Alpha protocol was amazing. i finished it and immediately played through it again. I can't believe the bashing it got.

Agreed, I really enjoyed the game and the story. 
Also, if you missed it and are up to some spying, try In Cold Blood. I played it a month ago, the game holds up reaaaally good (controls are kinda weird but you get used to them) 
Best spy bluffing, I guarantee it. Interesting setting and story too. 

One of the games i was totally wanting to be good, but due to the backlash i figured i would wait until patches/ mods fixed the game to where it is playable, i.e same thing i did when S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was first released. What system did you play it on, and have their been mods/ patches to make the game playable?

I really liked it but the bugs killed it for me. Every enemy on the map disappears when I load a save. I googled it and it's apparently pretty common and I found no fix that worked so I gave up.

Got it for 16 bucks but haven't played it yet.

Really enjoyed it too. Think I played through it 4 times.

I just picked it up for £10, always seen a handful of people claiming there's a great game in there behind the imbalanced combat. Been told to play on easy with stealth/pistols for the first playthrough, will give it a chance.

Its on my super cheap list!

Alpha Protocol is perfectly acceptable at $10, if you are willing to accept that finishing it means spending around 15 hours of your life doing some of the most half-assed combat and/or stealth that I have encountered in a while in exchange for some story and character bits of varying quality. That game does exactly one thing well, and that's making your choices seem like they have impact. It doesn't do an especially good job of making you care about any of the characters (indeed, Mike Thorton always comes off as a bit of a jerk regardless of how you roleplay him), or telling a story that isn't every single other modern espionage thriller ever.  It's a lot of good ideas that are packaged together in a game that manages to constantly squander them.

I bought it and I loved it! Loved it!

" I just picked it up for £10, always seen a handful of people claiming there's a great game in there behind the imbalanced combat. Been told to play on easy with stealth/pistols for the first playthrough, will give it a chance. "

For someone who got it; Is the majority of bugs and glitches fixed by now? It seems like a decent game, but seems flawed because of the problems. Obsidian got a record for that.

I played some of that and... no, it's not up to par. 
 
I mean, don't get me wrong, they did a lot right, the concept is brilliant and anything that is not action gameplay actually kind of works, but the game comes apart in the combat (too much dice rolling going on very openly) and they seem to bend over backwards way too much to try to reconduce everything to a shootout when they had the great chance to finally make a spy game that had very little shooting on it (which spy movies normally avoid, too). 

Got it for $7.50, it doesn't run too great on my computer so I want to get it cheap for a console. It's definitely fun though, like Mass Effect mixed with Splinter Cell and James Bond.

If you like buggy games with tons of unfulfilled potential then you'll love Alpha Protocol.  

" yeah it's definitely on my list of games to keep an eye out for if i see it super-cheap anywhere ... just plan to dump everything in stealth so i can just focus on the talking bits. i think i'll enjoy it.    "

I got the PS3 version for Christmas and finished a playthrough today. I went pure stealth and pistols with sabotage and there were some legitimate moments of tension. I really enjoyed the game. The only bug I had was one instance of a hard lock up. Fun game. Gonna play through multiple times just because.

I probably should have got Alpha Protocol when it was on Steam sale. I was looking for a good RPG to play.

" Alpha protocol was amazing. i finished it and immediately played through it again. I can't believe the bashing it got. "

" @jadeskye said:

" Alpha protocol was amazing. i finished it and immediately played through it again. I can't believe the bashing it got. "

I can believe it. I've beaten the game three times and I still understand why it got the reviews it did. It's practically a throwback in addition to being incredible glitchy and unintuitive, despite the writing and the plot being downright amazing. I'm just shocked that the RPG "purists" (those that call ME2 "dumbed down" rather than "streamlined") on this site haven't all rushed out to buy this game. It definitely seems to fit with a much more old-school feel. "

Got it for $6 on Direct2Drive a few weeks ago. Definitely digging the dialogue trees, but if you do find this game, I recommend setting it to easy to mitigate the problematic game mechanics. Jeff's review got it right I think. Still, it's a bargain bin consideration if you have the time and money.

