Im gonna hug your brains out Mr Man!
The names dent... Haxxident, Alpha Protocol is the love child of Obsidian (developers of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords and upcoming Fallout: New Vegas) and SEGA, the creators of the blue hedgehog! I first heard of Alpha Protocol last year, a spy role play game where the player can decide the fate of Michael Thorton?s mission based on decisions he makes talking to allies or enemies with a new system Obsidian created called Dialogue Stance System (DSS) which I will talk about in a bit. So after a year of waiting I finally got my hands on the game.
DSS system with 4 options
(Aggresive, Suave, Professional and Special Action)
(Aggresive, Suave, Professional and Special Action)
Alpha Protocol is set in modern times; a terrorist group have shot down a passenger plane in the Middle East I?m guessing since the tickets were sold out. As Michael Thornton wakes up in a medial bay from being drugged to enter the facility called the Grey box, you go through the basic tutorial of how to hack, sneak and take down enemies until you reach your destination and finish your induction. Then you?re off to the Middle East to stop a terrorist cell, uncover a conspiracy and save the world, not bad for a rookie?s first day.
Back to what I mentioned earlier about the DSS, everyone Mike encounters on his missions have personalities and preferences for how they want Mike to behave, some like it when Mike is laid back and casual in his approach, others like Mike to be professional and the rest like Mike to be aggressive and threatening to get his message across. The player has full choice over this system that could unlock extra missions or information depending on wither Mike is liked or hated, for example someone who likes you may give you information about someone else or help you later in a mission and on the flip side someone who hates you might sell you out to other enemies or be so angry when talking to you they say something they didn?t mean too, both have perks and setbacks so it comes down to the players choices, all choices lead to a different scenario which allows multiple play though..... If you could play it more than once that is.
Snake-u-lar
The graphics for a PS3/Xbox 360 generation of games are awful, when watching the characters talk it looks like a 3D version of Thunderbirds. There were so many graphical glitches when I played the game, some involving an enemy splitting from one into three, a man?s neck stretching out to become Snake-u-lar and getting stuck in a spot unable to move and just wait to die. The detail on misc characters (terrorists, guards etc) is a subject of just ?copy and paste? 2 different styles on every guard of that faction besides from the factions that have suits and headpieces, then it?s just the one style for all of them, joy. When you are first controlling Mike you need to knock a guard out who is wearing sunglasses in a dull grey hallway and looks a lot like The Govenator, the facial expressions on the guard was the same staring at the wall, fighting Mike and being knocked out, there is NO animation on faces besides Thunderbird cut scenes that makes the overall game play very stiff and bland.
AI? What intelligence? The guards on this game are on par with the mushrooms on Super Mario, they walk set routes and once at a standing point, stare at the wall, which is fine making sure the paint dries is more important than watching out for a super secret agent. If the player takes the stealth skill and armour you can pretty much just walk through a mission and overhear guards say ?what was that? staring at the wall, I think a bug flew past. I would talk about the AI some more but I swear the grass is actually growing.........
"shhh scream quietly, im sneaking"
Each mission you have the option to buy Intel to give you more knowledge on the target and/or guards, camera placements or buy distractions to remove the elite guards, I imagine it had something to do with a new lick of paint. The maps are disappointing, there?s mostly only one way to go maybe one room off the hallway with a loot item but the player can?t find a alternative route, the stealthy player would need to go the same route as the all guns blazing player, only one level comes to mind where the player can choice to sneak onto the roof or bluff his way through the entrance, but after the entry it?s the same route once again.
Role Playing Game (RPG) ?A game in which players assume the roles of characters and act out fantastical adventures, the outcomes of which are partially determined by chance, as by the roll of dice.? As described by dictionary.com, AP claims to be The Espionage RPG. Nothing about this game is RPG, character customization is minimal, clothing is between heavy, medium, stealth, light in 3 different variants offering beginning, medium and heavy stats, and this game is a spy shooter with speech options, just adding a levelling system doesn?t make it a RPG, there?s no freedom to AP, if you not on a mission you?re in a safe house where you can only check email or buy new gear, the missed opportunity to add body guarding side missions or burglary depending on character style to make money is such a shame, the game makes you feel like its 45% finished. If this is Obsidians version of RPG I?m hoping they don?t murder the next big title coming out Fallout: New Vegas.
This one doesnt stop talking
But it?s not all bad. It may seem like I?m crucifying this game with all the problems which there are ALOT of. The story, missions and voice acting are quite well done, the story is enough to make you finish playing and the missions even though some are repetitive are enjoyable and the voice actors suit their roles perfectly and from unlocking dossier information during missions and conversations you can unlock attacking bonuses against the person and gain new conversation subjects that is enjoyable to find out your favourite non player characters background.
But once again on the negative side, the aiming reticule is awful its a massive circle with a tiny dot, where your bullets fly anywhere in the cone, I managed to get to top pistol skill and the sight never shrank or became more accurate which makes a fire fight harder when you?re missing a target wielding a shotgun of death at point blank range, if Obsidian plan on releasing any DLCs for Alpha Protocol I hope they fix some of these bugs before releasing because more of the same will add to the disappointment.
Game Double-O Over. Alpha Protocol is the disappointed out of Obsidians children, the game seems unfinished, which is what Obsidian also done with Star Wars KOTOR 2: The Sith Lords, rushed something that could of been so much better, AP has so much potential but they failed on almost every hurdle. I hope if there is a Bravo Protocol, Obsidian add more elements to the game. This game could have been so much more, an opening in the spy franchise of gaming but instead it will be locked away at some undisclosed location on the pre owned shelves.
P.S any feedback is appreciated, this is my second review and hoping to improve with your help.