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    Alpha Protocol

    Game » consists of 11 releases. Released May 27, 2010

    Control rogue agent Michael Thorton as he tries to unearth an international conspiracy in the near future (where everybody seems to have a hidden agenda or two) in this third-person action RPG.

    mikeinsc's Alpha Protocol (Xbox 360) review

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    Valiant, Yet Failed, Effort

     Obsidian takes their crack at a game genre that has been amazingly underrepresented: spy-based RPG. After a somewhat elongated development cycle, Alpha Protocol has been launched.

    In this title, you are Michael Thornton, a blank slate you can develop into almost any type of character you desire. You can be a debonair ladies man...or an arrogant prick. You can be as sneaky as a ninja...or run into rooms, guns ablazing. You can rely on sheer firepower...or you can use other gadgets to get you out of situations. You can spend money on intel to make your missions easier...or not spend the money and do them without the help. You can kill targets...or let them live. The amount of control you have over your experience is impressive. You also must try and understand the motivations of other characters as they can give you benefits if they like you or cause huge problems if they don't.

    You also have a wide array of options to customize yourself. You can focus on stealth can eventually become an invisible assassin. You can focus on guns and almost treat the game like a third person shooter. Focus on martial arts and you can become a CQ machine. You gain experience with each kill to boost your stats, but you also get perks for doing certain acts that further boost your abilities.

    Your mission takes you globe trotting from Arabia to Taipei. You are pursuing a shipment of arms to some unsavory folks while your own government, the unsavory folks, and weapons companies seek to eliminate you. The dialogue tree system takes some ideas from Bioware and, rather than provide you verbatim transcripts of statements, instead, gives you descriptions of the type of response you give (suave, aggressive, etc).

    So, the story, customization, and dialogue system are great (OK, dialogue system is OK, but serviceable). Tragically, the controls and combat are not. The game LOOKS like a third person shooter, except it uses the tired formula of dice rolls to determine success. Therefore, a perfectly lined up head shot won't always hit. It is bad early on as your accuracy is terrible initially. The phrase "Can't hit the wall of a ban from the inside" comes to mind when discussing your early game ineptitude. It does improve, but you are struggling for a while. The problem, though, is that you can go from woefully underpowered to borderline omnipotent. Max out stealth and you can easily kill several enemies while being invisible to them. While amusing, it does knock down the challenge a bit.

    The animation is also janky. Your sneak movement just looks...odd. Clipping occurs. People appear through doors. The game just seems to lack a layer of polish that it should have had given its development cycle. I am willing to overlook such things in excellent games, but this game isn't good enough to excuse these flaws.

    Alpha Protocol, in spite of its faults, is a really enjoyable title. If you aren't expecting a perfect experience, you will have a great time. Expect polish the level of what Bioware or Bethesda does, though, and you will be disappointed. And enjoy it now because sequels will not be forthcoming.
     

    Other reviews for Alpha Protocol (Xbox 360)

      Should you answer the call to get Alpha Protocol? 0

        So I traveled the globe, made some friends, a few enemies, chose to save a damsel in distress over a large amount of civilians in the roman museum to see if I could get a shot at love (let’s just say it went horribly wrong), found the gal that was right for me only to have her killed in the end, and then sought revenge on the people responsible for all the madness in the first place allowing me to rightfully save the world. Now this is one of a million ways you can choose to play the game onc...

      12 out of 13 found this review helpful.

      Alpha Protocol - A REAL RPG 0

      Ignore the reviews, any fan of RPG's MUST play this game. If you can look past the texture pop-in, stiff animations, and various bugs, there is a hidden gem to be played.  Let's start with the positives, the dialogue system is one of the best in gaming. Dialogue choices actually effect the overall story and how certain characters view you. It doesn't have empty choices that lead nowhere (Mass Effect, etc.). It also has a great cast of characters and an intriguing storyline. The RPG elements in t...

      34 out of 43 found this review helpful.

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