" Got it for $6 on Direct2Drive a few weeks ago. Definitely digging the dialogue trees, but if you do find this game, I recommend setting it to easy to mitigate the problematic game mechanics. Jeff's review got it right I think. Still, it's a bargain bin consideration if you have the time and money. "

" @Jeust said:

" @drag said:

" yeah it's definitely on my list of games to keep an eye out for if i see it super-cheap anywhere ... just plan to dump everything in stealth so i can just focus on the talking bits. i think i'll enjoy it.    "

DON'T DO THAT. Or when you face a boss battle you're in for a rude awakening.  
 
I loved the game. Playthrough three times, and I'm almost set for another run. :p
"

Oh shit, I didn't think of that!  Stupid bosses that need shooting.  "

" @drag said:

" @Jeust said:

" @drag said:

" yeah it's definitely on my list of games to keep an eye out for if i see it super-cheap anywhere ... just plan to dump everything in stealth so i can just focus on the talking bits. i think i'll enjoy it.    "

DON'T DO THAT. Or when you face a boss battle you're in for a rude awakening.  
 
I loved the game. Playthrough three times, and I'm almost set for another run. :p
"

Oh shit, I didn't think of that!  Stupid bosses that need shooting.  "

There is one specially though accompanied with funky music. Be careful.  "

" @Jeust said:

" @drag said:

" @Jeust said:

" @drag said:

" yeah it's definitely on my list of games to keep an eye out for if i see it super-cheap anywhere ... just plan to dump everything in stealth so i can just focus on the talking bits. i think i'll enjoy it.    "

DON'T DO THAT. Or when you face a boss battle you're in for a rude awakening.  
 
I loved the game. Playthrough three times, and I'm almost set for another run. :p
"

Oh shit, I didn't think of that!  Stupid bosses that need shooting.  "

There is one specially though accompanied with funky music. Be careful.  "

Jesus I still have nightmares about that Russian fuck...... "

I mostly played stealth. The boss battles, namely the Russian one was a huge pain in the ass. Having said that, I had a lot of fun and played through it twice. Once as a recruit and second as a veteran on hard. 
 
By the way, shotguns and SMGs suck!

" @Undeadpool said:

" @jadeskye said:

" Alpha protocol was amazing. i finished it and immediately played through it again. I can't believe the bashing it got. "

I can believe it. I've beaten the game three times and I still understand why it got the reviews it did. It's practically a throwback in addition to being incredible glitchy and unintuitive, despite the writing and the plot being downright amazing. I'm just shocked that the RPG "purists" (those that call ME2 "dumbed down" rather than "streamlined") on this site haven't all rushed out to buy this game. It definitely seems to fit with a much more old-school feel. "

I agree but under that logic people should have hated Dragon Age: Origins for being the same old-school throwback in modern form no?  I feel like the only reason it got hate is because it's not call of duty. "

" @ClaritySam said:

" @Jeust said:

" @drag said:

" @Jeust said:

" @drag said:

" yeah it's definitely on my list of games to keep an eye out for if i see it super-cheap anywhere ... just plan to dump everything in stealth so i can just focus on the talking bits. i think i'll enjoy it.    "

DON'T DO THAT. Or when you face a boss battle you're in for a rude awakening.  
 
I loved the game. Playthrough three times, and I'm almost set for another run. :p
"

Oh shit, I didn't think of that!  Stupid bosses that need shooting.  "

There is one specially though accompanied with funky music. Be careful.  "

Jesus I still have nightmares about that Russian fuck...... "

Yeah. He was tough! "

I fucking love Alpha Protocol 2. The story is simply amazing, and the amount of things that change because of your choices are mindblowing. It's a damn shame it caught so much flak because it was RPG first and shooter second.

"For someone who got it; Is the majority of bugs and glitches fixed by now? It seems like a decent game, but seems flawed because of the problems. Obsidian got a record for that. "

" @Jeust said:

" @ClaritySam said:

" @Jeust said:

" @drag said:

" @Jeust said:

" @drag said:

" yeah it's definitely on my list of games to keep an eye out for if i see it super-cheap anywhere ... just plan to dump everything in stealth so i can just focus on the talking bits. i think i'll enjoy it.    "

DON'T DO THAT. Or when you face a boss battle you're in for a rude awakening.  
 
