Humor us, though: doesn't the protagonist seem awfully "generic white boy?" We're talking Mass Effect box art guy + Fracture lead + Bourne. We're hoping this is more like the Mass Effect cover issue, where the promo materials all had one "Commander Shepard," but the actual game allowed a canvas to paint the protagonist. Considering Alpha Protocol is a modern, western RPG, it'd be nice to have choice in who we can play as. But, that aside, we're ultra keen to see more of the modern spy RPG.
Alpha Protocol vid declassifies speech trees and handlers
by Alexander Sliwinski 
on Apr 26th 2009 3:00PM
28
Humor us, though: doesn't the protagonist seem awfully "generic white boy?" We're talking Mass Effect box art guy + Fracture lead + Bourne. We're hoping this is more like the Mass Effect cover issue, where the promo materials all had one "Commander Shepard," but the actual game allowed a canvas to paint the protagonist. Considering Alpha Protocol is a modern, western RPG, it'd be nice to have choice in who we can play as. But, that aside, we're ultra keen to see more of the modern spy RPG.
Reader Comments (28)
Posted: Apr 26th 2009 3:13PM (Unverified) said
Looks ok I guess, kinda generic and cliche in some areas though. Hopefully it's not one of those 12 hour wrpgs like Mass Effect. As good as that was...it was only 12 damn hours and that's awful for an rpg.
Posted: Apr 26th 2009 4:01PM (Unverified) said
Now I know your joking, Mass Effect was SO much longer than 12 hours, I guess maybe you rushed through the story and didnt do any side missions because if you did that, you would have had atleast 16 hours of gameplay
Reply
Posted: Apr 26th 2009 4:04PM (Unverified) said
"you would have had atleast 16 hours of gameplay"
Because that's soooo much better than 12 for a RPG. Does it even matter? The side missions in mass effect were awful and had no bearing on the gameplay unless you were going for the complete achievement.
Reply
Because that's soooo much better than 12 for a RPG. Does it even matter? The side missions in mass effect were awful and had no bearing on the gameplay unless you were going for the complete achievement.
Posted: Apr 26th 2009 6:01PM smcn said
Mass Effect was all about replayability for me. My first playthrough was around 30 hours getting the completionist achievement, and only when I was doing the last of the Ally achievements (my 4th playthrough-- didn't even know about achievements the first time around :/) did the side missions start to grate on me. I spent probably 100+ hours playing Mass Effect, and the way they talked about the handlers, replayability seems like a big factor in Alpha Protocol as well.
Reply
Posted: Apr 26th 2009 7:27PM OremLK said
People who complain about the length of games bug the ever-living crap about me, especially when those games are 10+ hours long. What, you'd rather have another 30 hours of random battles and half-ass filler?
Take movies; they cost $20-25 for a couple hours of entertainment when they're brand new. If you're spending $60 for an eight hour game, that's already a better value. If you're so concerned about the length of gameplay you get for your money, maybe you should just stick to freeware and flash games.
Reply
Take movies; they cost $20-25 for a couple hours of entertainment when they're brand new. If you're spending $60 for an eight hour game, that's already a better value. If you're so concerned about the length of gameplay you get for your money, maybe you should just stick to freeware and flash games.
Posted: Apr 26th 2009 7:31PM (Unverified) said
You obviously don't know what an rpg is if you think it's ok for them to be 8 hours. It's not an fps for christs sake
Reply
Posted: Apr 27th 2009 9:44AM coinop25 said
I thought Mass Effect was a great length for an RPG. (Took me 20 hours on first playthrough, was able to do it as quickly as 6 when rushing.) Not every RPG needs to be a bajillion hours, but you could certainly play Mass Effect for that long if you wanted to try multiple plot and character permutations. Plus, 12 hours for an RPG is a length that is friendlier to gamers who have a full work week and other social commitments. Not everyone finish do the 40-hour epic, and not every game equivalent of a popcorn movie deserves to be strung out that long.
