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On Alpha Protocol
15 years ago
I feel I must make a public service announcement.
Avoid "Alpha Protocol," the latest release from BioWare.
Normally, I'm not a vocal video game critic, but I am afraid that many will be fooled by BioWare's stellar track record in the past (most notably the Baldur's Gate series, Mass Effect (1 & 2), Dragon Age) and the obviously well paid-off critics about the interwebs.
Avoid "Alpha Protocol."
Suffice to say that the design is so schizophrenic that, sadly, there are almost no redeeming gameplay qualities. The best parts of the game are the parts that lead up to playing the game. I will confirm that there is a rather interesting and robust game-play mechanic that revolves around reading reports and collecting intel from the chair of your safe-house computer, but executing your plans involves utilizing a horrifyingly outdated control scheme on a poorly designed game world against terribly programmed AI, all of which with pre-Alpha quality animation and design.
The first hint that this was a shitty game came when I attempted to move my character, and instead of a fluid Mass Effect esque animation of the character shifting his weight and turning his shoulders around, Thorton just snapped toward the direction and proceeded to take off at 15mph across the tiny hospital room the game begins in (c'mon, its BioWare. All games involve waking up somewhere). The second hint was that, not even by the end of the introduction sequence, I was flipping off the screen and saying "fuck this game". That exact moment, by the way, immediately followed an instance of the main character being fragged to death by five guards who threw grenades over their shoulders at me after a single missed shot from a silenced pistol. Had I hit the guard, nobody would have noticed, but because my bullet went into the geometry of the level, everyone immediately knew where I was hiding (behind a box).
Any review that doesn't noisily shout that this game is possibly one of the worst concoctions of code since Superman should be taken very lightly.
EDIT: A friend pointed out this review. Would have been nice to read this BEFORE we both went $45 in the hole.
**Destructoid Review**
Avoid "Alpha Protocol," the latest release from BioWare.
Normally, I'm not a vocal video game critic, but I am afraid that many will be fooled by BioWare's stellar track record in the past (most notably the Baldur's Gate series, Mass Effect (1 & 2), Dragon Age) and the obviously well paid-off critics about the interwebs.
Avoid "Alpha Protocol."
Suffice to say that the design is so schizophrenic that, sadly, there are almost no redeeming gameplay qualities. The best parts of the game are the parts that lead up to playing the game. I will confirm that there is a rather interesting and robust game-play mechanic that revolves around reading reports and collecting intel from the chair of your safe-house computer, but executing your plans involves utilizing a horrifyingly outdated control scheme on a poorly designed game world against terribly programmed AI, all of which with pre-Alpha quality animation and design.
The first hint that this was a shitty game came when I attempted to move my character, and instead of a fluid Mass Effect esque animation of the character shifting his weight and turning his shoulders around, Thorton just snapped toward the direction and proceeded to take off at 15mph across the tiny hospital room the game begins in (c'mon, its BioWare. All games involve waking up somewhere). The second hint was that, not even by the end of the introduction sequence, I was flipping off the screen and saying "fuck this game". That exact moment, by the way, immediately followed an instance of the main character being fragged to death by five guards who threw grenades over their shoulders at me after a single missed shot from a silenced pistol. Had I hit the guard, nobody would have noticed, but because my bullet went into the geometry of the level, everyone immediately knew where I was hiding (behind a box).
Any review that doesn't noisily shout that this game is possibly one of the worst concoctions of code since Superman should be taken very lightly.
EDIT: A friend pointed out this review. Would have been nice to read this BEFORE we both went $45 in the hole.
**Destructoid Review**
