Alpha Protocol Review

Have you heard of a game titled “Alpha Protocol“? If the answer is no, it’s not surprising. You see, this game was one of many that glided in under the radar almost completely unnoticed, thanks in large part to the releases of highly anticipated heavy hitters Red Dead Redemption and Alan Wake.

Although you wouldn’t guess it by the title, Alpha Protocol is actually a Role-Playing game. Imagine if you will Splinter Cell remade as an RPG. Not just any RPG, but an RPG using the Unreal 3 game engine, just like Mass Effect. In fact, go one step further and picture what might come out if you stuffed Mass Effect and Splinter Cell into a blender and mixed them together on the highest setting. If you picture that, you might get a decent idea of what exactly Alpha Protocol is like.

When you start playing, one of the first things you will notice is the graphics. They are fairly impressive, though there is room for improvement. You will also notice the film grain which should be extremely familiar to fans of the Mass Effect series, in fact much of the game, in terms of graphics should be quite familiar to those fans.

The next thing you might notice is the lack of character customisation, in fact it’s nearly non-existant. When it becomes time to personalise your character, you will notice that there aren’t very many options at all to choose from. What you are given, is the option to change the characters eye color, choose between 5 or 6 different hair styles, pick between 4 or 5 different facial hair styles and decide if you want your character wearing a hat or shades. Fans of current RPGs might be heavily disappointed since in recent years we have been spoiled with character customisation. In fact, we have grown to accept it, and take it for granted.

However, all that aside, the game has good controls, in fact, very familiar controls that shouldn’t take any time at all to get used. The story is mediocre, it’s not Fantastic, but it’s definitely not the worst you could imagine. In fact, I would go so far as to say it was semi-enjoyable.

The only real flaw that I noticed was the games difficulty. See, they attempted to give the game an open exploration feel, similar to mass effect, however the game was clearly designed to be played in a particular order, and I firmly believe that the game would have been immensely better if it was a forced order. Sure, it would have been more linear, but it would have been more enjoyable and less confusing. The game was obviously designed to be linear, and them offering a “Free exploration” style of gameplay only served to make it frustrating instead of a fun experience.

Over all though, when the games finished and fully experienced, most RPG fans will have found it an overall enjoyable game title. Yes, it had its flaws but I firmly believe the game was enjoyable enough to look past those flaws.

Geekiest Drink of all time!

Jones is a soda company that has made some of the best and worst soda flavors in the history of soda flavors! Green Apple ranking right at the top of their best soda flavors!

They also have been known to release some limited edition holiday flavors. Such as their Broccoli Casserole, Smoked Salmon Paté , Turkey & Gravy, Corn on the Cob, and Pecan Pie flavors, and those are just the flavors for 2005! Each holiday they usually release a new holiday pack.

Anyway, the point of this post is to mention another one of their limited edition flavors. It’s their Dungeons and Dragons set! Perfect for the hard core geeks.

Now, these are the types of things that normally I would scoff at, and make fun of, but to be honest, I actually want this! No, I am not geeky! Don’t even think it lest you want me to cast Magic Missle on you!

Geeze! Well, ok! I guess I am kinda-sorta geeky!

Mass Effect 2

Yes! Today, I got my grubby little hands on Mass Effect 2 on the Xbox 360! I haven’t played much into it, but so far I am incredibly impressed.That game is incredible, which has a really nifty import feature, that lets you import your character any completed mass effect 1 campaign save games. So, I naturally imported my character, which was a level 45 Soldier. However, just beause you import your old guy, don’t think you are going to be super buff. You aren’t. You get bonus credits and your level increased from level 1 to level 2, but thats about it. So, it’s not a big deal if you don’t import.

Now, my “Sheppard” is the default male sheppard, the reason for this was because when i first started playing the original Mass Effect, I didn’t read the manual, because I am a dude. So, at first I didn’t realise I could customise the character. Then by the time I found out, I was a good ways into the game, and didn’t want to start over. It turned out to be a good thing, because when I went to play the game again, i found the other presets to suck, and couldn’t make a sheppard that looked appealing to me. Although I did make a character that looked an awful lot like Dennis Leary.

