Alpha Protocol Review

By Christian Donlan Published 28 May, 2010

007/10?

Version tested: Xbox 360

The legendary agent whose presence looms over Alpha Protocol's Michael Thornton isn't Bauer, Bourne or Bond - although the game is eager to invite all these comparisons. It's Shepard. Obsidian has borrowed a lot from BioWare, a developer it's always had a close working relationship with, and at times Alpha Protocol can feel a little like a Mass Effect mod as much as an original game in its own right.

A contemporary super-spy mod of Mass Effect would hardly be something to complain about, though, and while Thornton's earthbound adventure isn't as gripping - and is hardly as polished - as either of Shepard's galaxy-spanning suicide missions, it's a still decent action RPG.

The narrative, unfolding in a kind of French plait of chatting and blasting people in the face that will be instantly familiar to veterans of any Normandy away missions, is a pleasingly sinister muddle. While agent Thornton hops around the globe, having flirty conversations with enigmatic ladies on planes and making deals - or, like, totally not making deals - with sheiks, Russian crime bosses and Triads, Alpha Protocol slowly starts to pull together a story of international intrigue, as a weapons manufacturer tries to trigger a new cold war arms race so it can cash in on the ensuing panic. (It's worth noting that this firm definitely isn't in any way at all based on former Vice President Dick Cheney's delightful paymasters Halliburton.)

'Alpha Protocol' Screenshot 1

You can customise Thornton's beard, headgear and glasses, but can't mess with the face. You might want to cover up the eyes, because they're creepy and dead-looking.

While there are plenty of serious things to think about while you're reloading - commercial jet liners get shot out of the sky, private military contractors storm embassies and the corruption might go all the way to the top on this baby - the game never forgets to revel in all the cheesy aspects of being a member of the air-miles-heavy, neck-breaking elite too. This is espionage depicted as a delightful confection of plush safe-houses, video walls, one-liners and gadgets, a game built from show homes and weather-beaten military installations.

A handy indicator, if any was needed, of its reckless handballing of reality comes in the first five minutes, when a slick military industrial complex type conducts a debriefing in an office suite with a lit cigarette in his hand. You can get a license to waterboard at Boots the Chemists these days, buddy, but not even Tier One special forces are allowed to do that anymore.

'Alpha Protocol' Screenshot 2

Reading a character's dossier may give you perks and advantages when you inevitably have to blow their head off - or talk them out of trying to shoot you first.

While the plot spools around your feet one hotel lobby or snowy train yard at a time, the game's missions themselves take their cue from the first Mass Effect rather than the second. It's a blend - and often a slightly wonky one - of RPG and shooter, meaning that it's happy to give you a shotgun to pose with, but if you want it to actually behave like, well, a shotgun, you're going to have to pour money and upgrade points into it.

Although that's frustrating in the early levels, as you feel like you're bursting from cover to pop super-soldiers in the face with tangy bursts of Glade, once the game actually gets cooking you'll start to feel enjoyably super-powered yourself, whichever munitions you're choosing to specialise in. Each trip to the character sheet or the weapons clearing-house becomes a treat, and while certain classes of gun never have that much character however good you get with them - I struggled to love either pistols or SMGs, as they both seemed ineffectual - if you like stock-shopping and comparing the buffs offered by a handful of recoil dampeners, you'll be pretty happy about things.

You won't be consistently happy, however. More than with almost any other RPG I can remember, your experiences at the two-hour and the eight-hour mark will be noticeably different with Alpha Protocol. While the plot moves very swiftly, this is a slow burn as an action game, and it delivers little enjoyment in the first few missions as you get to grips with initially-overpowered enemies and the fact that the whole experience is sorely lacking in polish.

Instead of moving from one charismatic chunk of espionage mayhem to the next, you'll have plenty of time to fixate on all the little - and not so little - things that don't feel right: the arthritic cover system, the poor animation and even poorer enemy AI, and the horrible mini-games that erupt whenever you want to poke around the outskirts of a level, turn off an alarm, or open a particularly important door. Too often, Alpha Protocol feels like a B-team effort, as you fumble with problems that have already been solved in other, glossier games, and learn to make use of mechanics that have already been refined by other developers.

At the eight-hour mark, if you've persevered, you may well have had time to come to terms with all that. If you accept Alpha Protocol as a project made by a plucky team working to a faintly cruel budget, it's surprisingly hard not to get behind it.

