Well, I don't have much more time left to enjoy console video gaming, all this planning to move to England for university made me realize something. Holy shit, I'm not a PC gamer. This is quite the pickle, so I figured I might as well take the time to enjoy it all as much as possible. Max Payne 3 is the only upcoming game that I can enjoy, but in the meantime, how about a bunch of games I missed to be the subject of something or other. Right? Deal with it, scroll down faster. Faster damn you!

Alpha Protocol Two Years Later

Why haven't I played this game yet? Seriously, am I stupid or something? This game gives me exactly what I want, the ability to be an asshole in game without feeling completely guilty. It took me two days to plow through the entire game, but I had taken the bland approach. Make friends with the good guys, make friends with the innocent, and be a general bastard to the bad guys. And that's fun and all, especially with Michael Thorton being amazingly dry about the whole affair, and with the story being so well written. But when you learn to be an asshole, you experience something beautiful. You put aside your problems with the gameplay and bugs, just for that one moment. The moment where Mike tells someone to fuck off, or when he nonchalantly talks about how he killed someone or when finally Mike shits on Leland for his stupid fucking tie looking like shit. Then realize, that moment happens all the time with Mike. Literally every time he opens his snark of a mouth.

This whole game brings into question what is wrong with storytelling in other games. Not those that don't give choice in how the story plays out, if I complained about that, I would feel like the biggest twat in the world. But those games that give you the illusion of choice. The illusion of role playing. In a game like Skyrim where I play a former merchant orc turned adventurer and bard, role playing that is... hard. Also it being on Master difficulty makes it harder. And more so when you take away the ability to fast travel. Anyway, those games require a forced application of role playing. You have to force yourself to behave like that character. And in the case of my orc, I have priorities. Focus on speech and all the abilities that a business owner would have in this fantasy world, like making your own goods. But aside from spec'ing, there's not much role playing to have. A game like Alpha Protocol requires you to role play, even expanding outside of the whole spy narrative, you can be a total psychopath to everyone you meet. It yields all sorts of different results. Think of the D&D system in Baldur's Gate, if you maintain something like chaotic good, you get benefits and if you depart from that course, you are slightly punished for it in terms of the buffs you get (Which is not to say it's very noticeable, veering off course in behaviour has its own results).

One final thing about the game and it's the shooting. It's fine, damn it. What do you people expect? It's an RPG in a modern setting, that uses conventions of older RPGs. That means that the protagonist isn't the greatest at what he does yet. What fun is there in a role playing game if there is zero progress in the skill of the protagonist? Now I'm not saying there's no way of doing it better, but if Mike had the ability to use all weapons perfectly, then why have any points at all? Why level up if he's already the best at what he does? This game is an RPG, not an action adventure "RPG" where your character is pretty much as good as can be but can make his guns shinier.

System Shock 2, wait, didn't I play this game before?

You bet your sweet ass, me. I did play it. Many times. But this is less about the game, and more about these podcasts featuring a bunch of former Looking Glass Studio designers. Like, oh, Terri Brosius, Eric Brosius, Greg LoPiccolo... and Ken Levine too if you want someone you recognize. But really, we all know how great their games were. The Thief series, and the System Shock games. The stories from all of these people are so interesting, and so unbelievable. Nowadays, you could not possibly get away with some of the stuff they have done. I highly suggest listening to all of them, and here's one with Terri Brosius (Voice of SHODAN) and Dan Thron who was well involved in the Thief series and is now in the movie business behind the scenes.

Sorry I lied that I would be talking about SS2, but this is far more interesting than my inane ramblings which you skipped.