Alpha Protocol Xbox 360

Released on 28/05/2010

• Alpha Protocol: Preview

  This preview will self-destruct in five...

  Being a spy is every guy's fantasy. Licensed to kill; trained to be a one-man army; making decisions that affect the future of the free world; and an absolute chick magnet when you slide on a fitted designer suit. Any bloke who tells you different is either lying, or is a spy. Not that they'd tell you if they were. They'd have to kill you.

  Considering the popularity of Bond, Bourne and co, it's surprising that we've seen only a small number of spy titles in the world of videogames. And those we do have - Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell spring to mind - tend to be linear stealth-em-ups with rigid stories, pre-defined characters and not a whole lot of choice about the way the game plays out.

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  We've been waiting for ages for a game that would let us become a government agent, select our skillset, suit n boot up, and take on the world in a way we see fit (there would be cake. Explosive cake. Oh yes). And now, after a recent visit to Sega HQ, it would seem we've found it (well... minus the cake. Booo.)

  You are an agent. There's terrorism afoot. How you go about fighting it is entirely up to you. Welcome to the world's first Espionage RPG.

  Alpha Protocol places you into the shoes of agent Michael Thorton, tells you there's terrorism afoot, and says 'go'. How you choose to go about fighting it from there is entirely up to you. Welcome to the world's first Espionage RPG.

  But before you've even fired a shot, you'll need to choose your character's background. Will you be a decorated soldier, covert ops specialist, hack-happy tech head, or an enigmatic freelancer? The one you pick will determine your character's starting attributes, including prowess with weapons ranging from shotguns to pistols, rifles, automatics and even explosives, plus the level of other essential spy skills like stealth, martial arts, computer hacking and sabtotage.

  Skill points are limited, however, so while you are able to pick and choose your stats within these fields (or even opt for a blank slate by selecting Freelancer), your best bet is really to pick a couple of areas and specialise. Spread your stats too thin and Alpha Protocol will seem incredibly difficult; Play to your character's strengths and you're in for a much more rewarding experience.

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  Your background won't just affect your skills, though - it also influences the responses you'll get from your peers within secretive agency Alpha Protocol HQ at the start of the game. It's a nice touch, which really serves to emphasise the idea that this is your own, custom-made adventure.

  Will you be a slick Bond-style spy, a Jason Bourne-esque all-action agent, or even a take-no-prisoners Jack Bauer type? It's your choice.

  Pivotally, how you respond to other characters is entirely up to you. Suave, aggressive or professional responses are available, with a small window of time in which to choose between them, and wildly varying knock-on effects depending on your selections. Will you be a slick Bond-style spy, a Jason Bourne-esque all-action agent, or even a take-no-prisoners Jack Bauer type? It's your choice.
  

  A good example would be a scene featuring a Russian arms dealer, which we were able to play twice in opposite ways. First, selecting a mixture of professional and suave answers, we left the conversation with a new contact, the information we wanted, plus a 10% arms discount, before taking on an important infiltration of a Russian-based US embassy, where we managed to bluff our way past security guards, before teaming up with them to defend the building against a terrorist attack.

  We then went back to the arms dealer conversation a second time and selected aggressive choices, leaving our informant bloody, bruised and vengeful. We still got the info, but our bullying had only wrangled a lowly 5% discount, and our post-mission dossier suggested that he would be inclined to alert the authorities to our presence on Eastern soil.

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  Sure enough, we arrived at the Embassy a second time to find hard-as-nails soldiers on the door packing some serious firepower. Rather than being a bad thing, though, they actually turned out to be of much more assistance against the attacking terrorists. All in all, then, a handy example for the grey-area cause-and-effect of Alpha Protocol's sophisticated dialogue system, and another hint at the level of depth you can expect as you progress through its twisty-turny espionage story.

  Hundreds of moral choices to make across a globe-hopping campaign which can end in any of 32 ways. How's that for interactive storytelling?

  The really impressive fact about Alpha Protocol though is that the classes, gameplay styles and dialogue system are just its spine. There's a wealth of weapons and gadgets to acquire; side missions to unlock by finding and purchasing intel; pages of dossiers to pore over; and a complex plot full of double-crosses, subterfuge and hundreds of moral choices to make across a globe-hopping campaign which can end in any of 32 - yes, 32! - ways. How's that for interactive storytelling?

  If that all sounds like Mass Effect meets Jason Bourne, that's because it is… and at the same time, isn't. Unlike BioWare's game, Alpha Protocol's combat handles damage based on a combination of your weapons, your aim, AND your relevant stats in those areas, meaning you'll need to invest in, say, the shotgun skill, to really play as an up-close damage dealer; or the rifle to snipe your way through the campaign. It's a little frustrating at first, but once you've gotten your head around equipping the right weapons for your specialities, pinpointed your enemy and waited for the reticule to narrow before pulling the trigger, it all starts to click (and shuck, and boom) in a hugely satisfying manner.

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  Perhaps the most appealing thing about Alpha Protocol though is that you'll get to do something that real life secret agents don't; act out your spy fantasies of living out of safehouses, talking into watches, ruthlessly taking out henchmen and seducing your way to hero status while still having a life, holding down a job, spending time with the other half and telling everyone about your escapades, without having to pop a cap in them in the name of national security.

  Unless you really are a spy, of course...

  Preview by: Mark 'Suavely Does It' Scott
  Preview Published: 13.05.10

  Published: 13/05/2010

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