'Alpha Protocol' Screenshot 3

The game's flashback structure works fairly well, and picking up the plot strands after a few days away shouldn't be a problem.

While the shooting's ordinary and the melee combat is even less distinguished, Obsidian has really excelled in certain areas, in smart ideas like holding back character class choices until you've tried out the first mission, or in the way it uses a range of colour palettes to create distinctions between the parts of the world you're exploring. A crate in Saudi Arabia may be very similar to a crate in Moscow - I've checked and everything - but the dusty orange light of the Gulf and the frigid blues and purples of Eastern Europe make you feel like you're really travelling the globe.

Equally, the levels you play through manage to temper linearity with just enough flexibility in terms of how you move through them, and there are often multiple routes and different approaches depending on whether you're a stealthy creature of the shadows or a heavy-booted nose-pulper who trips alarms out of sheer love of the game.

While standard enemies tend to be drab, the boss battles offer sudden blasts of deranged colour, whether you're taking on an eighties-obsessed Russian crime punk who can blind you with the light display on his custom-made disco floor (not joking) or a frosty German lady-monster who gives you a sense of what Girls Aloud might have looked like if they were managed by Saddam Hussein. It's not Metal Gear Solid by any means, but it makes a nice change all the same.

As the cast list expands and the action abilities opened up by the levelling process become increasingly cartoony - two favourite unlocks are an evasion skill which allows you to go unnoticed for a few seconds even if you absolutely blow your cover, and a temporary shotgun boost that lets you knock down enemies as you hit them - Alpha Protocol starts to come to terms with itself as a slightly tongue-in-cheek enterprise. Helpfully, the script has plenty of classy moments, both in terms of the cut-scenes and the text, if you're willing to plough through the emails you'll constantly receive from both friends and enemies. Even the action, formed from pieces which are only really second-rate by themselves, eventually comes together into something that tugs you forward with surprising insistence.

And while it's a linear adventure at heart, the game takes its commitment to player choice fairly seriously. It offers plenty of moments where you have control over the big things - who lives, who dies, who becomes an ally and who becomes a boss battle - as well as the little things, like how your approach to a mission changes what your handler thinks of you.

The game's reputation system is fun, if limited - a lot of the time, you're really only accessing another layer of buffs if a handler likes you, and de-buffs if they turn against you - but it ties into the game's Mass Effect-cribbed dialogue system pretty smartly. With options allowing you to respond to questions in either a suave, aggressive, or professional manner - Bond, Bauer, or Bourne by turn - the whole thing is given a snappiness that BioWare's game lacks as you automatically answer questions after a certain time limit even if you haven't made a choice. Sure, it's not rare to come back from making a sandwich to discover that the game has ploughed through an entire conversation tree without you, and all your friends now think you're a bit of a dick, but it also means that dialogue has a genuine sense of flow.

'Alpha Protocol' Screenshot 4

Levelling your character works very similarly to the first Mass Effect, but too many of the really enjoyable skills are reserved for too late in the game.

Either way, it's a regular pleasure, if not a deeply engrossing one, to work out how to speak to a particular character to get the best out of them, and the responses are often handled with wit. With a story that's as deep or shallow as you want it to be, the writing in Alpha Protocol, while far from perfect, is definitely more of a strong point than the game's technical aspects, and it's worth lingering over some of the finer detailing.

Like Worcester Sauce, Alpha Protocol's separate ingredients might be slightly unappetising, but they come together in a quietly effective manner. Unlike Worcester Sauce, it will certainly frustrate you more than it should, and in between the deathlike character models and bizarre misapplications of things like depth of field effects, it will struggle to convince you the team had enough time to finish it up.

But, if you're willing to put in the effort, it can steadily win you over. Obsidian can't really compete with the bigger boys in the RPG field, then, but it's carved out a little space to call its own. With ambition instead of budget, and integrity instead of polish, in the end the choice of whether to persevere or not is pretty easy to make.

7 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Christian.

About Christian Donlan

Chris Donlan writes about games for Eurogamer and some magazines. His heroes include Eugene Jarvis, Errol Morris, and Linus Van Pelt.

Read more articles from Christian by visiting the Christian Donlan archive page.

