Alpha Protocol English Review

Obsidian Entertainment is among the few game production studios I trust implicitly when it comes to quality. For many other titles I can simply use the good old’ “I’ll just assume it’s worthless” mantra, but when it comes to a game developed by Obsidian (and a handful of other companies), the geek in me can’t help but jump around for a bit going „Oh boh, oh boy, oh boy!”.

And in some ways, Alpha Protocol is way more of an important RPG than Knights of the Old Republic II or Neverwinter Nights 2 were in their day. For the latter they only had to carry on the torch, already having a solid base to work on. But this time, Chris Avellone and co went 100% on their own – new setting, new characters, design decisions and so on. If something didn’t appeal to the players, they couldn’t go “Uhm, you know, it’s because of George Lucas / Wizards of the Coast. We would have done it if we could have”. This time, they pretty much had full discretion to create an RPG as they saw fit.

Even though some will say otherwise, I firmly believe that RPG will remain (probably forever) niche games. I’m talking here about true RPGs, not any title where you have some experience points and abilities and bang, it’s an {insert genre here}/RPG. Truth be told, it’s Dungeons & Dragons’ fault that we, gamers, are classically viewed as geeks rolling dices in basements.

On one had this meant the outright marginalization of early gaming enthusiasts while on the other, elves, orcs, dwarves and wizards that could crack a mountain open using their staff and a few magic words became the norm. So when the first bits of information about Alpha Protocol started to trickle in, I was taken a bit by surprise, because we were no longer dealing with a fantasy setting… this was our modern day world.

You are here because of America’s greed

As the game begins, a terrorist attack downs an airliner full of passengers, the main suspects being members of Al Samad, a very clear cut anti-American organization. The situation wouldn’t be that dire if some missiles manufactured by the Halbech Corporation weren’t involved in all of this, with Halbech being one of the main weapons supplier for the United States military. This is where you, Michael Thorton, come in. Recently recruited by Alpha Protocol, your main task is to find those responsible for the attack and discover just how a bunch of Islamic extremists got their hands on latest-gen American missiles.

Before you turn into the most lethal agent since Jason Bourne, you’ll first have to choose the difficulty level and the character’s background. The latter determines how you initial skill points will be spent, with Freelancer being the “I do whatever I damn well please” option. Additionally, for a greater challenge you can choose the Recruit mode, which means that Michael will be a novice in the truest sense of the word, with 0 points for his skills. Those who enjoy “Bring on the PAIN!” experiences will want to go for Recruit + Hard difficulty, while the Veteran option (more skill points at the start) will be unlocked after you complete a playthrough on Recruit.

Once you start talking to your new colleagues from the agency nobody is supposed to know about, you'll discover the dialogue system used by Obsidian, a hybrid between the one in Mass Effect and Fahrenheit. Just like in ME, instead of clear answers you’ll have the so-called stances that dictate the direction the dialogue will be heading towards. From Fahrenheit they took the concept of a quick answer, so unlike other RPGs, in Alpha Protocol you won’t be able to sit for half an hour to make up your mind during the dialogues. Once your counterpart has finished his idea (or even sooner), you’ll only have a couple of seconds to decide, or less.

This approach brings a certain sense of urgency to the whole process, which is further underlined in everything you do in the story. You won’t go for strolls in the park or talk to the good folks of whatever fair city you’re in. Alpha Protocol is very focused on the “main quest”, so you won’t be delivering love letters for additional experience, but do everything you can to discover just what the heck is going on in this world that’s fast approaching World War III.

The idea in itself isn’t bad, but it will surely be the source of controversy. For one, in some situations there’s not enough time to make an informed decision, because the choices and timer are displayed before the dude in front of you has had a chance to finish his story. Second, the stances themselves are sometimes very vague or don’t have any connection with what you would expect the character to say, so there will be moments when you’ll be left starring at the screen because Mike just said something incredibly stupid.

On the other hand, the conversations themselves are very good, thanks to the writing and (especially) the voice acting. While it doesn’t sport an “all-star” cast like Mass Effect, the actors did a very good (towards excellent) job of backing up the pantomime and gestures of the characters during the dialogues. Michael Thorton himself is even better portrayed than Commander Shepard, I would dare say. The “aggressive” stances are tastefully done and there are some gems in the other options as well.