Lucky Thirteen

Update number unknown + 13, about the ups and downs of stealth.


Alpha Protocol Alpha Protocol
⌛ ~38 hours | ✪ N/A | ☑ Beaten
good!
Alpha Protocol is a stealth-action espionage RPG that I got for free during Sega's recent Make War Not Love promotion. The game suffers from the same issue as many other games where stealth is just one of the options, that is boss battles that require you to shoot your way through, but in between these forced shoot-outs, the stealth is truly delightful.
I was pleasantly surprised that the game can be finished without killing a single person, save for one scripted occasion where the protagonist throws a bad buy in front of a moving vehicle. Your pistol can shoot tranquilizers, fist fights are always considered non-lethal and after each boss fight, there is a dialogue with some meaningful choices including the option to either execute the character or to let them go. Of course you also have your trusty stealth takedowns, but that goes without saying ;)
The aforementioned choices & consequences are very worth mentioning as well: almost every conversation changes something, be it just a bit of dialogue, your reputation with the NPC in question or even the whole output of a mission!
The game has many flaws, but all in all, the pros seem to outweigh the cons.


Dex Dex
⌛ ~30 hours | ✪ 32/32 | ☑ Completed
good!
Dex is a 2D side-scrolling RPG set in a futuristic, cyberpunk world that borrows a lot of elements from Deus Ex, up to and including the title :D
It's a pretty alright game with a pretty alright story and a pretty bellow-average stealth mechanics. After playing Alpha Protocol with all its stealth perks and meaningful choices, Dex feels a little bit disappointing. It's probably unfair, but I can't help it, I just... expected more?
Much like Deus Ex, Dex also touches the topic of human augmentations and that got me thinking: if the (ab)use of augmentations became a reality, I think I'd actually be very much against it. I'm not a religious person, I'm not a fan of "natural beauty" (being ugly as hell, myself :D ) or anything, but I believe we shouldn't alter our bodies too much unless we suffer some medical condition that requires it. That applies to plastic surgeries, too. What do you guys think?


Qasir al-Wasat Qasir al-Wasat: International Edition
⌛ ~16 hours | ✪ 13/26 | ☑ Beaten
good!
Qasir al-Wasat is a game that I grabbed while it was on a neat discount not too long ago (courtesy of Golden$Dragon who lent me the 34 cents that I was missing). It's a unique stealth adventure, filled to the brim with complex puzzles and intriguing backstory. You are a creature from another dimension summoned by a powerful sorcerer to do his bidding, although you possess a free will and you had your own reason for accepting the contract.
The game has two rather big flaws though: 1) if you decide to play as a pacifist, you're gonna have a rather unpleasant time on two or three occasions when carrying a key (YOU are invisible but the key is, obviously, not and the guards will very much wonder why is there a key floating around). That leads me to: 2) the pacifist achievement is fucking broken! It annoys the hell out of me that I put the time and effort into beating the game 3 times, making 110% sure I didn't touch anyone, and the achievement refuses to unlock. I was *THIS* close to just unlocking the fucker with SAM. With that said, I still recommend Qasir al-Wasat to all stealth lovers!



Also:


= Liked   = Disliked   = Mixed Feelings

tsupertsundere

I ended up liking Dex more than you did, but I 100% understand how your perspective on a game can be changed depending on when you play it, like if you play it right after a game you liked better.

re: augmentation: I’m of the ‘anybody can do with their body what they want. After all, I’m going to do with my body what I want’ mindset, though I know it’s often not that simple. If augmentation becomes widespread, doubtlessly there will be pressure surrounding it in one way or another. So, like, while augmentation may not be REQUIRED to do job X, but it’s heavily implied it’ll help you ‘get ahead’ or be ‘good enough’ that it would be foolish to try to do job X without it… you’re going to be heavily pressured into getting augmented to do job X, and it’s not really ‘your’ choice.

Happy Friday the Thirteenth!

