Sega: No Sequel for Obsidian's Alpha Protocol

I think A LOT of the Alpha Protocol issues could be fixed w/ a some play-testing and some patching.

Balancing
1. Pistols are TOO weak, in comparison to machine guns and assault rifles - make pistols stronger.
2. Shadow Operative and Skill Shot skills in particular are TOO powerful - weaken these skills down a bit.
3. Toss dice-rolls of "hit" and "miss" OUT - it doesn't work in games that allow you to aim and shoot like you would in say a game w/ controls like that of a Third-Person Shooter (or FPS). Just...not a good idea.

Camera Issue Fixing
1. Get rid of the jittering and stuttering of the camera.
2. Allow a key press that will reposition the camera directly behind Mike (since the cam is always unlocked).
3. Add a unlock cam/lock cam behind Mike toggle switch key.

UE3.0 Texture Load Issue
1. Remove it completely.

Make Some More Reconfigurable Keys
1. Radial Menu Keys for Skills, Weapons, Gadgets (Z, X, and C on your keyboard) actually configurable to other keys.
While I'm now used to it, since I use Cursors for movement, I'd rather put them respectively at Insert, Home and Page Up.
2. Inventory could be configurable to other keys besides just the I key.

This game is awesome. It seems like the reviewers were trying to play the game like a fucking action game.

It's not an action game. Perhaps it's SEGA/Obsidian's fault for not properly portraying the game like an RPG-RPG, but so many complaints I saw leveled at this game were about the combat mechanics.

That's really a shame, and I think Obsidian also fundamentally misunderstood the demographic for this game.

All they really have to do is patch the AI and fix the bugs and glitches and this game would easily be 10x more enjoyable.

Because of the wonderful dialogue and story and the many reviewers pointing this fact out, I think many would give this a second chance if Sega announces they will be patching it and fixing the issues. Their profits for this one might then be hurt but at the very least, it'll keep a new IP alive, allow them to create a sequel, and most importantly not make the same mistakes again in the sequel to which a much warmer reception will be had.

Sometimes these publishers are so narrow-sighted and can't see the future. Sega, look to the future.

This is disappointing, the game had it's flaws but was still entertaining. It has a lot of potential, but I dont think any other publisher will be picking this up.

I thought it was great. This is a pretty big disappointment.

I blame Sega's total lack of marketing, rather than whining about Metacritic scores. A non-gamer friend of mine was hanging out with me while I was playing the game and she became really engrossed in watching because of the story and the characters. And yes, even characters other than Steven Heck, one of the greatest heroes of our time. They should have just run commercials with friend arguing over what dialog option to choose.

As for the shooty mechanics... I just think they needed Alpha Protocol 2 to get everything straight. But they were by no means bad. But AP was the Metal Gear Solid game I always wanted when I heard about MGS. Pretty depressing.

No XBLA but this side scroller looks awesome

http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-limbo/17-2852/

It's a shame but I think that Sega needs to look at their part in this and other games rather than solely lay the blame at Obsidian's feet.

Why am i not surprised?

One other delay wasn't posted: back in early February 2010, Alpha Protocol got delayed to "Summer 2010" (when it did eventually get released).

Giant Bombcast covered it on February 6, 2010:
Ryan Davis: "This just means that they finally got a build of Mass Effect 2, and went, 'Oh fuck! Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck!!'"
Jeff Gerstmann: "They either needed to come out before Mass Effect 2, or, now, WAY later."

And then there was the anonymous "Obsidian developer" who posted a comment on Joystiq saying "Sega should have canceled Alpha Protocol instead of Aliens [RPG]": http://www.destructoid.com/rumor-alpha-protocol-should-have-been-scrapped--175039.phtml

I guess those of us that really liked the game are in the minority.

Game had great RPG aspects in my opinion. The perks based on your continuing behavior were definitely a nice touch to personalize the game. The immediate consequences of choices and time pressure to make snap decisions was refreshing compared to Mass Effect.

Everyone seems to complain about the combat, but In general I had a lot of fun on my first playthrough at highest difficulty + rookie profile, and sticking to a hardcore stealth character build. It was enough for me to personally get past the rough edges of the game.

Did he think we wouldn't check Metacritic and just assume the game scored in the "high 70s to mid-80s"? Because the average score is low-to-mid 60s.

~*MY METACRITIC SCORE*~

I was disappointed with the combat because I wanted to take the less-than-lethal approach. I found this basically involves stealthing around and grabbing people until you get detected at which point you run madly to the nearest alarm tranqing anyone you can't punch and repeating until the end of the level. The stealth system felt clunky and restrictive. If I'm trying to be batman I should be able to climb certain things that probably wouldn't normally be intended for climbing, I should be able to use a zip line in more places than where the level determines. More gadgets would have been nice too.

Maybe I've played too much splinter cell (I haven't really played any splinter cell since the demo for the first game).

mediocre game, that was a bad mix of James Bond and Austin Powers.

Serious story and conversations but then arcade-like "abilities", totally screwing up any type of style the game tried to produce..

That is a shame. The game has loads of potential if given the chops.

If Obsidian handles the story and conversation wheel, is not micro managed to death by some fart bag exec, and off loads the rest of the game (AI, Graphics Engine, Play Mechanics, Combat) to a Dev house with decent credentials in those departments, then we might have some thing.

:)

Obsidian Entertainment should not be allowed to develop any further games whatsoever.

Al of their projects turn out to be buggy and half assed.


Fallout: New Vegas is bound to suck donkey balls too.

It was delayed, but it still wasn't ready for release.

That sucks. I doubt another publisher will jump on to support Alpha Protocol 2 if the opportunity arose. :( I really enjoyed the game despite its weaknesses and would love to more modern day spy RPGs.

So, they are saying that it didn't sell well enough because people looked at the Metacritic score and said "pass"? What an interesting tactic. Oh, wait, I have an idea! Maybe because it came out 2 weeks after the biggest release of the year! It's been 5 weeks Sega, give it a chance.

Fuck everyone. This sucks.

Surprising there was no mention of piracy, kudos to Sega for that.
The game looked interesting but the people I know who played it were not buzzing about it.
I'll pick it up from steam when it hits around $20.
With my steam backlog there is no compelling reason to buy it now, and I suspect that is the problem they are having with sales.

Sounds good but where's my Rocket Jockey 2?

Obsidian puts out rather...ahh mediocre titles. Alas.

Alpha Protocol is like a small, excellent game wrapped in a large, shitty game. If they had spent some time fixing the shitty bits, they might have reviewed 15 points higher. But the tedious minigames, AI glitches, poor cover system combined with RPG-style accuracy rolls, boring level design, and bland art direction (the curse of Obsidian) kill it for the mass market.

If you can look past all the flaws, the core of it (having meaningful conversations with NPCs and stealthing around killing people with the stat bonuses of your choice) is pretty good. But there are enough flaws that everyone who plays the game will be turned off by at least one of them. And that's why the game failed in the marketplace.

This game was an RPG's lovers dream. The combat could have been fixed with a little TLC, even a patch or two would have been better than to say "it didn't sell well, sorry." Yeah, it didn't sell well cause you shitted all over it SEGA.

Here's an idea, I shit you not.
Sell the IP to Bioware.
It would fit nicely into their stable AND with their talent and resources AP will be the killer RPG it deserves to be. Plus Bioware will benefit from the fantastic RPG elements AP possesses which frankly outshine anything they've done and that's saying a lot.

I've played AP 4 times and so far, it's played differently every time.
Think about it and stop bitching.

I love the conversation system in this game, but I am not really feeling the combat so far.