Forums > Game Forums > Alpha Protocol > How to play it next? (Spoilers inside)
Slug Camargo (583) on 6/30/2011 1:50 AM · Permalink · Report
So I finished this. The boss fights are a pain in the ass and made me hate the whole thing time and again; but other than that, what an amazing game. So much so that I endured every of those lame moments because I was sure there was much more awesomeness to come next (and indeed there was).
And now more than ever I stand by my opinion of New Vegas being a waste of opportunity and an overall really crappy game. It's too large a project for these guys. Obsidian is clearly at its best when focused on smaller games, like, say, a linear action/stealth/RPG :D Now I understand what's the whole deal with so much love towards them. They are a really talented bunch.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure there was a thread somewhere around here where people discussed different paths and endings, but I can't find it, so I'll give a shot at starting a new one:
I played a stealthy character with very high pistol abilities who was 100% focused on the mission. I spared every life I could and ended up with lots of allies and store discounts and such. Also, I didn't accept to join Halbech in the end. Couldn't find Mina to rescue, though, maybe I'll be back and look for her harder; but other than that I got lots of green sentences in my mission briefings.
So, what's your experience? Especially those of you who played several times. What would you recommend me to try next?
I'm thinking about a shotgun/rifle maniac who will shoot/sarcasm/flirt his way through, ending every conversation with punching/executing (whenever allowed). It's probably not gonna be a very popular character and I guess I'm gonna get a lot less support in the latter missions, and therefore the game will be much harder.
He's gonna be good friends with that conspiracy theory nutcase, though :D
By the way, I was warned that at some point I would be trapped without weapons and I'd have to punch/kick my way out, but that never happened. When was that supposed to happen? I'm guessing it would be when I turned in to AP, but I recovered my gear in the very room I started, and also I was given a pistol by the mute anime-reject girl, so I never needed to use melee at all.
St. Martyne (3648) on 7/2/2011 1:51 PM · Permalink · Report
I've just realized that I have an extremely poor memory regarding games. Or, maybe, AP's story wasn't that memorable. I think, I remember leaving with Mina on a boat, or maybe it was the Russian chick. I dunno.
During my playthrough I didn't use gadgets that much. But I found most pleasure to be had in melee abilities and stealth.
Slug Camargo (583) on 7/2/2011 8:02 PM · Permalink · Report
Well, I picked the same savegame and chose the Russian girl as my handler, sent the files to Deng instead of contacting Parker, and saved Mina. The changes I found were that Deng spoiled Scarlett's role in the game (pretty stupid move that one, it was way better to find out in the very final scene as I did the first time), I had to kill Parker, I had the chance to save Leland's life by having Mina snipe Scarlett's ass, and indeed I left with Mina in that boat (I went off all alone in my first playthrough).
MichaelPalin (1414) on 7/10/2011 10:23 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
What? You give me hope on New Vegas saying in another thread that it is among the few open world games that does the story right and now you say AP is better than NV!?
Besides, the ending with Scarlet was stupid. The whole game consists on gathering info on people and you don't get a single clue of her being what she is. (and Leeland handling a triple rocket launcher? c'mon!)
By the way, what's your take on Call of Pripyat?
Slug Camargo (583) on 7/10/2011 7:57 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start MichaelPalin wrote--]What? You give me hope on New Vegas saying in another thread that it is among the few open world games that does the story right and now you say AP is better than NV!? [/Q --end MichaelPalin wrote--] What? When did I say that about NV? I've been complaining about in how many ways the game disappointed me since the release date.
[Q --start MichaelPalin wrote--]Besides, the ending with Scarlet was stupid. The whole game consists on gathering info on people and you don't get a single clue of her being what she is. (and Leeland handling a triple rocket launcher? c'mon!) [/Q --end MichaelPalin wrote--] Looking at it in perspective, you do have a point there, but by then I was completely sucked into the story so I was playing by their rules, and if they said that was a clever twist, it worked for me. I can get caught in the moment like that if the storytelling is engaging enough.
Leland didn't have any weapons in my playthrough, though.
[Q --start MichaelPalin wrote--]By the way, what's your take on Call of Pripyat? [/Q --end MichaelPalin wrote--] It's a STALKER game, which grants it a place in my heart from the get-go.
Trying to be a little objective, it's good in that it fixes a lot of stuff everyone seemed to hate in Clear Sky: Most of the quests feel less generic and some even have interesting stories, the characters are more fleshed out, and at times the visuals can be truly breathtaking; and overall the entire thing feels much more rounded and streamlined than any of the previous ones.
On the other hand, I felt it needed even more emphasis on the survival part (eating, sleeping and such), and more action --especially for about two thirds of game, since there is some sort of truce between bandits and stalkers and so getting into a fight involves either hunting mutants or just being a jackass for the sake of it. I rather liked the faction war in Clear Sky and I missed it here. There's also only one ending, so there is not a lot of reason to play it a second time --they do pull the Fallout gambit of using a bunch of different slides depending on how you acted on certain quests to fake different endings, but it's nowhere near as good as the endings on Shadow of Chernobyl.
All in all, Call of Prypiat is very polished and really sound in pretty much every aspect, and the quests are the best they've ever been, and it's definitely ways better than Clear Sky; but I still think Shadow of Chernobyl is the best of all.