Alpha Protocol™

The hacking mini-game in Alpha Protocol is an exercise in frustration. As someone who struggles with visual tracking, I found it nearly impossible to complete, not because of poor planning or skill, but because the interface floods you with constantly shifting characters and gives you barely any time to find the static sequences. It's a nightmare for anyone with dyslexia or similar processing challenges. A game should challenge the player, not gate progress behind an inaccessible mechanic. This needs to be called out more, because it's not just "difficult," it's poorly designed.

Every one has that game, song, band, movie that is generally considered to be "bad", but that they really like. Alpha Protocol is definitely that for me lol. I didnt understand the hate back in the day and I wouldn't understand it now. The acting isnt amazing, but is leaps and bounds better than many big name games. The humor was good and your character feels real. Dialogue choice actually matters, too. Game is a gem of an RPG. The lack of jumping and traversal does suck, but it is even more tolerable now than it was in the past, because games today are just so awful im willing to forgive this in Alpha Prot.

Just play it. Trust.

pretty good

I enjoyed the different way the game can go based on the choices you can make in the game

Wow, one of the best WRPGs there is. Absolutely recommended.

Just as a warning. Turn your sound down when you first start the game. After that everything in the game works great. I always enjoyed this game. I liked the metal gear espionage aspects with the choose your own adventure play style. It's worth a couple plays.

Fun game! Combat is a bit janky, graphics are pretty dated, and there are a few weird bugs but nothing game breaking. The abilities you can unlock are really cool too, really changing up the gameplay. The dialogue is... *chefs kiss* Amazing. And the choices and how they dramatically impact your progress is amazing. Makes me want to play it all again and make different choices to see how differently it pans out. Great writing. Great characters if not a bit cliche. Had a lot of fun. I played it almost pure stealth, specialising in handguns, sneaking, and hacking. Overall I'd give it like a 7.5/10.

Highly Recommended for those who loved the choice based conversations in games like Mass Effect. Your choices in conversations can truly dramatically change the outcome. No smoke and mirrors. Actual cause and effect. Pretty cool.

There are some decent mods on Nexus Mods too that can smooth out some bugs and make the combat a bit more fun. Worth a look.

TL;DR: Don't mind my play record. Buy it now.

I remember playing this game ad nauseam. I had the disc copy and must've spent at least 60-100 hours on it. I remember searching up the game a few years ago, broke my heart when I didn't see any digital copies (IDK how long it has been on Steam).

It may not have aged that well, though I cannot be the judge of that. For its time, this was one of the most underrated games out there and one that would definitely deserve a sequel (if I remember the ending correctly). It can be challenging at times (and frustrating), but once you've beaten a certain segment, the feeling of achievement you get is overwhelming.

The gameplay takes some getting used to and it also depends a lot on your class/character. Pistols, for example, get OP in the late game and TBH I've never played anything other than pistols.

I would recommend this game, if you like stealth/action RPGs. It can be very fun. If you decide to pick it up, BTW, have as much fun as you can on the first run and don't stress about your choices (I tend to do that). Then go for a second playthrough, which is usually more rewarding, if you played as a recruit and then go as a veteran.

Underrated game. The combat is kind of stupid but the story is really good.

The Game was Excellent, give it a try yourself, I would recommend this game to other players...

A great game I played to death on the 360 (and ignore the store page, it absolutely works with controllers). It's actually better than alot of people give it credit for; alot of folks say the combat is horrid, basically unplayable, but this is just people comparing it to Call of Duty or another dedicated shooter (or stealth game) when that isn't the point of the game. No, the combat is serviceable, and as an RPG, it's designed to be rough at first and then improve as you get better gear and skills. It certainly has a little bit of jank as a mid-budget title with big ambitions, but it's still fun to play if you don't expect it to be Mass Effect 3. Every weapon is viable, even beating almost the entire game with melee outside of one or two spots that just require a gun.