Lucky Thirteen

Hmm, that’s an interesting point you got there with the augments possibly being surrounded by some kind of a pressure. I haven’t thought of that, that would definitelly be another reason for me to dislike augments (not neccesarilly the augmented people mind you, just the idea of augmentation). Very interesting, thanks for sharing your opinion :)

Forsaken

boss battles that require you to shoot your way through

You just described my biggest pet peeve when it comes to gaming. It isn’t broken or grindy achievements. It’s when a game that offers stealth as an option throws a boss battle or a forced action sequence your way, thus taking away all the pleasures of playing it stealthily. It’s heartbreaking. The only “boss” battle I ever enjoyed in a stealth game was the last boss fight in Styx: Master of Shadows. It was really tough but stealth was definitely integrated turning the encounter into a thrilling cat and mouse chase where the two roles could easily interchange between you and the enemies.

What do you guys think?

I think if I had the type of money to afford such augmentations, I’d spend it much differently. I wouldn’t want augmentations unless it was absolutely necessary like in the case of losing a limb or limbs because I wouldn’t want to be a burden on anyone to take care of me. I wouldn’t be “against” it so to speak, but I still wouldn’t want to have any on me.

I was THIS close to just unlocking the fucker with SAM

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using SAM to unlock a broken achievement you know you fulfilled the requirements of. But I can understand that not everyone’s conscience can live with that even though they did meet the requirement on paper but the lazy developers made it impossible for them to officially get the achievement. I was pretty adamant about not using SAM for myself before even when I met the requirements but the game that made me give in and use it was Mafia 3 when I fulfilled the requirements of a specific grindy achievement at least 20 times, I am not exaggerating it could be more than 20 too, and used it while screaming in anger at Hangar 13.

Ps, so many 13s today :D

Lucky Thirteen

It’s when a game that offers stealth as an option throws a boss battle or a forced action sequence your way, thus taking away all the pleasures of playing it stealthily.

Exactly my thoughts (and I’d say it’s safe to assume that we’re not the only ones)!

I wouldn’t be “against” it so to speak, but I still wouldn’t want to have any on me.

Fair enough :) There’s no denying that augments would be a godsend for handicapped/disabled people, I agree.

I can understand that not everyone’s conscience can live with that

It’s not really that I couldn’t bear the idea of unlocking a broken achiev with SAM, it’s just… I don’t know :D Would just feel like cheating if I had an achievement that cannot be obtained. You know, like those bastards who use SAM to unlock all the of achievs at once, obtainable or not, I hate them :D
Hmm, playing Mafia 3 sure seems to be a hassle! I heard quite a few people saying that many things in the game are way too grindy and that it’s not really all that awesome.

Forsaken

Storytelling as well as the character animations especially during cutscenes in Mafia 3 are absolutely amazing. The gameplay; however, makes me wish that game never existed. I will replay Mafia II eventually just to make it the most recent and fresh Mafia memory in my mind.

Would just feel like cheating if I had an achievement that cannot be obtained.

That’s exactly what I meant when I said that not everyone’s conscience could live with it.

ninglor03

Well I guess today was your lucky day! \o/
Didn’t work out for me. My two ceramics I wanted to pick up where both ruined :((((

Have a great 13th evening! :)

Trent

Sorry to hear that, Nin. Sounds super-frustrating. =(
At least you’re still the HOG Queen!

ninglor03

Frustrating yes, but not super frustrating. Because even if they were ruined they turned out pretty great. Sadly I can’t even use them as flowerpots, because the bottom is… kaputt -.-
Yes! I so am! bounce

Lucky Thirteen

Indeed it was, Nin!
Aw, sorry to hear that you were unlucky today :(

ninglor03

Atleast the shop owner was just as unlucky, so it’s really not THAT big a deal :D

Trent

Alpha Protocol…I picked that up almost two years ago on deep discount– it looks really fun. You can guess if I’ve actually played it yet. :(
Thank you for the review! Didn’t even realize it was Friday the Lucky 13th!

Lucky Thirteen

Well, you know what to play next, then! ;D It’s a good game, despite its flaws :)

Arbiter Libera

Man, Alpha Protocol is the definition of a flawed gem considering it does so many things right yet it all hinges on very clumsily executed TPS gameplay considering it was Obsidian’s first. They clearly took cues from it to implement in their later games, especially the honeycomb structure in New Vegas and reputation playing a big deal in Tyranny, though. I also love the fact game was clearly designed for hacking, pistols and stealth… only for devs to remember it’s an RPG so they added more skills. Firearms other than pistols especially feel way too situational.

