When I first saw Alpha Protocol at last year's E3, I have to admit, I was pretty excited. I'm a big James Bond, Jason Bourne and Burn Notice fan and it looked as though Obsidian had finally combined two of my favorite things, espionage and RPGs, into a promising new IP, with a gripping storyline. A year later and Alpha Protocol is finally among us, and has fallen victim to a myriad of negative reviews, but I'm here to tell you that sometimes reviews can be wrong, very, very wrong.
Before you read any further, please take a look at Lance's wonderful review of Alpha Protocol here. I just wanted to point out that I am in no way trying to upstage Lance's review, I just felt like there were so many things I wanted to say about this game and the only way I saw fit to get them across would be to give my own review/thoughts of Alpha Protocol. So, without further ado, I give you my thoughts on Alpha Protocol.
Story:
If you don' know already, Alpha Protocol is an Action/Espionage/RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment, you know the guys who are doing Fallout New Vegas. The player fills the shoes of super spy Michael Thorton, who is brought in to a top secret, covert operations center known only as Alpha Protocol and finds out they want him to be their next James Bond. Everything seems to be going fine until you get bombed on your first mission by the very people who hired you. The story then turns into a fight for survival as Michael tries to figure out who tried to kill him and stop a shady corporation from causing political turmoil across the globe.
For the most part, the story is well written. It is very reminiscent of the USA's TV series Burn Notice and certainly has its James Bond moments. There are a few plot holes here and there and the ending can get a little confusing at times, but considering all of the story arcs and branching paths, I think the writers did a decent job of tying everything together, and presenting it in a fairly logical manner.
The voice acting is also worth a mention. While its no Mass Effect 2 or Uncharted 2, it still holds its own and presents a great cast of believable characters. Thorton's voice actor does a good job of delivering the many dialogue options, but its Nolan North's (Nathan Drake from Uncharted) character, Steven Heck, that really steals the show. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I'll just say that the story was very gripping at times and never really failed to catch my attention.
Gameplay:
I think a lot of people are going into this game thinking that it is, at its heart, a third person shooter when in reality it's quite the opposite. I would equate the combat in Alpha Protocol to something along the lines of a mix between Mass Effect 1 and the old Splinter Cells. Its loose at times, but also has a certain depth you may not be used to. You'll spend plenty of time lining up that perfect headshot, and trust me when I say that there's nothing more satisfying than popping an unsuspecting guard in the back of the noggin with your silenced pistol.
At the beginning of the game, you'll have a choice to specialize in certain skills, think of it like choosing your class in Mass Effect. There are stealth classes, soldier classes, technical classes, and a few others, each one specializing in their own certain area of expertise. I actually chose to be a Free Agent. This class basically gives you the freedom to choose what areas you would like to specialize in, I chose to mainly focus on stealth, martial arts, toughness and pistols which provided me with some fun and challenging ways to approach scenarios.
Throughout the game you will level up and gain Action Points which can be used to level up your skills. Leveling up your skills in turn provides you with certain abilities that can be triggered during battle and increases the accuracy of your weapons. For instance, leveling up your stealth gives you an ability that allows you to become invisible for a few seconds, allowing you to sneak around and take out guards without being noticed. Its a great perk, and while it may be overpowered in some cases, it's still a lot of fun to use.
Contrary to many reviews, I actually found the shooting in Alpha Protocol to be very refreshing. Gone are the days where you can just pick up a weapon and automatically be a master marksman. In Alpha Protocol, its all about leveling up your weapon to improve its accuracy and ease of use. Its far more realistic and I find it to be a nice change from all of the standard FPS games out there.
There are also a few hacking mini games that are for the most part, fun and challenging. There are a few sequences that could have been done a little better but aren't frequent enough to warrant the entire system as a fail.
Then there's the dialogue system, which I think was executed perfectly for this type of game. Spies make quick decisions in their line of work and the dialogue mechanic displays this perfectly. Once a dialogue option comes into play, you are presented with 3 - 4 options ranging from a witty remark, a professional approach, or an aggressive slant, and are given around 3 or 4 seconds to make your choice. The interesting thing is that each one plays out differently and will effect how certain characters treat you later on in the story. There are also certain choices you will be forced to make that can completely alter the way a mission turns out. Its in the big choices that I think Alpha Protocol really shines, and I found myself wondering what would have happened had I done something differently.
I could write all day on the gameplay of Alpha Protocol, but to truly appreciate it I think you need to try it out for yourself and experience all of the little nuances that Obsidian has put into the game that gives the player a true sense of what it means to be a spy.
Graphics/Technical Aspects:
This last area is where Alpha Protocol has drawn its most harsh criticism, and wrongly so in my opinion. The graphics of Alpha Protocol aren't terrible, per say, they just aren't as polished as many of the games we're used to these days. I equate it to Mass Effect 1, they don't look so bad as to where it draws you out of the experience, but there are just certain textures and little bugs that could have been groomed out had the game been given a little more time.
I also have to point out that the AI in this game is not the greatest I've ever seen, but its not the worst either. Guards will sometimes get stuck in random places and will stare blankly at their friend being karate chopped in the throat by an invisible ghost. I think it boils down to the same issue as the graphics, with a little more time and polish I believe both of these could have easily been fixed.
Overall:
If anything, Alpha Protocol succeeds in at least one aspect, and that is making the player feel like a spy. From reading dossiers, planning missions and quick on the spot dialogue choices, no game comes close to competing with it.
In concluding my thoughts, I just can't figure out why people are rating this game as low as they are solely on the fact that it is "un-polished." Honestly if a game can give me 20+ hours of entertainment, which Alpha Protocol did, then I can forgive it for not looking amazing. There are so many gamers who are going to look at Alpha Protocol's review score and pass up one of the best RPG experiences I've had in a while and that really pains me. I would love to see a lot of these mechanics refined in a sequel, but I doubt it will happen because the game sold terribly.
If I can get at least one person to try this game, then I've done my job with this article. I believe Alpha Protocol is the true definition of the phrase, "A diamond in the rough." It has its issues technically and presentation wise, but I think it deserves 10x the amount of credit for branching out and doing something we haven't seen in an RPG before, spies. Whether it be Alpha Protocol 2, or another developer's spin on the Espionage/RPG, I can't wait to step into the shoes of another spy and save the world all over again.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Awesome review, I couldn't have said it better myself. I really enjoyed this game, and I don't think people should have the right to bash it. Although the only bad thing about it is that it has a few imperfections that the developers could have managed to fix but released it anyways.