And then there's the story and characters, which is what everyone loves. There's still a little bit of jank here, sometimes story bits are thrown into menus or something when they were never mentioned in the actual dialogue, and there's a few spots where I'm not 100% sure on how or why something happened. But this is understandable considering the complexity of it all, all the different dialogue options, the reputation you can have with different people, references to previous missions and outcomes, etc. It's not a game you just play twice to see a "good" and "evil" playthrough or anything, it's a game you can play a dozen times and still see new combinations or outcomes. Make friends, make enemies, make friends then betray them, make enemies your friends, uncover secrets, shoot people in the leg, manipulate people for info--tons of options and it's always fun to play around with it.

Something I do want to call out and give credit to is the detail of the world itself. I think this is easy to miss and alot of people don't address it one way or another, but they put ALOT of effort into the level design, the character designs, just general decorating and backgrounds. Sure, the resolution and draw distance is limited, but I'm talking the work put in to carefully craft everything. There's one level where you go through a huge, fancy villa in Italy, and they really did deck this place out with paintings, statues, chandeliers, pottery, etc--it's not just pretty walls and stale hallways, it actually looks like some place you could go tour. The whole game feels this way, really sucking you in. Even your safe houses are beautiful locations with more detail than they had any real need to be. Obsidian, at one point, was fantastic at world design, and it often didn't receive credit for that, as everyone was either praising their writing or criticizing their combat.

Immersion into the spy fantasy is also pretty good, in some respects. I enjoy the dossiers, I enjoy the decisions like "Do I blackmail this guy for intel or make nice to hopefully get future favors?" I like the discussions about big picture decisions, and the issues that are raised about unaccountable government agencies, corruption, etc, without beating you over the head with a lesson (like it doesn't tell you what to think, it just raises issues for you to think about). It's absolutely a story of it's time, post-America 9/11 and Iraq War. Unfortunately, I will admit that playing a pure stealthy character is a little ruined in the immersion department because they went so far as to give you outright invisibility skills, which you basically HAVE to use sometimes for perfect stealth. On the flip side, though, the game isn't really meant to be PURE stealth; sure, you can try for it, but there are spots where combat is required. The game doesn't reward you for pure stealth most of the time, and when it does, you can usually tell when that is the case in the mission briefing or clues during the level (same with going non-lethal; it's only occasionally worth the effort). This isn't Thief, stealth is meant to be just one of your tools as a spy, alongside combat, handy gadgets like EMP grenades, and dialogue itself. After all, James Bond did plenty of punching and shooting. I should add that, yeah, there's a pretty good variety of levels here, everything from missions that purely conversations, to very stealth-rewarding ones, to combat-heavy ones (although I am annoyed that a few levels will act as though you violently murdered everyone even if you snuck through and only non-lethally incapacitated opponents). Varying things up even gets you more perks, unlockable bonuses that can come from many different gameplay and story choices.

I honestly can't criticize too much about this game except for jank. A few bugs, but also just a lot of things that don't quite line up, dialogue that doesn't entirely flow. It's only occasional, but you can tell it needed another pass by an editor before they started recording lines. Sometimes it may have also had the Fallout 4 problem; they committed to having 3 "attitudes" for most dialogue choices, and so you get the occasional forced line put in because they went "Quick, write a snarky response!" The game might also bother you if you suffer from severe FOMO, as the game is about choice and so you will have to miss out on some things, no matter what you do. There are other, minor issues like that throughout the game; it's absolutely the kind of game that, with an extra 6 months and a little more budget, could have been bumped up to a nearly perfect title. As it is, it is not a 10/10, but I'll take an ambitious, interesting, unique game with issues, over a stale, over-engineered, game with no edges that takes no risks. Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without one.

It is an interesting game. It is a solid RPG that is outdated in gameplay. Think of ME1, great story and elements just dated. If one day it ever received a remaster or remake I would get it instantly.

