There’s a new preview of Alpha Protocol over at Allegedly Speaking, though long-time followers of the game will find that it really doesn’t cover any new ground. It’s still a good refresher, though, while we patiently wait for the espionage RPG’s impending release:

The more traditional RPG elements reside in Alpha Protocol’s leveling and dialogue systems, where the player is given a healthy amount of options to customize his character as he sees fit. There are ten different skill sets that can be leveled up using (Advancement Points). Obviously the more points a player drops into any one of these skill sets, the more proficient they will become and the more abilities they will unlock. Taking a page from the MMO genre, Obsidian included a cool-down timer on skills used, something that should add a touch more strategy to the game. One does not want to find himself pinned down by multiple enemies while his slow-motion target, multi kill skill is on cool-down. That’s not the actual name of course, but it is in the game.

You should recognize the (DSS) or Dialogue Stance System, as it looks like a pretty standard western RPG’s dialogue system for the most part. As far as I can tell it looks to be your basic, binary choice, dialogue tree. You start a conversation with an NPC, come to a multiple choice question of how you would like to proceed, and that choice along with others affect how you are perceived through the rest of the game. Obsidian has thrown in a few new features that will hopefully keep me interested in whatever (random NPC) is babbling about. The dialogue system will work in real-time, giving the player a limited amount of time to choose his next words at crucial moments. In addition, the player will also be able to choose a (stance) before entering into a conversation. If (aggressive) is chosen, the conversation will be directed down a more (threat of physical violence) path, and so on.

Here’s the full preview:

Alpha Protocol Preview

Sunday, May 23, 2010 – Written by Nathan-Schmidt

Are you a fan of Bond, Bourne, Bauer, or even that quirky TV show airing on USA called Burn Notice (such a great show)? Have you grown tired of Snake, Fischer, and whoever the lead protagonist was in those Syphon Filter games? Well Obsidian Entertainment, the creative mind behind both Knights of the Old Republic II and Neverwinter Nights 2, is prepared to deliver the fix for that gadget toting, womanizing, martini drinking, terrorist stomping, world war 3 preventing monkey on your back with Alpha Protocol.

Alpha Protocol is slated as a third-person, action rpg, and is powered by the Unreal Engine 3. The player will take control of rookie CIA field agent Michael Thorton. After an operation goes south for young Mr. Thorton, he is cut off from all his resources and betrayed by his superiors. In an attempt to uncover the truth behind the conspiracy and clear his name, Michael is forced to enact the “Alpha Protocol”. From what I gather the AP is basically a deep cover license to go anywhere, do anything, and kill anyone.

Not the most original sounding story to be sure, but seeing as how I was a fan of the story behind KOTOR II, I trust Obsidian to throw in enough twists and turns to differentiate the experience from all the other espionage/save the world games out there.

Alpha Protocol looks like an action game first and foremost. Players will have the use of many different firearms, spy gadgets, and even a Kempo based combat system (aka block, block, punch) to help them navigate through the game.

The more traditional RPG elements reside in Alpha Protocol’s leveling and dialogue systems, where the player is given a healthy amount of options to customize his character as he sees fit. There are ten different skill sets that can be leveled up using “Advancement Points”. Obviously the more points a player drops into any one of these skill sets, the more proficient they will become and the more abilities they will unlock. Taking a page from the MMO genre, Obsidian included a cool-down timer on skills used, something that should add a touch more strategy to the game. One does not want to find himself pinned down by multiple enemies while his slow-motion target, multi kill skill is on cool-down. That’s not the actual name of course, but it is in the game.

You should recognize the “DSS” or Dialogue Stance System, as it looks like a pretty standard western RPG’s dialogue system for the most part. As far as I can tell it looks to be your basic, binary choice, dialogue tree. You start a conversation with an NPC, come to a multiple choice question of how you would like to proceed, and that choice along with others affect how you are perceived through the rest of the game. Obsidian has thrown in a few new features that will hopefully keep me interested in whatever “random NPC” is babbling about. The dialogue system will work in real-time, giving the player a limited amount of time to choose his next words at crucial moments. In addition, the player will also be able to choose a “stance” before entering into a conversation. If “aggressive” is chosen, the conversation will be directed down a more “threat of physical violence” path, and so on.

Any good spy never stays in one place for too long, so plan on doing a little traveling in Alpha Protocol. The player will be utilizing “safe houses” throughout the world to decompress after missions. In these “safe houses” the player will have access to all his resources, clothes, weapons, telephone contacts, etc. This will also be the place to purchase/trade-in weapons, gadgets, ammo, and skill up Agent Thorton. The locales visited are pretty standard for the “spy biz”. Rome, Moscow, Taipei, and Saudi Arabia are all on the list.

Character customization is a very basic: facial hair, scars, and skin color are all options that can be tweaked but that’s about it.

Alpha Protocol will be dropping on the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC on June 1st. Look for our review around that time and prepare to get your “Bond” on. Ugh, I can’t believe I just wrote that, I’m so cheesy sometimes it hurts.

Minimum System Requirements (PC)

# Supported OS: Microsoft Windows XP® or Windows Vista®
# Processor: 2.4+ GHZ Intel® or 2.0+ GHZ AMDTM
# Memory: 1 GB RAM (Windows XP®,) 2 GB RAM (Windows Vista®)
# Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce 6 series (6800GT or better,) ATITM 1300XT series or greater (X1550, X1600 Pro and HD2400 are below minimum system requirements)
# Hard Drive: At least 12 GB of free space
# Sound Card: DirectX® 9.0c compatible sound card and drivers
# DirectX®: 9.0c

Rating: 7.0/10 (3 votes cast)