Alpha Protocol's cover officially blown

Sega and Obsidian open up files on their forthcoming Bourne Identity-esque RPG, due in Q1 2009 on the PS3, 360, and PC.

This week, some of the most trafficked game forums on the Web were abuzz with unconfirmed reports that Sega was reteaming with Obsidian Entertainment. The California-based developer first hooked up with the Japanese publisher for a forthcoming role-playing game based on the classic 1986 sci-fi film Aliens, which is also the subject of a new first-person shooter from Sega.

Today, the two companies officially announced that they are working on a new RPG, Alpha Protocol. Unlike the still-unnamed Aliens project, Sega confirmed the game is the completely "new and visionary IP" project the two companies revealed they were working on in March 2006. It will ship for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 in "early 2009."

Unlike most role-playing games, which have either a heavy fantasy or sci-fi element, Alpha Protocol will concern modern-day espionage. Its Bourne Identity-esque plot follows Michael Thorton, "a talented young agent cast out by his government." Like prior Obsidian games and those of its partner BioWare, the game will have a branching storyline in which actions early on in the game will affect the protagonist's development.

Unfortunately, Sega's announcement did not contain many of the Alpha Protocol details reportedly outlined in the April issue of Game Informer. Though reps for the publisher would not confirm or deny said details, the magazine reportedly says that Alpha Protocol is a third-person action RPG with real-time combat and many high-tech items.

Like the Fallout series, which Obsidian cofounder Feargus Urquhart also worked on, Alpha Protocol will reportedly be class-free, with players instead leveling up 10 skills. It will allow players to be on multiple missions simultaneously in various locations all over the world, where apparently various romantic interests will also await.

52 Comments

  • sethkazzim

    Posted Jul 30, 2008 9:22 am PT

    it come out 3 MONTHS after the U.S release.
    LOL

  • sethkazzim

    Posted Jul 30, 2008 9:19 am PT

    I gotta get this game and I hope I can just grab a car or something.

    I know it is'nt GTA but hey.

  • brownba3

    Posted Jul 9, 2008 10:13 am PT

    danwarecritic - insane mass effect ripoff"
    Mass effect rip off? let's see - set in real world, current time, humans only, hmm so far not at all like mass effect... rpg - yeah, mass effect like, inteligence officer/agent - well kind of like the Specters so kind of mass effect like - According to your evaluation, any rpg woud be a mass effect ripoff, but what would all of those pre mass effect rpgs be? - obviously haven't been doing a lot of rpgs/not a mature gamer huh? Go back and play some of the originals and older rpgs - Baldurs ate, neverwinter nights, fallout, planescape, heck even oblivion - you will see that mass effect had very little new or original in it- setting and weapons perhaps - It was done well on the 360 - haven't been able to play it on the pc yet. As thenefariouson stated it's a genre and that's what they are suposed to be like...
    That being said, looks like a strong possibility. With Feargus onboard I have a lot of hope...

  • j111233

    Posted Jul 6, 2008 9:55 pm PT

    I read about this in Game Informer, it's going to be awesome!

  • MastaGamerKH

    Posted Jul 5, 2008 7:14 am PT

    sounds good but i wonder about how open world itll be

  • RonTorque

    Posted Jun 30, 2008 12:42 pm PT

    Kool

  • S-F-3

    Posted Jun 21, 2008 10:18 pm PT

    looks awsome cant wait to get it.... in like forever

  • TehEliteElite

    Posted Jun 10, 2008 1:43 pm PT

    Awesome!!

  • JoetheMoe

    Posted Jun 7, 2008 11:58 am PT

    looks cool

  • thenephariouson

    Posted Jun 6, 2008 10:52 am PT

    why is this a 'Rip Off'? it is simply a game that falls into a particular Genre. If this was the case then 'Street Fighter' & 'Tekken' not to mention countless other fighting games would be 'Rip Offs' of 'IK+' & 'Way of the Exploding Fist' on the ZX Spectrum, as well as 'Mario' being a 'Rip Off' of 'Manic Miner' & 'Jet Set Willy'. Ultimately, they simply fall within a Genre and are not 'Rip Offs'!

  • Filaki

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 3:28 pm PT

    huh, interesting. i wonder how the gameplay will be

  • KA12NAG3

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 6:18 am PT

    I can't wait till this comes out. It's gonna be amazing.

  • danwarecritic

    Posted May 11, 2008 7:01 am PT

    What an insane Mass Effect rip-off.

  • acsam12304

    Posted Apr 17, 2008 6:00 pm PT

    Oh man I can't wait for this game! I read more on it on GameInformer issue 180 i think .. it's in the April 2008 issue.

  • H-A-V-O-K

    Posted Apr 5, 2008 4:53 pm PT

    bronze poem: well...not bein released till 09 so you may not find too much info.and if you do, take it with a grain of salt seein as how things tend to change especially for obsidian

  • bronzepoem

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 12:52 am PT

    http://forums.obsidianent.com/index.php?showforum=67

  • bronzepoem

    Posted Apr 1, 2008 6:59 pm PT

    Give me more information please!

  • H-A-V-O-K

    Posted Mar 28, 2008 5:29 pm PT

    big_and_dumb: Yeah thanks for that. I unfortunately wrote that comment before i read the preview in Game Informer. And i understand what your saying but what i meant was I was worried Obsidian would start throwin out cookie cutters like Koei has with the Warriors series.

  • big_and_dumb

    Posted Mar 27, 2008 4:04 pm PT

    To H-A-V-O-K:

    Uh, no... You could almost say the same thing for any rpg. All genre games are the same except story, characters, settings etc. Just cause the mechanics of an rpg can transfer to any other game, doesn't make them the same.

  • H-A-V-O-K

    Posted Mar 26, 2008 6:38 pm PT

    not to burst anybody's bubble or say that its a bad thing but...isnt this just mass effect in a different setting?

  • KokutenNagaki

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 10:31 am PT

    This game looks awesome!!!

  • cruandrew

    Posted Mar 16, 2008 9:46 am PT

    gameinformer has all the new info on this game and it's awesome

  • SavoyPrime

    Posted Mar 15, 2008 8:52 am PT

    Sold! I'm a RPG nut and a fan of Obsidian's past work. I'm all for this!

  • alberto2045

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 9:00 pm PT

    hhm they are offereing this gaem with free over night shpping over in ebgames right now but gosh it comes out in 2009 no way lol I rather wait!!

  • shinchy

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 4:03 am PT

    Sounds pretty cool; I've been waiting for an RPG set in a modern day for years.

  • yboucher

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 2:14 am PT

    FINALLY an interesting theme for a deep RPG !!

  • zhivago_x

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 12:57 am PT

    Obsidian can make great RPGs. Yes, KOTOR2 was rushed and cut/censored but that was Lucasarts fault. Mask of the Betrayer was great on the other hand. On the creative side all their games have been excellent

  • TehUndeadHorror

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 11:29 pm PT

    @magicalclick

    That's cause Lucasarts forced them to finish the game early so they had to cut out the true endings. D=

  • magicalclick

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 8:58 pm PT

    Obsidian? Hummm..... I would be spectacle. IMO, their KOTOR2 is crap compare to KOTOR. They does introduce some great improvements, but I totally don't like the game. The story gets really boring later on, plus that surprisingly cheap ending. KOTOR story grows on me.

  • fastpunk

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 3:59 pm PT

    Great! After the excellent Mask of the Betrayer I have faith that Obsidian can make something great here. The setting certainly sounds interesting.

  • ShotGunBunny

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 3:53 pm PT

    Hmm, I still keep hoping for Obsidian to get a shot at a traditional hardcore RPG to let them prove that they have it in them to make a truly awesome game.
    KOTOR2 rushed, NWN2 had many pro's but also many cons compared to 1, especially in terms of the toolset.
    And then they're trying to combine Aliens with RPG elements....does that actually make sense to ANYONE?
    Now they're trying something "totally new and groundbreaking" or at least it sounds that way.....I can't help but be skeptical here.

  • RonTorque

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 3:24 pm PT

    Nice.

  • Diernes

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 3:00 pm PT

    Leave Kotor 3 to Bioware. Obsidians take was rushed and horrible.

    They are a good developer, but Atari really hurts them as the terrible publisher makes them release their games far to early. NWN2 is another example of that. Lets hope SEGA treat them with a little more respect.

  • Maxor127

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 2:46 pm PT

    Sounds cool. I have faith in Obsidian. I'd rather they were working on KOTOR3 though.

  • berlindex

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 2:16 pm PT

    Sounds really good in paper but let's see how it turns out... IDK if it will be that good because it is a hard game to do solidly and they might want to rush it for profit. Let's wait for more on this before building any hype...

  • mfacek

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 1:56 pm PT

    Sounds like an awesome original game

  • atrimus

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 1:53 pm PT

    sounds interesting. will keep on the radar. could be a pretty cool year for espionage, between this, MGS4 and The Agency.

  • Ryir554

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 1:11 pm PT

    this game seems promising

  • Chief_Kuuni

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 1:10 pm PT

    well I have no idea how this will be but sounds interesting for sure

  • OfficialBed

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 1:09 pm PT

    not bad

  • tclvis

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 12:52 pm PT

    A modern RPG, at long last! And its pedigree is flawless. 2009 can't come soon enough.

  • FlaminDeath

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 12:42 pm PT

    This game seems promising.

  • Krazy-K

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 12:10 pm PT

    sounds pretty cool...

  • TehEliteElite

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 11:56 am PT

    Sounds interesting!

  • dark_xaero

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 11:52 am PT

    Really looking forward to this. Chris Avellone (Fallout 2, Planescape Torment, KOTOR II) is the lead designer for this and Brian Mitsoda (Lead writer for Troika's Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines) is the Lead writer on this too which guarantees great writing. Can't wait.

  • gord_mose

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 11:38 am PT

    This is THE GAME! I am so excited! I can't wait although I do hope that they let this bake long enough so it's solid.

  • ConnorM5

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 11:29 am PT

    Bourne Identity + Steady Cam + Fallout = Awesome

  • PostedOval

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 11:28 am PT

    This sound very cool. And with the main dude from Fallout in control, it may turn out AWESOME!

  • RockmanSRD

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 10:58 am PT

    It looks great. I can't wait to see more on it.

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