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- Alpha Protocol
Alpha Protocol Preview: Spy (Role-Playing) Game
- June 24, 2009 14:10 PM PST
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Mass Effect meets James Bond.
Western-developed RPGs are really coming into their own during this console generation. The role-playing history of gaming has largely been dominated by the likes of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, but with the advent of the PS3 and Xbox 360, games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Elder Scrolls, and Fallout have made their presence felt, with games like Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age primed to continue the trend. The genre might be approaching the point of oversaturation, but when you see where Obsidian and Sega are coming from with Alpha Protocol, you'll understand this agent's unique mission.
Almost every RPG of note has set itself in one of a handful of trite settings, be it olden-times fantasy-land, sleek and sterile futurescape, or a decrepit and dilapidated dystopia. Alpha Protocol earns major points from the get-go with its setting--a modern-day world packed to the brim with espionage and intruige. Like any RPG worth its salt, you can customize Alpha Protocol out the yinh-yang, making the character's looks and his weapons your own.
We got hands-on with a mission in which the hero, Michael Thorton, infiltrated an enemy compound. Branching dialogue at the beginning of the mission determined whether a sexy Russian spy would be aiding or assaulting you during the quest. While there was plenty of stat-based shenanigans going on in the background (like tweaking weapon levels and keeping track of inventory), Alpha Protocol smartly covers the entire thing with a real-time-feeling shooter scheme similar to Mass Effect 2.
If the story can keep up its level of Bourne-esque smart action over the 20+ hour quest, Alpha Protocol could be a keeper. We'll try our best to keep this spy game on our radar.
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