Alpha Protocol - Spy ARPG

For discussing role-playing video games, you know, the ones with combat.
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Trithne
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Post by Trithne »

WhiteShark wrote: March 9th, 2023, 07:56
Forgot to mention before but I found it hilarious how NPCs all spoke English even amongst themselves just so you as the player can overhear and understand them. Feels like a missed opportunity when they could have said that Mike is a polyglot, a common trait for spies. Then the player hearing everything in English would make sense as that would be Mike's understanding of it. If the character building were deeper, language skills could have been something you chose, offering real advantages in the relevant locations, but that were likely much more difficult to implement.
I haven't played it in quite some time, but I recall that all the 'origin' choices do exactly that in some way, and possibly your initial recruitment dialogue does too - Michael is indeed a polyglot and knows many languages, which is a huge part of why he is chosen for the role.
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WhiteShark
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Post by WhiteShark »

Trithne wrote: March 10th, 2023, 01:22
I haven't played it in quite some time, but I recall that all the 'origin' choices do exactly that in some way, and possibly your initial recruitment dialogue does too - Michael is indeed a polyglot and knows many languages, which is a huge part of why he is chosen for the role.
I don't remember language skills coming up at all in the in-game dialogue. As for the origins:
Soldier wrote:
[...] Your natural language talent [...]
Field Agent wrote:
[...] working for the US State Department on overseas assignments [...]
Tech Specialist wrote:
<nothing relevant>
Freelancer wrote:
[...] mercenary in Africa, bodyguard to the Sultan of Brunei, the on-again off-again paramour of a European princess [...]
So I guess you're partially right. It's stated outright in the Soldier background and implied in the Field Agent and Freelancer backgrounds. I still think the game could have stood to be more explicit about it. I didn't at all have the impression that Mike was supposed to know these languages, it was just my headcanon to make sense of things.
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BlueMemphis
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Post by BlueMemphis »

WhiteShark wrote: March 9th, 2023, 01:34
Unless you mean that she was supposed to not disappear after the end, in which case yeah, I have no idea why that happened.
Don’t 100% remember but since she wasn’t on the boat with you then you didn’t go her full route.
Basically heck is who you get if you didn’t fulfill the conditions for anyone else, he is a bro like that in that he will always bail you out if no one else does.
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WhiteShark
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Post by WhiteShark »

BlueMemphis wrote: March 10th, 2023, 02:53
Basically heck is who you get if you didn’t fulfill the conditions for anyone else, he is a bro like that in that he will always bail you out if no one else does.
Oh, I thought it was because I chose him to be my handler for the final mission... I guess it wasn't special after all... :sad:
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BlueMemphis
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Post by BlueMemphis »

Nothing wrong with going the heck route and it was your first instinct to stick with him so is good roleplaying.
Plus i’d consider his ending the canon one if they ever make a sequel.
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WhiteShark
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Post by WhiteShark »

BlueMemphis wrote: March 10th, 2023, 04:19
Nothing wrong with going the heck route and it was your first instinct to stick with him so is good roleplaying.
It's more like I didn't have any other realistic option. The three available choices at the end were SIE, Albatross (except he was dead), and Heck, and it made no sense to go with the first one because we had only interacted once and then immediately after I had killed a bunch of her allies.
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Roguey
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Post by Roguey »

BlueMemphis wrote: March 10th, 2023, 02:53
Don’t 100% remember but since she wasn’t on the boat with you then you didn’t go her full route.
Basically heck is who you get if you didn’t fulfill the conditions for anyone else, he is a bro like that in that he will always bail you out if no one else does.
Actually the options are Heck, Mina, Scarlet, and Forever Alone.

You actually can piss Heck off so he wants nothing to do with you but you'll only have that conversation if you haven't alienated every other possible candidate to be your handler for the final mission.
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BlueMemphis
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Post by BlueMemphis »

Roguey wrote: March 10th, 2023, 12:13
You actually can piss Heck off so he wants nothing to do with you but you'll only have that conversation if you haven't alienated every other possible candidate to be your handler for the final mission.
Ah that explains my assumption because I did do a "piss off absolutely everyone" run and indeed Heck was the only one who still stuck with me despite my bs.
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Lhynn
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Post by Lhynn »

Rename thread to Alpha Brotocol - Channeling your inner asshole.

Thats it, thats all I can bring to this discussion.

PS: I LOVE ALPHA PROTOCOL THIS MUCH
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Atlantico
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Post by Atlantico »

Playing the game as maximum asshole is how I get the most out of it.
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