Alpha protocol is a nice game in which the rpg component has an important part: your decisions can really affect the endings (something every recent rpg promises but seldom does). The story too is very interesting. The action part and the AI are not the best part of the game but since I was not searching for a pure action game it didn't bore me. Concluding Alpha Protocol is a nice rpg and a not-so-nice action game.

"Alpha Protocol" is a "special ops" stealth RPG with many different ways of character development, meaningful choices, and an interesting story. It may have had the potential for a classic, but sadly was released a bit too early; it certainly could have used more polishing. Movement and especially combat feel clunky and imprecise (at least for me, I was playing with mouse and keyboard). The graphics are not quite up to the standards of a 2010 release, but are still decent enough. Also, the balancing of the different skills is off. In general, the "action" part of the game seems a bit underdeveloped, whereas the role-playing part, and especially the dialogue, is done very well. Dialogue allows you to choose different "stances" when approaching NPCs, and the NPCs will react differently to each stance - this gives the game good replay value, as you can develop and roleplay your character in very different ways.

I think the game was underrated for a long time, because people kept comparing it unfavorably with "Deus Ex", and it doesn't reach the brilliance of that masterpiece. However, the disappointment of not getting a worthy spiritual successor to Deus Ex may have blurred players' appreciation of the fun, enjoyment, and solid RPG experience that Alpha Protocol can indeed provide. A marred gem is still a gem.

This is one of those game which could have been great, but due to a lack of polishing, ended up being only good. It contain a good and immersive story line, in which you feel like your choices really matters, yet story elements seems like they are just thrown at you, with little to no context. The gameplay makes it an good stealth game for patient players, without penalizing those with more violent desire, yet it suffer from bugs and oversights - like mandatory fights - which can make it annoying when going for either approach.

Alpha Protocol also have an interesting way about conversation, in which you will need to decide in real time what you will say next, though the one word description of your reply often fail at letting you know what you will say precisely.

Overall, it is to recommend mainly to stealth addicted player who would be able to overlook the few flaws to enjoy the thrills of a black ops spy adventure.

I don't know why this game has such a bad reputation. I played it recently and believe me when i'm telling you it is money well spent. Alpha Protocol is an Action/RPG set in modern day times. If you like spying stories like Mission Impossible this is the game for you. The story is incredibly well made and it is well written.

RPG elements resemble those of Mass Effect with the possibility to purchase new weapons, adds mods on it. Player also gains experience during mission and obtains ability points to invest in the protagonist abilities. You style of dealing with situations/people in-game also grants to you some perks that may give to you bonus or malus on the protagonist abilities.

Tha game has an high replay value and the story has mutiple endings which are influenced by your decisions during the entire game. The only minor thing that prevented the game from obtaining 5 stars for me are the glitchy shooting mechanics. Nothing serious of course. So that's it, if you like Mass Effect you will love for sure Alpha Protocol. Definitly worth it for the price.

P.S. Applying the patch provided by Gamersgate makes this game DRM free. This game works absolutely fine on Windows 7 64 bits (my operative system)

Hey all first time I review a game (:

My first hand experience with this game was amazing, all the ways you could go and how you wanted to react. The only thing I didn't like so much was that you didn't have time to think so much when you was in the middle of a convosation.

The graphics was really good that I must give it. Gameplay is around the same as most FPS games, it has just got a twist of RPG in it like Mass Effect.

It could be one of the best games ever. Unfortunately, it is 'only' good. Lacks of visuals and a little bit 'wooden' gameplay hurt while playing. But on the other hand it has one of the best stories in the action-games ever and really unpredictable consequences of your choices during the game. In fact, story can be always different. When I finished the game I figured out, that many people have seen totally different endings than mine. This is a real power of this game. You never know which choice will influence the rest of the plot. To sum up:

+:

Story

Choices!

Replayability

Atmosphere

Lot of different sceneries.

-:

Graphics

Animations!

Stealth

Some bugs

To me is 7/10. If not played Deus Ex:HR you can add 1-1,5 point.

This game got battered by the gaming press because they expected it to be the next Deus Ex, and they expected brilliance from Obsidian. Well, it would be false to claim that AP is a stroke of genius but it's still a good game to play. Give it a little time to get used to the controls, allow yourself to be immersed in the story, and you'll find that in spite of its flaws you'll want to play it to the end. Four stars!

I was surprised by this one after reading the various gaming sites reviews. They all pointed to a mediocre game. What I found was anything but. Great gameplay, excellent story. Someone made a spy rpg that actually makes you feel like a spy.

This game is basically MI the game. It goes threw the movies, semi serious stealth game, then an explosion riddled boom fest, then one bad villain in an otherwise unforgetable game. I would overall rank it a 3, the ending was crap, the last stage was fun, and it was hilariously stupid to run around garroting everyone in plain sight with shadow operative. Pistol was the best weapon you could get, the boss fights were pretty stupid, and only one or two scenes really stick to mind.

