MattPlays

Alpha Protocol

Matt — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:14:58 +0000

Here’s a game that has garnered quite conflicted opinions from those who played it. Even more conflicted are those who never played it. While playing Alpha Protocol, I kept thinking about what could’ve been, because it was filled with little moments here and there where a ray of brilliance shone through an otherwise cloudy, murky experience.

For example, the dialogue and story can be, at times, both engrossing and downright silly. The gunplay have its moment of awesome, but largely felt clumsy and stupid. The AI were especially dumb, being both predictable and unpredictable. The duality of Alpha Protocol is the reason for all the conflicted reports.

Obsidian, the developer, obviously weren’t managed properly during the course of the game. There was even a report by a former employee who stated that they had a boss who wanted to throw in a bunch of features and gameplay mechanics with little regard to the fun factor. This is also evident in the performance department, where the game would lock up for a brief second and suddenly your view would be completely reversed without your control. Then you’d end up having to get your bearings in order to move on. These “hiccups” were unrelated to hardware, and is entirely the fault of the game’s engine. Under better management, Alpha Protocol could’ve been a brilliant espionage RPG. As it is, it’s just a reminder that no matter how good the team is, a bad boss can ruin everything.

To be fair, I fairly enjoyed Alpha Protocol for what it did provide. Maybe it was the idea it presented, or the variety of choices you can choose that affects the game’s story, what weapon you’re using, and how to approach and deal with a situation. In fact, I played through and beat the game twice, which I don’t do too often. Oh, what could’ve been ….

Half-Life 2, Super Laser Racer, Fate: Undiscovered Realms

Super Laser Racer

Matt — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:59:21 +0000

During a summer Steam sale, this game was only $1.49. It looked fun, so I said, why not?

As it turned out, it ended up being quite a fun game. There’s not much to go on, but it entertained me for a few hours; well worth the money spent for it.

It’s a cross between Super Mario Kart with the powerups and Geometry Wars for the visual style. It works quite well together and explains the “Laser” part in the name. There’s a quick race and tournament mode, but no multiplayer at the time of writing. The developer hints that it is a planned update, however.

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, Alpha Protocol, Guild Wars – Platinum Edition

Half-Life 2

Matt — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 09:28:47 +0000

What more can be said about Half-Life 2 that hasn’t been said already? It’s a genuine classic at this point, and one of the few games I have played and beaten more than 3 times since it came out. Continuing from the riveting story of the first game, Half-Life 2 introduced a whole new graphics engine (Source Engine) that is immeasurably flexible, physics-based gameplay that isn’t gimmicky, and a whole new cast of lovable characters.

Not to mention it spawned off a bunch of mods; such as Counterstrike: Source, Dystopia, Day of Defeat Source, The Hidden – Source, the Minerva episodes, and Mistake of Pythagoras. While the collection of mods isn’t as extensive as the ones we saw from the first Half-Life, it’s still impressive.

Half-Life 2 also introduced drivable vehicles, which some people complained was too long and boring, and others got severely ill from motion sickness. While I didn’t get sick, the giddiness of climbing in the buggy and driving around was palpable. The weapons introduced into this game are all memorable, and just like in the first game, feature some of the best sound effects ever. The kind that you dream about because you’ve heard them so much that they become a way of life. The same can be said about the music, which are short and infrequent but just as memorable.

When you get right down to it, Half-Life 2 raised the bar when the first one set it so high for first-person shooters. Not many developers can follow a legendary classic with another legendary classic, but Valve managed to do just that. Be sure to check out my video for Half-Life 2: Episode 2, as well.

Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Alpha Protocol, Mafia