Not Casual

“You know, I must really like you, because I don’t like horses and I hate guns!”

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The name’s Thorton, Alex Thorton. Really? Are you sure it’s not Bond, Bauer or Bourne, or maybe even Templar? Nope, Thorton it is. Okay then, I guess you’d know best. Not really much of a spy’s name is it. Hey. are you an agent for a clandestine multi-national organisation that’s more secret than the CIA?! No, I thought not so just pipe down junior.

So, strange spy names aside, is Alpha Protocol (AP) a Casino Royale or a Quantum of Solace?

Experience

AP starts off in the traditional RPG format of allowing you to choose the way you want to play, be it stealth, pure action, technical skill-based or a mixture of three. I chose the action focused mode as this seemed the more direct way of playing.

The first thing that is apparent when starting up the game is that developer Obsidian have certainly learned a lot from BioWare with their stint on Knights of Republic 2. However, this is no Mass Effect 2 or even Dragon Age: Origins as it’s a bit ugly. The graphics look very much like an original Xbox game with a that is palette is washed-out and uninteresting.

Once you get past the rather blocky graphics though there is a gem of a game to be found. The dialogue system in use in AP is kind of like a cut-down but expedited system than what is used in BioWare’s big games, and relies on taking various stances by use of the four coloured buttons on the Xbox 360 controller. With X set to smarm/charm/suave and A earnest. The Y and B buttons giving your character further choices, but to be honest since I try to always play the good guy in these games then I don’t see past X and A. From what I’ve played so far most of the interactions you have with the various NPCs don’t seem to require much beyond these two stances to get things moving.

The combat takes place in third person and again it’s nowhere near as immersive as Mass Effect 2, but you can use headshots and silent takedowns to up your XP which gives you access to additional skills to level up. There’s also bags of loot (money etc) to be picked up that you can spend in the black-market Store for access to new weapons, armour, gadgets and upgrades. You can also purchase new ammo, but to be honest I’ve always just picked up fresh ammunition from fallen foes within missions.

The sound design is sufficient to convey what is happening onscreen, but some of the musical choices in the score become a bit annoying and don’t really add to the mood.

The story itself is very much reminiscent of the movies and books it’s doing service to, with plenty of twists, double-crosses and femme fatales to interact with. Sadly there’s not Pussy Galore to trade quips with and take for a literal roll in the hay. I’m about thirty percent through the game and it’s by no means perfect, as I’m currently stuck on a boss who can inexplicably tear through your gunfire to stab you in the gut repeatedly. I imagine I’ll just have to push through this section to get back to the good stuff, as I know that the majority of this game is a lot of fun.

Verdict

As I mentioned above, the boss section I’m stuck at the moment resulted in this game almost becoming a complete “baby-puncher.” However, once I’m past this section I have every faith that my perseverance will be rewarded with a great set of missions to be played. That being said, I won this game in a competition, and however much I love the RPG genre and the freshness of the setting being in the spy-world I cannot put this down as a buy. With such great RPG games like Fallout 3, Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins in the market for a fraction of the cost of this game it has to be a rent.

Tags: action, obsidian, rpg, spy, third-person

Categories: Xbox

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