Forgetabble, but somewhat enjoyable. The puzzles were poorly ported, trying to use the mouse in one hand and the wasd keys to try and line up something that was jittery as HELL was annoying as crap.

Alpha Protocol is a unique game, both in its premise as an espionage RPG and for it's massive reactivity to your decisions. It is somewhat short, but this is because it is intended to be replayed multiple times so you can see different stories and events play out, all hinging on the decisions you make and the order you make them. It is marred by some bugs and shooting that may frustrate those who are used to more polished shooting games, but overall it is worth a purchase and a few playthroughs.

I had been reluctant to play this game for a long while due to some harsh reviews from mainstream game medias. If you look past the so so shooter mechanics this game is actually a pretty decent RPG. The story will drag you in, the choices you have to make are meaningful...

A little downside to the game in my opinion would be the so so voice overs, but it isn't anything that really makes the game bad.

I suggest giving this game a try and taking time to read other players reviews!

Alpha Protocol with extra polish and work by Obsidian would have become a all time RPG classic. But there are several major flaws with the game, and even worse many of the issues with the game are not easily repeatable on different machines for trouble fixing.

What Alpha Protocol does right is a solid third person action RPG with emphasis on stealth. You can run and gun at no penalty, but the game is set up to encourage the player to play slowly and conservatively. The plot after some introduction missions eventually takes place over three different locals. And the events that take place in each location influence other missions for a strong sense of accomplishment and progression.

In my own playing, I experienced many bugs or design flaws. The mini games engineered for consoles are incredibly hard to operate using PC controls. Occasionally shooting felt imprecise even with expert level skill in that type of gun. There are clipping issues and the occasional control hiccup. And worst yet, on my system, I often received a crippling system lock up. I've only seen a very users mention this issue, and there is no known fix.

If Obsidian hadn't abandoned the game before release and instead devoted effort into fixing the game we would have a classic. As it is, if you buy it for three dollars or less and can deal with the game's flaws you're in for a treat.

Alpha Protocol is a secret agent action adventure with character development elements, leaning on titles such as Deus Ex, Hitman and Splinter Cell, and got quite a beating from journalists and mainstream gamers alike.

Well, granted, the character animations are poorly done, but the level interiors look pretty. And, yes, gameplay feels buggy at times. Also, the skills are improperly balanced - be sure to improve your pistol skills early enough, if you don't want the boss fights to be an annoying chore (alas, a design error repeated in Deus Ex - Human Revolution). And even though it is possible to make a purely stealthy and tech-savvy character, specialising too much is not advisable, as you still have to make sure that you can actually win some unavoidable firefights.

Now, all this doesn't sound too well, right? This game has never been properly "deburred", so to say. It suffered from overambition and poor management. So, is Alpha Protocol still worth playing?

Given that this game has long arrived in the bargain bin: Absolutely! For they did something right in this game, for which it's worth tolerating the flaws. One of the major aspects of Alpha Protocol's gameplay is that of cause and effect. You will be able to make decisions that have consequences that can truely be felt. This is influenced by choices you make in dialogues and during missions.

After an introductory set of missions, ending in Saudi Arabia, there are three strains of missions in Rome, Moscow and Tapei respectively. In which order you pay a visit to those locations is up to you, and this makes another nice aspect of Alpha Protocol's gameplay quite effective: that of investigation. At times, information gathered at one location will be put to use at another location. Mission objectives can change or dialogue options can appear that wouldn't do so if you played the three mission strains in another order. The information gathered throughout the missions is neatly organised into dossiers on organisations and individuals. It is advisable to go through that info every now and then, especially when you're about to talk to someone important. And there is no augmentation that tells you what to say like in Deus Ex - Human Revolution... It's your call. You'll have to decide, according to the information you have on a person, how to approach him or her. There's even romance options! But hey, what would a spy game be without romance?

This was an unexpected surprise. Played this after playing Mass Effect 2 and the similar gameplay action RPG style really came off good for Alpha Protocol.

I'm not usually a stealth guy so being able to power through when I failed sneaking was a welcome change from other unforgiving stealth games.

Voice dialogue was sort of hit or miss with the characters, especially the main character, but the overall story was very, very good, very modern and poses all of the conspiracy ideas surrounding big government and the corporate giants of the world.

I really enjoyed this game so I was quite surprised to find out how underrated by critics it is. Games that force you to make choices that impact the outcome of the game are no longer unique - AP is one of them and does a good job of it. But what is unique about AP is that you have limited time to make your responses. You need to make up your mind quickly and sometimes go with your gut feel, which is reflects real life where you have to make choices with limited time and information. The storyline is very tight and believable and moves the game along at a fast and enjoyable pace. Overall, a very welcome change to the medieval/fantasy dominated RPG genre.