Much like Mass Effect 1, a contemporary of this game, the actual combat and sneaking is a little rough. You can tell it has a lot of love in it, and once you get some of the skills it feels a lot better. Not surprising, given that it was made by people with a lot more experience with RPGs than shooters.

Still, the focus is on what the focus is always on when it comes to Classic Obsidian: characters and story, though with a lot more emergent storytelling than in a lot of games. If you aren't paying attention and take a wrong turn, your allies will die. If you aren't paying attention during dialog, Mike will respond impulsively and your shot at choosing correctly is gone. It's a really fun game, easily worth the $20 price tag. And if you can snag it during a sale it's even better.

The design philosophy for the dialog wheel is also very good - James Bond, Jason Bourne, or Jack Bauer. So even though the responses are simple when you read them - just a tone usually - you can imagine how Mike will talk.

Very good RPG. Gameplay isn't too complicated and easily completed with a few deaths so long as you make good use of your abilities which are very powerful.

I don't like to replay most singleplayer titles as I feel replaying them lessens the impact and begins to unravel the 'mystery' of how the game functions and all it's little details, such things are best left unknown to the player. That being said this game made me genuinely feel like every little thing I did changed where the story was going, characters commenting on decisions you made big or small, every dialogue choice or even notes in the post mission summaries made me feel like I had true agency, and that the game has accounted for everything.

I have no idea how on rails the story actually is, but it convinced me I was truly in control and that my decisions mattered and affected the characters and that's more important for telling a story in a game like this.

First played on PS3. Bought years later a used disc to play on xbox series x only to discover there were licensing issues and could not play if online. Then, got the pc, steam version. Love it. Simple, and yes, you need to use controller. But a fun throw back that could have competed with sam fisher and snake in the spy games. Choices matter. Build how you want, but read the clues. You have to have some points in almost all skills. Gun skills you can choose, or not use. It is not a min max type game. you have to have balance. oh, and play recruit the first time. this will open a better second play through.

Good.

finally back in store
no controller needed
best stealth game!

Alpha Protocol is a very mixed bag. The gameplay is awful, pairing a horribly clunky and unresponsive stealth system with combat that ranges from comically buggy to frustratingly janky depending on your difficulty level and preferred approach. There’s very little positive I can say about anything that doesn’t involve the story. But that story is really impressive and almost single handedly makes Alpha Protocol worth oplaying. It's not the novelty of the premise (this is essentially just a standard Hollywood spy premise where you travel across the world to uncover a giant evil conspiracy), but how it's structured and integrated with the rest of the game.

Alpha Protocol is almost completely non-linear with missions split between three cities –Moscow, Rome, and Taipei– that you can move between at any time and take missions in whichever order you please, even swapping between cities so that you start one chain of missions before resolving a previous one. . But more importantly, the game responds to your choices with great frequency. Going into a mission might be your first time meeting someone, or you may have run into them before giving you the opportunity to fight or work together depending on your previous actions. You might encounter a spy in Rome whose organization you betrayed in Moscow, making collaboration more difficult (but still not impossible) or characters will have opinions of you before you’ve even met them thanks to your reputation among other characters and how you handled previous missions.

The dialogue also works to take advantage of the game’s non-linearity and choice-driven structure, taking into account much of the same stuff as before with extra dialogue options unlocked depending on info you’ve learned and characters reacting differently according to your relationship and prior actions. Depending on what you personally want and what effect you think it will have on the person you’re talking to, each choice will have a different effect on your reputation, relationship, and outcomes of the conversation. Picking options the other character agrees with will agree with will make them like you more and vice versa if you annoy or anger them. In fact it can even be beneficial to get somebody to hate you, throwing them off guard and making them more driven by anger rather than cold rationality. While the dialogue itself isn’t anything fantastic, the system behind it is impressive and helps keep scenes engaging even when it's just characters talking back and forth to one another.

