Alpha Protocol Reviews
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Maximum PC gives it a 6/10:
At the end of the day, though, bells and whistles don't mean squat if they're attached to a broken bicycle. It breaks our hearts, because there really is a lot to love in Alpha Protocol. Sadly, for every one thing the game gets right, it gets many others wrong. The question, then, is this: How many punches to the face are you willing to take for a bite of that cake?
Everyday Gamers doesn't score it:
Yes Alpha Protocol has its faults, but I believe we have the foundation for what could have been a great franchise, had SEGA not hastily decided to pull the plug. This is not a bad game patched together from the innovations of other franchises, melded with the cheap glue of lackluster elements. The story is interesting, the blatantly advertised choice system is a welcome and interesting change from a crowd of bland third person games, and the customization is a slam dunk. Had the game not been so glitchy, I would have been inclined to score Alpha Protocol a full five stars, but I am completely happy with what it had to offer-especially if we see a patch in the near future. I completely understand the crowd of gamers who will wait and pick up a single-player only game from a bargain shelf, long after it's release, but for me, Alpha Protocol was well worth the gaming money spent, and then some. As I begin another playthrough of the game, I raise my shaken Martini glass to Obsidian, on a job well done.
World Gaming Network doesn't score it, either:
Alpha Protocol is not ugly; it's just behind the times and artistically uninspired. Environments are plain and textures lack detail, and you won't encounter the quality lighting and shadows you might expect to see in modern games. Animations are stiff and occasionally buggy and often appear to be missing multiple frames, which contributes to the game's overall inelegance. The voice acting may have been above par but, honestly not enough to stand out. I'm sad to say I never even looked to see if this game had a multiplayer option; although the thought of bringing more variables into the already pockmarked game play was unthinkable. Almost unthinkable as admitting to my friends that I was playing Alpha Protocol.
GameFocus gives it a 7.1/10:
I would love to sit here and say more about Obsidian's step into the original IP realm, but honestly, I don't think much more needs to be said. Is the game terrible? No. Although in this post-Mass Effect 2 world, it certainly falls below the expectation that BioWare as set in the minds of gamers. With that said, Alpha Protocol does offer some nice role-playing opportunities with an interesting story and plenty of different ways to optimize your character. It's unfortunate the gameplay mechanics hurt things as much as they did as this could very well have been the next big RPG franchise.
And Game.ie gives it a 7.4/10:
Unfortunately, the game itself is often dog ugly and there's a stiffness to the controls and shooting which belongs to a more geriatric title. It sometimes makes levels more challenging than they should be and the lack of environmental interaction means it suffers by comparison with recent games like Splinter Cell. Alpha Protocol does earn serious points for its well-written and involving story, with those three personality approaches creating a constantly shifting series of relationships with the believable characters you meet. These narrative and behind the scenes complexities almost make up for the lack of presentational polish. Almost.