A worthwhile action RPG, with genuine effort put into going your own way through the story. I didn't find the writing compelling, but because it's fairly unique in the way it allows the storyline to be affected by so many of your actions, and also in how it awards perks based on your individual playstyle, I do think it merits a look.

There are problems - the writing and the world is a bit lacking in atmosphere - too cut and dried - and it can be notoriously buggy in places (although it's better than it was). It also doesn't play well with keyboard and mouse initially - you'll need to consult online about editing the ini file until it behaves satisfactorily. But nonetheless, it is worth a look, and I will go back and play it again at some point, just to see how things play out.

If I had one word of warning, don't go online to try to find out the best way to play this game. go in blind, and play it the way you feel like - it will be much more rewarding.

Quite simply a fun game. I bought this thinking it would be playable for an hour or two, but actually played it for a day solid. Not terribly complex, the only difficult element was the conversations you have with assorted characters in the game. You get very little time to determine what attitude you take, and this can impact upon the entire future of your character. You can be slick and smooth with the ladies and be tough and mach with nthe bad guys, or vice versa depending on your take on life. There are many mini-games throughout the story, ranging from hacking computers, picking locks and the like. The storyline is fun but each mission area is quite limited and it soesn't take long to work your way through the area in question. These slight issues aside, I enjoyed the gamplay, the gunplay was a blast and the hand to hand conbat made me feel like James Bond, or Stevn Seagal in his earlier movies. All up, a good romp. I might go and play it again right now. It's a lot of fun and isn't that what gaming is all about?

Alpha Protocol is far from flawless, but none of the ambitious FPS/RPG hybrids truly are. You will have to put up with unbalanced skill sets and less-than-stellar minigames, but the things AP gets right make the reward worthwhile: a dense story with memorable characters that react to your decisions the way you've always hoped an RPG would, begging for multiple playthroughs. Gamepad recommended.

Solid RPG-style spy game - for those that like to play the sniper, saboteur, and and general 1-source nuisance. Good storyline and definitive choices supply enough intrigue to re-play the game just for alternate paths. The character adapts well for different play styles in most places, but there are some confrontations where specific skills can make it exceedingly easy or ridiculously hard. -1 star for game length, but well worth the money.

This game might be broken. This game has an awful shooting mechanic. This game is kind of ugly in places. But you know what, this game is damn fun. The way the story plays out is the way you want it to in a cohesive rpg. The choices you make really matter and there is just something pushing you to see what happens next. This is a great game tha you wouldn't be mad you bought.

This is definitely a fairly decent RPG, while not the next GOTY it is well worth up to $15 for the story alone. The one major bad thing about this game that keeps it from greatness would have to be its combat that is mediocre at best.

Alpha Protocol feels a bit like a missed opportunity, this could have been great like the Bioware games of old, but odd gun-play and game-play mechanics like stealth make it just good. The conversation system is definitely the highlight of this game, and the branching story telling makes multiple play-through's interesting.

Alpha Protocol is an fps rpg about a secret agent named mike thornton. Its a multipath game and there are different ways to level your character. I personally liked the game, it has great visuals, the story is interesting and as a stealth gamer i got to handle the levels my way thanks to the different character leveling options. This game does lose one point because no exaggeration, its really too short and designed for re playability.

Definatly worth purchasing!

the game elegantly mixes stealth and ranged combat, without putting clunky and awkward cuts between the two. Almost every mission has a way of being stealthy, a way of being brutal, and a mix of the two if you prefer.

A few bugs, such a slightly annoying thrid person camera twitch, but nothing game breaking or serious.

Like I said, well worth the price tag, buy it!

Alpha Protocol is an oddity. It's a game not to be played for gun play or engaging stealth (because frankly both lean on tolerable) but, rather, the engaging story and dynamic story paths. It does have a strangely addicting quality about it to those who allow themselves to get sucked in.

Alpha protocol is a thoroughly enjoyable game... but only if you're looking for a satisfying RPG with an interesting story and characters. The strength in this game isn't really the gameplay, but instead the dialogue, plot and characters. Aiming guns is unfortunately very much character skill-based, not player skill based. This means that if you don't put enough points into a gun skill, your aim will be awful no matter how good your own skill with a mouse is. Once a few levels are gained and points invested into guns though, the combat becomes much smoother and comfortable even.

The game is, personally, more fun played as a stealthy character with tech skills... hacking, etc. In many regards it can be played like a Splinter Cell game from this perspective. The game has good replay value since you can replay it in many different ways... both from the gameplay elements (different combat skills, stealth, tech skills, melee, etc) or from the personality and dialogue choices you make for your character. Events unfold in very different ways depending on your choices and is well worth at least an additional playthrough.