After you play a bit through Mass effect 2, you arrive at a point where you can re-customise your character. However, I had grown used to Default Sheppard, and that’s what I decided to stick with. The look fits the voice PERFECTLY, and on top of that, it’s the model that I am used to.

If you haven’t gotten this game yet? You totally need to. Seriously.

Dragon Age

Have you played Dragon Age Origins yet? If not, how come? It’s one of the best cRPG titles currently available. Plus it’s available on Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC and even MAC. Granted, at the moment it’s not available on the Wii, but any other system or platform and you are golden!

The game is fantastic. The story is incredible, the voice acting is top knotch, The level of character freedom is fantabulous. It’s got everything, but really what do you expect from Bioware? All their cRPG titles always end up becoming huge epic games, that future games will have to live up to. It’s what they do. Everything from Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire and Mass Effect. They have ALWAYS been defining game titles, and this one is no different.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying this title is perfect in every way! It does have it’s flaws. For instance, there aren’t a whole lot of locations in the game. However the areas are HUGE. This can be fantastic to a degree, it makes you feel like you are part of something epic. However, some locations tend to be repetitive. It does get frustrating running through a huge cavern system, where every section and every turn ends up looking like the turn you just came from. It also does get frustrating, playing through some of the REALLY large dungeons. Mainly because some of the dungeons take LONGER than some of the Epic Raid dungeons in popular MMORPGs. When a dungeon takes that long, I expect it to only take place in MMORPGs, not on a single player game.

So, yea! The game has it’s faults, but all in all I feel the pluses outweigh the negatives. I also firmly believe if you love cRPG titles, and love any of the other Bioware games, that you will love this game despite it’s few faults.

Sucks to be Gametap

Once upon a time, I used to subscribe to this online service called Gametap, and it was good. The service really had everything a gamer like myself could want. What attracted me most to this service however is the fact that they included a good number of AD&D games. The Baldur Gate series, The Icewind Dale series and even Torment(Which is an extremely difficult to find dungeons and dragons title, but is oh so good!). Like many of you already know, I am not just a game junkie, I am a Role Play junkie as well, and my main love has always been dungeons and dragons. I mean I played the pen and paper version way back in high school, so it has a lot of fond memories.

Recently however Gametap got a huge smack from…someone! Im not sure if it’s the developers, or what but whoever it was forced them to pull down all their AD&D titles! Not just that, but also a good number of other major licenses like Homeworld, Incredible machine and so fourth.

So, now there REALLY isn’t a reason to be subscribed to Gametap. They lost their hottest titles, and while they do still carry some incredible games, like the fallout series and the Space Quest titles, it’s really not worth the subscription cost, at least in my eye.

Neverwinter :O

I have recently begun playing a computer RPG called Neverwinter Night. The original one, not Neverwinter Nights 2, although I did pick that up when i bought the first one. However, I wanted to play the original before digging into the next one. Yes, I know the second game doesnt require first game knowledge. However, it doesnt really hurt either.

Anyway, I have been playing this game and I must confess I am totally hooked on it! The game reminds me a LOT of the original Everquest game(Which oddly enough Neverwinter Nights 2 reminds me of Everquest 2. I may not be playing NWN2 first, but im not silly either I did make a character and fiddle in the tutorial section). Not just in graphics either, but also the setting. Combine that with NPC spell casters just standing around making glowing particles surround themselves. This isn’t a bad thing, I am a huge fan of the Everquest games. In fact the only thing I didnt like about EverQuest was the fact that the game wasn’t story oriented. Neverwinter Nights however obviously IS story oriented. Thus it ranks up as one of my all time favorite games EVER.

So, some of you might be wondering what made me decide to play this game after OH so many years. To be honest, I have always wanted to try this game, however the idea of having a buttload of henchmen, group-guys or whatever they are called put me off. Controlling several people in a real time combat situation did not interest me, however someone informed me, that though the battles might be realtime, you could pause the game easily and take your time finding what it is you want to use. I was also informed that I don’t exactly control the henchmen. This then got my interest in the game renewed!

I purchased the game, and now I have to force myself to quit playing. Granted, I am not very far along. I have barely finished the prelude, and quelled the prison riot. My last known location is outside the gates of a district over run with zombies. A freakin’ ZOMBIE invasion! That right there gives the game a spot in my heart. Looking forward to experiencing more of this game too!