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Comments (116) Latest comment 5 months ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • cianchristopher #1 2 years ago

    Ooh, a seven you say...

  • gmmonkey #2 2 years ago

    Oh dear. Still better than I thought it would be.

  • beastmaster #3 2 years ago

    You weapon is choice. I choose to buy!

  • JohnnyWashnGo #4 2 years ago

    So very tired of FPS :(

  • cianchristopher #5 2 years ago

    Let's rate every single comment down... Haha, that'll learn 'em...

  • YenooR #6 2 years ago

    I was expecting a 6 or a 5.

  • cianchristopher #7 2 years ago

    I was expecting a 4 or a 3

  • Gambit1977 #8 2 years ago

    :D
    I'm playing this, it's compulsive garbage...

  • Whizzo #9 2 years ago

    It's a strange game, at times utterly infuriating and at others you've got a stupid grin on your face because you've just gone through an entire hotel beating up everyone who has been shooting at you because your handler doesn't want you killing people and you forgot to pack tranqs.

    The hacking minigame is bloody rubbish though!

  • muscleblade #10 2 years ago

    @JohnnyWashnGo

    What does that have to do with this?

  • Haloboy #11 2 years ago

    7 you say? Not bad at all then considering the game looks like it was developed by about about 3 people. In a shed. In the dark. In bubble suits.

  • GamesConnoisseur #12 2 years ago

    Far better than I had thought.

    I played Alan Wake twice and loved the game, Splinter Cell and yet I felt pretty dirtied playing rental version of Alpha Protocol and assuming EG would scores it much lower than the two games in question.

    As didnt have enough class, oomphs, and got lots of flaws.

    Still show what I know!!! But would be interested to see what others think as well, as wouldnt be suprised if quite mixed review across the board.

  • muscleblade #13 2 years ago

    @MonsieurTitus

    +1

    Soemethings fishy.

    Do EG/Donlan feel sorry for the developers?

  • Haloboy #14 2 years ago

    National mark down day? You pathetic lot! Yeah you.

  • berelain #15 2 years ago

    A far kinder review than the game deserves based on the handful of hours I've spent with it so far, but maybe it does get better.

    What the review didn't mention was that its practically impossible to sneak your way through any missions because the AI has preternatural awareness of your location. In one mission I silently made my way to a building, unnoticed by surrounding guards, and opened the door as gingerly as I could. An enemy solider ran around the corner and shot me in the face, whilst another that I couldnt even see sounded the alarm. There were no other ways into the building. How exactly was I supposed to sneak through there?

  • menage #16 2 years ago

    Meh, not at fullprice anyway.

  • Metalfish #17 2 years ago

    @titus,

    It's like comparing an indie-film to a hollywood blockbuster, the lack of investment is both worth mentioning and impressive -given the end result. A simple comment and nothing more.

  • apoc_reg #18 2 years ago

    tried it this morning for a bit before work on steam.

    Seems cool!

  • hollowroom #19 2 years ago

    A problem with the site? I +'d a couple of comments and it took 2 off..

  • byakuya83 #20 2 years ago

    This will be amongst EG's least controversial 7/10 reviews. I don't suppose 7/10 creates much interest in a review when a majority of gamers weren't expecting the game to be well received.

  • Evolution #21 2 years ago

    Argh, can't say I wasn't expecting this after looking at the trailers. Graphics don't make a game but it set an alarm bell ringing which I tried to ignore. Will still play it of course, I love Obsidian (well, Chris Avellone) and although their games don't ever seem to have the polish of Bioware, the story and role playing aspect has always felt more engaging, and the review doesn't seem to indicate they disappoint there. I'm happy to deal with a few gameplay frustrations, it won't be the first time after all...

  • jstar #22 2 years ago

    he complemented the writing... I literally can't believe it. The script is beyond shit.

  • gmmonkey #23 2 years ago

    Don't know, but I enjoy it when people neg me. It makes me feel powerful. Like I can control their emotions. Isn't that right you cocks!

  • GamesConnoisseur #24 2 years ago

    I at least HAVE played Alpha Protocol and also other games I mentioned, SO i m pretty sure I m entitled to my opinion and even SO I made the leeways of admitting that I may be a minority.

    The reviews ALSO had a lot of cautions to the gamers, you may need to give it a chance, or if you still with the game 8 hours in and so on!