If players can overcome the somewhat clunky gameplay mechanics of this game, I think they'll be quite pleasantly surprised at what an enjoyable story experience this game can be. However, if you're looking for a great third person shooter type game, you should probably steer clear.

The game is straightforward, and somewhat linear in design. You play as Mike Thorton, and are essentially a super spy. The game melds both RPG and shooter together quite well, and plays very similarly to Mass Effect, if you're familiar with it. There are skill trees, and as one progresses through a certain tree Mike gains new abilities both passive and active.

During dialogue you have the option to pick one of 3 (sometimes 4) responses, usually based around casual, professional, curious, and aggressive to convey your feelings to various NPCs. NPCs move very life-like, but unfortunately their facial expressions do not convey much emotion at all. The story itself is a bit convoluted, and takes some time for it to entirely make sense. I personally felt lost for the first half of the game, and a lot of the "quests" I completed seemed completely unrelated to the main story, all though there really is no free-roam or optional quests.

If you're looking for a sort of "James Bond" RPG that plays like Mass Effect, definitely get Alpha Protocol, but be warned, the shooting aspect isn't it's strong point.

This is a beautiful game that can easily get by with just graphics and replay ability but the controls suck if keyboard bound .My only advise about this game is if you buy it for windows ( PC ) you should use it with an xbox 360 controller by going to the in game menu . But First your going to need either a usb for the controller to port it to the computer and/or a receiver .

Alpha Protocol is and Action/RPG that really should have received more praise than it did at release. The gameplay is a combination of over-the-shoulder shooter, mini-games such as hacking and lock-picking, and varying dialogue paths. While the option exists for some stealth play, this is not the game's strong point and mostly consists of an invisibility mode combined with some environmental awareness, e.g. avoiding guards and areas of bright light.

The real strength of the game, though, is the development of the story and characters that you meet. A modern spy setting is a refreshing change from fantasy staples involving elves and overbearing evil forces, although it will feel quite familiar to anyone familiar with the Jason Bourne or Jack Bauer characters. Your main character has various paths open to him throughout the game, and many of the moments of choice feel much more significant than in games such as Mass Effect or Dragon Age that receive more willing praise from gamers.

A single play through will most likely take an average of about 25-30 hours depending on the a player's natural pace but, due to the branching storylines, a second replay is almost mandatory to experience the full value of the storytelling. Great value in my opinion.

This game presents itself as an hybrid between an fps and an rpg, much its most notorious siblings Fallout and Deus Ex. The main character is recruit of an obscure spying agency, who is soon sent in various mission around the globe.

The best quality of this games is the level of character interaction: during your missions, you'll meet quite a widw array of people, each with his own personality, his quirks, his nececcities and, of course, his personal agenda. You will have to choose wether to befriend of antagonize (or just terminate) them, influencing the story and the ending.

Another good point the extreme variety of ways to approach a mission; you can just barge in and start shooting, infiltrate stealthly, or try to talk your way thorugh. Your approach will determine the development of the character's skill, by unlocking a number of "perks" which will improve the character's performance.

Unfortunately, the fps component of the game is sadly lacking; only four main types of weapons are available, in addition to some grenades and miscellaneous tools. The AI of the enemies is underdeveloped: they tend to stay in one place shooting randomly, or try rushing you, meeting certain death. Even the bosses, tough more demanding than the usual cannon fodder, tend to repeat the same action over and over, making them killable in acouple of minutes.

In the end, Alpha Protocol provides some 20 hours of fun, expecially for those who like the genre, but it simply doesn't have the means to stand on par with more challenging and accurate games.

Alpha Protocol is a decent RPG, but a poor action game and third person shooter. From the beginning, the game makes an effort to immerse the player in the lore of the setting: larger-than-life espionage drama.

The characters are quirky, interesting, and surprising, but the lack of personal interactivity makes them come off as somewhat artificial. The excellent dialogue, voice acting, and character designs solidify an engaging, James Bond-esque tone.

The other reviews cover the flaws in combat: poor AI, terrible weapon progression, awkwardly imposed limitations on accuracy.

Although the story progresses naturally at first, the inclusion of so many completely different locales - while refreshing - leaves each setting empty and shallow. You get no sense that you are "in" Moscow, Rome, or any other location. Transition environments between missions would have greatly improved immersion. Instead, it feels as though the developers were overambitious and went for breadth over depth of setting.

Alpha Protocol is a game to buy if you are looking for a more unique setting and engaging atmosphere. However, the promising setting is underdeveloped, the combat is mediocre, and the player often feels detached from the game world.

Addictive is the best way to classify the game. Some people complained about the abillity to save only in checkpoints, but I think that actually makes the game better, as it does not allow you to manipulate the plot and your reactions as other RPGs.

The dialog engine is amazing: you have to react fast, as if you were really there, instead of reading all the options and taking your time to think about it.