I wrote a review for Dex and it genuinely managed to surprise me because it is a pretty nice lightweight RPG masquerading under side scrolling action. I kinda did it disservice by realizing only towards the end there was, in fact, a fast travel system. By the end you’re really OP if you manage to get your hands on a right outfit that complements your gameplay style, though. As far as cybernetic augmentations it always raises a basic question of to what extend should you protect people from their own idiocy? I don’t oppose the practice of enhancing what you started out with, but you sure won’t see me going to a meat shop to chop off my arm so I can replace it with the latest ceramic plated model or something that radical. If we reach a point where such augmentations are actually affordable for general population and risk-free that would require shuffling the entire game board anew in many ways.

Lucky Thirteen

Alpha Protocol is the definition of a flawed gem considering it does so many things right yet it all hinges on very clumsily executed TPS gameplay

Well said, I very much agree!

Oh yeah, I got the Armagear Invisi-Suit in Dex as soon as I could, that made life so much easier and also so much more enjoyable, as I love stealth (which you no doubt figured out from my post). I did like the game by the way, I just thought the perks and augments would be more complex :)

raises a basic question of to what extend should you protect people from their own idiocy

Again, agreed :D Thanks for your opinion ;)
Nice mechanical eye by the way!

godprobe

I’m so happy you enjoyed Alpha Protocol – it’s one of my favorite “SteamGifts” games – I didn’t win it on SG, but SG is the reason I was truly interested in it in the first place. DeS3InY did a themed puzzle for it not long after I joined the site. Here’s a copy/paste of the ending I got that I had sent to DeS3InY five years after the puzzle and giveaways had ended. :) (Spoilerified because… well, it’s the my ending!)

I’m not sure what other ending options there are, but I sailed off into the sunset with Mina while Leland (Halbech president) went through the agony of the justice system (Marburg wasn’t interested in helping Leland kill me, and neither was Scarlet). Madison, Heck, and SIE are still alive. Westridge is in the wind. I “accidentally” killed Darcy with the sniper rifle, and I assume Parker didn’t make it out alive before the facility exploded. I feel like I missed out on a lot of G22 stuff when I picked SIE for the embassy mission, but such is the way of a free-flowing RPG like this… Sis gave me a locket and Albatross started to dislike me. All things considered, I’m pretty happy with the ending as-is. The Alpha Protocol world seems to be in a better place. :)

[…] I rarely skip credits in the first place, but that was a particularly cool way for them to do a meaningful epilogue. It’s a shame about the riots in Taiwan still having a lasting impact, but I still feel I made the right decision in stopping the assassination. And it was nice that Madison led a candlelight vigil for the victims of the gallery bombing.

I also had a stealth build for that one, and had a bad time for at least two of the events (Brayko being one, but Surkov being even more of a challenge). I wasn’t completely pacifist in my playthrough though.

I’m still curious about Dex, but glad I know to think of it as a “Deus Ex light” beforehand.
Happy F13! :)

Lucky Thirteen

to think of it as a “Deus Ex light”

Yup, that sums it up pretty well ;)

My Alpha Protocol ending:
Albatross & Sis helped me while infitrating the facility, Marburg wasn’t interested in killing me in the end. I joined Halbech and sailed off into the sunset with Leland, leaving Alpha Protocol to be dragged through the mud. Haven’t killed anyone during my playthrough, but let Madison die in the museum. No mention of Mina whatsoever, even though I rescued her from the facility and had the “friendship” reputation with her. Very disappointing, that :/ The game also claimed that I tried to contact Scarlet, which I’m 100% sure I didn’t, so that was weird as well :D

godprobe

I like how different yours is! I need to replay AP at some point and hang with Sis and Albatross. :)

Lucky Thirteen

Have a good time when you decide to do another playthrough! :)

Blue Ϟ Lightning

a tripple smily!

feels like you always have at least one thats neutral or disliked this is nice :3

Lucky Thirteen

Haha, you’re not wrong, I can be very picky (and “nitpicky”, too :D ) sometime!