    Not exactly a vote of confidence but everyone has their opinions.

  • nuanimal #25 2 years ago

    It's worth noting that this firm definitely isn't in any way at all based on former Vice President Dick Cheney's delightful paymasters Halliburton

    Socio-political commentary WIN

  • anomagnus #26 2 years ago

    Some harsh negging going on here, and some sensible, or least in offensive posts suffering for it

    I'll admit, i'm interested in it, but RDR comes first.

    P.S. I love split second.

  • LiamK #27 2 years ago

    As a test, clicking "-" gives the person -4. If you then click "+" is goes to -2.

  • matrim83 #28 2 years ago

    Even at 7 this would have been a sale to me. Until I heard it uses a checkpoint save system.

    Sorry Obsidian, you are a PC developer. You should know better.

  • Haloboy #29 2 years ago

    I'm all for games having merely passable graphics if the overall experience is indeed worthy. But even with a 7 something is still making me keep my wallet firmly tucked away in the secret compartment of my furry swimsuit. Sorry Obsidian.

  • UncleLou #30 2 years ago

    "If you accept Alpha Protocol as a project made by a plucky team working to a faintly cruel budget, it's surprisingly hard not to get behind it."

    That's a very strange comment. So budget effects how you review a game?

    I'd say you need to read it together with this: "With ambition instead of budget, and integrity instead of polish, in the end the choice of whether to persevere or not is pretty easy to make."

    Makes sense to me.

  • GamesConnoisseur #31 2 years ago

    Lol at Cheeky Grizzly.

    That is the idea of how you can confuse negging by adding 'qualifier' at the end of your post!

  • UncleLou #32 2 years ago

    As a test, clicking "-" gives the person -4. If you then click "+" is goes to -2.

    People seem to be downrating here quickly for the lulz. The moment you press + or -, it will also update the ratings others have made since you refreshed the page.

  • Darren #33 2 years ago

    Based on the hour or so I had with the PC version last night I was expecting a 5 at most from EG. The review does say that you need to stick with it before it picks up eight hours in so I guess I'll just have to endure the mediocrity a little longer then. At the moment though this game just is not impressing me at all and the animation is downright laughable.

  • CaptainQuint #34 2 years ago

    "As bad as Alan wake then"

    But better than Resistance 2?

  • muscleblade #35 2 years ago

    @LiamK

    Correct.

  • Doctor_What #36 2 years ago

    The post ratings made me laugh more than many things I've seen today. Cheers guys :D

  • Haloboy #37 2 years ago

    I can't get it in the bloody green! I TRIED!

  • ayreon2084 #38 2 years ago

    First video review has been out! (7.5/10)
    LOL, should be 9/10 at least! Fantastic story!

    [link url=http://bit.ly/bIhUQJ
    ]http://bit.ly/bIhUQJ
    [/link]
    http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=1yDhZYoWk2E

  • ayreon2084 #39 2 years ago

    What's the score, eh, GameSpot?
    Alpha protocol score at Gamespot LOOOL :)

    http://bit.ly/c3JcJR

  • Haloboy #40 2 years ago

    Speaking of which your mother just texted me this:

    -1

    Good thing I'm out of credit.

  • grayn #41 2 years ago

    Best. Comments marking. Ever!

  • El-Dev #42 2 years ago

    Still slightly tempted by this but I think I'll go for RDR.

  • Haloboy #43 2 years ago

    @ El-Dev

    Yeah well I'm slightly tempted to fling myself off a bridge on my way to work each morning. I don't obviously.

    With games such as RDR doing the rounds right now I can't think why anyone would pick this instead.

  • spudsbuckley #44 2 years ago

    'Based on the hour or so I had with the PC version last night I was expecting a 5 at most from EG. The review does say that you need to stick with it before it picks up eight hours in so I guess I'll just have to endure the mediocrity a little longer then. At the moment though this game just is not impressing me at all and the animation is downright laughable'

    Most people who've played and finished the game have said it somewhere between 6 and 8 hours long. So apparently it picks up when it's over :/

  • JCHilton #45 2 years ago

    Im seriously confused, I'm not bashing anyone here. But is this an Alan Wake style 7 out of 10? Or just a normal 7 out of 10? I ask because im interested in this game, but seven seems a little too low for me. That didnt stop me buying Alan Wake, but I knew more about it and was confident about buying that game; in that it suited my tastes....

