May update
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Alpha Protocol ⭐️⭐⭐⭐☆
Action Stealth22 hours playtime, no achievements
- decisions that matters and influence game flow
Cons:
- animations are really bad
- no proper save system, only checkpoints
- shooting mechanic is terrible
- feels like only viable way to play is in stealth way, even when you can choose soldier class
- bosses that need be either killed, or you need to grind to get exp and pass them in non-lethal way
Conclusion:
Main strength of this game is that decisions do impact story. Not in Telltale Way, so you get prompt "x will remember this action" and in the end it changes nothing. In AP way you talk with people influence how they like you, and if they will help you in the future. Order in which you complete missions influence future missions. So if you start in Moscow and move to Rome you may get help from one fraction, but not if you start with Rome and then go to complete Moscow. Which is amazing, I didn't play in game like that in a long time, as normally when you have branching plot separate storylines don't influence one another.
Sadly this really good system is hidden under bad gameplay, animations and fighting mechanic. So I had really hard time to continue at the beginning, as it felt like really poorly made game, especially with starting abilities that made game not interesting.
Other big flaw are boss fights when you want to play in non-lethal way. They are multi-step, with bosses both shooting you from the distance and chase with melee attacks. And with stealth approach you don't have armor or health to take more than few hits, not to mention weapon with sleep ammo don't do much damage. I finished 1st story branch (Korea) without problrm, and then stumbled on boss fight... and died again and again. Then decided to beat 2nd story branch, also couldn't beat boss from there. So decided to farm even more exp and beat 3rd branch... and also couldn't beat it's boss..
So I was in point where I could only fight 3 bosses. Thankfully 2nd boss glitched a bit, so I managed to beat it, and end this branch of story line completely. And then beating other 2 bosses was bit easier.
Is this game worth playing for decisions that impact story? Absolutely. But you may be throw off by bad gameplay.
- nice rewarding puzzles
- every level is bit different, so it doesn't feel like having needlessly repetitive gameplay to make game longer
- learning curve without steep spikes in difficulty
- it's possible to play with one hand and drink tea with other
Cons:
- it's direct mobile port, so there is no keyboard support
- game gets wonky when we want to play too fast - animations are played mid-way, sometimes you jump in wrong direction
- in-game hints that basically restart level and show you how to beat it
Conclusion:
It is nice puzzle game after you get used to mouse-only controls. Gameplay is not in real-time, every action takes one turn. So if you have enemy that walks around it will move 1 tile at a time, just like you. So it's not timing sensitive game.
Hazards vary from simple snakes that will kill you if you step in front of them to lizards that will chase you around the map. Levers and buttons that activate platforms or pistons. So in the end some levels require quite a lot of planning. In extra levels devs introduce enemies that re-spawn after 4 turns, mirrors that activate something if they spot you and ghostly-you that move in "mirror world" mimicking your moves but in reverse. Which is cool concept..
My only real complain is lack of keyboard support. Moving around could be done with it perfectly fine, without having to "smear" screen with a mouse, simulating doing the same on the phone. And this weird hint system. Where they don't give them in text form (like "why won't you try to move this boulder as a next step"), instead basically force you to follow built-in steps. No, I don't want to replay this level the way you pre-programmed it, I just don't know after x tries what to do next.
Overall it's really nice puzzle game, and seeing how cheap you can buy it after monthly I can recommend it.
- well made stealth gameplay
- ability to beat whole game without killing anyone, including bosses
- detailed levels with few ways to achieve goal
- better side quests than in previous game (12 in total)
Cons:
- inconsistency in what can be interacted with, so in one place you may move boxes, while in another they are glued to the ground
- no melee attack, so destroying boxes looking for stuff is really time consuming
- achievements don't work in offline mode
- plot important cut-scenes (a bit like bridge between DE:MD and next game) are put in the middle of way too long credits
- high specs requirement / bad memory management - it was first game to crash few times due to not enough RAM. As I kept FireFox in the background when playing
- some items from DLCs will work only on one save slot, then are not available. Like praxis kits or other can-use-once in gameplay items
- really short if you pick shooting approach
- ending(s?) have only cosmetic differences and are based on few decisions, feel more like mid-stop before next game than real ending (just like in DA: Inquisition)
- faster to save and reload game than wait till panel will unlock after unsuccessful hack...
Conclusion:
First of all: no, this game doesn't need you to pay for praxis kits to play normally. It's perfectly balanced for not buying DLCs, and I got all necessary upgrades before I beat 1st "chapter" by simply roaming around and doing side quests (took like 15h in total).
