ALPHA protocol

[Art Blade]

just the way I did it, then. Quick, loud enough (assault rifle plus grenades) and killing a thousand opponents, yet I discovered how cool the martial arts was (and it saved ammo). Now complete stealth and different skill set maxed out.

The game doesn't seem to reward the bad guy type of player, I tried some of that but soon noticed how much less options I had thereafter, so I try different things which are still "good." :)

[Art Blade]

You can learn a thing or three about subtle tactics and stealth from me.  ;)

[smg id=2501 type=link align=center width=400 caption="AP subtle tactics"]

[PZ]

Very subtle, I must say  :-()

I like the way that you linked to the original gallery image, plus the link back once you visit the gallery - very useful for navigation.  :-X

[Art Blade]

Thanks, PZ.  ;D

[Art Blade]

Regarding replay value, I discovered something rather interesting about the game.

Once you're done with orientation and the first assignment in the Middle East, there are three main missions and you can choose with which to start. During the first playthrough I started with Rome, this time with Russia. Once you've picked a main mission, you'll be transferred to that location and its safehouse (they all look different) from where you'll have to pick yet another mission out of three. The order in which to accomplish those sub-missions is up to you, but once you've played them you'll know that some missions may result in new allies and extra missions (or during a mission in bonus objectives). If you do it right, you can use those allies in missions you did without even knowing about their existence. So that indeed offers a way to play one mission completely different. If you manage to get one of those acquaintances to be your handler (voice in your ear that provides you with intel during a mission, kind of what a spotter is to a sniper) you'll be in for a surprise (as in how different that may play out). Now I'm on a mission I already played but this time I'm playing it with a different handler.. how cool is that  :-X

For those interested I'll give a little more detail in the following massive spoiler (how to make allies and make them your handlers) ;)

Spoiler

When you start in Russia, the mission that leads you to check weapons in a train depot will introduce SIE (a German female soldier) - to make her an ally, always use the top left chat/email option which is the hard and agressive one, because she's a hard girl and doesn't like sissies, hehe  ;D She'll be available as your handler for the "intercept Surkov at the embassy" mission. If you already investigated the Yacht (another previous mission) and didn't kill Sis (at least I didn't) and talked to Albatross already (who only likes the right chat option which is "professional") then he'll be available as yet another handler.

[PZ]

Nice  :-X

I for one, love spoilers - can't get enough of them.  Of course, I'm the kind of guy that can watch a movie dozens of times so that I get every single detail.  :-()

[Art Blade]

Hehe, it's just too tempting to leave a spoiler button untouched  ;D

One thing I haven't yet tested is what might happen if I chose to switch main missions during main missions. For example, while in Russia, after one mission, switch to Rome and do another mission. That's something I'll check out and see if it works and if it does, what you can do with it. :)

Right now I'm still on the no-killing spree (hehe) but was a bit puzzled to read a debriefing where they said I "ended up killing" some American embassy people (who were in a fight with G22). How? My stats prove that I've not killed anyone yet. Apparently attacking them by mistake is sufficient to produce that negative remark. Then again, SIE sent me an email lamenting that I didn't  kill all of G22's agents on site. Well, going to replay that mission sparing poor American embassy folks (who didn't hesitate to shoot at me) (I think) (or maybe they did).

:)

[PZ]

That'll show 'em   >:D

[fragger]

I picked up AP earlier. Will report soon, once my crummy internet access lets me stay online long enough to activate it... :D

[Art Blade]

Wow, that's very good news because you're one of the most talkative guys (post count) around here so we'll all be looking forward to reading a lot from you when sharing your impressions. I'm glad that you benefit from the low minimum system requirements and finally can play a brand new game without buying a new rig first :) :-X

You and I will be able to exchange tips and tricks etc, good for those interested in the game and for each other  :) Keeeeeeeep 'em comin'  ;D

Should be funny anyway, to have an Aussie post about what he did using Oz slang (but fragger wouldn't do that).