  • FreakyZoid #46 2 years ago

    > whole thing is given a snappiness that BioWare's game lacks as you automatically
    > answer questions after a certain time limit even if you haven't made a choice

    This was meant to be in Mass Effect 1. Not sure why they took it out. I think letting players spend too long thinking over their responses and if they should be nice or nasty to get the best result is very artificial.

  • GamesConnoisseur #47 2 years ago

    The GAMERS had spoken...

    Self Annihilation as result of the fatal Alpha Protocol review..



    Doff caps please.

  • MiniAmin #48 2 years ago

    In this thread we neg.

  • JDFreeman #49 2 years ago

    So this isn't 3rd person Deus Ex?....Curses thats what I was wanting...

  • The-Bodybuilder #50 2 years ago

    What the heck is up with this thread?
    Is it broken or something? I mean, all negs?

  • LHH #51 2 years ago

    what the hell? So has someone got a script or something the neg everyone multiple times?

  • cianchristopher #52 2 years ago

    It's fixed now...

  • tomkuryakin #53 2 years ago

    Someone seems to have reset the scores. Pity, it made me laugh to see only one comment on the first page before I logged in.

  • tomkuryakin #54 2 years ago

    Yeah, go ahead, neg me. It's what I want!
    Edited by 1 at 28/05/10 @ 15:26

  • creepylizard #55 2 years ago

    neg man, you sir are a boring sack

  • sneetch #56 2 years ago

    Sounds good to me, gonna get it on Amazon.co.uk, only £18 atm.

  • jambo74 #57 2 years ago

    No sale, that is all.

  • ignatiusjreilly #58 2 years ago

    ♫
    I'm goin' to a party
    And I hope you are hearty
    So please don't be naughty
    For it's a punky neggy party
    ♫
    Rejected by society
    Treated with impunity
    Protected by my dignity
    I search for reality
    ♫
    Well, it's a punky neggy party
    And it's tonight
    It's a punky neggy party
    And it's alright

  • tomkuryakin #59 2 years ago

    All scores set back to zero again? So much for letting the people have their say...

    "I'm being oppressed! Come and see the violence inherent in the system!"

  • specular #60 2 years ago

    Epic neg reset.

  • z.e.r.o #61 2 years ago

    Just like Mass Effect 2, as the writer implies. Too bad there's a huge disparity in evaluation, if you don't net-out the Bioware Karma modifier :)

  • ignatiusjreilly #62 2 years ago

    "I'm being oppressed! Come and see the violence inherent in the system!"

    Bloody peasant.

  • craigy Verified Senior Developer, Eurogamer Network #63 2 years ago

    tomkuryakin: If you continue to abuse the karma system your account will be disabled. Tread carefully.

  • ignatiusjreilly #64 2 years ago

    Boo Eurogamer.

  • tomkuryakin #65 2 years ago

    @craigy

    Clearly I am not the only one. People have obviously had enough of a certain type of comment and decided to take matters into their own hands by making an example of this comments thread. I thought it was a great example of community satire personally but I bow to the power of the moderator.
    Edited by 1 at 28/05/10 @ 15:53

  • loopholezero #66 2 years ago

    community satire, lol.

  • Haloboy #67 2 years ago

    It's been a long time since EG was that fun to be a part of. Kudos all.

  • slippysloppy #68 2 years ago

    This seems like another example of an advertiser biased based review. It was obvious it would score a 7 because there were ads plasted all over the site but no review until today. If it was an 8 or 9 the review would have been live days ago. It reads as though the reviewer's tried to eek out every nice and positive thing to say about it.

    I so wanted this game to be brilliant and I'll still take a punt on it when the price drops. Will be keeping my eye on Shopto.

  • theodg #69 2 years ago

    @Garfy

    I'm assuming it updates the overall score since you loaded the page - so if more people have voted down when you've voted up it will go down, or vice-versa.

  • RodHull #70 2 years ago

    I was expecting Leonard maltin and his beard.

  • deanimate #71 2 years ago

    Mrrows? Surely you would not vote down a cat? Picture him, asleep on the bed, whiskers twitching sporadically, hair ruffling in the breeze, ears alert for mice or unaware goose.
    Prrrrrr =^_^=

  • Demiath #72 2 years ago

    This review confirms all my expectations, which were not high but not that low either. It looked like ME1 and apparently it plays like ME1 as well. Not a fullprice purchase, but a definite £17,85 kind of Zavvi deal for me...

