Alpha Protocol Reviews

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Written by BuckGB on June 1st, 2010

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The dialogue is what does it here. When your secret agent alter ego isn't shooting people, he's talking. Thankfully, it's never the "put the controller down and go make a sandwich" variety of chatter. Think Mass Effect, but without a moral spectrum. The three most common dialogue options (Professional, Aggressive, and Suave) pretty well encapsulate the emotional range of your usual covert operative. Well, except for Suave, which here comes off less like James Bond and more Leisure Suit Larry. A little disappointing, but at least it doesn't fail to amuse. How every other character reacts to your dialogue decisions, and how this changes their attitude toward you is a high point, but I'm more impressed by the fact that this actually affects the game's larger plot.

Personally, I found a lot to love, and was able to get past most of what I hated. So I can easily recommend Alpha Protocol as a game that reaches well beyond what most games even attempt. Yes, the game's reach far outstripped its technical grasp, but isn't that what games should be striving for?

If Obsidian Entertainment truly was attempting to create a spoof, then they should have taken the ball and ran with it. With unexplainable duffel bags of money and dossier information lying about levels, Alpha Protocol could have been a hilarious title to enjoy from beginning till end. The list of technical issues plagued the title right from the on-start and continued until the ugly ending. Whether it was one enemy mysteriously multiplying into three enemies before my eyes (maybe he was Marvel's Multiple Man?) or enemies running in circles around platforms for no good reason besides chasing their own tail, Alpha Protocol is a good lesson of how not to create a video game.

"Alpha Protocol" is an imperfect experience. It's packed with great ideas but only a few of them are executed very well. The result is middling, a game that you might want to keep on playing if RPG advancement story-altering choices are your thing. If you prefer tight action and have high standards for writing and dialogue however, prepare for a major disappointment. Michael Thorton doesn't quite botch his first operation out in the field, but neither is it a Congressional Medal of Honor-worthy success.

Whereas most RPG titles could easily seize roughly sixty hours of your time, Alpha Protocol is over in about twelve. That said, with all the different choices it's doubtful any two play throughs would be the same. Nevertheless, without multiplayer options or DLC on the horizon, the single player experience just isn't strong enough to warrant the sixty dollar purchase. But, if you have any interest in RPGs and stealth gaming, Alpha Protocol presents an interesting new franchise and is a perfect example of what gamefly should be used for. As long as you can get past the many cosmetic flaws and technical glitches, there is a decent game here with several well done gimmicks.

Clancy series, and a plot-driven epic like Mass Effect; it is unlike anything else on the market. The fast, smart dialogue, quick pace of combat, diverse missions, dynamic storyline, and memorable characters grab your attention and refuse to let you get bored. With double agents and plot twists, lying intel sources and backstabbers, and characters who, once befriended, will find creative ways to greatly assist you in future missions, this spy story sets a new benchmark for compelling western RPG plotlines. When the credits scrolled and everything was wrapped up, the first thing I wanted to do was start a new game, this time murdering the allies I had in my first playthrough to see how that changes things. Several years from now we may see this game as the one that made Obsidian a major player and trendsetter in the RPG space.

Alpha Protocol suffers from a lack of focus and its insistence on eccentricities over basic, solid action. It's a core problem that winds up hanging over almost every firefight or action situation. Even though the developers talked about Mass Effect's signature mix of third-person shooter action and RPG elements being the inspiration, the formula just wasn't applied properly here. Alpha Protocol can occasionally - even often - be lots of fun due to its unusual cast, and its innovative use of RPG systems under the surface will satisfyingly dictate the many outcomes the player can get, but ultimately it just doesn't work as a whole. Obsidian, I'm looking for you guys to redeem yourselves with Fallout: New Vegas. Make it happen so that all my kind and loving words over the years aren't for nothing.

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