Anyway, I would be tickled pink – pink! – if Alpha Protocol had the good sense to rip off Mass Effect, but with 8-12 hours of solid narrative gameplay rather than a good central quest and some throwaway side quests to pad the edges.
Reply
Anyway, I would be tickled pink – pink! – if Alpha Protocol had the good sense to rip off Mass Effect, but with 8-12 hours of solid narrative gameplay rather than a good central quest and some throwaway side quests to pad the edges.
Posted: Apr 27th 2009 11:56AM Petebot330 said
I'm pretty sure I spent a good 30-40 hours on Mass Effect.
Reply
Posted: Apr 26th 2009 3:21PM TheDarkWayne said
I always liked the box art generic Shepard better than the actual in game generic shepard, he was fuck ugly.
Posted: Apr 26th 2009 3:32PM Emophia said
Looks really fun.
If the plot and dialogue/choices are good, even if the graphics are not super, I will definitely pick it up.
If the plot and dialogue/choices are good, even if the graphics are not super, I will definitely pick it up.
Posted: Apr 26th 2009 3:34PM moletonttu said
This seems to have a lot of cool ideas, I'm just worried about the character design and voice acting. It could end up being very generic and mediocre.
Posted: Apr 26th 2009 3:38PM ScoobyMaroon said
The game is looking pretty good. I hadn't heard anything in a while and was beginning to wonder about it.
"most games like this give you a good or evil path. we're going for more of a shades of grey approach"
everyone always says this in their videos lol.
"most games like this give you a good or evil path. we're going for more of a shades of grey approach"
everyone always says this in their videos lol.
Posted: Apr 26th 2009 3:39PM (Unverified) said
The graphics and interface as well as shooting physics seemed to push me away, as well as the quirky and foolish clothing styles or voice acting... ehh...
Might have a few good ideas but that's not a saving grace as of yet.
Might have a few good ideas but that's not a saving grace as of yet.
Posted: Apr 26th 2009 4:14PM PedoJokerBear said
dude must be in the uncharted school of wearing shirts in cold weather
Posted: Apr 26th 2009 8:47PM iamdrworm said
Of course being a "generic white boy" is actually an asset as a spy. It allows you to blend in with the people around you.
Posted: Apr 26th 2009 10:58PM Master Bruce said
as a generic looking white guy, I appreciate Obsidian's choice
Reply
Posted: Apr 26th 2009 6:56PM Bastard11 said
Even more disturbing than the very mediocre upscaled PS2 graphics is the poor animation and collision detection.
No matter how interesting the story elements might be they can't make up for poor gameplay, bland aesthetics, AND terrible voice work.
I hope they have some mad polish up their sleeves cuz this has just about fallen completely off my radar.
No matter how interesting the story elements might be they can't make up for poor gameplay, bland aesthetics, AND terrible voice work.
I hope they have some mad polish up their sleeves cuz this has just about fallen completely off my radar.
Posted: Apr 26th 2009 7:22PM RunnyRiver said
How far away is this game? I don't think so close that what we see is exactly what we'll get.
Posted: Apr 26th 2009 8:56PM Inquisitor Glokta said
"Dynamic Dialogue System or DDS for short."
I hate when game designers come up with over-complicated names for things then promptly replace them with an acronym. You stop playing for 5 days then come back to the game and can't for the life of you remember what the hell "DDS" means because you've only seen it once before.
Stupid thing to let bother me, sorry! :)
I hate when game designers come up with over-complicated names for things then promptly replace them with an acronym. You stop playing for 5 days then come back to the game and can't for the life of you remember what the hell "DDS" means because you've only seen it once before.
Stupid thing to let bother me, sorry! :)
Posted: Apr 27th 2009 11:20AM Vhayste said
Yep, it does have the Mass Effect + Bourne feel into it. Somehow, I find it... interesting...
added to wishlist.
added to wishlist.
Posted: Apr 27th 2009 2:36PM Deck said
This looks really good. Love the dialogue tree mechanic as well as all the options. Modern spy rpg.. this is going to be different. And I like that.