  • Brainz #73 2 years ago

    @craigy: partypooper

  • jonfon #74 2 years ago

    So how long is the game anyway?

    As for people wondering why the karma scores seem to jump when the + or - someone it's because of the mechanism behind the scenes, when you click it sends a request back to the server saying "Hey, comment X got plussed / minused", the server returns the updated score for the comment (from both your action and other peoples) and your browser changes the figure to that accordingly, so if someone else also adjusted the score it'll seem to jump (or not do anything)

    There does seem to be more twonks around just batch negging everything though. God knows why.

  • andywilkie35 #75 2 years ago

    Played a couple of hours last night, really enjoyed it.

  • CaptainQuint #76 2 years ago

    Five pound of potatoes, a loaf and a pint of milk.

    Oh and don't forget me ciggys.

  • dagas #77 2 years ago

    Sounds pretty much what I expected. Still there aren't many WRPG's out there after having played all of Bioware's and Bethesda's games already I can't be too picky.

  • spookyzombie #78 2 years ago

    A 7? I must have played a different game last night then. The game I played was never a 7.

  • abot #79 2 years ago

    Christian mentioned that parts of the game feel like a B-team effort. Seems like Obsidian has put their focus and A-team effort on Fallout:New Vegas. Too Bad.

  • monkeywithnoeyes #80 2 years ago

    "it will struggle to convince you the team had enough time to finish it up." - jesus it got delayed a full year didnt it?

  • Acrid #81 2 years ago

    007/10? +1 Mr Donlan

  • WMain00 #82 2 years ago

    Heh heh. I predicted the sub title on Eurogamer.

    I'm scared. :S

  • Hunam #83 2 years ago

    I got this yesterday and I can barely play it. Guards like slide along the floor thanks to terrible animation, broken PC controls, broken stealth and it's just bland tiny levels. And the worst thing is, it's not even well designed under all the technical failings. You can't even jump over walls unless it's been specifically designated.

    How this game gets a 7 I don't know. It's almost embarrassing to the entire industry.
    Edited by 1 at 28/05/10 @ 18:30

  • TRUTH #84 2 years ago

    Obsidian, really need to brush up there graphic engine, and AI...I think there becoming a bit lazy!

  • makeamazing #85 2 years ago

    Wheres the first 15 minute video link on the front page, it aint working... want to see it :D

  • neems #86 2 years ago

    What do James Bond, Jack Bauer and Jason Bourne all have in common?

    None of them are spies.

    A long time ago, this was announced as a spy RPG. It sounded like a great idea, but difficult to pull off. How did they do it? They didn't. They made a third person shooter with RPG elements instead. It's a shame.

    Edited by 1 at 28/05/10 @ 19:18

  • bad09 #87 2 years ago

    "They made a third person shooter with RPG elements instead. It's a shame. "

    Worked for Bioware...

    I am interested in this one but lots in front on the list though so may be a Christmas sale buy, besides on a GTA vibe and playing VC, SA, 4 and EFLC all at the same time at the mo :)

  • neems #88 2 years ago

    I don't have issues with the genre bad09 - I loved mass Effect, and I'm currently playing Read Dead - I just think it's a pity that 'Spy RPG' became 'shoot people from cover'. It would be nice if there was a game with actual espionage in it.

  • bad09 #89 2 years ago

    @ neems

    Yeah I do see what you mean actually, still it doesn't sound to bad to me.

  • lockload #90 2 years ago

    Bought it and played about 2 hours and im liking it.

    My type of game for sure

  • Verwandlung #91 2 years ago

    I am + the non retarded comments in an attempt to restore some balance in the universe.
    Edited by 1 at 28/05/10 @ 21:35

  • Meho #92 2 years ago

    Well I bought it even though I sampled it first and it's... not very impressive. But Obsidian's first solo effort, that's worth some support I'd say.

  • Keaton #93 2 years ago

    This game is a future cult classic. It's another game where reviewers spend far too much effort lamenting production values and lack of "polish" and don't give nearly enough credit to the aspects which make it original and unique... the same old song and dance with so many other great games, such as Deus Ex, which is the obvious comparison in this case. This game is a blessing thus far. Vastly superior to the Mass Effect series as a RPG experience, although I wouldn't recommend it to people who only want to shoot, and not think.
    Edited by 1 at 28/05/10 @ 23:21

  • spookyzombie #94 2 years ago

    @ Keaton. Are you pissed?