Fallout Tactics

I recently finished Fallout 3 on the xbox 360 — Well, actually I accidentally finished it. The main stoyline is actually VERY short. So, not knowing it was the end, due to the shortness I carried on, and to my surprised finished the game, and unfortunately once you finish, you can’t continue playing your character. So, if i want to finish most of the other quests and storylines in fallout 3, I have to load from a previous save file I suppose.

Anyway, after finishing the game, i got a healthy hankerin’ for more post-apocalyptic  funtime! So, I went out and picked up Fallout 1, 2 and Fallout Tactics. Now, i have previously played the first 2 fallout games, although granted, not to completion due to that stupid friggen time limit! However I had never played Fallout Tactics, so naturally thats the one I started playing first.

Wow.

That’s all I can say — Wow.

I don’t mean wow in the good way either. I meant Wow in the “WTF were they thinking?!” kinda way. The story is horrid, the controls and gameplay COULD have been better. I realise this was a different direction than the previous 2 fallout titles, but c’mon! This game SUCKED! Not just because it was “Different” either! In fact, I love turn based strategy games as much as I do Role play. The X-com games used to rank on the top of my list of best games “EVER!”

Anyway, I was extremely disappointed with tactics, and glad I didn’t pick it up when it first came out. 😦

Fable 2 on Xbox 360

Fable 2 came out last week, and I just have been so occupied with the game, that I haven’t had anytime to even write about it! Therefore, I shall correct that issue now and write a little something about this RPG title.

Where to begin? Well, the game is VERY similar to the first Fable game, so if you loved the original, there is also a good chance you will like FABLE 2. The game starts out similar to the original. You are a child, and several occurances occur where you can choose the “Right” thing to do, or the “Wrong” thing. The choices are small, but they are to show you how the game allows you the freedom to play how you want…Good or bad.

There are a few differences in FABLE 2 that help it stand out from the original. For instance in FABLE 2 you can choose to be either Male or Female. On top of being able to pick your gender, another difference is that you don’t travel the world of Albion alone this time. You always have your Trusty dog with you. Also, on occasion you will be joined by NPCs that will help you along the way.

In Fable 2 I set out thinking “The first Fable I played evil….This time Im gonna be a good guy dabnabbit!”..Although that thought process didn’t last very long, and my character has turned to a life of crime…..and has gotten quite fat.

Bottom line however, the game plays the same as the original, it has all the charm as the original and most of all it has all the excitement as the original. IF however you were one of the few who didnt like Fable…Then FABLE 2 probably isn’t for you…Me however? I love the game!

Dragonlance

I’ve been reading the Dragonlance Chronicle….yea, I know…the books like from the 80’s. However I am just now getting around to reading them. Blame Television! It’s TVs fault, not airing any decent shows lately. Forcing me to read books!

At any rate, it’s actually a very good series of books, and I know there are some games based on the setting, and some RP campaigns and such, but what I would love to see is an MMORPG in this setting. I know there is D&D Online, but im not sure what world that game is set it, but i’m assuming it’s set in Forgotten Realms.

But, Yea, I would LOVE to see “Dragonlance Chronicles Online”. It could work the same way as Lord of the Rings Online works…Where you are adventuring in the world at the same time the companions are out there fighting the dragonarmy and all that…I think it would be a blast..I would buy it and subscribe to it….As long as it played like normal MMORPGs and not like the standard TSR cRPG titles. I just can’t get into those, which is a shame, because I freaking LOVE D&D stories.

KOTOR Online official

Ok, as of today KOTOR Online is officially announced, even has it’s own spiffy web address. I am really STOKED about this game, and since it’s being brought out by BioWare, I have high expectations! It’s hard not to with classics like KOTOR, Jade Empire and Mass Effect. I mean, how can you NOT have faith in this game company.

Granted, this isn’t the first Star Wars MMO to come out. There was also Star Wars Galaxies, but come on…have you guys played this game? It sucks! It made me wish I had a light sabre so i could stab my eyes out. SOE did what I thought was the impossible, and completely DESTROYED the Star Wars mythos. It took the KOTOR series to restore my faith in the franchise.

I have been wanting to try out Warhammer Online, but instead…I think im going to hold off for the KOTOR online game, and stick with the games i have now.