"When I started the orientation course, some drongo mimicking a head instructor tried to take the mick out of me and ordered me to be there at the course in a shake of a lamb's tail but after that test he realised I had been busier than a one-armed paper-hanger when I was clobbering his goons like a bear with a sore head.. Heh, I left them where they dropped and they were all over the place like a dog's breakfast. Those galahs prolly didn't expect me to get mad like a cut snake when they came the raw prawn with me, but I was flat out like a lizard drinking. The few who could still walk were off like a bride's nighty and I bet they shat bricks when they saw me flinging a bush oyster at them -- hah, them bloody nongs actually thought they could leg it. Those tossers got to be troppo to sign up for a job like that but they're just as useless as a one-legged man in an arse-kicking contest when it comes to real business. I think I passed the test, though."

;D

[Art Blade]

One thing I haven't yet tested is what might happen if I chose to switch main missions during main missions. For example, while in Russia, after one mission, switch to Rome and do another mission. That's something I'll check out and see if it works and if it does, what you can do with it. :)

Out of curiosity I tried that. Went from Moscow to Rome, and the intro scene (dialog) did pick up on things that had happened in Moscow where I had worked with that blonde German (by the way, excellent brute German accent, LOL  ^+-+ :-X ) -- Mina is a little jealous of SIE. So when I mentioned she might be useful gathering intel, Mina said, "I don't think so, unless you want to know about implants"  ^+-+ ^+-+ ^+-+ :-X There are only a few funny lines scattered across the game which make them even funnier  ^+-+

So I think it's an interesting option: Do some missions on each location just so you get to know people which may offer you access to more weapons and stuff, take what you need, make friends etc and then go back and around.. this might be helpful to build up a cool outfit and loadout as well as a considerable base of allies that may offer even more intel.. wow, this is cool..  ^-^ :-X

[Art Blade]

Well, going to replay that mission sparing poor American embassy folks (who didn't hesitate to shoot at me) (I think) (or maybe they did).

I did replay it, sparing poor American embassy folks who did NOT shoot me. In my debriefing it turned out to have been a bonus objective, to support them fighting off the enemy.

My stats prove that I killed 43 (G22 agents). Then, again, SIE sent me an email lamenting that I didn't kill all  of G22's agents on site. Oh man. I think I must have missed one or two in the end because a "mission accomplished" popped up (help Surkov) which kind of deprived me of finishing a proper search and kill task.

But I'm pretty sure I killed them all.. strange. Now I have to replay it again without killing anyone and  sparing American embassy folks. lol  ;D

[Art Blade]

I just found out that playing as "recruit" does have slight effects on some conversations later on in the game, which I like -- so many variations in that game  :-X

Also, playing "cross missions" (moving between locations without finishing all local missions first and then go back and forth between those) has an effect on dialogues. It may have even more influence if you bought say a new armoured suit in Rome and used that in Moscow, things like that. Interesting :)

A slight spoiler for Rome:

Spoiler

I already mentioned that at one point during my first playthrough I received an email from some professor (the one you found staking out his villa with a sniper rifle, the scope of which transmitted data to Mina. If you didn't kill the man he'd send you an email later) and back then I had it analysed by Mina. I thought that I should have gone straight on to meeting that guy instead of having the mail checked because he got killed before I could actually meet him.

This playthrough I went straight to the meeting but.. he was dead again. Someone else came in his place. So I think you'll never meet him which may allow for a different reply to his mail or whatever option there is after having received it.

This game so far is logical despite the many different ways of playing it. Excellent  :-X

[fragger]

Thanks Art, you made me blow coffee out of my nose with that Aussie diatribe ^+-+ I don't have to post all that now, you said it all for me! ;D

Anyway, I got the game installed and only played about five minutes before being dragged kicking and screaming from my computer and made to act sociable towards the relatives that had lobbed for what turned out to be an all-day visit. So not much to report at this stage. Looks pretty interesting, though, once I get the hang of the controls. I need to set it up differently as it's been a while since I played a 3rd-person type game. That time-limited conversation response thing caught me off-guard initially... I ran out of time before I realised that I'd inadvertently settled on a bum response, and I ended up having to clout some jerk of a guard who came running into the room intent on giving me a knuckle sandwich. That's about as far as I got before I had to go out and clout - er, greet - the visitors.

