Playing A Game Alpha Protocol PC

Despite its flaws, Alpha Protocol left me with a generally good feeling. Well, maybe I should say, neglecting its flaws. As I'll go on to describe, some of the game's issues border on criminal. But it's a broad and ambitious production, and a good deal of that ambition manages to shine through its many imperfections.

What should a sequel address, if such a thing were possible? Well:

  • Bugs. Yeah. One of the early Moscow missions, I repeated twice, because it looked like the mission had forced me to pass an objective. It turned out that the objective's placement on the map was just wrong. Still, not a great bug.
  • More freedom! If not a full-blown GTA-style sandbox, then at least allow me to fully explore a mission - checkpoints invariably block off the previous part of the level - and give me more opportunities to approach and converse with NPCs inbetween missions.
  • Shooting. Who thought it was okay to make all your shots miss without some skill points invested? Gauging attack power, recoil, ammo capacity, and so on based on EXP level is fine -- but making my initial accuracy shitty, and keeping it shitty unless I invest in it, isn't okay.
  • Melee. Basically, the controls don't work well, and even when they do, it's just mashing the 'E' key. The melee system is begging for some added depth.
  • Stealth. There are a bunch of cool abilities for sneaking around, but the game is curiously missing many mechanics that are core to stealth games, like vision cones, and more varied distraction items.
  • Dialog -- attention to detail. There's a lot of detail to cover in Alpha Protocol, which is why I can't help but respect the amount of attention it got. But it deserves more. It deserves Blizzard-level attention.
  • Boss fights that aren't retarded. Encounters that use and test the same mechanics that the rest of the game does. Not some mile-long health bar bullshit, or chain guns that can shoot through my cover.
  • Diverse AI. Dossier information that you obtain throughout the game describes each enemy force - Russian mob, CIA, mercenaries, et al - in different ways, in terms of their tactics and weaknesses. But I never noticed any of these differences in the game.
  • A menu interface that isn't completely fucking broken. Every time I double-clicked on a menu item, I felt like I was taking my life into my own hands.

Alpha Protocol's most significant shortcomings aren't related to traditional bugs, so much as they are to the unfulfilled potential of its dynamic story and choice mechanics. And it isn't that these ideals are completely unrealized. But there's room for improvement, and glimpses of something that could really blow BioWare away.

What really sets Alpha Protocol's choice system apart from others is that it doesn't follow the stereotype of good-and-bad: being friendly doesn't put a halo over your head, and being an asshole doesn't disfigure your face. The various options available - professionalism, prying, bluffing, goading, douchebaggery - can lead to different results, but they're just that: different. The game never tries to make you believe that there's a "wrong" way to handle a conversation, nor a "right" way.

It helps that part of Thorton's modus operandi is supposed to be manipulation; but by preventing dialog choices from being a liability in your game's progress (and by making the results of your dialog wheel choices mostly intuitive), the choices become a real game mechanic, rather than a silly minigame or a frivolous scoring method.

It's impossible to deny that the game could have used some additional work. If you (for whatever reason) have high expectations going into Alpha Protocol, you're going to be disappointed. But once you get past that - as with any other overhyped new IP - you just might find that it's actually fun to play -- potentially, depending on your play style.

As I've mentioned, my gameplay experience relied on a stealth and pistol-sniping approach; basically, Splinter Cell, plus terminal hacking and lock-picking. (The hacking minigames in Alpha Protocol are pretty neat.) Due to the aforementioned shortfalls in gun accuracy and melee, I'm not so confident that other strategies would be as effective. But I couldn't say for sure. Who knows? Maybe I'll pick a new character sheet, and try it again sometime.

Better than: I'd expected
Not as good as: Mass Effect 2
Basically as good as: Mass Effect

Progress: Complete

Rating: Good