At E3 2008 I saw Alpha Protocol and was pretty intrigued, figuring I'd be seeing the game in action before 2009 was up at the very latest. Then E3 2009 came along and it didn't really look like much had changed. We still couldn't go hands-on with the thing. So the inevitable delay came, and it was a whopper. From an October release, the game got pushed back to Spring of 2010 and now, according to MTV Multiplayer, it's been pushed back again to summer of 2010.
This time, however, Sega's actually giving a reason for the delay. In fact, it's giving reasons for both delays: positioning and polishing. Matthew Hickman, Assistant Producer at Sega gave the lowdown on the spy game's delay:
We had a few reasons for doing it. One: We wanted to position it better, give it a lot of time. The main reason: We really wanted to polish the game up, make it everything Obsidian planned it to be, and give the consumer a very polished game.
We added a couple of other things. Tweaks in lighting here and there, added the inventory comparison screen so you can compare what you're buying to what you have equipped. Just bringing the whole quality level up.
Possibly nine months of delay to polish a game? No, good sir, that does not sound right at all.
Sega On 'Alpha Protocol' Delay, What's Been Changed [MTV Multiplayer]
Contest:
2:00 PM on 02.07.2010
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You're bound to take off some layers.
I don't know where I'm going with this.
For example I was really hyped for Bioshock 2 in October but now I really don't care about that game because I already have a great atmospheric game STALKER Call of Pripyat and a very Visceral game will be coming soon AvP. Also I want to save some money for Mass Effect 2. So I thin Alpah Protocol risks to shoot itself in the foot as Bioshock 2 did for itself in my case, because I lost interest in it and I found better games in the period it's being released.
This developers should have something really important in their sights from now on, when you announce a game and make it a big deal DON'T WAIT MORE THAN 6 MONTHS or the interest will go down.
Still looking forward to playing it.
I already have like 1000 games to play at the moment.
You gave up on Bioshock 2...for Call of Pripyat and the new AVP? and still havent gotten Mass Effect 2? What is this.. I don't even...
I guess I'll never know what the fuss is about, Still haven't finished the first Mass Effect as finding it frustrating to play *cough* combat is shit *cough*.
The combat isn't that great compared to other Shooters.
The story/RPing aspect is the main part of the game.
I'd stay away from it if gameplay is the most important aspect of a game...just saying. Nothing against you.
Im taken back to when Black Isle release Lionheart back in the day, a game where all the religious relics had been brought together during the crusades and created a schism in the world and let magic through, it was closed, but the world was forever changed..
Was a brilliant concept, and the first area of Barcelona was chock full of brilliant content, story pieces and little easter eggs...but once you got out of Barcelona, it turned into a dull shallow RPG....they always seem to have all these great ideas when it comes to content....but never enough time to do it.
KotOR II is the best example, Chirs Avellone stated that he regretted they accepted such a short development window with that....and it showed. So much promise and so little content.
I've been starting to think that Obsidian is now starting to say to its publishers "We do this on our own schedule, so it might take longer than expected", so it in fact could Obsidian asking for more time just as much as it is Sega pushing it back. Just because its being delayed, doesnt mean there's anything majorly wrong with it...they may just need that extra time to polish it, tweak things they dont like etc.
If it leads to a better game, im all for it...but hey dev's are damned if they release an undercooked game, and damned if they delay it a few times to get it right. Either way, people always bitch.
Knock it down to Easy and play for the story. It makes it much more tolerable. ME2's combat on the other hand is crazy satisfying.
Not a big fan of Obsidian. If they're seriously trying to chase Bioware (again) it can only work against them. KOTOR 2 was meh.
Looking forward.
Story is actually I care about at the end of an RPG, but the combat is so frustrating that its getting in the way of the roleplaying and my enjoyment of the experience.
@xzyliac
I will try that.
Also Kotor 2 has been lovingly restored by its modding community if you have a pc copy.
Blizzard and Valve would like a word with you.
1. Failed Submission
2. Key people in the development left
3. The game is not good enough to be competitive
The old publisher I used to work for would frequently ask the question, "Can this game score above an 80 on metacritic? No? Then you need to work on it another six months!"
1. Failed Submission because it needs polishing.
2 Key people in development left leaving the game unpolished.
3. The game is not good enough to be competitive without polishing.
:)
I don't know how to feel about that game. At first I was interested to see an RPG not set in fantasy land or medieval myth galore (and I don't have a 360 to play Mass Effect), but I am loosing interest fast with all those delays.
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