Alpha Protocol Reviews

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Written by BuckGB on June 22nd, 2010

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Alpha Protocol displayed a lot of promise when it was first revealed. I love a good conspiracy movie and when I first saw the trailers for this game, I thought this was right up my alley. But as BioWare has proven, you really need to bring something new to the familiar. Obsidian knows how to play in these worlds but thus far they've produced karaoke renditions, and given the chance to strike out on their own, once again it just feels like their echoing a better effort. They may have aimed to give gaming their own Bourne or Bond but that's a mission impossible with a hero this bland.

It's rather short for an RPG (about 15 hours), but it has a well above average replay value thanks to the various things that can be changed around depending on your decisions. Don't go expecting any miracles in this regard, because it could have been better, but you'll need at least two playthroughs to see the various major branches and the more subtle differences. Which says a lot about what Alpha Protocol could have been.

So, there are two huge points about the game that you have to decide for yourself if it's going to be worth playing. Can a great story and dialogue system, with memorable characters overcome poor gameplay? Especially considering you feel most of the gameplay near the beginning quarter of the game, it's a hurdle you'll have to make up your own mind about whether or not you can soldier on to where you get to know the characters in the game better, and flesh out your experience with your dialogue. In the end, I loved my experience with Alpha Protocol, the story and dialogue were more than enough to overcome its technical issues.

A few years ago, Alpha Protocol could be forgiven for its lack of polish and buggy gameplay. The minute to minute action doesn't quite have that adrenaline burst that Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 or Dragon Age managed to deliver yet there's something there if you keep going with it. If you can push past the bugs and kludgy gameplay you start to enjoy the game, or we did. The levelling system is reminiscent of Mass Effect but provides a better spread of skills and rewards.

All-in-all, you guys did a good job with Alpha Protocol. Though I do have a lot of complaints about combat, the story is engrossing enough to keep me going; I just simply do not try very hard any more. I arm myself to the teeth and run in with guns blazing. However, because I am forced to resort to this method, I am missing parts of the game that interest me, because the way in which I play opens up different paths. I would love to see a combat patch. If you guys patched the combat, say to feel similar to Splinter Cell: Conviction, this game would be amazing. Possibly even in the running for game of the year. However, what I suspect you'll do (and recommend if you're not going to patch combat) is make an Alpha Protocol 2 with these issues fixed. Either way, I'll be happy to play.

Even after all was said and done, my time wasted and Alpha Protocol never to be finished or played again, I still didn't hate the game. If just for the concept, Alpha Protocol is an ok game. It will continuously attempt to pull you in to both the story and customization features of the game. Unfortunately that is only a small piece of the pie. There is alot of third person action that just doesn't work. With a ton glitches and bugs, it comes down to how much tolerance you have for these nuisance. Some, like myself , would rather not waste the time with so many other great games out there. I could see there being many people that could overlook the faults of the game if they are a fan of either the Stealth or RPG genres. Though my general hatred for games that feel like they are unfinished waged war with my curiosity to see what would happen next in Alpha Protocol, and my general hatred won.

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