Video Game Review: Alpha Protocol
Video Game Review: Alpha Protocol (2008)
Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Developer: Sega
Official Website
Plot: You play secret agent Mike Thorton, a new recruit by the super-secret government agency Alpha Protocol. Some terrorists have blown up a plane filled with civilians over the middle east, and it’s up to you to figure out who and why.
Along the way you have to make decisions that determine loyalties and ultimately affect the outcome (and difficulty) of the game. These decisions play a larger role than in most games of this genre, so that was certainly refreshing, but I digress. While in the middle east, things go south and you uncover some super-secret information – that the terrorist acts are being orchestrated by a corporation called Halbech, which may or may not have a mole within your organization.
Now you’ve gone rogue, and by your decisions alone you have to forge alliances (or make enemies) with groups to solve the mystery of who’s behind these terrorist acts – and stop them once and for all.
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Alpha Protocol follows a pretty standard spy plot (bad guys are trying to do bad things, you try to stop them, someone in your organization is working for them, you have to go rogue to save the day, etc) this game was actually a lot of fun to play – despite poor reviews.
Sure the graphics aren’t the sharpest and the controls are a little lose at times (and textures pop in and out all the time. Oh my god, the texture popping). The game has you behind the wheel (in a manner of speaking) of a spy in training. As you level up, your skills get better and suddenly you find yourself being a bad ass by the end of the game. Or, if you pumped everything into your spy stats, you find yourself being an invisible ghost.
Sadly, that doesn’t help you during boss battles.
So why review a 3 year old game that many reviewers gave poor reviews to? Because 1) I just beat it, and 2) it was on sale on gamefly for like $12 over the holidays – which is why I got it.
If you like the Mass Effect type play model of RPG, then this game is worth checking out. Just be aware of the numerous graphical glitches you’ll probably encounter, and you’ll have fun blasting your way through what a James Bond video game should be like.
