I've been tracking Alpha Protocol for quite some time now, and I have to say that this game is looking really good, and may get the money I was gonna give to splinter cell conviction. Yeah, i make a list of the games I'm definitely getting and save to get them, marking each off as I get em. So far Conviction has slipped from the top of my must haves to the bottom in the frivolous section... the section that if I win the lottery or someone gave me a game, that section. Some of you may disagree, but it is as close to splinter cell without being splinter cell as you can get, and while the release date hasn't been made solid, at least it's scheduled for this year. Like it or not conviction looks like it's off the radar. No updates, no new game footage, nada.

Alpha Protocol, Sabotuer (sp?), and Velvet Assassin.

Dead Rising 2, The Elder Scrolls V, Conviction, Halo 3 ODST

That's all of my future Xbox360, unless there will be sequels to games listed above.

Yeah I agree. I usually make a list of what games to buy and Conviction is at the bottom.

-Alpha Protocol
-Assassin's Creed 2
-Section 8
-Starcraft 2
--we'll have to see about conviction

I find it sad that games I've been tracking since they were announced will be released almost a year before Conviction, and they were announced AFTER Conviction..

Cipher Complex!
Saboteur!
I don't care about the others!

Well, Alpha Protocol looks okay, but I have a feeling it'll be more like The Bourne Conspiracy: more shooting and fighting, less stealth. Okay, it may have more stealth than TBC, but I still have a gnawing feeling I won't be truly able to express my inner Sam Fisher in that game. Drat. Also, Velvet Assassin looks like a SC wannabe gone wrong. Depressing!

What else...

quote:

Originally posted by Cougar-C.A.T.:
Yeah I agree. I usually make a list of what games to buy and Conviction is at the bottom.

-Alpha Protocol
-Assassin's Creed 2
-Section 8
-Starcraft 2
--we'll have to see about conviction

Assassin's Creed fell off my list because Altair is not the main character anymore. I'm REALLY in a wait and see mode on that one!

quote:

Originally posted by Chinese_Bookey:
Cipher Complex!
Saboteur!
I don't care about the others!

Well, Alpha Protocol looks okay, but I have a feeling it'll be more like The Bourne Conspiracy: more shooting and fighting, less stealth. Okay, it may have more stealth than TBC, but I still have a gnawing feeling I won't be truly able to express my inner Sam Fisher in that game. Drat. Also, Velvet Assassin looks like a SC wannabe gone wrong. Depressing!

What else...

What I'm liking about Alpha Protocol is the multiple path gameplay, and the "consequences" it worked for a few games before but you didn't have a sense that the decisions you made affected the story at all ala Mass Effect, that was more of a good cop bad cop reprecusion than a story line adaptation.

quote:

Originally posted by Chinese_Bookey:
Also, Velvet Assassin looks like the spiritual successor to Splinter Cell.

Fixed.

Ubisoft isn't delivering the light and shadow experience we want, so Replay is. Almost everything about the originals you loved, and more. Silhouette recognition, shadow recognition, I think even reflection recognition. And all that in a refreshing take on WWII games.

Pure win.

Because of what Ubisoft has done with the Splinter Cell series, I have sworn off buying every Ubi game out there until they fix what they broke in the series and that includes bringing back Sarah and not having killed off Lambert.

quote:

Originally posted by TreFacTor:

quote:

Originally posted by Chinese_Bookey:
Cipher Complex!
Saboteur!
I don't care about the others!

Well, Alpha Protocol looks okay, but I have a feeling it'll be more like The Bourne Conspiracy: more shooting and fighting, less stealth. Okay, it may have more stealth than TBC, but I still have a gnawing feeling I won't be truly able to express my inner Sam Fisher in that game. Drat. Also, Velvet Assassin looks like a SC wannabe gone wrong. Depressing!

What else...

What I'm liking about Alpha Protocol is the multiple path gameplay, and the "consequences" it worked for a few games before but you didn't have a sense that the decisions you made affected the story at all ala Mass Effect, that was more of a good cop bad cop reprecusion than a story line adaptation.

Maybe I'm just a pessimist, but I have a feeling those elements won't work as well as they could. It has a very mediocre feel to it. Still, it could be a lot of fun even if they didn't work. Stealth. Mmm.

quote:

Originally posted by LaurenIsSoMosh:

quote:

Originally posted by Chinese_Bookey:
Also, Velvet Assassin looks like the spiritual successor to Splinter Cell.