The game is also very realistic in a sense that it doesn't allow you to carry an entire arsenal to the field: you have to carefully choose the weapons and gadgets you're taking with you.

Together with the plot, these caracteristics keep you in the game, and not in a distanced view, as it happens to other RPGs.

Amazing game! I trully wish them to make a sequal!

Really a great game. Lack of freedom optional. Save game system just exciting. Wonderful design. Great graphic. You can shoot with a gun, or a rifle. And can operate in stealth mode. You can run and walk. Did I mention that you can choose between a gun and a rifle? Buy it.

Alpha Protocol is billed as an espionage themed RPG, but it feels a lot more like a twitch based shooter than an RPG. It's heavily focussed on combat and fast paced decision making. There's a (very short) timer involved with nearly every in-game interaction, including dialogue options and, for me, this was a game killer.

I had hoped for a slower paced, stealth based system but it's just not really an option for this game. The hacking mini-game was obivously designed with console controllers in mind and, on PC, is far too difficult. The game further illustrates its console-centric design focus with very small explorable areas that offer little in the way of interaction other than combat. Bodies of enemies disappear quickly after being dispatched which ruins the sense of immersion.

Perhaps the worst console-centric feature of the game is the use of checkpoints for saves. It means you can expect a lot of pointless repetition rather than enjoyable gameplay.

The budget for this game was large, so it's rather disappointing to end up with such a mediocre game when all is said and done.

Alpha Protocol obviously had a massive budget for art assets. Graphics, voice overs, sound and story are all extremely impressive.

The best part about Alpha Protocol is the story and the ability to role play. On a high level the story isn't particularly innovative: corporations and politicians are corrupt, go fight them. However in the course of the game the story is highly detailed and interactive. There are many ways things may play out and always several paths to take. Depending on how you act and talk, other people react differently towards you. In the end you can make an enemy or an ally out of almost everybody. This makes the game interesting and additional playthroughs stay interesting.

Gameplay is fun, too. Different weapons offer enough variety in gameplay-style. Minigames are challenging and you don't get spammed with them to the point where you start to resent them, like many other games do. All in all it feels very polished, except for melee which becomes a bit annoying at higher levels.

There's one big point of criticism though: the savegame system. The 1980s called and want their checkpoint-system back. Seriously, they opted for an easy-to-implement system and still screwed it up. Loading games in missions creates a variety of bugs (broken scripts, vanishing enemies/items). My advice is, always quit to the menu before loading a game. This fixes at least the broken-script bugs.

The conversation system is a bit frustrating in the beginning since you don't really know what your character is actually going to say juding from the choices you're given. You quickly get used to it and after some time the fluent conversations are actually quite nice.

At first I wanted to complain about the horrid savegame system and its bugs. How it ruined immersion and so on. However after 3 consecutive playthroughs I have to admit Alpha Protocol well deserves 5 stars. I don't think there was any other game I replayed so often. Any potential points of criticism are swept away by the variety of play-styles and depth of the story.

If I've understood correctly the initial version of Alpha Protocol had many bugs and glitches. I played the patched version and didn't come across any serious bugs. The only time I had some problem was in the first levels, when Thorton suddenly got stuck inside a wall and I had to load an earlier checkpoint. But that was it. Otherwise the game worked just fine.

I enjoyed AP more than I should have. The gameplay was mediocre, AI wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, stealth abilities made the game almost too easy, there could have been more RPG elements and yet... I enjoyed the game very much.

This is why: AP had nailed it with the characters. They were believable, well voice acted and reacted realistically to what you did or said to them. The plot wasn't a masterpiece but won't pale when compared to Clancy or Ludlum. In other words AP is basic spy thriller. But it works for it's advantage because you don't get to play them very often.

Anyway, the best part was the innovative dialogue system where you have limited time to decide not what you say, but the way you say it. Yes, it's not something completely new (similar things have been seen i.e. in Fahrenheit and Memento Mori), but AP does it very well. This could be it. Others should embrace the AP's "attitude wheel" and combine it with Mass Effect's dialogue wheel. How? I don't know. Somehow. So that it works. It would add to the immersion and interaction with the game.

To but it shortly, AP is an action/rpg spy thriller hybrid with decent plot, bunch of well written characters, very good and intuitive dialogue system and - unfortunately - mediocre gameplay. And yes, the graphichs aren't state of the art, too, but so what? In my opinion AP is worth the penny and because it has a lot of different endings it has replayability too. It's unfortunate that SEGA said no to the sequel, but gaming world is a world where sales is all that matters. No need to think otherwise.

4/5

Whilst Alpha Protocol showed a lot of promise as a concept, it ultimately falls flat on its face. An obvious and almost guaranteed flaw in Alpha Protocol, as with all games from Obsidian, are the bugs and technical issues. I was unable to install the game to start with, and then unable to save games due to an error in how the game saved data in My Documents.