  • trip919 #95 2 years ago

    I was expecting perhaps an eight for this (I’m a dreamer – sue me). Still – I’ll be picking it up when it’s reduced in price as it still sounds like it got some delights!

  • Keaton #96 2 years ago

    @ spookyzombie

    Yes, a bit. I don't even know why I read the comments to Eurogamer reviews, it's equivalent to self-flagellation.

  • byakuya83 #97 2 years ago

    i suppose giving this 7/10 avoids the need to pull a gamespot. no way its deserving of that score. destructoid gave it 2/10 and many reviews aren't much better. this game should not rank alongside alan wake, lol. whether it had a large budget or not is irrelevant when deciding whether it's a good or bad game.

  • Grayvern #98 2 years ago

    Couple of things. The Alan Wake review is irrelevant scores are subjective as well as the words so from what I've seen the Alan wake score and review tone doesn't tally with other reviews, or read that well in some of it's critique. But that doesn't bear on a review to review basis especially when they are done by different reviewers. Jeff Gerstmann doesn't really like Demons souls doesn't mean ill never trust a giant bomb review again.

    I just wonder what the breakdown on this is, whether it was lack of money or severe problems because it seemed as if they had the time on this development. Should be some interesting interviews a couple of months down the line.

    I'm going to wait and hope for either official or unofficial fixes for the game.
    Edited by 2 at 29/05/10 @ 03:21

  • Haloboy #99 2 years ago

    The Gamespot video review makes me want to hurt myself. That can't be a good thing surely?

  • des #100 2 years ago

    6.0 from gamespot...lol...must be total crap
    Obsidian is basically a copycat dev and they are still alive...much better devs have gone down

    How they do it?
    I have no idea.







  • Power_n_Glory #101 2 years ago

    8 for Red Dead, 7 for Alan Wake, 7 for Splinter Cell Conviction and this gets a 7. Some real inconsistant reviews from Eurogamer.

  • Pulsar_t #102 2 years ago

    ^ More like quite consistent.

  • GamesConnoisseur #103 2 years ago

    Been playing a few more missions in the Alpha Protocol.

    Must say that the horrifying elements just fade into the background and getting on with the game and starting to enjoy it quite a bit, but still not as properly challenging as I like (challenging due to poor AI or collision is a different thing).

    As EG set the scene by their reviews, so to compare, I enjoyed the combat and the flow of the games far more from likes of Alan Wake and Splinter Cell. The FUN and ADDICTIVE gameplay factors can never be overrated and doesnt come across easily IMO with Alpha P.

    Rent is a good choice I felt as I still get to play the game as otherwise would have just ignored it.

  • TheJuriel #104 2 years ago

    "8 for Red Dead, 7 for Alan Wake, 7 for Splinter Cell Conviction and this gets a 7. Some real inconsistant reviews from Eurogamer."

    They seem pretty consistent to me.

    Friends who have played Alpha Protocol say it has its problems (production values being the main one), but the game itself is solid and enjoyable, and definitely a good game when you can get it for cheaper than full price.

  • overcorpse #105 2 years ago

    Wow just wow,this gets a 7 and RDR gets an 8,and after playing both games i have come to the conclusion that Eurogamer smokes Meth.Christ on bike.

  • Seabeast #106 2 years ago

    Eurogamer are trying to be the new 'Edge'

    Quite sad really, almost as sad as the PS3 fanbois that neg any comment that relates to a Xbox exclusive.

  • Meringue #107 2 years ago

    It's rough around the edges, but I'm enjoying it.

    I will say this though: It's not really a console game. You aren't going to get this type of crowd to buy into these types of design theories. It's a lot of self discovery and it doesn't have the patience or production values to hand hold.

    Very much a PC-esque product.

    "Obsidian is basically a copycat dev and they are still alive...much better devs have gone down"

    Obsidian involves a lot of staffers who ushered in the golden era of PC RPGs, which, unlike classical console RPGs which seem to have more reverence for thin anime plots and nostalgia, are still the gold standard for depth, flexibility and design.

