Alpha Protocol Preview from Gaming Union

Gaming Union gives us their take (archive link) on Obsidian’s Alpha Protocol after seeing the spy-themed RPG firsthand on the show floor of GamesCom.

Alpha Protocol GamesCom 2009 Preview

Tue, Aug 25th, 2009, 12:00am EDT by Darryl Kaye (@DarrylGU)

One of the most highly anticipated role-playing games coming out this fall is Alpha Protocol, a game from the creative minds behind Neverwinter Nights 2, and Knights of the Old Republic 2. During this year’s GamesCom, Gaming Union were given the chance to check out the latest build of Alpha Protocol on the Xbox 360.

Instead of being true to the stereotypical perception of the genre, Alpha Protocol is a third-person action stealth game, with huge role-playing elements. Players will take control of Michael Thornton who is being hunted by the United States government. Therefore, he uses the Alpha Protocol to go undercover and try to find out who is behind the conspiracy surrounding him.

Set around 4 locations — Saudi Arabia, Rome, Taipai and Moscow — Michael will take part in an epic adventure. He will start off all his missions from a safe house in any of the aforementioned places, but before he does, it’s possible to access many of the game’s core functions. Michael’s physical appearance can be changed to a certain degree, but the core facial features must remain. It’s also possible to buy and sell a multitude of weapons, modifications and armour. There are four key types of weapon, but the modifications help to significantly increase the possibilities. Purchasing intel is also possible, which will help with upcoming missions. Each piece of intel is graded on how reliable the source is, something which can change depending on a player’s actions throughout the game.

How people wish to proceed through the game is entirely up to them. They can be nice to all the people they speak to, or they can execute them. There is of course, the middle-ground, which involves roughing them up a bit first, but it adds an extra element to the story. After ever encounter, a screen appears which reveals the consequences of the decisions made. Obviously if everyone is executed, it’s not overly easy to make new acquaintances, but this doesn’t mean that game can’t be completed – more that it has to be done in a different way.

There are of course lots of different classes to play as and in the demonstration the Tech Class was shown. Being this class allows for the electronic side of the game to be much easier: security cameras can be avoided completely, and there are other perks revolving around hacking-based mini games. Armour can also be used to enhance these abilities and it was nice to see one of the more unorthodox classes in action.

In terms of the gameplay, obviously it entirely depends on how the player wishes to go through the story. Being stealthy will offer certain rewards, but it’s also possible to go completely gung ho if that’s what the player desires; in some instances there is no choice about the matter though. The gameplay looks pretty decent, although because it’s a role-playing game the controls probably aren’t the tightest. Abilities have been added to try and level the playing field though, which is a nice touch.

With a nice range of combat and Dynamic Dialogue System (DDS) missions, Alpha Protocol looks like it will have a nice blend to keep things fresh. According to the representative, the game will take around 30 hours to complete, which is a nice return on investment. The game is currently scheduled for release on the 6th of October, 2009 in North America and the 9th of October, 2009 in Europe on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.