[/QUOTE]

The same can more readily be said for the criticism it gets.

I love this game. I'll just leave it at that.
 
Good comments for and against the game...

But yeah, my backlog says it's not worth the time. I was just playing Nier, another "meh" game (that's worth getting if you have time and find it cheap), but who has the time for games like this??? I hate to be a spoiled princess about it, but enough games come out every year that you CAN expect good gameplay + writing. Back in the 90s, you sort of dealt with glitches, as it was the one AAA title of the year. Not so much nowadays.

I'll go with that other dude who said he'd bite @ $10. I don't see this game selling out or going anywhere for a long time, anyway...:roll: I'm curious to play it, based on your comments, but not enough to ignore the backlog!
 
Was interested in this game late last year but didn't want to pay $30+ for it...this is the right price point for me but I have other games to play now. Oh well, thanks for the link anyway
 
[quote name='TraBuch']You could sit there for an hour deciding on an answer to one question, where's the fun in that?[/quote]
There's no inherent fun in the alternative, either.


I was just playing Nier, another "meh" game (that's worth getting if you have time and find it cheap), but who has the time for games like this??? I hate to be a spoiled princess about it, but enough games come out every year that you CAN expect good gameplay + writing.
Click to expand...
Holy smokes. You are playing fricken NIER and passing up Alpha Protocol? I'm ragging on Alpha Protocol, but there is no conceivable universe where that is the correct choice.
 
[quote name='gantt']Which seller are people using - Galactics or Crazy Games? Does anyone think it makes a difference? I know they're both fulfilled by Amazon. I just don't want a reseal job.[/QUOTE]

I didn't really check when I placed my order, but I got the game today and the package was from Galactics. The shrink wrapping doesn't look like the kind you typically get with new games, so it might be a reseal job, but the case/disc/manual are all in new condition.

Hope that helps.
 
I experienced zero glitches or freezes in my 80 hours of playing the game, and it ranks with Demon's Souls as my favorite game from this generation. I've never played a game where your choices had as much of an impact on nearly every facet of the game as this one.
 
I thought I remembered a withering review of this on X-Play, but I went online to check and, yep, a "charitable" 2 out of 5.

Maybe I'll wait for $10.
 
[quote name='gantt']I thought I remembered a withering review of this on X-Play, but I went online to check and, yep, a "charitable" 2 out of 5.

Maybe I'll wait for $10.[/QUOTE]
Don't let X-play's review decide whether or not you buy a game. If AP was a Xbox exclusive they would have gave it a 4 out of 5 at least.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top