Apart from that it feels like refined Deus Es: Human Revolution. Basically the same weapons, abilities, gameplay. Hacking is upgraded and you can use keyboard shortcuts to capture / fortify point which is handy. I beat game in pacifist way, so can't say anything about shooting mechanic. I played on hard difficulty and then 2nd fast run in NG+ on easy to grab some achievements. And I can't say there was much difference. I didn't notice enemies to have different patrolling routes or could detect me faster. Don't know about "nightmare" difficulty, as it's unlocked after beating game once and I didn't want to spend much more time in this game than necessary. There are few new augmentations, but I found only remote hacking to be useful. Rest look like "shiny ways to kill enemies". Like hand-shockwave cannon or shooting nanoblades.
Sadly story is not the best and feels not really innovative. "You must save the world. Again" approach. Choices have basically no consequences for the plot (apart from differences in ending news-slides that are read by out favorite reporter at the very end of the game). And whole ending feels more like start of next game, than culmination of this. At least it's not "blue, red, green" choice like in DE:HR or ME3 :P Also devs picked one canonical ending at the end of ME:HR, so I'm sure they will do the same with next DE game.
As for DLC - one is neglect able (Desperate Measures) as it last for 1h and I don't even remember what it was about. System Rift is about stealing data from Palisade bank and I liked it the best, mostly because it was neat and organized. It also explains how Breach occurred, so gives base for another mode of the game. A Criminal Past takes place during prison riot before main game, and so it's really messy with fires everywhere and so like. Story in both those longer DLCs is ok, but nothing extraordinary. As for Breach - I don't see sense in playing this game mode, as it's simply "start data theft on small map in virtual reality, complete it in few min, repeat". So it's basically time trial all over the place.
Side note
I failed my first driving exam xD And was too indecisive to sign up for another… hope I will manage to do it this month. Why did I fail? Because car in which I trained in driving school had brakes that worked a bit different than car (owned by government) that was assigned to me on exam. So I stopped like 10cm before line on training ground. Plus another small mistake and whole exam is failed. I wish I’d live in country where you use the same car to learn how to drive and later on exam.
I wonder how many games from my WL will have -75% discount…. I decided I won’t buy anything that has lower discount, so I won’t create another backlog pile… I still didn’t play in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines from Winter Sale :notlikeblob: Plus I have some unplayed games on Origin from Access subscription… like Torment or Tyranny :thisisfine:
I also want to try and start to read again… last book I read was like 7 years ago. Ringworld series for starters.
I also beat AER: Memories of Old and Finding Paradise in May. But I don’t want to spend time writing reviews of them now. So they will be with June update D:
I’m sorry to hear about your exam. I remember when I failed mine (only once though) because I was asked to drive in part of town I didn’t know and drove too slowly. And as to limiting your backlog, it’s a very sensible limit you’ve set yourself. I remember reading some article saying that people are much more attentive to discounts than the actual price. I guess that’s right :) Happy gaming!
It’s often that you learn here in different city that take exam - you can learn anywhere, but exams need to be taken in big district cities. I did learn in “exam city”, so I’m bit less stressed about this part that people who never drove in it. Lol. Poor souls.
Yeah, it’s common. That’s why shops like to raise price before sale, and then put higher “discount” so it will be eye catching. Thankfully this behavior is illegal in many places.
And thanks :D
I wish I’d live in country where you use the same car to learn how to drive and later on exam
Then you wouldn’t get a “driving licence”, but “driving a one specific car licence” ;) We all went through this. Get some additional practice hours, preferable each with a different car, so you can learn to extrapolate for various machines & better luck next time :)
Different exam government offices use different cars (like Toyota Yaris in exam office that’s closest to mine), and schools adjust to that by also buying Toyota Yaris. Hence every single driving school on Silesia uses Toyota Yaris in training, so people that drive will at least know how “big” car is. As it’s different to drive in car where you sit high / low and so on.
And when you drive in the same car on training and exam, then driving schools aren’t forced to buy certain type of car and can use whatever they like. Also even when you do have driving license and get new car, you need time to adjust to it. You won’t just drive like you drove in your old car. So it’s lame to expect stressed people on exam to adjust to change without problems.