I loved the game. Playthrough three times, and I'm almost set for another run. :p
"

Oh shit, I didn't think of that!  Stupid bosses that need shooting.  "

There is one specially though accompanied with funky music. Be careful.  "

Jesus I still have nightmares about that Russian fuck...... "

Yeah. He was tough! "

if  you do taipei before moscow, your buddy from taipei can send him bad cocaine and you can easily win. "

" Most likely late to the boat on this one, but for all of those like me who saw reviews from Medicore(Jeff's is spot on for this game), to downright terrible, I figured I would pass. It was on gamefly used for $9.99 so I figured I'd ask for it for Xmas, what the hell.  Honestly having a total blast with it. It's the first game where you really feel like a spy, just talking your way through missions, sneaking and given reason to not shoot up everything. Sorry but James bond games and Splinter Cell are pretty Spy-Lite. The gameplay is wanky, the Ai stinks, the graphics are a mess at times.... So why bother? Again Jeff is spot on, the roleplaying and dialogue, and overall story are a blast.   So if you skipped out and like real deal spy stuff (As in you read fiction or enjoy movies of actual spy type dealings), then set the diffuculty to easy or normal, and just run throuh the missions to see the great story and choices you make. I actually set it to hard on recruit(You start with zero skills) and based my guy on sneaking and snapping of necks. It actually makes being stealhy matter on hard, since if you get caught I'm usually dead in a couple shots. Unlike other "stealth" games *cough* splinter cell, Assassians Creed (Which are way better games mind you) but your a total badass who really can't die. I guess I prefer feeling weak and helpless, plus the shooting is very falloutish. Have fun with the timed dialogue, it makes it a more gut reaction than "sit and think about it" kinda thing, so just roll with your choices.... sometimes they are rather suprising at the outcome. Or if you played the game or read reviews and say it sucks, I think that's fair to say.... just don't overlook it for $10 if you like this genre that is non existent in gaming. Let's hope Bioware can one day make a globe trotting spy drama I'd like to see what they could do! "

I thought this should have been in running for story of the year. The story is good, the dialog is good, and the moments are great, but the game play itself is kind of crap. They set it up to play as a 3rd person shooter, but it doesn't shoot like a 3rd person shooter. Anyway, totally worth a rental, or a cheap buy. Obsidian knows RPGS.

Alpha Protocol really is pretty good. I've gotta pick it up again.

I gave Alpha Protocol a shot, but it just felt too odd and janky for me.  I like the idea they wanted to portray, but it could have been executed a lot better.

Bought it on Direct2Drive for $6 about a month back. Just finished it now. Everything Jeff said is correct. If I had to do a quick review of it, I'd say it was like reaching into a bag of dog crap to fish out a diamond. And there's some jagged shards of glass in the bag also.

 "'It says 'Mike and Sean, fuck yeah!!!' with three exclamation points." 
 
I'm really glad I got this game during the Steam sale.  Interesting story and mechanics with some pretty great characters, but the combat is.. so-so. 
 
Dumping points into stealth and pistols (chain shot) makes everything fairly easy.

I would love to see someone buy up the IP and fix all of the mismanaged portions of the game.  It really has some potential and just needs some gameplay balancing and removal of some of the stuff that just doesn't make much sense.  It takes a while to get into the game and you are pretty limited in 'effective' skills early on, but once you get into it, it does flow pretty well.

" I would love to see someone buy up the IP and fix all of the mismanaged portions of the game.  It really has some potential and just needs some gameplay balancing and removal of some of the stuff that just doesn't make much sense.  It takes a while to get into the game and you are pretty limited in 'effective' skills early on, but once you get into it, it does flow pretty well. "

" @cgoodno said:

" I would love to see someone buy up the IP and fix all of the mismanaged portions of the game.  It really has some potential and just needs some gameplay balancing and removal of some of the stuff that just doesn't make much sense.  It takes a while to get into the game and you are pretty limited in 'effective' skills early on, but once you get into it, it does flow pretty well. "

Obsidian does own the IP, sega just won't publish it; They wouldn't want to make an AP2 anyway, Avellone said they would do a spiritual sequel. "

The gameplay/looks are totally lacking, but the story is great and it tries hard to do some genuinely new things. It even succeeds at some of it. 
 
The general consensus from these parts is that everyone enjoyed it, saw the potential and felt slightly sorry for the squandered opportunity in regard to the rest of the game. 
 
It was on my Top 10 of the Year list. 
 
Edit: Just like to say that I loved the game. Didn't come across that way from my comment, though.