Alpha protocol

In the Middle East, the terrorist group Al-Samad shot down a passenger airliner. The attack was made using the latest American-made missile. The investigation is entrusted to special agent Michael Thorton. He manages to follow the trail of the leader of Al-Samad, but then he is suddenly removed from his assignments and betrayed by senior colleagues. Now that he has been hunted down by the United States Government , Michael uses the Alpha Protocol , a secret program that has recruited him, and begins to work secretly to detect a conspiracy.

Battle System

Alpha Protocol gives you the opportunity to take control of Torton with a third-person camera, which allows the player to always see Torton and his surroundings. Since Torton was training at the CIA , the player was given possession of firearms, hand-to-hand combat with kempo elements and technical equipment.

In addition to this, the player also earns promotion points, which can be invested in any of ten different skills in the game ^[4] . These skills increase Torton’s ability to use certain weapons, and also provide additional abilities. They can be used freely, but they require time to recharge.

Dialogs

Alpha Protocol provides the ability to interact with numerous characters in the game. Conversations take place in real time, thereby giving the player limited time to respond at key “decision points” of the dialogue (a similar dialogue system was implemented in the Fahrenheit game) ^[5] . The in-game dialogue system - known as “DSS” or the dialogue position system ^[6] - allows the player to choose from several different relationships, or “positions,” in communication with the NPC. Each NPC will respond differently to these choices; one character may be afraid of an aggressive position, another may find it offensive or shameful, while the third will react to it as a matter of course.

Structure

The game has a central structure, according to which Torton must use safe houses in each of the cities to move between missions. In a safe house, he can change clothes, gain access to a locker with weapons, telephone contacts and try to complete a mission. Some missions are mandatory for the development of history, while others are optional.

Players will be able to acquire and sell weapons and promotion points within homes. Cities in the game are represented by Rome , Moscow and Taipei ^[17] .

Foreign gaming press

Alpha Protocol received mixed reviews from gaming journalists who praised it for unique and new solutions, an innovative dialogue system and criticized for the abundance of bugs and unsuccessful combat systems.

The Australian video game Good Game show gave the game 2 reviews with final ratings of 7/10 and 7.5 / 10 ^[18] .

Russian gaming press

The largest Russian portal of games Absolute Games put the game 58%. Observers noted a good system of dialogue and character development. The disadvantages were a poorly developed AI, stealth system and other shortcomings in the gameplay. Verdict: “But who will accept the Alpha Protocol as“ their own “is a millionth question. Role-playing action about the modern world, full of political and corporate intrigues, stood apart in the ocean of fantasy, ancient myths and space fiction. But poor execution ruined a good idea. Now it doesn’t matter whose fault it is: heaps of cooks in the designer “kitchen”, a self-serving project director or Sega who intervened. The spy “burned out”, the appearance failed ” ^[19] .

“ Gambling ” gave the game 7.5 points out of 10, making the following conclusion: “Alpha Protocol is your chance to feel like Jack Bauer, who has to make a million vital decisions per hour. As an action, Agent Torton’s adventures are shamelessly outdated, but that’s not the point. Yet no other game has given such a sense of control over everything that happens around. In Alpha Protocol, you decide with whom to make friends and curse, who to execute and pardon, who to help, and who to betray. And get ready for the fact that not only will you use people, but they will use you. And most importantly, remember: all decisions have consequences ” ^[20] .

The Country of the Games gave the game 7.0 out of 10 points. The script and an elaborate setting were ranked among the advantages. The disadvantages were monotonous gameplay and weak stealth scenes. Verdict: “One way or another, the Alpha Protocol seems to be a very promising project, and humanly I want the Obsidian staff to begin to continue. Just before that, they would definitely have worked on the mistakes, otherwise, the next time we’ll throw rotten eggs! ” ^[21]

Lenta.ru criticized the game in some detail: inappropriate planning system, poorly designed aiming system and weak artificial intelligence ^[22] .

The game portal Igromost.ru set the game to 7.5 (out of 10), noting the versatility of the choice, but not forgetting to point out the drawbacks - “crooked animation”, “very average graphics”, “clumsy action” and “primitive stealth” ^[23] .

In Russia, the role-playing game Alpha Protocol aroused increased interest after the trailer, in which the shootout in Moscow was demonstrated. The Russian players were attracted to the trailer not so much by the fact that one of the characters was thrown from the roof of the Rossiya Hotel against the backdrop of the Kremlin, but by a small, inconspicuous detail - a sign on the wall. The following is written on it: "In a fire, steal, kill, fuck the geese, wait for the return beep." This phrase long before that became an Internet meme . In the story, the hero also encounters the Russian mafia , based on the Victory yacht with the breakaway letters “Po” (a reference to the story “ Captain Vrungel ’s Adventures ”), and signs “ Welcome. No trespassing . ” A number of observers noted the external similarity of the character of the bodyguard Pavel Vanyaev, nicknamed “Champion”, with the Russian boxer Nikolai Valuev ^{[24] [25]} .

After the cold reception of the game by critics and players, Sega West division president Mike Hayes confirmed the information that the game would not continue, but praised the Alpha Protocol concept ^[26] .

• The list of games 1C-SoftKlab

• - Official Alpha Protocol Website
• Alpha Protocol Game Review
• Russian-language review of the game
• Review of the game on the tape. RU
• Alexey Moiseev. Alpha Protocol Review (unopened) (link unavailable) . Gambling (May 31, 2010). Date of treatment June 16, 2010. Archived May 24, 2012.
• Video review of the game from StopGame.ru
• Alpha Protocol on Absolute Games