Obsidian

So, it's been a while since I've posted anything. Honestly, I blame Fallout: New Vegas. In fact, I blame it for anything else I haven't gotten done over the last couple of weeks. It's a pretty fantastic title.

They Rolled the Dice and it Came Up Seven

HIGH My personal balls-out resolution to the Ultra-Luxe Casino quest.

LOW Getting confused and stuck in Vault 22—twice.

WTF Even after the last patch, several big bugs and glitches remain.

Completed Fallout: New Vegas the other day, and although it got a little buggier than I would have preferred towards the end, I still pushed on and rolled credits in support of the New California Republic.

Meh

HIGH Reinheart Manx. Just... Reinheart Manx.

LOW: Almost everything and everyone else.

WTF Lucas Montbarron, your father has been murdered. Shouldn’t you have feelings about that?

Yes, that's a Kick in the Head

HIGH Getting to the final boss and talking him out of a fight.

LOW The innumerable bugs and crashes.

WTF Man, where to begin? The gang of Elvises? The blond-wigged Nightkin in love with a robot? This whole game is screwy.

Stealth and Pistols, all the way

HIGH Unleashing my pistol's special attack and headshotting six goons at once.

LOW A lack of prompts making me miss the chance to rescue a main character.

WTF Punching is often more effective than shooting.

I just finished Alpha Protocol a few minutes ago and I have to say that my opinion of the game greatly improved by the time credits rolled.

So, Alpha Protocol. At this point, I've erased my first character and started from scratch, completely re-speccing and changing my play style. I haven't finished the game yet, but I would estimate I'm about halfway. Perhaps a little more.I'm still considering doing a second opinion review if time allows, but no promises there. In the meantime, my general thought is that the only way to really derive appreciation out of Alpha Protocol is to go Stealth all the way, and put a lot of points into the Pistol ability as well.

Lost in this Masquerade

HIGH Steven "Don't call me Steve" Heck.

LOW The '80s-themed boss fight against a knife-wielding cokehead who somehow is still talking after taking ten bullets in the face.

WTF Let me get this straight: a brilliant intelligence analyst lost track of his own daughter because she took her mother's maiden name?

Game Description: The year is 2009. Worldwide political tensions are at a breaking point when a commercial airliner is shot down by a U.S. missile over Eastern Europe, killing all aboard. The U.S. government claims no involvement, and dispatches Agent Michael Thorton to investigate and bring those responsible to justice. As the first modern day spy role-playing game, Alpha Protocol offers unprecedented control over the development of Thorton’s abilities and his interactions with other characters. Upgrade skills such as physical combat, weapons mastery, cutting-edge technology and even seduction as you grow in experience and complete missions.