Alpha Protocol Review [Xbox 360, PS3, PC]

Posted June 10, 2010 by Travis Barbour.

Reviewed on Xbox 360

Given the success of secret agents Bond, Bauer and Bourne in recent years, it’s not surprising that you would find a game that attempts to incorporate aspects from all these three into one. Alpha Protocol does just that, and has mixed fortunes.

As Jack Thorton, you’ll be working alone in various locations around the globe in order to uncover the mysteries surrounding your former employers (Alpha Protocol), and will run into numerous other corporations and government sects along the way. Bonuses and perks can be unlocked for how trusted you are with a mission handler, and your actions in the game can affect these relationships. However, a large portion of the story will depend on your actions and approach to conversations, which form a big part of the interactive cutscenes.

In a similar fashion to Mass Effect, Thorton will have multiple ways to respond to questions. Generally fitting into the categories of Suave (Bond), Professional (Bourne) and Aggressive (Bauer), but with the occasional ’special’ option mapped to the ‘A’ button; your timed decisions will factor greatly onto your personal storyline. In my playthrough, a mission handler for the finale was greyed out as my actions meant I had never met them, a clear indication that choice does have an affect. Additionally, the choice to spare a life affected my path through the narrative so greatly that it would be difficult to imagine the story otherwise: a great incentive to play through all over again.

That said, the game does have its drawbacks that might make you question that second playthrough – and some players might not even make it through the first (especially as you should expect around a 10-12 hour completion). Subtitled as an ‘espionage RPG’, Alpha Protocol is clearly intended to be played with stealth and covertness in mind, yet the game discourages it. Levelling up your stealth ability will cost you six experience points, yet increasing your toughness or martial arts only four points. These are the same regardless of the character class you’ve chosen. In short, it seems more beneficial to ignore stealth and upgrade your health and fighting abilities.

This choice is confirmed when you finally get into combat, as you’ll discover early on that bullets don’t often hurt enemies too much. Enemies will survive a close range shotgun blast yet a punch and kick combo will often see them knocked out. This will work towards your stealthy mission objectives as you’ve not killed anyone, but the frustration of needing to upgrade weapons for them to do any significant damage will tempt you towards dodging bullets until you can get close enough to engage them with your fists. Performing a focus shot (keeping your aim on enemies for a certain length of time) will do more damage but seems to have been created for those taking the stealthy option. Aiming over cover for four or five seconds for a focus shot will see you take significant damage if in a firefight.

You might have guessed that I took the more combat-focused route to achieving my goals, but I did at least attempt to be covert. From this, it was apparent that guards follow pre-set ‘patrol’ paths and aren’t particularly smart. On numerous occasions it was possible to takedown an opponent while his supposed friend stood almost within touching distance but wouldn’t blink an eye. The AI also often failed to react to gunfire, and on one occasion, an RPG-wielding enemy spawned literally in the same sniper tower as me but focused on my escape helicopter rather than taking me out. Whilst these incidents were admittedly few and far between, anyone wanting the complete stealth experience will be largely disappointed.

Aside from the poor AI, strange levelling-up options and un-forced dependence on fist-fights, the largely intriguing story is the game’s most redeeming feature. Uncovering who is working for and against you – combined with in-game decisions that will genuinely make you stop and think – gives you a reason to forgive the game’s biggest flaws. From the small decision of deciding which character to retrieve intel on to deciding whether to save a single friend or hundreds of lives, AP certainly builds on the moral decision making that has been incorporated into an increasing number of videogames. As the decisions are timed and irreversible, they have a dramatic impact on the player and storyline, which creates a tension and connection between Thorton and his various accomplices.

On reflection, Alpha Protocol offers so much choice that it must be experienced to allow you to make a justified decision. It ticks the boxes of storyline, innovation and intense decision-making but falls short on the AI and gunplay.

Ultimately, the game feels like it would have been a masterpiece two or three years ago, but still does enough to be worthy of a sequel. Given the chance to build on what it does well and improve on what it did wrong, any sequel could turn out to be a truly quality game – but it remains to be seen whether that will ever materialise.

Tagged as Alpha Protocol, Obsidian, Sega