Even if I have complaints about specific aspects of the story, I think the overall structure and design of that story are enough to compensate for some of the more micro-level issues. It definitely sets Alpha Protocol apart from other shooters and brings it much more in line with the kinds of RPGs and other story-heavy games that Obsidian is known for while still remaining incredibly distinct thanks to the setting and tone. Supposedly, Obsidian had originally wanted this to be the start of a franchise but the development hell this game went through followed by poor sales and critical reception killed that dream, a real shame considering most of the things I dislike about Alpha Protocol are largely fixable. This could have been a rough start to an otherwise great series, but instead it's just a standalone showcase of missed potential.

Alpha Protocol is far from the best game I’ve played, but it is one of the more interesting ones on a mechanical level. Whether that makes it worth playing is much more a matter of priorities rather than tastes given how inconsistent it can be. But if you are intrigued and are considering playing, the best advice I can offer is to play on Easy when starting a new game (importantly, you can’t change the difficulty on an existing save file) and sink all your skill points into stealth, pistols, and sabotage. It won’t make the gameplay good, but it will at least be easy enough that you won’t get screwed over by the jank. I don’t know if I can outright recommend Alpha Protocol, but I can at least say I don’t regret playing it myself.

Alpha Protocol, a flawed classic

This review contains spoilers.

Tl;dr: Espionage role-playing game from Obsidian. You assume the role of Mike Thorton, a member of Alpha Protocol. Choices and deep story make for a fun game, if you can look through its numerous flaws and bugs. Recommended

[table]
[tr]
[td]Platforms tested[/td]
[td]Windows desktop
Steam Deck
[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Pros[/td]
[td]Story
Choices are more than changing the colour of the ending.
The Story Setting
[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Cons[/td]
[td]Doesn’t have all the latest improvements on Steam
Still quite buggy
Checkpoint system can make you lose progress if you don’t pay attention to it.
[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Things to know?[/td]
[td]Doesn’t have all the latest improvements on Steam
This is an old version, which has broken gamepad support. [/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

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What is Alpha Protocol?

Alpha Protocol was originally released in 2010 for the PS3, X360 and PC. Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, the game is a third-person shooter where the players control Mike Thorton, an agent for the titular Alpha Protocol. Released in a quite broken state, it has since gathered a following, where many fans claim that it is one of the best Obsidian RPGs around. It was briefly delisted from Steam in 2019 but returned in 2024.
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Overview of the Story and Gameplay

In Alpha Protocol, you take the role of Michael “Mike” Thorton who serves as an operative in the titular Alpha Protocol. After Thorton is abandoned by his government, he sets out to find the people responsible and to save the world.
Alpha Protocol is a third-person Role Playing game and a cover shooter. The game is divided into different hubs where you set out on different type of missions. The missions usually are combat missions where you infiltrate a set location to steal data, assassinate or do other things. How you approach these missions is up to you. You can either go guns blazing or take the stealthier approach or a mix of both. Your approach to your missions can affect greatly both follow up missions as well as how other characters view you. Sometimes you have more compact missions, where the only objective is to talk.
Speaking of talking, your choices matter and can change the story and affect other missions quite a lot. During dialogue, you can take one of three approaches with your choices. You can be aggressive, suave or professional. Different characters prefer different type of approaches, and you can gain or lose reputation points based on your answers, which in turn affects your future interactions with said characters and even with other characters.
In between missions you can find yourself in one of the safe houses, replying to emails, checking intel and trading and equipping equipment. You can also change your character appearance freely from set options, such as beard or glasses.
As Mike gains more experience, your character will level up and can gain new skills and further specialize in different aspects of operative life. The skill tree offers both passive and active skills.
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The Tech

