Alpha Protocol

Alpha Protocol is one of those games that has had us ruminating over its potential ever since it was announced back in 2007. The espionage-themed RPG is the first current-gen title developed by Obsidian, a studio of RPG-veterans who have worked on Fallout and the Baldur's Gate series, and this alone was enough to pique our interest.

However, in its earlier preview builds Alpha Protocol seemed to be lacking somewhat in imagination. The Bourne/Bond/Bauer espionage setting looked bland, and when we first saw the game running last year, its realtime action-RPG combat was clunky at best. But this year's showing has brought a new and vastly improved demo, which gave us a more convincing demonstration of how Alpha Protocol is going to hold its own against this generation's RPG benchmarks, Fallout 3 and Mass Effect.

The first thing Obsidian showed-off was Alpha Protocol's structure. In an interesting shift to JRPG traditions the game operates on a hub system, represented by rogue agent Michael Thornton's network of underground bases. Here you can dress Thornton up in disguises, send emails to various NPCs, buy/sell equipment, and select missions. They’re basically the sort of pad any aspiring super-spy would dream about, looking like a cross between Q's laboratory and something out of MTV Cribs.

We saw Thornton engage in two very different missions during the demo. The first was an all out attack on a Russian weapons cartel, which has been smuggling arms at a train depot. But before going in guns blazing, Thornton had the opportunity to recruit a masochistic female mercenary called Sie to help provide supporting fire. Here we got to see Alpha Protocol's dialogue system in action.

Research back at the base indicated that Sie admired aggressive and authoritative behaviour, so as Thornton you have to select the right dialogue options to get the kinky lass on your side. Conversations in Alpha Protocol are against a ticking timer, forcing you to select the correct broad emotional response quickly, and giving NPC interaction a much more cinematic flow than other RPGs - a bit like how Mass Effect’s dialogue system was originally pitched.

After an entertaining interchange between Thornton and Sie - Alpha Protocol's script is written by the same chap behind classic PC RPG Planescape Torment – the super spy proceeded to take out an onslaught of tracksuit-wearing Russian gangsters. While the game's experience point system lets you purchase upgrades and new moves, combat in Alpha Protocol is skill-based, so you have to make use of Gear of War-style cover and a steady-aim if you want to survive.

But when it comes to the experience system Alpha Protocol pretty much follows the template set by Knights Of The Old Republic and Mass Effect (not surprising given that Obsidian worked on the second iteration of KOTOR). It’s a skill-based economy, where exp turns into points, and these can be spent in various skills, each one containing a number of special moves. During the demo we saw Thorton's Fury ability upgraded, which allowed him to slow down time and engage in some Bourne-style karate-kicking close combat.

Interestingly there are some missions that are entirely dialogue driven and offer no combat whatsoever. In the one we saw Thornton had to interrogate an old Russian mobster to get info on the weapon smuggling cartel. Obsidian ran through the mission twice demonstrating the different outcomes depending on what conversational tactics you employ, such as sweet talking your way to the intel, or smashing the poor fella's head onto the bar until he speaks.

Alpha Protocol's recent showing has seen our expectations for the game take a sharp rise.