SEGA: Alpha Protocol at Gamescom

Alpha Protocol, a self-proclaimed “Espionage RPG”, is a third-person action adventure game similar to Mass Effect. The game was demoed for us at Gamescom, so we were able to get a good impression of what the game promises to deliver.

The story is quite epic, and there are so many story arcs and branches that it wouldn’t be possible for me to describe it even if I wanted to. Basically, the main character is a CIA agent Michael Thorton, and he uses all of his CIA training and connections to complete missions and get further through the story. The movement and combat is all third person, and the player can use ranged weaponry, or melee stealth tactics.

The player takes part in missions as they progress through the story, and in these missions there are a large number of outcomes. The player has the choice to accept or decline proposals from potential allies, as well as the choice to kill just about anyone they want. None of these choies lead to aparticluarly “bad” ending; it’s just a matter of deciding for yourself what kind of role you want your character to play.

The player also enters interactive cutscenes, much like the ones seen in Mass Effect, where there is a selection of responses which can be triggered whenever the player wishes. The choice made, as well as the time chosen to execute the command both have an influence on the reactions of the AI characters. Also, based on the player’s choices and actions, the plot will unfold differently, leading to hundreds of different story possibilities.

In Alpha Protocol there is a character customization system as seen in the image below. It doesn’t seem to have any other function than just to give the player some feeling of freedom in terms of their character’s appearance, however, as we did not encounter any mission where changing the charactrer’s appearance was crucial for avoiding detection or posing as a different person (as one might expect to see in an “espionage rpg”).

There is also a very extensive point and advancement system in the game, as well as many other customization systems and achievments the player can obtain throughout the story. All of these systems and options are pretty overwhelming and, I personally couldn’t be bothered to figure any of them out.

I must say though, I’m quite disappointed in the game; it doesn’t really appear to bring anything new to the gaming world as many of its interesting features have already been seen in Mass Effect, and other areas just seem unpolished. For people who enjoy deep storylines and interactive cutscenes, Alpha Protocol will most likely be right up your alley. If I want an interactive cutscene though, I’d personally pass on this game and wait for Heavy Rain instead.

Alpha Protocol is set for release on October 27, 2009.