Compelling spy yarn sabotaged by dated gameplay
Ugh. This is one of those games I'm just torn about. I was beyond impressed with the dialogue and choice system, as well as the rich narrative. Yet these amazing highs make the clunky gameplay all the more heartbreaking.
You play as agent Mike Thorton, an operative who is recruited by an agency with shadowy ties to the US government. Your first mission out goes tits up and you are left to pick up the pieces. What at first seems to be a standard spy story evolves into a dense narrative that manages to combine the fun gadgets of Bond, while have the contemporary realism of Bourne.
Following in the footsteps of Mass Effect 2, Alpha Protocol takes dialogue and choice to the next level. Your dialogue reactions are boiled down to three basic tacts, aggressive, suave, and professional. Unlike Mass Effect you can swap between them fluidly as you see fit. You are not penalized for changing your personality, in fact the game rewards you for it. Coupled with this unique dialogue system are some heavy duty choices that have a great impact on how the story plays out. These represent some weighty (and potentially negative) conseuquences that are rarely seen in games.
Unfortunately the gameplay does not live up to the narrative. Describing it as serviceable would be generous. Clunky cover mechanics, dumb yet hard AI, bland presentation, Alpha Protocol has all the telltale offenders of a rush-job. Fortunately you can abuse the skill system to essentially play through the game as the invisible man. Some may take issue with that but I found it pretty awesome to waltz into a room of dudes and magically flip them through the air while they all watched, muttering phrases like "What's going on!?!"
The bottom line is the story and dialogue system is worth appreciating if you value narrative in your games. Whether or not you can accept the dated gameplay is down to your tolerance of some clunky moments. Give Alpha Protocol a shot, you may just be seduced by it's charms.