Fast forward to actual gameplay, and it does not get much better. To start off the visuals are very bland. It isn't a gamekiller, but I had expected a more engaging visual style, if not Unreal Engine 10 level of graphics. The story itself is horribly transparent, and as a big fan of storydriven cRPGs, I was let down immensely. From an RPG perspective the one bright spot is how you can customize your character in great detal, even though many of these changes have minimal effect on the gameplay. And whilst I wont go into heavy detail, I just want to add how utterly horrible the AI is. Bad, as in gamekilling bad.

Overall, Alpha Protocol seems like a good idea that had too many chefs in the kitchen. Whoever was the Executive Producer on this didn't do his job very well, much to my disappointment.

Alpha Protocol had the potential for greatness, and sometimes you see a glimpse of that, but in the end, this game is a mediocre experience at best.

I finished this game last christmas vacation. Great game and it has multiple endings so I had to play it again to see other endings. This game got a lot of replay value. I highly recommend it. Graphics is good, sound is good, game play is good, what else can I ask for, I gave it 5 out of 5 rating.

Fantastic game! Such a shame the general public didn't really get it and there won't be another one, I've been absolutely hooked. Some great innovations, I hope that Obsidian keeps some of them for future games.

Flawed gem would be the best way to describe this game. The conversation system employed in this game has no peers, except for the Mass Effect games. The story, while ultimately rushed, is quite refreshing in its realism. But the sloppy shooting hurts the overall experience. If a game is going to include a lot of cover based shooting, the shooting needs to work or be clear why its not working. And the glaring technical bugs make an otherwise 5/5 game a 4/5 game.

Somewhere during the development process, the developers decided (or were told to) cater to everyone. And I do mean everyone. If you are a hardcore RPG player that thrives on making hard choices, you are covered. AP has them in spades. Want action? Here you go. The ability to execute someone midway through a conversation? No problem. A shooter mechanic with a cover system? Step right up son. How about some wacky anime / JRPG villains? Oh yes sire. I’m surprised Mario didn’t show up halfway through a gunfight.

It’s not that all these elements cannot come together well, but if even one of them isn’t done right, it just mars the entire experience. At its heart, AP is very much a typical Obsidian RPG. And this is where the good new begins. It does have a decent story, in many ways it’s speaks to what is happening in the world around us today. Big corporations in bed with demagogues, political assassinations, religious extremism and all that good stuff. Its well written, and presented well. The subject matter is actually quite serious which is why the wacky bosses that show up seem so jarring. Missions in the game are divided into sub-missions that the player has the freedom to approach in any order providing a certain degree of freedom.

The characters you come across during your globetrotting adventures are well voiced and believable (except for the crazy over the top JRPG ones). The conversations are not your typical “choose a line from the three presented”. No, the player just chooses a stance and the conversation plays out accordingly. You will have to be quick too, the game will only allow a few seconds for you to choose. This brings a refreshing sense of urgency to what is admittedly a dated mechanic. I would go far enough to say this might actually be the standard for all RPGs from now on. NPCs have fully fleshed out personalities (albeit stereotypical ones) and long memories. What you say and more importantly, how you say it matters. A seemingly innocent attempt at humor can have serious repercussions. Said repercussions range from not getting precious stat bonuses during missions to completely cutting off certain quest lines and even turning foes into allies and vice versa. Its moments like those that had me hooked to the game. This is certainly not the kind of title for people that do not like long lines of dialogue. On the other hand, if you enjoy engaging NPC’s in banter, you will love the well written script and excellent voice-overs. Thorton’s quick witted comebacks are definitely one of the highlights.

As fiddly as combat is, the skill system does make it more tolerable. At higher levels some of them end up making a mockery of most battles. For instance, unlocking “Shadow operative” in the stealth line makes you invisible for a certain amount of time. So you can go crazy while performing instant kill moves for 10 seconds. In broad daylight. With bad guys in full view of each other. There really is no sense of balance to the skill tree at all, but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t fun. The same battle scenario that left me frustrated during early levels had me feeling like a bad ass once I had some experience points under my belt .The exception is boss battles. In these cases, melee is almost out of the question unless Thorton has a lot of points invested in it (and even then its a challenge). Experience is awarded for the number of objectives accomplished rather than how many bodies you left in your wake. How you accomplish them is up to you. Stealth is certainly one way to go. Setting traps to get the drop on your enemies is another one. And yes, taking the front door with all guns blazing is also an option.

The “floaty” feel of combat is a hard pill for PC vets to swallow but it does get better as the game goes along. As for AI, there isn’t any. You can take out targets silently within two feet of each other without fear of blowing your cover. And there isn’t any need to hide any bodies because they conveniently disappear after a few seconds. In fact, in some cases, enemies will actually walk over the corpses of their buddies without care as long as they didn’t actually "see" the attack that killed them.