Alpha Protocol is from 2010, and it’s made by Obsidian. As such, one should expect plenty of bugs in the game such as mechanics not working correctly, characters getting stuck or enemies not spawning at all. There are also few glitches on modern computers where the graphic effects are not working correctly, and one will notice those effects having issues immediately.
The game runs on Unreal Engine 3 and thus offers possibilities for modding and extending support for some features, like ultra-wide support. The game caps the frame rate to 60 or to 62 without modifying configuration files.
The graphical options are okay, allowing players to customize settings such as SpeedTree quality (controls detail levels of trees) and motion blur. The game supports variety of resolutions and allows players to choose windowed mode if preferred.
The motion blur is horrible, and I highly recommend disabling it.
In control options, you can enable or disable control options. If controller is not enabled here, it won’t work. As many games of this era, you may need to restart the game if you turned on your controller after launching the game or if you need to reconnect your controller. The game supports other than XInput controllers only on GOG version.
The audio is 2.0 and you need to use a workaround to get surround sound working.
The game sound settings offer customization, and dialogue can usually be heard just fine. The game offers subtitle settings but subtitles do not work for all cutscenes, namely for the introduction movie and the ending. Few typos are still present after all these years.
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Miscellaneous

DLC: The game has no DLC on PC, it had preorder DLC on consoles.
Achievements: The game has no Achievements on Steam, it does have them on consoles and on GOG.
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My opinions

Alpha Protocol isn’t the easiest game to review. On one hand, the story, setting and writing really are at outstanding level. On the other hand, the numerous technical issues and bugs can make playing the game at times a very frustrating experience. To give some context, you can try to be stealthy and suddenly the alarm rings because enemy saw you through the walls or spawned right on top of you. These frustrations can become even more issue with how the game saves using a checkpoint system. There are no ways to save between checkpoints. If you make a mistake in some of the missions, you may have to replay quite a long part of the game or if you make a mistake you want to remedy and the checkpoint saves, you’re stuck with your choice or mistake if you didn’t make a manual save of the checkpoint earlier.

However, the story and setting really stand out. The writers offer no ways to save everyone and everything and make you think about your choices. The game does not offer options to pause during the dialogues so sometimes you may impulsively condemn a group of people to death, even without meaning to. The story has multiple endings, which means you can play it again and again to check different approaches and story elements.

Apart from its technical issues and outdated design choices and technical constraints, Alpha Protocol is truly a great game and refreshing experience. I highly recommend giving it a try.

One of the most innovative and truly unique games ever made. No game is more worthy of a modern remaster or sequel than this absolute hidden gem. A game where your choices REALLY matter, where every decision you make feels relevant and meaningful AND ACTUALLY IS, in a way that literally no other game has ever matched. It's an RPG that actually cares about who you want your agent to be and one where how you build your character's stats and skills is as important to your story as how you play them during cutscenes and conversations.

Can't recommend the game enough.

It's not a terrible game, but it is not very memorable either.

The loop is simple - go to Clearinghouse, buy all the intel, reply to emails, do a mission where you shoot worse than a blind man but so do the enemies, occasionally put in a 'hacker code' which you have to do both with keyboard and mouse where the keyboard one is slow and the mouse one is just buggy (controller was expected).

The writing is subpar - there are some good lines but more than a spy story it's written like what the authors think a spy story should be. It has a similar vibe to Yakuza games where the story is tense but you feel like your actions don't have any weight.

I like that some choices affect how the game progresses - that is probably the best thing about it.

Considering how old the game is, it is not as dated as I expected, but compared to something like Rainbow 6: Vegas which came 5 years earlier, it is pretty wonky.

Overall, I would give it a pass.

I've heard of this game for a long time and have always wanted to play it but never had the chance until recently. Firstly, I loved this game. The RPG genre has always been so stale to me. It's always about dragons and shit. I like that this 007 type of feel this game has. You actually feel like a spy and your choice do matter. It plays a lot like mass effect 1 so be prepared for a lot of jank. Lots of people will rip the combat but I found it to be a lot of fun. Not necessarily challenging but more so like a puzzle. The progression is fantastic. First mission you're barely able to hit anything moving and constantly tripping alarms, but by the last mission you're head-shotting people from cover from a mile away.

