Alpha Protocol

Michael Thorton might not have succeeded in his mission to break sales records, but at least he saved the world. If you've ever wanted to be a spy, you should check this out.

Alpha Protocol is exactly what I expected fourteen years later. It’s held back by low textured environments and wonky combat, but excels at world building and dialogue. In fact, it may be ahead of some other games' dialogue systems even now. There just isn’t a game out there like Alpha Protocol, with its espionage RPG idea that really should be revisited.

Obsidian's Alpha Protocol offers an original setting and the power of choice. It's a game where you decide the fate of a majority of the cast, giving you the sense that the story is guided as much by you as it is by the designers. With a number of ways to customize the experience – you can play as a stealth agent with a silenced pistol or bullet-spraying berserker – it initially seems like everyth...

If just for the concept, Alpha Protocol is an ok game. It will continuously attempt to pull you in to both the story and customization features of the game. Unfortunately that is only a small piece of the pie.

Obsidian has clearly got the ability to produce really superb AAA titles but seems to lack the clout of their rival Bioware in terms of being able to say when a game is ready or not. The tragedy of Alpha Protocol is that, hidden behind the mass of technical failings is a superb action RPG bristling with choice and driven by some inspired storytelling. Each glimmer of hope that you see through the ...