tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625171860671748699.post4657932467582225609..comments2024-01-30T18:06:40.312-08:00Comments on Up late talking games & writing? You're...: Letters on: Alpha Protocol Brad Gallawayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09452185302281177580noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625171860671748699.post-85441458372369798032013-06-25T23:21:15.274-07:002013-06-25T23:21:15.274-07:00I'll definitely be following this as it goes o...I'll definitely be following this as it goes on. One non-spoilery thing that catches a lot of people off-guard about the game is that the tutorial mission, and specifically the outro discussion with Westridge (aka the gruff Carl Weathers stand-in), has some profound implications for the rest of the game. <br /><br />A lot of the game's famed reactivity (the only other games that come close are The Witcher series and the original Deus Ex, and that's only really reactive in the first third or so of the plot) stems from what you choose when Westridge asks you why you signed on to Alpha Protocol.* Various characters through the game will perceive you in light of you say there and react accordingly when you act in line or in contradiction of that. The most satisfying major storyline in the game hinges upon it, in fact. It's also why the inter-act dialogue with the oily bad guy is so good so often. I've rarely felt as satisfied as I did when I first took Leland down.<br /><br />Regarding the three JBs, as the game was (not inaccurately) marketed with, you're correct to note the dissonance between the setting and the Bond approach. Hell, the whole game is thoroughly weird in that respect - the intrigue and realpolitik of the plot are pure Bourne, but outside the confines of the Alpha Protocol base of operations the character design is thoroughly Roger Moore-era Bond, garish, outlandish and exaggerated.<br /><br />But to the credit of the designers, the Bond trappings never overwhelm the hard-nosed core of the game. If you do play as a straight-up Bond character (the game establishes Thorton as a mercurial natural manipulator but it's always funnest to play straight through with one stance) the game doesn't let it go unnoticed, nor does it flatter the player. At its heart the game is a serious political espionage tale, and the best thing about playing as a Bond is seeing how a Bourne-like story would play out with a smarmy Roger Moore joker at its center. Suffice to say you end up looking more like an extremely dangerous and distressingly flippant lunatic than anything else (which is why Archer tends to come up a lot in discussions, though it's never as funny as that show is). Developing a sour relationship with Mina Tang provides a great payoff at the end of the game, at the very least.<br /><br />So I guess to close out this very long comment, I would say this: You will be presented with opportunities to shift Thorton's approach around in order to get "better" outcomes in any given situationj, but I believe that you will derive greatest enjoyment from your game if you stick to your guns, no matter what. If you're an all-business Bourne-esque professional, don't become a jocular cad or vein-throbbing asshole just to please someone, let them come to hate you. It will pay off.<br /><br />* The one thing that really confused me (and still confuses me) is that Alpha Protocol is... both a clandestine Le Carre-esque organization AND a term for going off the grid as a rogue agent? It's really confusing. "You've been cut lose from Alpha Protocol! The only thing left to do... is to enact Alpha Protocol."**<br /><br />** I have a lot of respect for Chris Avellone but in AP, KOTOR2 and his F:NV DLCs (and of course, Torment) he displays a habit of packing his work so tight with concepts and detail that things congeal and become confusing very quickly.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11454496764928011924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625171860671748699.post-77405771894982531302013-06-25T19:16:52.154-07:002013-06-25T19:16:52.154-07:00You can fix the jankiness through some game settin...You can fix the jankiness through some game settings tweaks (talking ini changing). It's fairly well documented on google and it definitely fixed my issues with the game. Worth it if you really care to play this game.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com