Georgia Project, so it was called Alpha Protocol PC by Obsidian Entertainment team during its first month of gestation. But using the names of Americans was not new to the company, which has always used this method to indicate its new projects, particularly a marketing choice “hyppante, in our view. Already announced back in 2006, with SEGA in the role of producer, Alpha Protocol 2010 PC has been the victim of a long series of references, which led him to arrive on the shelves only at the end of May. Needless to say the delays, especially in fast-paced world of video games rarely make a good product, though prodigal of interesting elements. We will see if Alpha Protocol (PC) will be the exception that proves the rule.
My name is Michael Thorton
2009. Tensions between the major international powers are very strong because of killing of an airliner by a terrorist in the Middle East with American missiles. Uncle Sam, a good Deus Ex Machina, the resolute agent sends the NSA (National Security Agency), Michael Thornton, to find the instigators of this attack missile. But as in most classic spy movie government, the 007 to be clear, something goes arose and poor Thornton became involved in a plot on a large scale. Men trusted the United States, become a fugitive, and will have to carefully study his every move, relying only on a few trusted friends. A dense and convoluted narrative plot, which is not above a few twists and moments of high tension, sending the player a taste of old spy-movie very enjoyable.
Ripple Effect
Alpha Protocol PC (2010) can not be defined uniquely, but as a container of elements of various genres in video games, making it a product of multifaceted and heterogeneous. You could call it an action-RPG, which bases the foundation of his system on a fun gameplay halfway between third-person shooter and stealth, strongly influenced by a system of dialogues versatile and very interesting.
The first phases of the game put you in choosing the class of your alter ego, which focuses on six possible background: Soldier, Agent Field, Technical Expert, Freelancer, Recruit and Veteran (unlockable once finished with recruits). Depending on your preference will be taught different skills and abilities and some dialogues are characterized by different characters, but will not be a particularly effective choice in terms of plot. What we do can change the course of the adventure is relatively sensitive interaction with the characters through a system of dialogues called “Ripple Effect,” which strongly recalls the style of Mass Effect. In discussions with the other characters appear in the bottom of the screen frame containing a different response options, which can be roughly categorized into three types: professional, friendly or aggressive. Depending on how you will place in the dialogues, then, it will shape your reputation. Beware, though: Unlike other titles, this is not a famous general, but customized for each individual message. For example, if we behave in a friendly with a sweet girl, does not mean that we have the reputation of the Latin lover in absolute terms but only with that character. This is a different way to see the interactions between characters, which is more focused on various micro relationships, giving more importance to the thought that a single person has against the protagonist, unlike other titles that bring the way of asking the protagonist to ‘Internal entire game world. Once the question and answer, then, the relationship with the other person emerges depending on how the conversation was sustained, which translates, in terms of gameplay, acquisition bonus related to that character or capacity Additional, in addition to his friendship or enmity. As mentioned above, these choices also affect the events of history, giving you the chance to try the game several times to find different trends, although the main plot still continues unchanged in its path. The only drawback of this system is to be found in the annoying “time limit” is shown on mo ‘time bar during the dialogues. This does not give the player the opportunity to answer questions in a lucid and rational, as it has to follow the discussion and at the same time choose the answer that pleases him most. This research realism forced choice, but unfortunately severely limits the freedom of the player, clipping a bit ‘wings still a great way for dialogue. In our view, would be enough to activate the timeline once the debate ended, not during.
Thorton Style
The character customization is a major element of this game and includes two main components: skills and abilities. Whenever Thornton performs an action, including dialogue, this impacts on their profile, granting new abilities. While the skills are learned through experience points earned by completing missions. These can then be used during the games, activities through an easy radial menu. They are divided mainly in physical, technical, combat and stealth. Once you reach a certain level you can also activate the specialization of the protagonist, which may be: Commando, Spy, Sapper or agent, with greater customization of specific skills according to your fighting style.
Life Spy
Completed the first mission in Saudi Arabia, which is a large tutorial, we enter the phase of the game alive. The adventure unfolds in three different locations: Rome, Taipei and Moscow. All three are accessible at any time and the missions can be completed in the order you prefer. Obviously depending on the level achieved. Whenever you travel to one of these locations, good Thorton stay in a secret hideout, away from prying eyes. On this basis there are some important tools: the computer accessing it can check your e-mail, with the opportunity to respond with the same mechanism used for the dialogues, or buy some new weapon to add to your personal arsenal. All secondary elements, but that make life more interesting and enjoyable spy, also seen in his newspaper background.
Not all cakes come with a hole
Alongside the good component ruolistica think about shooting stage in third person, mixed with stealth elements similar to what the last Splinter Cell is seen in this part of the game shows its shortcomings, and does not reveal, unfortunately, the production high profile long-awaited by gamers. Mainly affecting both sections shooting that stealth is artificial intelligence that is presented at a level nothing short of mediocre. In shooting the enemies are not very reactive, and sometimes not even respond to fire after suffering a deluge of bullets, or are not aware of the threats remain passive in the face of a bomb under their feet. Similarly in the early stages of stealth game, the sight of the guards is not very acute and the surveillance camera are too easily circumvented to be credible. The difficulty level is still at good levels, thanks to a rich arsenal of the enemy, the copious number of guards in place and to the ease with which the enemy intelligence alert despite the deficit. What’s more, the covers are not always activated and sometimes poor Thornton fails to repair precision. Despite the game situations are quite diverse, it denotes a certain level of linearity, but repeatedly broken by the minigames, which although impractical to complete missions, reveal complex than the average, but at the same time rewarding and fun . These are of three types, depending on the situation: to force a lock, you must solve a puzzle is to place at the right height, marked by a line, a series of cylinders. In order to violate the security system of a computer, instead, need to overlap two codes with their counterparts, who are still hidden and alphanumeric data flow within a continuous movement. And finally, cut the circuits of alarm panels in numerical order to deactivate the alarm system, and reduce alertness enemy.
An agent recently edited
The artwork of Obsidian Entertainment, despite moving the whole there is excellent Unreal Engine 3.0, was unable to fully convince. The rooms are bare, little detailed textures and have poorly defined. Even the movements of the characters are unreal and woody. To raise the visual goodness we think some polygonal models, and a good expressive faces. The PC version also purchased some problems of fluidity. The audio industry is not Oscar, but it performs its task, both in the dubbing in English, that sampling and effects. Regarding the controls, we strongly recommend owners of PC version, Xbox 360 controller to provide a view of the inconvenience and poor accuracy of the combination mouse / keyboard.
* Genre: Role playing
* Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Alpha Protocol Video Game Review
Final Remarks
In quality, we could easily split into two entities Alpha Protocol distinct. On the one hand we are faced with a product from the hybrid gameplay, but that turns out to be a good stealth, nor a shooter too funny, because of a realization too rough and superficial. On the other we experience one of the few games of espionage can give good ideas at the level of plot, an interesting and deep dialogue system and a topping of elements that relate ruolistici strongly on growth of skills Thornton. A game definitely recommended to fans of espionage, provided they are willing to compromise while some of the shoes of James Bond on duty.
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