A fun spy RPG, with a few issues
Do you like cheesy spy movies, how about 'Burn Notice', or the RPG-lite elements in Mass Effect? If you answered yes to any, or all of these then you might also like Alpha Protocol. Alpha Protocol is a third person-RPG-shooter that places a focus on stealth and dialogue choices. There quite a bit of fun to be have with this game, even though, it has a few technical issues.
In Alpha Protocol you play as Michael Thorton, not to be confused with Michael Westen from 'Burn Notice' despite the numerous similarities, a new recruit in the secret government program called Alpha Protocol. Your opening mission is to recover high tech missiles from a known terrorist any way you can, and you have a little bit of wiggle room on how you do this. The story itself will often change to factor in the choices you make, for example; if you killed a certain character, if you went in guns a blazing, and/or if you collected the extra intelligence that exposes a secret. If you spare a character, he may come back later in the game to help you, or maybe he'll come back to shoot you in the back. Either way, the choice is made by the player. It is this semi-dynamic game flow that helps the user take ownership of the game's story, since their choices directly effects what happens. And this sense of ownership is important, since it helps the player over look the cheesy nature of the story.
The game itself is played by mainly sneaking around, or shooting your way through if you prefer, set scenarios in order to get something. And as you progress through these scenarios you'll run across locked safes, hack-able computers, and keypads. Interacting with these objects will start a mini-game that needs to be completed in order to use the item. And for the most part, these mini-games work as a nice change of pace in the game flow. However, I found that on the PC, the hacking mini-game had a tendency to de-sync with my mouse, so movement in that mini-game was slow and confusing. Upon successful completion of these mini-games you'll usually receive some kind of useful reward in the form of money, intelligence, or upgrades.
Intelligence (Intel as it called in this game, as well as many others) plays an important role for the actual user, but not so much for the character. And by that, I mean Intel in the game is kind of like getting information from a FAQ online. It contains useful details on characters as well as factions, and what to expect from them. For characters it details their psyche so that the player knows how to respond to them in a conversations. Some characters like suck-ups, while others prefer a person who is straight to the point. Knowing what a character like before hand, allow the user to manipulate that character into either liking them or hating them, both which haves certain advantages to them. For factions, Intel is a bit more basic with just general information about the fighting style of that faction. Some factions prefer long range rifles, while others might go with flash bangs and shot guns. Lastly, the player can occasionally use Intel to black mail a character into doing something. In any case, Intel is important to have, and it acquisition plays a central role to the overall game.
Like any good spy, Michael best weapon isn't his gun, but his wit. This is why dialogue plays an important role in this game. While most of the situations can be solved with violence, it is usually better to talk your way past something. Not only is it a lot less messy, but you'll usually end up getting more, Intel or money, out of the exchange. But you have to be mindful of this at all times, since the dialogue system has a timer on it. During any conversation you have 2 to 4 possible answers to go with, and you only have about 7 seconds to pick the answer you want or the game will go with the default choice. You can't access the Intel screen during these moments, to research a character during a conversation, instead you need to do your research ahead of time, and hope that the answer you pick leads to the result you think it will have. The possible choices in this system take a lot more thought than in other games with conversation choices, since in Alpha Protocol the choices don't just break down into the general categories of good, bad, or sarcastic. You can't talk your way past everything, but it feels like you can at least try.
Alpha Protocol does some things right, however, it fumbles when it comes to the technical side of gaming. Graphically the game has bland textures, and a lack of variety with objects and enemies which means that visually it isn't impressive. Technically speaking the game usually stable, but you will run into a few bugs here and there. As mention before, on the PC my mouse de-sync during the hacking mini-game which made it much harder to control. Also, there were a few times when doors were suppose to open during an in-game event, but did not. However, the biggest mechanic problems this game has, is with it's shooting. Alpha Protocol is a spy game first, then a RPG, after that it is a mini-game collection, and lastly it is a shooter. This isn't to imply that the shooting is broken, it just unrefined to the point where it feels like it is. This is mainly due to the RPG nature of the shooting in the game. If you don't invest your skill points into a certain gun category, then don't' expect to be able to hit anything with that gun.
Overall, I had a lot of fun playing Alpha Protocol. There were issues but in the end the experience was good. It took me about 12 hours to beat the entire game, and I am satisfied with it. If you are looking for a spy game with light RPG elements to it, and are alright with dealing with a few technical issues, then you'll enjoy Alpha Protocol.