I think the graphics are perfectly OK, maybe not as wow-inducing as some games, but definitely fine. From what I've seen so far, the style of the game does remind me a lot of the original Deus Ex, regarding skills levelling and what appears to be an emphasis on rewarding a stealthy approach to missions.

I'm looking forward to getting into it. I've got some stuff I have to do before bed so won't get to play any more tonight. After w**k tomorrow will be the go - barring any more unexpected drop-ins.

[Art Blade]

hehe :) You didn't do anything wrong with that random dialogue choice you made -- you're attempting to break out. No matter what, that guard will always greet you with a knuckle sandwich  ;D

[Art Blade]

A few things about the game you might want to consider:

Save, save, save. Until the game tells you the savegame limit is reached (lol, happened to me, but I was already on my second playthrough and already had created a backup of the entire folder with logs, savegames and all).

Savegames will help you to try again, again, again, until you get the result you had hoped for. Or to find out what would have happened if you had done something differently and by that decide which way to continue. And all that will help you during future playthroughs, and you will play it more than once  ;D

Then: The game indeed awards stealth and non-violent behaviour (no or few kills) while killing and annoying people doesn't help you (by depriving yourself of help and support and other useful stuff).

During conversations, try to find out which of the three main options works best with each person you're dealing with. Most of them like the right side option (honest, straight-forward, professional) while a few like the top left one (aggressive, intimidating, taunting, annoying, provoking) and the rest is down left (joking, suave, flirting, lying, bluffing, comforting). Some situations differ from that general way, down right may be an extra option, like when you gained extra knowledge you may take advantage of it but it is not always paying off or recommendable to use it. Test it :) Then there is yet another different kind of situation where you've simply got to choose between names or actions or things like that, sometimes that is corresponding to the main three options, sometimes not. So.. save often if you don't want to miss out on anything ;) Sometimes it is quite interesting if you divert your chosen path, like if you're friends with someone who generally prefers the professional approach, they may like a flirt or a joke but you may as well lose a reputation point degrading your relation from friend (10) to trusted (9). The other flavours have a broader range, you need a couple of points to improve or impair a relationship.

Playing the first few missions on one location so you get to know people that may open up opportunities like making weapons available to you and things like that will offer interesting new opportunities if you change to a different location and do those first few missions there and so on. You can play straight through a location and then you'll have to move to one of the two remaining ones, but I believe the overall fun and benefits are better if you play "cross missions" as I call it.

[fragger]

Thanks for all the tips and info, mate :-X I love games where you can experiment and try all sorts of different approaches. I didn't actually realise you could save anytime as I saw something about checkpoints in the manual (yes, I do actually read them before starting a new game - call me eccentric), so I assumed it was that kind of a system. Good to know it ain't.

Well, at w@&k today, some kind and generous soul gave me a cute little flu virus to bring home and call my own. Since I don't want my enjoyment of the game marred by frequent tissue fanfares and eyeball dabbles, and since I feel like something the cat dragged in without really wanting in the first place, I thought I'd hold off on AP for a day or two until I can really appreciate it, i.e. without having to do a nose bugle call and whip my glasses off every half a minute to dab up sneeze-impulse-induced tears.

But again, thanks for the game tips there Art, much appreesh :) :-X :-X

[Art Blade]

I feel like something the cat dragged in without really wanting in the first place

^+-+ ^+-+ ^+-+

Get better soon, matey!

As to saving games, you can manually save at a checkpoint. The game itself only makes a temp save there which gets overridden once you've reached the next checkpoint. It also seperately saves your "last safehouse" checkpoint. What I meant was.

"save manually after each checkpoint."

[PZ]

Get well soon, fragger - I'm a bit under the weather due to a virus as well, and can commiserate! 

[Art Blade]

PZ, get better, too  :-X

[PZ]

Thanks Art - really fatigued today and all stuffed up  :'(

[fragger]

Thanks, fellas :)

PZ, let's hope we both feel better soon!

