Great Video Games

The year is 2009. Hundreds of innocent passengers and crew are killed after a commercial airliner is shot down over Eastern Europe. The culprit? A high-tech U.S. defense missile which had somehow fallen into the wrong hands. As government agent Michael Thorton, you have been chosen to find those responsible and bring them to justice. Become the spy of your choosing in a modern-day conspiracy plot. As you progress, decide how to develop abilities such as devastating physical combat moves, customization of your weaponry, and the use of ingenious gadgets and traps. Stay vigilant though – the cast of Alpha Protocol will react intelligently to your every move, resulting in the most exciting and unpredictable role-playing experience ever created.

User Reviews about Alpha Protocol

I am really confused as to why there are so many bad reviews for this game. It is fun, funny, and has good role playing. Most games with a choice system boil down to save the orphanage or burn the orphanage to the ground with the obvious repercussions. Alpha protocol has different options that result in a verity of outcomes. If it helps your understanding my two favorite games are Mass Effect and knights of the old Republic and I thought Alpha protocol was just as fun. Well worth the money. -- Amazing

As a qualifier my favorite games are FO3, GTA and RDR. For the record, I had looked forward to this game since 3rd quarter of '09 (9 mos. prior to its release). Coming off Fallout 3 I was eager for an ARPG, and was dismayed by the Sega-driven delay until June (Sega=skeptical in general). Terrible reviews in early Summer drove me to Red Dead R. (awesome, BTW) in June. 3 weeks ago though, I picked up AP for a discounted price. Let me say I had tempered expectations based on everything you've read, but couldn't stay away.

The bottom line is Alpha Protocol definitely exceed my expectations. I've played through 2 times, both w/ dramatically varying results based on my choices (both in dialogue and Action Point distributions based on weapon choice). The Stealth route and friend-acquisition approach 1st, and jack-ass shotgun wielding maniac the 2nd. AP managed to allow both strategies to play through with little frustrations (I was expecting glitches/freezing, AI BS (shooting/seeing you through walls/cover, impossible boss scenarios, etc.). Encountered none of that which I've read about other reviews.

Positives: Cover-system is very work-able, Story (both game play-throughs) was engrossing, music/score/SFX excellent, pistol and shotgun satisfying to shoot, length and difficulty of game right in line. NPC in game dialogue enjoyable and engaging.

Negatives: Character customization minimal. Levels are not sandbox at all (very linear, granted, how the game is designed it works fine). Dialogue system is like Heavy Rain with a short time given for responses, and sometimes the question you're given isn't revealed until the NPC's last sentence, giving you almost no time to select from a 1 word response that could be the opposite of your intended one (mildly irritating). As for the weapon/armor customization, I'm neutral. The choices are numerous but mostly its robbing Peter to pay Paul, and the process of purchasing/acquiring/etc is avg.

Altogether, AP exceeded my expectations based on the storyline and the gameplay. I've read all about the horrendous, clunky combat system: that was not my experience (your level up choices and mods increase success here). I've read about glitches (1 time when I turned on my safehouse TV, that was it). I've read about the graphics (not that bad!) - For me, AP is a winner for the ARPG fan. -- UNDERrated!

I can't possibly explain why this game is getting such mixed reviews, it is one of the best I've played in years. A perfect balance between Socom-type stealth/weaponry and very creative espionage missions. The computer hacking/lock picking/alarm deactivating in this game were very well thought out and very rewarding when done properly. The variety of weapons is amazing, and each one has advantages and disadvantages depending on the mission type. There are some levels that you can run and gun your way through, but some where you will be killed in seconds if you try that approach.

Your decisions during conversations impact the game play more than on just a superficial level, and the decisions are never obvious as in games like Fallout III. Overall, I believe any gamer should give this one a rental. If you're not caught up within ten minutes you may never be, so it's a quick assessment. I was swept away after the first mission. The only reason I didn't award five stars was due to some AI stupidity (I played on normal though, not difficult). Some enemy soldiers are very intelligent and some are mindless zombies, it's nice to keep you on your toes but the stupid ones sometimes run right passed you and not see you standing there. I imagine on the difficult setting this wouldn't happen. But it really evens out b/c the intelligent guards will sometimes shoot at you and sometimes bum rush you and beat the heck out of you.

Overall, great game and definitely a huge step forward in espionage gaming. -- Don't dismiss this one

This game is truly a diamond in the dirt. I think people paid to trash this game. It was obvious from the first minute of gameplay that the review experts were unfairly rating the game. This game is a beauty; it's no Heavenly Sword but it is graphically stunning and polished. I am a really hard person to please and it takes more than a flashy commercial and a bunch of fanboys to make me buy a game. Alpha Protocol is everything you thought it would be minus the haters. It's a conspiracy. - Ritchie " King of Ypsilanti" Knox -- CONSPIRACY