ATTN: EL DOUCHEBAG (Coffee) Alpha Protocol

[Tasoth]

I'm on my second run through and shooting for a no kill play through. Only problem is I have to save Surkov in the court yard and I have five tranq rounds. Any idea on how I can't ruin this run?

[Stark]

Punch everyone.

A LOT.

[Mr. Coffee]

I'm on my second run through and shooting for a no kill play through. Only problem is I have to save Surkov in the court yard and I have five tranq rounds. Any idea on how I can't ruin this run?

Duck into cover and use shadow operative and run up behind people and use the stealth takedown on as many badguys as you can. Then use your five tranqs with chainshot to down two more. Anything left and you'll have to use fury and beat them up hand to hand.

[Ford Prefect]

Just punch the shit out of them. I played the whole game in civvies and only used guns if I was being stealthy.

[GuppyShark]

Finished my first playthrough yesterday. I'll always consider this my 'real' playthrough, even with the screwups along the way. The rookie fresh from the academy, who starts out poorly and learns as he goes along. Spoiler

Mina died. I must have missed the opportunity to save her, a line of dialogue or something - I didn't even realise she was involved at all (since I told her to stay away) until they showed me a photo of her body.
Scarlet ended up plugging the Halbech CEO. I held off from killing him in the hopes that the photo was faked and he would give me the chance to save Mina as a bargaining chip. Marburg escaped.
So that guy in the gelati shop was the NSA agent after all, huh? I got paranoid and shot him when he didn't reply with the passcode twice, but in hindsight I should have realised that he did respond identically to the passphrase (I hate the mountains) each time, so that was probably the new code.

It was a lonely yacht at the end.

[Stark]

I've never seen an empty yacht. You have unlocked the SOLO ENDING???

[Stofsk]

Yeah that was my first playthrough as recruit.

[Stark]

I don't want to be the one to tell you gyus, but if that's your first playthrough you were supposed to post angrily on the internet about how the game has no relationships or characters because you didn't get any and refuse to accept this is a result of your choices.

I'm almost tempted to try to do some kind of pure neutral playthrough where nobody ends up liking you.

[weemadando]

Man, the gelati shop and the other "meeting" missions were so good. I'd love an Alpha Protocol 2 (sigh) which reversed the dynamics and had 80% talkie missions/figuring shit out opportunities and 20% combat missions.

[Stark]

I'd almost say the same thing about DEHR; the missions set in the hub areas where the 'sneaking' and 'hacking' is just getting into lpaces you're not supposed to be and the mission 'challenge' is from interaction rather than combat or sneaking past 122 guys are the ones I enjoyed the most. The AP quick-shot missions were really cool - even the shorter ones like the Rome CIA place were nice, even though they were maybe 15m tops. Games liek King of Dragon Pass show that you can make a really interesting game basically based on conversations with no 'right' or 'wrong' answers.

[Stofsk]

I don't want to be the one to tell you gyus, but if that's your first playthrough you were supposed to post angrily on the internet about how the game has no relationships or characters because you didn't get any and refuse to accept this is a result of your choices.

But... but I liked the game!

[weemadando]

How good would the denouement be in AP if the only big combat setpieces were your initial betrayal and then the return to homebase. I'd love it if missions which were conversations or the like had the chance of going bad, but they'd only be quick, brutal fights between a handful of guys where you might only have one room and two opponents, not the epic hordes of terrorists and mercenaries we got instead.

[Stofsk]

I guess it wouldn't be an RPG if our characters weren't murder machines that kill hundreds of dudes just for the hell of it (especially in AP where stealth is a viable alternative to KILLING EVERYONE)

edit it could be a conspiracy directed by the orphanage industry to have a constant supply of orphans created by the character's actions

[Stark]

How good would the denouement be in AP if the only big combat setpieces were your initial betrayal and then the return to homebase. I'd love it if missions which were conversations or the like had the chance of going bad, but they'd only be quick, brutal fights between a handful of guys where you might only have one room and two opponents, not the epic hordes of terrorists and mercenaries we got instead.

The game may well have worked this way if it was finsihed; as it is, each city has a number of 'build-up' missions to lay groundwork/follow leads/meet people/etc, and then the final larger mission to 'solve' the city. If it was paced properly, and it was short missions + convos +convos that turn into short missions and then the CLIMAX BATTLE FACE/OFF SHOWDOWN SEQUENCE it would have been cool.