[Art Blade]

One more general tip

Try to take your time and carefully search every location for items. Although there will be an icon hovering above an item of interest they are easily missed and sometimes you need to be quite close to them to spot them. Best thing to do is to stick close to walls and to pay attention to the message on your screen that will pop up if you're close enough to take/activate etc those items.

I am surprised at how many of those I keep finding that I must have missed during the first playthrough  :)

[Art Blade]

Just on a side note: 457 enemies subdued, not one enemy killed  :) 463 pistol shots fired (tranquilizer rounds) and 82% efficiency with that weapon.

Tips on weapons:

When composing weapons (you have four slots per weapon: barrels, sights, magazines, accessories) try out various combinations when you're at a safehouse. Sell everything in case you don't have much money, and then buy weapons and upgrades that you think fit your style (precision, balance or brute power). Write down what you liked best and reload your savegame for that safehouse.. then buy what you can afford. Note there is a "buy/sell" button which toggles between black (buy from arms dealer) and red (sell your gear). Selling is never as good as not buying in the first place, sales are only a fraction of what you pay. Good though if you found upgrades during missions (they are random, perhaps try reloading a savegame so you can pick up a different upgrade).

The pistol is the only weapon that comes with a silencer slot. My favourite precision pistol is either a Rittergruppen Razor (most precise) which I buy once it is available (expensive, too) or a Samael Seraphim (more balanced and expensive) and I also played with Hamilton Duelist.

The best upgrades (they stick with the type, e.g. all pistols) for a precise stealth pistol (Razor) is Silencer Mk3 (Mk1,2,3 are upgrade stages), or for more balance the Perfected Rifling upgrade, then Featherweight Pistol Reflex Sight, Featherweight Pistol Clip (very few rounds, but you're going to aim carefully anyway) and either a Custom Pistol Grip (more accurate) or a Composite Pistol Grip (more balance).

If you keep using a pistol and stealth approaches, you'll achieve some perks that expand characteristics of any of your pistols, in my case +1 damage, +1 accuracy and more rounds. So my current pistol is the most precise weapon:

Pistol Rittergruppen Razor

Stealth Silencer Mk3 Featherweight Pistol Reflex Sight Featherweight Pistol Clip Custom Pistol Grip Damage: 21 Accuracy: 29 Recoil: 29 Stability: 35 Ammo: 6

Precision Perfected Rifling Featherweight Pistol Reflex Sight Featherweight Pistol Clip Composite Pistol Grip Damage: 21 Accuracy: 30 Recoil: 32 Stability: 37 Ammo: 6

[Art Blade]

OK, I've finished the finale a couple of times choosing different paths and handlers. Although the general course is known to me, those variations are still worthwhile and surprising. Maybe somehow like a James Bond movie. You basically know what it's going to be, but they're all different. :)

Having finished a career as "Rookie" I am now allowed to play as "Veteran" which is funny.. you can cut the crap during the orientation course (who wants to get through all that talk all the time) using some straight veteran lines, and on top gain reputation points doing so  :)

Although I tried, I really can't play completely cold-blooded. For instance, I never killed Mina, Scarlet or SIE. I even find it hard to kill Marburg. But I did kill Westridge and Leland a few times, and let them live the other times. All characters in this game are strong and full of secrets, so you won't think of them as just another AI dummy to be killed. I read how some people complained the game didn't reveal all the background stories or how things remained unsolved.. so what? This game is more into reality than most other games and at least for me it's totally understandable that some things will never surface or remain partly a secret. During various attempts I found intel that wasn't available while opting for other paths to play, so if you want to know it all there is but one way to get there: Replay the game several times (or deviate from savegames) and do what you haven't done.

This is one of the best games I've played.  :-X

I have NO idea why this game has kind of failed to be rated a lot higher, and it is a shame SEGA won't make a sequel.  :-\\

I'd like to play this game through yet another time and another and another, hehe, but I'll now get to playing different games that are still sitting on my desk awaiting installation and I've already started WoP which I will now resume.