There is an impressive arsenal at Thorton’s disposal and missions will allow you to get cash that can be used to buy better gear and upgrades from the black market. How you treat people will also decide what prices you pay. Carrying capacity is limited, so it pays to specialize in certain kinds of equipment to make the most of what you have. The black market can also be used to purchase additional intelligence for upcoming missions. These can make some missions relatively easier (by providing security loopholes) or provide extra objectives etc.

There will be plenty of opportunities to gather intel / additional ammo by unlocking doors or hacking into computers in a mission. As is becoming the norm now, these trigger mini games that the player must beat to be successful. Thi

I enjoyed the story of Alpha Protocol more than the actual gameplay. Having the ability to 'choose your own path' with dialogue options is something that many try to implement but never do it as my justice as this has. But because the actual mechanics of shooting, sneaking, and navigating the environments are so generic it has become more of a cult hit rather than a AAA title.

I recommend Alpha Protocol to anyone who enjoys a great story and loves to have an impact on the work through your dialogue. But I would not recommend this to someone looking for an action game.

I thouroughly enjoyed Alpha Protocol, and feel that it was generally reviewed very unfairly.

I thought the story and characters were excellent and I really enjoyed playing through the game several times in different ways.

In terms of bugs I didnt encounter any at all, except for the occasional UT3 engie texture popup bug, but this was minimal.

The game is similar to Mass Effect 2 with its dialogue and stuff, but I think it falls just a little short. It is a good game by itself, but if I had to compare it to Mass Effect 2, it is just a step behind. The gameplay is a little clunky, but overall still an entertaining game to play.

Very good game. Graphics are not the best, the camera is hard to use, some ''minigames'' are difficult because you have to use the mouse and the ai is not the best but the gameplay is awesome. There's so many choices to choose from so many ways to complete missions or interact with NPCs. I haven't had so much fun with a spy/shooter game in a while. There's some very good ideas but some of them could have used a little more thinking. Gadgets are fun to use, weapons feel different and are highly modifiable and missions feels different and are fun, which is the point you would be looking for. If you're into spy games, a few bugs dont scare you and you're not a graphics maniac then this game is for you.

This game is ambitious, clever, very interesting. Of course, it is more an action shooter than a true role-playing game. But the genre has it charms and Alpha Protocol tries bravely to renew the genre. The modern world settings are quite convincing, yet a little bit saturated with clichés (after a while, you are allowed to get bored of arab terrorists and russian mafias). Graphical effects are correct. The arsenal is convincing. However, curiously enough, there are no real-life weapons but only fantasy gun brands. Give me my kalachnikov back! A decent game.

When I first heard of Alpha Protocol, I was interested. When the game finally came out I purchased it and gave it a whirl.

The writing and dialogue is very good most definitely a cut above most of the games that come out, however the story itself feels very...generic to me. You will be required to make choices and how you play actually does affect the dialogue along with the order you take the missions.

The game mechanics usually come together very well, although I noticed an unusual increase in sensitivity with my mouse while in aiming mode or the hacking minigame. There is also a lack of character customization, as if it was tacked on as there is a total of four hairstyles, about 10 different facial hair selections, 5 skin tones, 5 eye colors, about 8 different choices for eyewear, and about 10 different head covers to choose from.

The AI while I was being stealthy seemed to be brain dead at times, but in combat it was interesting to notice that the different enemy factions act differently in combat; some try to rush you and engage in melee combat while others attempt to flank you. The different enemy factions also have different strengths and weaknesses which may require you to switch up your tactics.

Most of the equipment is really nothing new with an assortment of fairly similar assault rifles, pistols, shotguns, and SMGs. The body armor runs along two different paths depending on whether you want to be more stealthy or protected.

Now, for the downsides. Several times while playing I got stuck on game in the environment for several seconds at a time, luckily most of the time I wasn't discovered while stuck in this completely vulnerable situation. Also I noticed that if dying and choosing to Load Last Checkpoint, especially in a boss fight, would cause numerous bugs; I reccomend always choosing the Load Checkpoint and selecting the previous last save that way.

This brings me to my biggest problem of all: the lack of at demand saving. Your only method of saving your progress is by checkpoints.

Overall, the game seems to require some more polish, but I managed to get hooked and am on my 3rd playthrough.

This game is a Shooter/RPG Hybrid with modern setting, and you play as an Agent to accomplish missions.

Story is generic for modern or spy themed dramas, games or movies(such as 007, 24 Bourne series, Deus Ex and so on), but branches(story paths) and "Cause and Effects" for your actions are uncountably lot, which you'll have to play through several times to uncover everything Alpha Protocol offers.

