The reviews keep coming in for Obsidian’s espionage RPG and it continues to be a highly mixed bag, with opinions ranging from “great” to “terrible”. GamePro 3.5/5.
The system works well enough, but to really appreciate its far-reaching goals you’d need to play through the game multiple times. I only completed the campaign once, but I did cheat time a bit to experiment with the mechanic. In one instance, I spared the life of a dual-pistol packing psycho who came at me like a freight train; turns out she was the bodyguard of a very powerful ally who eventually helped me because I didn’t whack his hench-woman. When I tried a second time, I let my itchy trigger finger do the talking, and the baddy’s boss, needless to say, chose not to befriend me. While these outcomes were decided by gunfire, I experienced a similar two-sided encounter when I used my words rather than my bullets. My cocky response to a Gatling gun-toting mercenary quickly escalated to a bullet-whizzing boss battle; played a second time with a more silver-tongued response, I gained a friend rather than a metal slug in the brain pan.
While I dug this aspect, it also yielded my most significant frustration; the majority of people will only play through the game once, so the developers may have put all their resources into an admirable, but somewhat misguided goal. But the real kicker is that those resources could have been applied to Alpha Protocol’s other areas that desperately needed additional attention. The game’s more action-y moments are riddled with bugs and flaws that don’t ruin the experience, but certainly pull you from it. The cover system is clunky, often leaving you unprotected or trying to hide behind something that’s not recognized as a cover spot; A.I. behaviors range from dumb-as-dirt to spot-on — oh, and sometimes they float in the air, too; jarring loads halt the action; items clip through each other often; and Thorton’s walking-crouch animation makes him look more like a wounded animal than a highly-trained licensed killer.
Just Push Start 2.5/5.
Another complaint that I have for Alpha Protocol is the mediocre battle system. It is obvious that the battle system of Alpha Protocol is heavily influenced by Mass Effect. Shooting enemies in Alpha Protocol can be a pain in the ass because when a player shoots, there are times that the shot doesn’t hit enemies for some reason. There is a skill that can stop time and allow the player’s pistol to shoot twice while aiming it at an enemy’s weakest point, which is the head. Since this is an RPG, players can’t use the same pistol from the very beginning. A player must keep on upgrading their weapons if they want to be powerful enough during a firefight. Unfortunately, this means that players will end up spending precious experience points to upgrade a weapon, only to find it inadequate in the next mission.
NowGamer gives the Xbox 360 version an 8.1/10 and the PS3 version an 8.3/10:
Such complex and consequential factors are what make Alpha Protocol a hugely progressive and interesting RPG. And though it sacrifices some genre staples, such as open-world exploration, in the pursuit of its new approach to role-playing, those sacrifices are outweighed by the gains. A very different, innovative RPG, Alpha Protocol is essential gaming for anyone willing to put their pre-conceptions aside and have fun with a new type of RPG on its own terms.
GameInformer.com 6.5/10.
The wedge between the player and the events makes it impossible to care about the generic (shady defense contractor out for profit) plot, and the gameplay does nothing to salvage your interest. Whether you choose to be a stealthy spy or a guns-blazing soldier, the mechanics are archaic and unaccommodating. You can’t vault over cover, you can’t block melee strikes (bad guys can, though!), and the enemy AI makes the dumbest James Bond minions look like rocket scientists. The bosses, on the other hand, are on the opposite end of the chump spectrum. Don’t misunderstand me they aren’t smart. They’re aggravating and poorly designed. One left me speechless, since I couldn’t think of profanity foul enough to express my frustration. Throw in a lot of loading (sometimes mid-firefight), pervasive texture-popping, and a preponderance of dumb minigames, and you have a lack of polish that puts a nearly impenetrable wall up in front of your enjoyment.
RPGamer 4/5.
The game infuses a movie-like atmosphere into an RPG perfectly. Alpha Protocol has a safe house in each area Thorton visits. Between missions, he can check his e-mail for leads and information on the area, talk to his handler, purchase weaponry or more information through his computer, and select which mission to tackle first. Initially, the missions are all related to gathering more intel through activities such as hunting down well-defended sources, meeting a stranger in public and trying to pry intel from him through conversation civil or otherwise, or sneaking into another intelligence agency’s base in the area and downloading their files or bugging their systems. Depending on how the missions go and how effectively Thorton obtains information, new missions open up allowing him to follow leads, gain more intel, kill off enemies, or assist knowledgeable friends. A sequence of missions in an area, called an operation, ends with a final assault, a boss fight, and a conclusion to that location’s problem that’s influenced by the decisions Thorton made.
G4TV 2/5.
All of this customization would be fine if the action were up to par. But the mechanics of shooting from cover, stealth take-downs and close-quarter combat feel uneven and undercooked. Sometimes the Gears of War-style cover system works. Other times Thorton clumsily fumbles into waist-high barriers, taking assault rifle fire in the face while you struggle to make him crouch. Plus, the stealth action — always a difficult tactic to pull off — never feels very good. More often than not, guards will round a corner and spot you before you get a chance to put them in a headlock. And the camera and action is far too sluggish and unresponsive to support a proper CQC system.
Official Xbox360 Magazine 7/10.
Alpha Protocol is a game with such potential that the negatives stand out a mile. If you play it, you’ll probably have your own list of reasons why it both charmed and frustrated you. Beneath the generic spy story, the often great dialogue between the warm characters will make you care about the reputation points your conversations earn you.
The Examiner doesn’t hand out a score:
Alpha Protocol does take a couple hours to hit its stride, but once the player learns to get creative with their earned skills and gadgets, it become easy to master the later missions, regardless of what city is chosen last. Obsidian has delivered a title with relatively deep character-building without the time commitment of a traditional RPG. The fast-paced action scenes makes Alpha Protocol all the more inviting to replay after the credits roll the first time around. Moreover, the majority of the achievements are story-related and it can take as little as 3 or 4 playthoughs to discover all the outcomes. While it is not exactly “Metal Gear with experience points,” it does bring some very intriguing and compelling storytelling devices to the table – something that this reviewer is convinced will see again in a Tom Clancy-esque universe years from now. If Obsidian is not interested in a follow up, perhaps a company like Ubisoft might be.
And GameTrailers gives it a 6.4/10 in their video review.
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