Alpha Protocol

Alpha Protocol

Playing Alpha Protocol is like a puzzle with 500 pieces 5,000 pieces missing, you have an idea of ​​what the picture should have been, but the end product is still incomplete infuriating. This intriguing role-playing game offers a highly flexible plot, where the choices have real consequences in the story and gameplay. Unfortunately, almost all other elements have been spared, resulting in a mixture of gameplay elements never come together clumsy staggering. On paper, Alpha Protocol sounds interesting: You can go into each mission with guns blazing, sneak up on enemies to kill them before they see you coming, or mix and match as desired methods and computer hacking and lock picking to discover hidden secrets of the enemy. In practice, none of these mechanisms work well. Terrible AI, an angle of the camera very close, and other inconsistencies annoying stealth route to feel unsafe and unsatisfactory.

These questions, and the reliability and the system covers a range of bugs and imbalances makes shooting weapons feel just as awkward. It is easy to appreciate Alpha Protocol for its high ambitions, it's just not much fun to play.

The game begins with a bang - or more precisely, a terrible explosion. Given a model of contemporary political climate in the early scenes, to describe the collision missile with a commercial airliner. Soon the game will meet the main character Michael Thorton, who is introduced in a top-secret government agency of the United States called Alpha Protocol. His first assignment: to travel to Saudi Arabia and to investigate the terrorist group responsible for the attack. Of course, nothing is ever as it seems, and the first task of Mike ends as it began - with the very purpose of the missile exploded. So Globe-hopping journey through Russia, Italy and Taiwan as it follows Mike sifts through the information it gathers and controls the necessary result. The story sounds more or less the period of 24, although in this case, you decide how to proceed towards the last hour.

Alpha Protocol greatest asset is the work of large complex at the origin of the plot progression. Conversations with other characters bring with them a wide selection dialog. Most of them boil down to one of three positions: aggressive, professional or suave. Different people react to you differently depending on the approach they value most. A sweet, other agent can take advantage of your good-natured flirting, for example, while an outspoken Russian Vixen can not be so enamored. These signs can be neutral to you, or they can take a taste (or dislike) for you. If the person is the dealer - who is your guide to mission - you can receive a bonus perk, as a boost to your level of endurance. In other cases, a faction allied to fight alongside you in battle or to give access to weapons that you would not know otherwise.

Unfortunately, the narrative overthrown by his own ambitions. What with all the complicated intrigues, the game is not much heart, which in turn makes it difficult to feel invested in its development of the plot connection. At some point, you can get an in-game e-mail from a female character who refers to the sexual tension, you have apparently changed, but history shows that sufficient tension, just e-mail as a complete surprise. You can even get the possibility of some sexual banter at the end of the game, but because the story is not based on these questions, these scenes seem forced and mechanical. By the time you reach the last mission, you have the impression that developer Obsidian Entertainment had no idea how to finish the story.

As history, character development offers a good range of options to allow you to advance as you like. You decide what skills to focus on what weapons to take into battle, and gadgets to equip it. You choose a specialization to Mike before, which is equivalent to choose a class or profession in any other RPG. This discipline will then determine the depth of your skill trees, ranging from pistols and machine guns for stealth and endurance. As you might expect, every time you level up, you can then use the points in these different disciplines, making the actions more effective and associated unlocks new abilities. For example, upgrading your tree up gun scanning capability space, which adds a critical KO for each shot, improving the skill tree in martial arts fury adds that improves your hand to hand performance. Changes armor and weapon, and a healthy variety of weapons, ammunition, and gadgets that allow further customization.

The flexibility that results is incredibly impressive.

Unfortunately, the basic mechanics of the game to avoid a lot of options to get the justice they deserve. It 'clear now, when you move Alpha Protocol that something is wrong. Mike you control a third person perspective, but often the camera is zoomed in very close to him, which is an obstacle to taking in your surroundings, next to the ski or surf. If you fold down the camera retreats a bit 'and have a better picture, but as Crouching scuttles when Mike is ridiculously embarrassing. As the game progresses you will find the camera can cause a slight headache anyway. For some unknown reason, going down a ladder or jumping off the ledge (in action context, never free to check one) lead to a dip in the camera at the top and stay there, which is unnecessary and confusing.

At other times, you can pop up from behind cover to take a hit, only to have the switch inoperable camera position or even get your body get in your way. These gaffes seem strange, considering most games developers seem to have worked with these fundamental obstacles years. You get used to them, but these problems make the simple act of moving from one place to ease.