Alpha Protocol Preview

Tackling the follow up to Bioware’s Knights of the Old Republic was always going to be a challenge. And to many, that challenge seemed too much for Obsidian Entertainment. Some may say that of Neverwinter Nights 2 too. But I will bet that there are also a fair few people who don’t understand who Obsidian are, or should I say - were. They were founded after Black Isle Studios went down. Black Isle Studios themselves were behind such games as, oh…I dunno, Fallout and Fallout 2? Add Icewind Dale, Icewind Dale II to that, plus credit on the entirety of the Baldur’s Gate series and you see why Obsidian have the potential to create gaming greatness.

So it’s harsh to judge the company on how they’ve tackled other franchises. As Christopher Parker, co-owner of Obsidian, put it: “A license is a blessing and a curse.” So, rather, we should judge Obsidian on a new franchise. Alpha Protocol, is just that.

Published by Sega and powered by the might of the Unreal 3.0 engine, Alpha Protocol is an action-RPG with a twist. Players control rookie CIA agent Michael Thorton (yay, a spy!) who is being chased by his Government for a crime he didn’t commit (boo, a cliché).

It definitely sounds promising, but the plot is not really grabbing me. I mean, I love Splinter Cell. And currently, *spoiler alert!* that’s where the story is going. But Sam Fisher is a well known character, and his downfall will naturally intrigue people.

Also, there appears to be some sort of ‘cartoon’ element to the nature of the game. In some of the concept work, there’s a girl blowing a bubble from her gum while giving the old Lara Croft pose, and some sort of emo girl wielding dual six-shooters, while sporting a hoodie and fuchsia coloured hair. And some older bloke who…looks pretty normal, actually.

But what DOES intrigue me, is the dialogue system. In an attempt to go one-up on Mass Effect’s conversation system, Alpha Protocol allows you to make three choices on how to approach a chat with a foxy female…or anyone else for that matter. But mainly, the foxy females; being a spy and all. The first of which is ‘Aggressive’ (Jack Bauer), the second being ‘Suave’ (James Bond) and lastly the by-the-book ‘Professional’ (Jason Bourne). Take into consideration that you’re not going to be able to take back what you say to characters, and you get a game that could really draw you into its World. Or frustrate you to no extent as you tell Mrs. Moneypenny: “F*ck off, I‘ve got work to do!” by mistake, as she offers you a quickie - what with all the apparent sex scenes that will feature in the game.

But this ‘Reactivity’ system (as it is called) goes further. You only have a limited amount of time to respond to dialogue, making it a tense affair. And if you add the fact that you cannot take back what you SAY to the fact that you cannot take back what you DO, and you have an idea of how Obsidian are treating the game. People will side with you or against you based on how you tackle situations. It’s your spy, it’s your choice.

With all the usual skill levels, what style of fighting your character takes up on and customisation as seen in RPGs, and the promise of traversing some lovely locations around the World (including Arabia…wait a minute, terrorists again? *sigh*), it’s quite clear that Alpha Protocol is bucking the trend. I have high hopes for this game, and you should too. Because it’s a new franchise and a new approach to the action-RPG genre, in old hands.

Disillusionment out of ten: