Alpha Protocol has many problems, the biggest of which come from a lack of unique identity
Alpha Protocol should be something special. One of the few relatively attempts at the espionage fiction genre in videogaming, the goal of Alpha Protocol's was to recreate the high octane action of spy-fi* thrillers in a roleplaying system that let you choose which iconic character you wished to channel at the moment. Whether you're relying on the suave and intelligence of a late 90's Bond or going in fist first as Jason Bourne would have it, the game is supposed to cater to your style of play and let choice be your weapon…in theory. The execution is far from comprehensive and un-fun as a result.
Alpha Protocol's problems begin at its attempt at a "fair" rules system. On paper it seems fine, allowing you proficiency in a selection of weapons or instead opting for greater proficiency in more technical activities. However, at no point does the game indicate that stealth is not an optional component, but an essential one at the heart of the game's design. The weapons in the game are varied enough, but the combat system is not built to support sustained shootouts with many enemies (which is the only excuse I can see for giving the supposedly experienced Agent Thorton the weapon accuracy of a blind 5 year old on a caffeine injection) and the technical skills will not assist you for most of a level after the introductory portions of the game.
What's unfortunate in this is that this unbalanced system, causing frustration through poor explanation, sits on top of a very entertaining plot and characters. But the writing is only entertaining in a videogame sense. Characters are still completely two dimensional, with only the occasional depth saved for secondary characters such as Steven Heck ( which is probably one of Nolan North's best performances in 2010), an eccentric conspiracy theorist in Taiwan who is passing himself off as a CIA informant with some of the best blind luck someone could have. Not every performance is as convincing, with the "Director of security" being particularly unconvincing as someone in conflict with his internal sense of ethics, but these occasional attempts at character depth are the bright spots in a story that reads like a spy-fi thriller checklist. Middle Eastern Terrorists? Check. Russian spies? Check. Big giant corporation controlling government intelligence programs through illegal funding practices? Have we seen this movie before?
Well, yes, we have. And that's the greatest tragedy in all this – even had the core ruleset been adjusted or better explained, it wouldn't have brought us anything special. Alpha Protocol, even at its best, contributes nothing to the genre that hasn't been done bigger and better in film and television. If the creators of this new medium want to be respected as artisans and not as imitators, they need to stop trying to emulate the experiences of film, literature, and television. They need to surpass them, and Alpha Protocol doesn't even try.
Spy-fi* - a science fiction story set in the modern day which primarily consists of a dramatization of "modern" espionage activities and improbable conspiracies.