Fixed.

Ubisoft isn't delivering the light and shadow experience we want, so Replay is. Almost everything about the originals you loved, and more. Silhouette recognition, shadow recognition, I think even reflection recognition. And all that in a refreshing take on WWII games.

Pure win.

Well, yeah, it has shadows, but have you seen the gameplay? It plays like crud. The LS doesn't mean much to me if the gameplay doesn't jive. Plus, I'm bored with WWII. As for all that recognition mumbo jumbo you mentioned, I haven't heard any of that. Got a link?

moved to Off Topic

quote:

Originally posted by Chinese_Bookey:
As for all that recognition mumbo jumbo you mentioned, I haven't heard any of that. Got a link?

Nope, but if you feel like digging through Kotaku's archives, you'll find it eventually. Oryoucouldjustlistentotheall-knowingCoastie.

BecauseapparentlyI'mlazy.

I do remember though that somebody got to watch a demo, and it was mentioned that Violette was hiding at the edge of a hallway or something, but her shadow cast past the edge, and a guard saw it and came over to check.

The other two, don't take my word for it but I think they're in there.

And yeah, I'm sick of WWII myself, but this and Saboteur both look interesting and rather artistic, something you don't get from all the shooters. Noir, surreal, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by Chinese_Bookey:
Well, yeah, it has shadows, but have you seen the gameplay? It plays like crud. The LS doesn't mean much to me if the gameplay doesn't jive. Plus, I'm bored with WWII. As for all that recognition mumbo jumbo you mentioned, I haven't heard any of that. Got a link?

I don't expect it to be amazing; I'm anticipating a somewhat sticky game, not unlike Vampire Rain. I don't really care, though. I learned to settle a long time ago - worst case scenario for me is having another mediocre but still fun to play L&S game in my collection.

Oh, and this article mentions the cast shadow recognition.



ETA: Pfft Lauren, so lazy!

I agree with you I'm also thinking about getting Alpha Protocol since it's my favorite 2 genre's in one game. RPG and stealth combined plus I got other games in mind such as Starcraft 2, Mass Effect 2, Operation Flashpoint 2, maybe CODMW2 and depending on how Conviction turns out I'll buy it or I won't.

I don't know about anyone else, but so far I'm loving VA.

quote:

Originally posted by CoastalGirl:
I don't know about anyone else, but so far I'm loving VA.

What mission are you on? Because I'm on the submarine mission and so far it's a complete let-down.

I was really hoping this would be a good game, but I can't find anything about it that's all that great.

quote:

Originally posted by LaurenIsSoMosh:

quote:

Originally posted by CoastalGirl:
I don't know about anyone else, but so far I'm loving VA.

What mission are you on? Because I'm on the submarine mission and so far it's a complete let-down.

I was really hoping this would be a good game, but I can't find anything about it that's all that great.

I'm not that far in yet; currently in the Crypt.

The game has flaws, certainly, but it's so heavy on the sneaking how could I not love it?

Likes (besides the obvious):

Visually it's impressive. The use of color is original and, so far, seems to work well. I especially like the cold blues/grays/greens, but the orange/red hues outside don't bother me. It definitely creates a sense of variety.

It's the first cross-sub-genre stealth game with a "proper" () L&S base. I don't really like the disguise part, but that doesn't mean it doesn't (or couldn't) work. They're trying new things without losing the sneaking essence, and I think that's great.

It has various "borrowed" concepts, including those hidden sparkly collectables, à la Thief. Apparently they know that if you're going to steal ideas, you should steal from the best!

I also love that the enemies actually speak German - it makes things more immersive.



It's nowhere near perfect, of course, but my only real complaint so far is the way the enemies stare straight at you, even when they don't see you. It's weird and is a disappointing immersion-breaker. Oh, and the game occasionally suffers from Stolen's "there is a solid wall here, but the light on the other side shines through because we didn't apparently make it opaque" syndrome.

Is Velvet Assassin worth getting or should I wat for the 1st price drop or is it not worth the money at all? From what you are saying I can't really tell.

If you love sneaking games and can put up with a few bugs here and there, then IMO it's totally worth it.

Even with the bugs, though, I can't imagine anyone saying it's bad enough that you shouldn't bother at all (unless they really don't like sneaking games, or can't work around the bugs [admittedly the one where the enemies look at you gets a lot more "fun" when they have a flashlight]).

ETA: I think this review is pretty accurate.