    Alpha Protocol is a rough game, and it's not as good as it should be, but it's pretty good fare from another troubled development time line.

    New Vegas will hopefully be the next Mask of the Betrayer from them, a lot of the ideas that were originally going to be in the Black Isle Fallout 3 will be present, although, once again, it's not going to be something you get praise from in the console enthusiast media which LOVES to trash anything with a learning curve or without 40 million dollar budget.
    Edited by 3 at 01/06/10 @ 02:12

  • reinhart_menken #108 2 years ago

    Don't really feel like addressing the other parts of the game. Most have been echoes somewhere else, game mechanic sucks, etc etc, and you know perfectly well why.

    I just want to say this, whoever came up with the dialogue and emails have to be shot (okay, not literally). Obsidian must have been all out of money to hire someone like that. The text that were meant to be witty or flirtatious were just downright idiotic. The only good text were the ones that were meant to be formal, proper documents, like operation maneuver/procedure emails and whatnot.

  • Dizz #109 2 years ago

    So I picked this up for PS3 despite all the comments, and I'm probably playing a different game than most people. Graphics wise it's behind the curve, but the characters are fun and varied, you truly get different playthroughs depending on choice, dialogue stuff is quite cool and I don't find the action bits as clumsy as portrayed. I'm actually having a lot of fun.

    Am I weird now?
    Edited by 1 at 02/06/10 @ 10:17

  • Miths #110 2 years ago

    I just bought the PC version of Steam tonight, and just got started on the first real missions (past the tutorial sections and initial briefings) with two different character types - one starting out stealth focused and planned to specialize in pistols (despite what this review says, various forum posts I've seen indicate that pistols become almost overpowered at higher levels), another somewhat less concerned about going unnoticed, and specializing in assault rifles.

    So far - at this very early point - I really would like to continue with the stealth guy, but I've had a seriously tough time going undetected in the first missions. Aside from completely sucking at determining just the right time to move when guards aren't looking (I was never exactly great at Splinter Cell or Thief, but I more or less managed) - or getting noticed when I completely blow the lock picking mini game and end up bashing loudly through a door - I'm also having a bit of a hard time figuring out how the AI work in various situations, as it seems pretty glitched with odd behaviour.

    As far as graphics go, these initial levels certainly lack a bit of modern graphical flair, but at least the game looks sharp enough at 1920x1200.
    Supposedly keyboard and mouse controls seem like an afterthought, so I decided just to plug in a 360 controller from the start instead. That's been working pretty well so far.

    I'll shoulder on tomorrow (Red Dead Redemption is still keeping me quite busy as well), but so far it very much looks like my opinion of Alpha Protocol could very well end up anywhere between rather horrible and pretty good, but flawed.

  • Royal Fool #111 2 years ago

    I find it amazing that this game was delayed for more than half a year and this is the state SEGA finally releases it in. The PC version is just terrible.

  • zibzob #112 2 years ago

    Screenshot page says '"Alpha Centauri"
    Edited by 1 at 08/06/10 @ 00:08

  • Dukkha #113 1 year ago

    Just played through this and I thought it was much better than the reviews read bout it suggested. It's far from perfect technically, but the story is good. Beeing a big fan of Deus Ex, hitman series and Vampire: Bloodlines this felt like a mix of those games that didn't didn't succed in everything it tried to do, but at least they tried and I much rather see more games like this than another generic shooter.

    It's really a shame that it didn't sell enough to warrant a sequel, since I really would like to see what becomes of 'sis.

  • icanus #114 1 year ago

    Good game. HORRIBLE endgame! Last couple of boss fights are just disgusting!


    Endless stream of thugs, grenade spamming over any distance, a helicopter taking 7 (seven!!!) direct missile hits and still up and running?! Seriously?!?! Who told these people this was fun? The only reason anyone would push through this nonsense is that it's the end and you know you'll be done in fifteen minutes or so. And then you just let one of them go without being given ANY options?! The one who, among other things, shot a friend in front of you?! What the hell were they thinking with this last bit?! The game would've been better with no endgame at all.

  • Roger_the_Shrubber #115 10 months ago

    I have a soft spot for this game. In many ways it's not very good but I enjoyed it greatly and actually finished it multiple times.

  • GAmbrose #116 5 months ago

    Probably worth £1.50 on steam then.