Alpha Protocol

Alpha Protocol has been a long time coming and this summer we will hopefully get to enjoy the fruits of Obsidian Entertainment's labour. The basic premise has been intriguing enough to keep my interest up during the extended time the game has had in development. Instead of setting their action RPG in a fantasy world or in some kind of space setting, Obsidian opted for the international world of contemporary espionage.

Think of it as a Mass Effect of sorts, but Commander Shepard has been replaced with Michael Thorton, an agent who has been left out to dry by his superiors, and responds by using the "alpha protocol" and going rogue in order to clear his name and take out the bad guys. Choices and alliances, consequences and colourful characters (a bit like what you would expect from a James Bond film). But if Bioware opted to minimise the RPG elements in their latest offering, Obsidian has packed this baby full of abilities, stats and gear for us to play with.

Michael Thorton himself has taken inspiration from what Obsidian refers to as three JB's - James Bond, Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer. There is no fourth one, according to Obsidian, sorry Jack Black, although ït would have been interesting to throw a bit of Brütal Legend in the mix for good measure. He needs to find new allies in a world where he is pretty left to take of himself.

Speaking to associate producer Matthew Hickman at the recent Game Developer's Conference I was told that the decision to delay the game last fall was purely based on business. The game was pretty much finished, but Sega opted out of releasing it during the busy fall release schedule in favour of a much less congested slot in June. It could prove a prudent decision as it allowed Obsidian Entertainment lots of extra time for polish, something that many would say their previous releases lacked at launch.

When I saw the game back at E3 last summer I must admit I was somewhat underwhelmed. The graphics were mediocre, the major character revealed seemed a bit flat, and the setting (a train yard) felt tired and unimaginative. I went from being fairly high on my list of most anticipated titles, to being a game I had little faith would deliver something memorable.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw at Game Developer's Conference. The user interface looker slicker, the graphics somewhat improved (although Alpha Protocol could not be considered a looker by any means), and more importantly I got to see elements of the story that had me intrigued.

The game has been decided to have "multiple middles" as opposed to the norm in which role-playing games have multiple endings. This applies to both story, dialogue and combat. The story telling device that Chris Avellone and his team has come up with is rather brilliant. In between missions you will see flash forwards with Michael Thorton as he is being questioned about his motives for a mission you will soon play. This device allows the player to choose his motives and actions in order to handle the situation he has gotten into in the future any way he wants. Eventually the game will be played out in real time, as opposed to the flash backs you play for the majority of Alpha Protocol. A very fresh approach, that truly lays bare the results of the choices you are about to make in a way that makes sense.

We also got to witness to variation of a scene that takes place in Rome some ways into the game. Michael meets up with a woman called Madison, and in one variation of the scene they end up making love, while Michael gets hit over the head as soon as he arrives in the other one. These were the most extreme results you could get in that one scene, but you will be able to shape relationships and see many different outcomes if you choose to play the game several times.

Alpha Protocol has made a comeback on my list of my most anticipated games just a few months prior to its release. I have every faith that Obsidian will deliver a worthwhile story, and it will be up me and you to shape Michael Thorton into a larger than life man of international mystery. Or perhaps just a plain old bastard. At any rate, Alpha Protocol brings something new to the RPG genre, and for that Obsidian deserve all credit.