Choice of approaches, Character builds, The "Cause and Effect" explained above, those all are done very well, feeling like it's more of "ROLE PLAING GAME"(which RPG really stands for) than Shooter/RPG hybrids recently released(taking Borderlands for example ; BL was too much Hack & Slash and the "Role-Play" element were nearly nonexistent. you simply gain level, gears and skill but that's all RPG stuffs you find).

most of True "RPG"s had deep conversations and dialogs, and AP does have one.

Though dialogs are timed and you have to make a decision, as not everyone accepts waiting minutes for a simple response in real life conversations.

Also, words are the easiest way to make friends or foe, certain dialog options will make NPCs like/hate you and those reputations will impact the game story if their interests(both like and hate) to you grow large.

Speaking of Character build, you can go for Stealthy Agent, Run-And-Gun Soldier or Engineer fully utilizing Gadgets and stuffs, of course you can mix them by picking skills you like(3 of 9 skills can be Specialized later, unlocks 11th-15th levels for them and those are very powerful).

As for Stealth part, enemy AI is close to Metal Gear series instead of NOLF series(NOLF 2 had the best Stealth AI I know of), comes with simple Visibility, Audibility and Alertness.

Which means enemy AI isn't that smart in Alpha Protocol.

But hey, do you REALLY think that having random bad guys(NOT Main Antagonists like Doctor No in 007 or Simons in Deus Ex) with 180+ IQ make Spy movies(such as 007 or Austin Powers) winnable?

"Artificial Stupidity" for stealth game is important, so you shouldn't complain about them unless you can MAKE one that's as intellect as Darwin or Einstein and see if you(and players) can still "outwit" them.

Combat is a typical Third Person shooting. enemy AI used in battle is sometimes irratiating with their pathing and decisions(why bother trying to run and melee if they had shotguns or SMGs and are not still in melee range?).

Certain combination of Abilities(unlocked by raising skills) would make most battles cakewalk, and I even defeated the last boss within a minute that way.

Graphic isn't the latest, felt me like 2006-2008 ones but they're acceptable.

Sounds aren't too great either, but Voice-overs for main characters are done nicely.

And bugs that people complain... I heard my friend got his save data broken and had to re-activate the serial, but I haven't gotten such fatal troubles for me.

Instead, I got several "Checkpoints making doors get me stuck, forcing me to reload that checkpoint" problem.

I'd call it 90/100 score if I consider AP an RPG. no more than 30/100 if people calls it a Shooter. and roughly 60-75/100 for Stealth games.

This game is a PICK if you LOVE RPGs and you know that your certain actions would change the world(and you like them to find out), a PASS if you're too newbie/casual/weak-minded to deal with such heavy RPG elements.

The game is essentially a Hitman meets Mass Effect 2 – a RPG with great story and heavy action elements. While there are some annoying bugs, there is nothing game breaking. XP 64 users should note that they may have issues with the Unilock DRM (I have to reactivate the game before every session to start it up). While I'm not a fan of spy fiction I liked the plot of Alpha Protocol. The story is non-linear, presented in fun way, with enough twists and turns to keep the player interested, its main weakness being its short length.

Character development is limited to selection of a class and later on specialisation with mostly combat related skills, but the RPG side of the game shines when it comes choices. Most of the main quests can be resolved in more than one way, each with its consequences. Throughout the game Thorton meets up with rich menagerie of characters to talk up, work with or send to the afterlife. Since most of the NPCs are associated with an organisation, your relations with the characters will affect your involvement with the given faction and their play in the grand scheme of things. Conversations are handled with a radial menu where you chose the general stance of you character. Conversation options timeout, which leads to some very fun verbal duels.

The game is mission based where you get remote support from your “handler”. Occasionally friendly NPCs may intervene (shoot up some enemies), but mostly Thorton is on his own. The handler will give you regular advice on the mission and a passive bonus to your skills (depending on your relations). The levels themselves can be finished either using stealth/knockdown or just barging through Quake-style. Throughout the level there are various safes, computers etc. that Thorton can lockpick/hack to get money, dossier info on NPCs and gear. The said lockpicing/hacking is done with a mini-game. Saves are checkpoint-based and, although there are enough checkpoints around, may lead to annoyance. Between missions Thorton can hang out in his regional safehouse where he can buy gear or intel or send and receive emails.

While Alpha Protocol will not cause a revolution in the RPG genre, it still is a great action RPG. I personally enjoyed the game very much and believe others will do too.

The game easily makes a 4/5 for me, I have yet to encounter a single bug, I'm running the game on ''medium'' with a decent computer and it runs flawlessly.

I love the story so far in the game, I'm something like halfway through it, I just rerolled from a smgs/assault rifle kill everything character to a sneak and talk my way out of stuff guy.

The combat is smooth and plays very differently depending on how you chose to approach things, to me it seems that combat is basically the combat from the Hitman(love the games) games with rpg elements and skills.

But I guess I might be a hopeless Obsidian fanboy since I have loved all of their games and the press/general ''gamers'' don't seem to:p