Formidolosus

Two of my favs this update. Dex and Alpha protocol. I really want a spiritual successor to alpha protocol. I love the quality of the Deus Ex games, but I loved the true flexibility of Alpha protocol. Looking at the spoiler tagged updates here in the comments, I had to laugh, because my game was different to those. Basically I played a version of James Bond and Sam fisher, that screwed everything with boobs and snuck through the levels like a boss, and was also a total white knight when it came to ‘doing the right thing’. I discovered the identity of the sniper as well. My ending saw me being helped by the MILF (thanks for the rape ) and ending up on the boat with Scarlet. It was so funny to then discuss the game with my brother after he had also played it and we were both talking about scenes that just never happened for the other one.
“Did you get the part where the person did the thing?”
“What!?! No, that person did that thing?” He tends to be a guns blazing kind of guy and also sided with the underground movement. He ended up on the boat all alone and didn’t know who had pulled the trigger… haha.
So yeah I loved it despite the flaws. Imagine if they made deus ex with the same truly flexible nature and system of alliances. In Human revolution you would be able to choose being a dick to Pritchard and having him actively trying to sabotage you, or turning the anti aug guy completely to your side and having him do more than give you an information dump, a true ally. Alpha protocol was ahead of it times in many ways and only now that more people have played it (thanks to it being given away a various points) do they see the potential that was there despite the flaws in combat.
Dex I also loved. I know it was less open ended but it still had enough divergent paths that my game felt like a reflection of my own style by the time I got to the end. I’d also love to see a sequel to this.
As for your question about augments. I think I’m split. I’d love to see people with disabilities given a chance at a better life through technology. We know a lady who was born with only 1 arm and no legs, and even though she’s done a lot with her life, you can’t help but wonder how much better life could have been if she had all 4 limbs. But I’d also hate to see it become something else rich people get to enjoy and laud over the less fortunate. And you know you’d see people cutting off their own perfectly good limbs just to have a cool robot arm or leg because they can.That would be messed up.

Lucky Thirteen

Agreed with a lot of things you said :) I’d also very much like to see a “sequel” to Alpha Protocol, maybe one with even more emphasis on the espionage aspect would be perfect! Nice, I see the possibilities are truly endless with the endings! :D
Speaking of Adam & Pritchard, I wanted something like that to happen with Mike & Darcy in Alpha Protocol, but there just wasn’t enough interaction with Darcy to make him really hate you it seems. What a shame :D It might be a little masochistic, but I kind of love it when some NPCs are treating my character poorly (the relationship between Altair & Malik from the frist Ass Creed has a special place in my heart).

I was also thinking about how cool it’d be if we got a game that touches the augmentation issues like DEx or Dex (still finding the similarities in the titles amusing, sorry :D) that would give us the option to chose our character’s opinion on augments via dialog choices - like (s)he could be an aug junkie who just can’t get enough, (s)he could be a radical anti-aug guy/gal or (s)he could be something in between - and whichever approach you’d chose, it’d affect your reputation with some NPCs and stuff… Yup, I’d like that :)

Absolutelly agreed with augments being a goodsend for people with handicaps or crippling healt conditions, no point in denying that. But much like you, I’d be against using augs for just cosmetic and fashion purposes.

Formidolosus

I would play the hell out of game like that. An RPG type upgrade system, with options to upgrade augments or other technologies that serve similar functions and have that open up different storylines with NPCs based on their views of how you’ve upgraded, and your dialog. Maybe some augments are even less obvious and you can get away with them up to a point but with the real possibility of turning a potential ally into your nemesis if they catch you using them. And yes, options to be an asshole to everyone, so they’re not just being dickish to you because that’s what the game says, but your own actions in the game have made them despise you. Unfortunately I think a game like that would be such a nightmare to program with any kind of AAA production values.

I’m really interested to see what cyberpunk 2077 is going to look like. I didn’t play the Witcher games, as the genre is not to my taste, but I know they have an eye for detail, so I’m really hoping they’ll bring that same attention to one of my favourite genres.

Lucky Thirteen

Yes! That’d be the perfect game and I’d play the hell out of it as well!

CDPR are pretty awesome developers, though I had this weird “love-hate” relationship with the first and second Witcher games as I found many aspects of the gameplay annoying yet I was always left wanting more :D Cyberpunk 2077 might not be cup of tea unfortunatelly, but we’ll see I guess :)

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