Kickstarting my gaming update (RPGS)

[Cyrus the virus]

Barf @ FF XIII but I hope you enjoy your new acquisitions, sexy man! It's actually not that bad, I was just disappointed.

[CoolOtaku]

Ah, well the extra stuff wasn't what I spent most of my time on anyway. There are a couple fun add-on missions that last about an hour each, so don't worry about it.

[Raph]

Originally Posted by Phakiel

I bought the normal edition though, it was until i got he auto confirm email from Amazon that I recalled there was a gold edition, either way thats like 30 bucks so I would have ended up not buying it.

That's too bad; Amazon currently has the gold edition for only $20, as one of their lightning deals. 40% claimed, though, so it's only a small window of opportunity.

[Phakiel]

...Shit.

[Raph]

Originally Posted by Cyrus the virus

Amazon's amazing so I've been good at avoiding going to the website. I would piss away all of my money there...

So true. I just spent another $75 in the last four hours. DAMN YOU, AMAZON!!

[Luisfe]

Am I silly for now being pretty damn hesistant to pay for console games? I mean, it is likely that silly Steam sales have spoiled me.

Why no, Alpha Protocol for 7.5 dollars is not a bad deal at all (still available at that price at GamersGate). Suggestion: Get Alpha Protocol. The gameplay is not HORRIBLE (hell, I am liking the gunplay better than Mass Effect 1), and it is amazing.

On the other hand sniper rifles are uncontrollable when not using a pad, and it only supports the 360 oad by default (x360ce fixes all of that though).


So yeah, for an extremely solid RPG I can suggest Alpha Protocol for 7.5 bucks. Hell yes.

[Phakiel]

Wait, aint that the game you were hating?

[Raph]

Alpha Protocol may be a good buy for only 7.5 euros, but I have some issues with it. For one, the AI is broken. It will range heavily from being insanely stupid to insanely clever, to the point where they will start shooting you as soon as you open the door, and then suddenly ignore you. It's this inconsistency that causes moments in the game, especially later on, that make the game unplayable, as you'll keep dying constantly because the enemies known exactly where you are, even if you purposely hid yourself. It's these moments I like to call "the developer artificially lengthen the game", or, bullshit moments.

I've been giving Obsidian a free pass on a lot of things because of who they were and because of circumstance, but the sloppiness and glitchiness of AP is inexcusable. Obsidian had their sweet time with the game, even a few delays, to get things right. And they couldn't, and I dread to think just how much worse the game would've ended up. Whoever's in charge of their QA process needs to be fired so they can get someone competent.

[Luisfe]

I may or may not be an Obsidian fanboy now, but yeah, they need better quality assurance.
The problem is that they, like Troika, are more focused on an ENORMOUS scope and overreach. They have the best dialog, and the greatest story concepts (and even when it is something slightly generic, like NWN2, they excel in other things, the dialog and interactions are quite fun. Then again, the problem with NWN2 was stability and TOO MUCH CONTENT).
On the other hand, they are less so than Troika was. What other company has needed fanpatches with more developement time than the games themselves to be considered PLAYABLE?
Troika only released 3 games, all of them considered the best at... something. All 3 of them still have developement in the fanpatch area:
Temple of Elemental Evil, restored content, making the area less bleh. Best d&d implementation, or so they say. Patch: Circle of Eight fanpatch.
Arcanum, restored content, gameplay tweaks, restoration of missing animations, balancing, proof-reading, reimplementing quests, enhancing quality of sound AND graphics (no, really), discontinued now though. Patch: Drog Black Tooth's Arcanum Unofficial Patch.
Vampire: blahblahblah: Bloodlines. MOST immersive RPG so far, in my opinion. Rushed. BUT goddamn if it ain't worth it. Too bad that at launch it had some horrible glitches that made you unable to advance in some areas. Hell, even with the fanpatch it can still happen.
Even if it is awesome as hell, there are areas that are bad, I hate the goddamn nosferatu warren sewers. HATE. On the other hand it may be done to troll the player since then you get a silly little shortcut in an area you already visited a couple of times, bah.

I don't know where I am going with this, but eh. Likely that while they do need more QA time/better QA, their games are not nearly as broken as Troika's, and if they are broken it is because they are overreaching and actually trying "different" things.
On the other hand,things like Divinity 2 and The Witcher get retooled with most things fixed, so I dunno.

[Luisfe]

Originally Posted by Phakiel

Wait, aint that the game you were hating?

I... don't think so? Hating where?

[Phakiel]

Somewhere sometime ago, you said that game was built up to be Jesus' shit or something and that it didnt deliver and that fuck Alpha Protocol.

[Blackdragon]

I had such high hopes for Alpha Protocol, then they delayed it a whole year and I'm expecting this kick ass game...

And am given this POS early PS2 title....

Seriously, fuck you Alpha Protocol! Fuck you!

[Phakiel]

...maybe it was Blackdragon and not Luisfe.

Seriously I am not tripping balls I saw somebody talk so much shit about Alpha Protocol I just said, damn, that game must suck. And the reviews online basically say the same thing too.

[Luisfe]

Yuuup. That wasn't me. In any case, it is an extremely polarizing game. It is DEFINITELY game of the year 2006.

I MEAN it is clunky and the gunplay is barely passable at best. But it does handle better than Mass Effect 1 did, and it is a CONSIDERABLY more interesting affair. ME2 on the other hand...

[Raph]

Originally Posted by Luisfe

It is DEFINITELY game of the year 2006.

But it does handle better than Mass Effect 1 did, ...

At least when I shot something in Mass Effect it tended, to well, get hurt in some way. What I played of Alpha Protocol's gunplay is like Fallout 3's without VATS or Deus Ex's gone horribly, horribly wrong.