This game is worth the money. It is dated but there are very few games that have attempted something so ambitious

This is one of the greatest games I've ever played.

This game had aspects I love, but I found the last mission with the helicopter too difficult on the easiest setting. I uninstalled it without completing the game. After 10 tries, I just didn't want to attempt it anymore. If I am playing a game on easy, I expect to be able to complete the game. $14 and I can't finish the game. Maybe I'll try again in a few months. There are more fun games to play.

Really good game from Obsidion. Has some good ideas built in or taken from Mass Effect. The characters and story are interesting, as the setting is pretty unused for an RPG.

Link to my Story Movie:
https://youtu.be/huRGKZ-R1ZE

I wanted to like this game but its just too rough. Gameplay is interesting but the controls are just so terrible. If i wanted to play it with a controller I would've gotten the PS3 version. If a game like this interests you just stick to MGS.

Always wanted to play this back in the day. Did not disappoint. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Wish SEGA would let them make the squeal and learn from this one.

The writing of this game and the choices are great. Everything else is utter trash. This game should have been a visual novel.

The minigames are annoying, the combat is the worst combat I have ever seen in a videogame, the stealth mechanics don't work and the games saving "feature" broke for me for some reason so I couldn't save my game anymore. Don't start the game through Steam either because then your game doesn't even save in the first place. Do not buy.

all I want is another alpha protocol is that so hard to ask

An underrated, forgotten Obsidian gem. While it is a bit dated, and has messy combat; the story, choices, and characters are great. It doesn't overstay its welcome and if you did not know you need a Mass Effect style spy game, you do now.

Thank you Xbox & SEGA! Real OG's remember this game on the PS3 & Xbox 360! I love how Xbox is making it's game library accessable across devices so when I seen this in the store I had to purchase ASAP! Runs great on my PC using a Elite Series 2!

This game has many flaws, but it is still good and even unique. You have limited time during dialogue choices. While this can be irritating it makes sense, especially in this game. I would say it is one of the best Obsidian games, too bad there will be no sequel.

IDK if it's a top 10 game of all time, but Alpha Protocol is close.

Imagine if Mass Effect and Splinter Cell had a baby, that's Alpha Protocol. I'm so glad this game is back on Steam.

One of Obsidian's best RPGs; I always thought Deux Ex copied elements of it for the Adam Jensen games.

Everytime a studio dies I feel the desire to go back and play something from them when they were good. Did that recently with jade Empire and bioware and now im doing it with Alpha Protocol. This game is still got it. One of the first games I wanted a 2nd play through as soon as i was finished. Choices really do change your game,

Im playing on Deck and it looks and performs really well. Just remember this and RPG not a shooter your stats effect how you can use various weapons.

Please add sex with Big Tiddy Goth Chicks

This is easily one of my favorite role playing games ever. The depth of choice allowed to the player in how they approach a situation, if they want it to be lethal, if they want to be a complete ghost, the choices between the people they meet and how they effect the situations the player is a part of are all almost unmatched. The gameplay suffers from being janky, and pistols are beyond OP as anything but this game is definitely worth a buy.

Really cool setting for a western RPG with solid gameplay and story

I think this still holds up! You can play a suave superspy, an idiot aggressive bozo, or anything in between. I stayed true to Mina the whole time, and while there wasn't much at the end it paid off. Also, it turns out Chain Shot + Brilliance is just kind of broken on bosses.

wonderful game

A rare example of an RPG set in the modern day with a very choice reactive story. Right up there with VTMB as far as modern RPGs go.

Underrated gem, even though you can't purchase it through steam anymore buy it through GOG, you won't regret it.

Good little classic game. Some questionable mechanics though i.e. the circle cross hair means your early game firefights are frustrating, and for some reason the sensitivity is like 5x on mounted weapons. I wish there were achievements too and bonuses for being stealthy in missions. But overall not a bad game, but definitely not for £15.99. Get on sale if you're interested in decision based games and don't mind some janky controls.

If you like Mass Effect and can put up with a bit of PS3 era jank this is a must play.
It's essentially Spy Mass Effect by the New Vegas Devs.

The best RPG Shooter on here

Very entertaining and captivating story/gameplay, a lot of attention to detail and super immersive all around.

Just wish it had achievements.

How can anyone play this?

I enjoyed Alpha Protocol in the way I enjoy a bad movie. Do I regret playing it? No! Would I recommend it to my friends if I want them to take my recommendations seriously? Also no. It grew on me, but it wasn’t good. Its obvious that the game was slapped together and held that way with chewing gum and duct tape. Besides from janky glitches (which are ok), there are larger issues like continuity errors and poor design story choices that kind of ruined my story. Combat is bad and the game lacks a steadfast sense of quality and vision. It has some redeeming qualities, but they ultimately do not outweigh the bad.

So without getting too much in the weeds and spoilers, there were some story issues that ruined the story I was building. Towards the end of the game, my story was impacted heavily by things I straight up didn’t do. The game said I killed people I specifically avoided killing. Like, I save-scummed so I didn’t kill these people, but the game thought I did and it impacted my story. I also felt robbed of some important choices because the game doesn’t present important choices in a standardized way and I was confused and made a critical decision by accident. With a story driven RPG, these experiences really pushed me into the “thumbs down” category. There was also a loose end with my story that was never resolved.

Next, the combat is just bad. Your aim is based on how many skill points you put into your character, and even with fully maxed out stats, you will struggle to shoot and hit enemies that are almost point blank. Gunplay is horrible, even for this game’s generation. To put into perspective, Mass Effect 2 came out the same year and feels light years ahead (pun intended) of Alpha Protocol in terms of combat and gunplay. The combat also suffers from balance issues. Some skills are the obvious choices. Pistols and Stealth are winners with Pistols giving you the ability to slow down time and Red Dead Redemption style line up auto-hits, and stealth gives you the ability to just straight up be invisible. Using these two skills in tandem can cheese you through the toughest boss fights.

Its clear the game had a troubled development. Honestly, the Rome section seems like it was cobbled together. Moscow wasn’t much better. After some post-game research, my thoughts were confirmed. A lot of mission design was scrapped and whole sections of the game were removed and replaced with filler. Apparently, SEGA cut a 30 minute section of the game because it was too expensive. This all makes sense and is a bummer to hear.

There were small glitches but nothing game breaking.

There are some good aspects of the game, don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the characters and how you interact with them. I enjoyed the decisions the player must make and how they impact the story, even if the game doesn’t do a good job of putting it all together and continuity. A spy RPG is a unique concept and the devs tired hard to make a game with one hand tied around their backs. I enjoyed my playthrough but probably wont play again.

Aside from the bugs Alpha Protocol gives you a lot of player choice and freedom in story and gameplay.

My first full play through was a No Damage/non-lethal run.

Pretty much "GameEnding" every boss without killing them.

Also, the cheesy one-liners you get with the suave perk are an enjoyable cringe fest.

Gameplay 6 / 10 (The stealth mechanics as well as pistol/tech/sabotage builds are broken, and I enjoyed every moment of it. Tho there are some hiccups while running at times. This can be fixed with a mod.
https://www.moddb.com/mods/alpha-protocol-improved/downloads/smoothermovement)

Story 8 / 10 (It pretty much checks all boxes of spy thriller classics à la James Bond along with all the tropes.)

Replay Value 8 / 10 (You can definitely mess with other builds, play styles and game choices.)

Jankiness aside the game is overall a solid fun experience for an original RPG Concept.

Definitely recommend on a sale.

Plenty of jank so be ready for that but there's no other game quite like it. Play a spy thriller and a surprisingly reactive one.