DEHR has shown me that the world being run by private orphanages is NOT the stupidest explanation. :V

[GuppyShark]

Man, the gelati shop and the other "meeting" missions were so good. I'd love an Alpha Protocol 2 (sigh) which reversed the dynamics and had 80% talkie missions/figuring shit out opportunities and 20% combat missions.

It's probably a lot more effort/expense to design and record an interesting conversation than to throw together some buildings and sprinkle them with guards though, so that wouldn't fly in today's "hours to complete" reviewer stat era.

A shame, because I agree with you. It's the conversations with people you don't know and are unsure if they're friend or foe that were the only real tense moments I've had in gaming for a long time.

[GuppyShark]

Just punch the shit out of them. I played the whole game in civvies and only used guns if I was being stealthy.

Does Deng still give you that backhanded compliment about wearing camo in the subway if you're in civvies?

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Does Deng still give you that backhanded compliment about wearing camo in the subway if you're in civvies?

He shouldn't. I know Surkov specifically comments on what you're wearing when you go to his office. "You have a lot of pockets, are you here to install my cable?" vs "Are you going to sneak away?" depending on whether you're wearing tactical or stealth armor respectively. I'm pretty sure he comments on the other armor too.

[Stofsk]

Man, the gelati shop and the other "meeting" missions were so good. I'd love an Alpha Protocol 2 (sigh) which reversed the dynamics and had 80% talkie missions/figuring shit out opportunities and 20% combat missions.

It's probably a lot more effort/expense to design and record an interesting conversation than to throw together some buildings and sprinkle them with guards though, so that wouldn't fly in today's "hours to complete" reviewer stat era.

Bioware games have a lot of conversations, yet they get solid marks by reviewers. I don't think it's that simple as to say 'must have x hours to complete'.

In a game where you're a spy, investigating a conspiracy and building contacts while being on the run and trying to keep a low profile, having conversations are paramount. I kinda wish there were more missions where you just talk with people, or more missions like infiltrate this place to steal x data/intel/briefcase ('WHAT'S INSIDE THE BRIEFCASE') etc. A great idea for a mission would be to go to a location to meet contact, and it's just moving through the crowd- only you have to be on the look out for tails. Maybe there will be combat, maybe there won't - you don't know that. But you'll certainly be tense.

EDIT: Thinking about this some more, when you do meet the contact, you only have so much to go on. You actually don't know if the contact you're meeting is the one you're suppose to be meeting. You don't know it's a trap, or a double-agent, or if he/she is legit.

A shame, because I agree with you. It's the conversations with people you don't know and are unsure if they're friend or foe that were the only real tense moments I've had in gaming for a long time.

My first meeting with Marburg had me on the edge of my seat. I was pretty sure that at every point in that 5 minute talk there was a guy somewhere nearby who had me in his sniper rifle sights.

[weemadando]

Splinter Cell Conviction had the right idea with the mission at the fairgrounds where you are covertly trying to remove some tails. Missions in a populated environment should be so cool.

Then it turned into another combat level.

[Terralthra]

Hitman: Contracts and Hitman: Blood Money had some truly awesome "in a crowd" levels. The Mardi Gras one comes to mind, for example: track down and eliminate 2 or 3 gang members, in a huge throng of people who will instantly run to the cops if they see you holding a weapon.

[weemadando]

Hitman: Contracts and Hitman: Blood Money had some truly awesome "in a crowd" levels. The Mardi Gras one comes to mind, for example: track down and eliminate 2 or 3 gang members, in a huge throng of people who will instantly run to the cops if they see you holding a weapon.

The crowd dynamics were still broken. Great concepts but not fully executed.

[Terralthra]

Hitman: Contracts and Hitman: Blood Money had some truly awesome "in a crowd" levels. The Mardi Gras one comes to mind, for example: track down and eliminate 2 or 3 gang members, in a huge throng of people who will instantly run to the cops if they see you holding a weapon.

The crowd dynamics were still broken. Great concepts but not fully executed.

No argument on the execution being imperfect, but on the other hand, it tried to do something no other game has done, to my knowledge.

[GuppyShark]

Does Deng still give you that backhanded compliment about wearing camo in the subway if you're in civvies?

He shouldn't. I know Surkov specifically comments on what you're wearing when you go to his office. "You have a lot of pockets, are you here to install my cable?" vs "Are you going to sneak away?" depending on whether you're wearing tactical or stealth armor respectively. I'm pretty sure he comments on the other armor too.

Brilliant. Maybe next time I'll stop wearing body armour to social calls.

[Havok]

OK... so I forgot... what was WRONG with Alpha Protocol again?

[weemadando]

It was dumbed down for console dummies.