I do know I won’t get license to drive “Toyota Yaris.”. But this stress caused by not knowing exactly how car will behave only gives exam office way to grab more money. As most people don’t pass training ground for stupid mistakes like mine :P
Like I said, we all went through this. You’re not the only one that stresses out and makes mistakes ;) Everyone does. But you can lessen the impact by being proactive and training in different car models so you can readjust much faster if you know that’s a problem for you (usually doing the first yard maneuvre on the exam should be enough to get feel for the car; for example later in life when you will be buying a car for yourself there are test drives, and you have to be able to switch many different cars and just drive instantly - that’s an actual skill you should learn while still training). The more you know/ the more you practice, the easier it will be. Don’t despair. Good luck next time :)
I failed my first driving exam xD And was too indecisive to sign up for another…
As someone who failed quite a bit before getting my license, I highly recommend doing another test as soon as you can. I made the mistake of waiting a few months after my failure and it was terrible. It becomes a lot harder if you don’t practice. I rescheduled it a week after the second attempt and got it easily.
Don’t forget to install Wesp’s patch if you decide to play VtMB! :)
It’s gonna be 2 months since I ended driving school… ugh.
But I wrote to driving schools in area asking what I have to do to enroll only for few hours. So progress has been made!
Oh, thanks :D I must write it down as I saw someone mentioning it already to me, but I forgot xD
I don’t know your country nor its laws, but here we’re not allowed to drive on our own while trying to get a license nor do more than a fixed amount of classes. What actually helped me a lot was going to a deserted part of the town with my brother in order to practice both driving and parking. I highly recommend doing that if you don’t manage to enroll or want a more relaxed enviroment to train.
I’m not even gonna wish you good luck because I’m sure I’ll read about the good news in your next post here! :D
Yeah, you can’t drive if you’re not paying for course (or extra hours) in school. So no legal driving with friends or family.
Sadly no one I know owns car, so I can’t ask them to take me to some abandoned car parking to drive a bit :P
damn…
I failed once getting my g2 I think years ago cause I kept turning with one hand…thats only like 1 checkmark one whatever sheet they have but they gave me one for every single turn without telling me it was a problem…so 20 checkmarks on left turning 20 checkmarks on right turning and I fail the no more than 32 checkmark bylaw thingy…tfw I didn’t do anything else wrong…it wasn’t a problem when getting my full G tho so you do learn from your mistakes.
anyways you absolutely have to have some experience driving a few different vehicles…and if you retake it I have every thingy that you’ll do great \o/
Yes, I will fail with TheStyle (TM) :D
They do teach you need to hold both hands on wheel. And constantly poke you about it on the training if you start to do otherwise. It may not be that bad when you hold wheel with one hand. But I hate seeing drivers that “hold” it with one finger at the wheel bottom. Like ugh. In case of accident you drop your hand immediately and loose all control over the car.
I had opposite problem - I was so used to hold wheel with both hands, that I had problem to turn on turn-signal when like having to turn on tight roundabout xD
Noooo! That’s really unfortunate that you failed <:c In America, we have the system that you want - where we test in our own cars - but a lot of people still fail here, too. Don’t give up! Try again! It’s totally normal to be uncomfortable in a new car - whenever I drive a rental car I do the same thing where I drive all herky-jerky for the first hour because I’m not used to the brakes yet.
We’re all rooting for you, Mskotor. You can do it!
In gaming related news: I’m glad I kept Lara Croft GO - it seems right up my alley! Thank you for the review.
Thankfully I’m not dropping this idea :P I’m too close to completion, and car is in general quite useful. So I will pass this stupid test, even when I will have to take it few times more xD
But thanks ; )
Yeah, Lara Croft is really nice. It’s not super long, but for that price we can’t expect I-don’t-know-long game. Sadly SquareEnix won’t make more games like that, they said that Lara Go, Hitman GO and Deus Ex GO are enough.
I failed my first driving exam xD
Ouch, better luck next time! Myself, I’ve never attempted to get a driver license, so can’t really share any insight on the matter.
How did you like Alpha Protocol? I loved the game, despite its many flaws :)
Thanks :D Driving is not that bad, it’s worse to constantly having to worry about everything, to not getting hit by other law-breaking drivers >_>
I did write review, you just need to click on this blue bar to see it :D But I liked it. Gameplay, animations are meh. But choice mechanic is really good. And does make you feel like you have power over game story.
Ah, my bad, didn’t notice the “bars” are clickable! Nice :) I agree with your little review, though I didn’t think the animations are terrible, they were alright in my opinion. Hated the bosses as well, especially when you had to destroy that armored vehicle and later the helicopter >_< But the choices & consequences were awesome :)
Helicopter was evil!!!
Love your choice of emotes!
:blobnom:
Too bad BLAEO doesn’t’ support them :sadness: