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This is one of those times I wish I had time to play a game in a vacuum before reading anyone else’s reaction to it or complaints about it. You read about all of the game’s high points and flaws, and go into it with a predetermined mindset about what to expect. But that’s often a bad thing, because it almost forces you to adopt those other reviewer’s viewpoints, because they are the only viewpoints you have until you play it for yourself.

I’ll admit, I’ve been looking forward to Alpha Protocol by Obsidian Entertainment for a year or two. Like most people who were looking forward to it, I was disheartened and worried when it was delayed for so long. I had the game pre-ordered on Steam for almost 9 months–the longest pre-order I’ve ever been engaged in, thanks to the game not releasing last year as planned.

Well, it’s out now, and for all the negative press surrounding it I, for one, am enjoying the hell out of it. Sure, it’s a highly nuanced experience. Sure, you have to come into it with some understanding of what to expect from an Obsidian release–somewhat buggy, perhaps unfinished in some respects, but made with a passion for the IP that Black Isle and Obsidian in turn have been so well-known for. But when you see it for what it is, you can enjoy it for what it is–and the enjoyable parts sure are enjoyable.

I didn’t go into it expecting a Mass Effect clone, as some have reported–I simply didn’t see the correlation based on all of the information surrounding the game. What it does share with Mass Effect is its third-person shooting elements–which I am fine with, seeing as Mass Effect has arguably some of the best third-person shooting elements of any RPG.

The best way I can describe the game in terms of what it’s like or what it can be compared to, is an interesting combination of all of Obsidian’s previous titles (KOTOR 2, Neverwinter Nights 2, etc) set in a modern day spy setting with some elements of Mass Effect mixed in to make its mechanics work.

But now, to the meat of the game. The fun is in the nuance of the experience–the characters you interact with, and especially the way in which you interact with them, along with the tools you’re using and the environments and situations the game puts you in, all combine to really make the experience feel like a spy thriller. Each character has a distinct and often believable personality which the game forces to the forefront by rewarding you for your perceptiveness when choosing a certain type of response during a conversation. Certain characters prefer to be spoken to professionally, while others will appreciate the occasional joke or sly remark. Cater to their preferences, and they will start to like you. The fact that you have a limited time to choose a stance when responding in a conversation keeps the conversations flowing and makes for some believable conversations and interrogations, unlike most RPGs in which there are often long pauses while the player decides their response.

As with any of Obsidian’s RPGs, you will start off with frustratingly-weak skills and equipment–able to complete the beginning missions, but without a few initial levels under your belt you skill timers don’t last long and take a long time to recharge, your weapons are inaccurate, and your equipment is severely lacking. After you complete a few missions on Saudi Arabia, however, you will quickly find that leveling up your skills and upgrading your weapons makes a huge difference–you become tougher, harder to detect, with more accurate and higher-powered weapons, cooler gadgets, and slicker moves.

While many of the missions feel similar in execution (make your way toward the objectives in turn, bypassing security and finding any available goodies along the way, either without being spotted, or with killing everyone), the nuance of your character’s abilities and limitations gives each encounter a distinct feeling. Your handler varies, the settings and missions vary, and you will need to use different skills, armor, weapons, and modifications for different circumstances. You are usually focusing on something different each time, and there are almost always several ways to get to an objective.

Also much like Obsidian’s previous titles, once you get wrapped up in the story you become very interested in the character interactions and dialog, and while the writing might not be quite up to Bioware standards, it is still leaps and bounds better and more intelligent than the majority of game stories out there.

A comparison I haven’t seen made much which I find myself coming to quite often, is that it feels like a complete rewrite of the Splinter Cell formula in RPG style. The stealth doesnot work as well in Alpha Protocol, and the AI often feels dumber than in any Splinter Cell game, but the game elements are there, and they work as well as they need to so that you can focus on the better-executed elements of the game–the story, the characters, the gathering and utilizing of intelligence, the espionage-based character progression.

One of my largest complaints about this game is its save system–in most or all of their other titles, and in most in-depth RPGs such as this in general, you can save anywhere, anytime, as long as you are not in combat. This has been a part of Bioware and Obsidian’s PC-based RPGs for a very long time, and it seems like a necessity. I often find myself spending five or ten minutes after each mission expending the cash I earned and fitting myself for my next mission, then remembering that when I save my game, it will only save to the checkpoint when I entered the safehouse. If I load that game, everything I did between that checkpoint and when I saved is gone. In an RPG where you spend so much time in preparation and skill-allocation and related activities, that’s very unfortunate and really detracts from the experience.

Where the game puts you when you reload during a mission is often very frustrating–in one of the first missions, for example, I kept zip-lining down and getting my legs caught on camera, setting off an alarm that gave away my presence in the area. I wanted to try and do the mission silently, so I would reload every time, and would put me back to the beginning of the mission, always standing up dumbly directly in front of an enemy, who would immediately start shooting at me and would set off an alarm if I didn’t kill him right away. If this is the checkpoint location, why would they put an enemy standing right in front of it? Or, if they really want the enemy there, why wouldn’t they start you off crouched behind the cover you’re standing right next to? (I have a feeling it has to do with the game technology–in all Bioware and Obsidian games I can remember, no matter what you’re doing when you save, when you load again you always start in a default standing posture with any companions in their default formation around you.)

The graphics are also a bit lacking by today’s standards–however, to be fair, if this game’s perspective was that of an isometric overhead view like many RPGs, it would look excellent. The reason it looks bad is that you are always right there next to Thorton and next to the objects and textures around you, meaning it’s hard to miss when something doesn’t look right. The game has been in development for a long time as well, meaning its technology is likely not as advanced as titles that began development more recently. I believe it’s the best looking Obsidian game to date, however, and for an RPG of its kind, I would say it’s probably only rivaled by the likes of Mass Effect. I would compare it graphically to many aspects of Dragon Age, actually.

The sound is good–not of the highest quality, but not noticeably lacking either. The music is also good, and fits perfectly within the setting of the game. I find no issues with the sound itself.

I can’t speak much to the balance yet, I feel I need more playtime to truly get a feel for that. From what I have read, however, the skills are not very balanced, and building up the right ones can make the game feel very easy. My advice, would be to not make extensive use of those skills to keep up the fun of the experience, until such time as they re-balance things, if of course they do.

Overall, I can conclude that it’s the game I’m currently spending the most time in–more than TF2, more than Bad Company 2, more than any other recent obsessions of mine. That’s something I have truly come to rely on from any Obsidian release, and in that respect Alpha Protocol does not disappoint. If you can get past the negative press, I really recommend you try it for yourself!

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Major online distributor Steam has moved their release date for Alpha Protocol from this month out to March of 2010.

This doesn’t necessarily mean the delay is inevitable, or accurate in any sense of the word, but it does mean that the publisher does not plan on releasing the game on Steam this month.

While this is sad news for those eagerly awaiting the release (like us), we are also grateful that the publisher is not forcing Obsidian to release an unfinished game, as seems to be a growing trend these days with games that take longer than expected.

We’re still hoping for official word from Sega and/or Obsidian to confirm or deny the delay. Look for more news as it is made available.