Image courtesy of bit-tech
For hardcore RPG fans, few things stir as much interest as a game developed by Obsidian Entertainment, featuring the work of renowned designer Chris Avellone, and promising an unprecedented level of consequences for choices made throughout the game. Alpha Protocol is due out at the end of May, and the PR engines have been kicking into high gear getting ready for the release.
There have been numerous previews for the game – too many to begin to collate or quote, but there are some interesting things we’ve learned. One came a while back from a company Tweet:
Learned yesterday that it’s possible to get through Alpha Protocol without killing anyone. That’s kind of awesome.
Also, 1Up looks at the variety of play experiences afforded simply by tweaking the initial character:
Several times, the developers at Obsidian have pointed out that you can play through their upcoming, spy action-RPG Alpha Protocol as one of the three “big Bs” of modern espionage fiction: Bourne, Bond, or Bauer. To that end, I actually play through the opening act of a recent preview build with three different versions (in terms of character class and attitude) of main character Michael Thorton. While I won’t go as far as to say it feels like three different games, I’ll admit that there are some pretty cool tweaks and twists depending on your general attitude and play-style.
From what I can tell (I’ve only played up until the end of Operation Desert Spear, meaning the tutorial and four missions within Saudi Arabia), the story begins with a terrorist organization called Al-Samad firing stolen missiles at a civilian airliner; Desert Spear is Mike’s operation to track down Sheikh Ali Shaheed (Al-Samad’s chief financier). The different attitudes (suave, aggressive, and professional) you adopt during dialogue affect things such as your relationship to other characters (and what bonuses they give you when you start a mission under their supervision); for now, I’m focusing on Mike’s boss (Yancy Westbridge), the first contact/romance option (Mina Tsang), and rival agent Sean Darcy. Other factors that change depending on your style during Desert Spear include what happens while pursuing an arms dealer named Nasri (his own fate, and a sequence involving his guards, have different consequences), and what happens when you finally meet Shaheed himself.
This is a pretty amazing amount of non-artificial variety so early in the game. Most games with branching (such as Dragon Age) will start off differently, bring things together, and THEN allow for character variation further along in the game.
One of the big concerns with any new release is what type of DRM (digital rights management) the game will use. Voodoo Extreme got some details from Sega on this, and posted a sort of FAQ:
The system chosen for Alpha Protocol is Uniloc: SoftAnchor. The system will allow the user to activate Alpha Protocol online immediately out of the box and once activated the user never needs to worry about activating again. The activation can be used on a limited amount of PCs, and can be deactivated through our online servers allowing the user full control over their license – should they need to re-install, swap machines or suffer a catastrophic hardware failure on their normal PC.
In the future, SEGA will be releasing an unprotected patch of the game to alleviate any fears of not being able to play the game when the Uniloc servers won’t be around anymore.
We also do not use Steamworks – the Steam released version will use Uniloc DRM.
There was some significant concerns because the Uniloc DRM system caused loads of problems for players of Football Manager 2009, but those have since been addressed. The good news is that after the horrible Ubisoft DRM, Sega are using DRM that requires a single online activation and allows you to revoke activations as needed. The promise of patching out the DRM later on is a wonderful thing as well!
Also, there are some details on the pre-order bonuses being offered:
Reserve Alpha Protocol and receive the GameStop Exclusive Assault Pack containing:
* The GameStop exclusive UC Regulator high damage shotgun and shotgun upgrade kit.
* The GameStop exclusive Rittergroupen Grizzly high accuracy rifle and rifle upgrade kit.
* 30 Rounds Phosphorous Ammo
* 100 Rounds Sub Sonic Rounds
* 20 Explosive Grenades
* 10 Epinephrine SpikesIn addition, you will gain exclusive access to two modified weapons that can be purchased later in-game to enhance play and give you the upper hand: the Hamilton Howitzer huge volley shotgun and the Samael Retribution rapid-fire rifle. Available for online and in-store customers while supplies last.
OK … now I REALLY have to talk about this … imagine if when Apple announced the iPad they told you that if you pre-order in-store an Apple employee would slap you upside the head with a rotten sea bass. Would that provide incentive? How does this relate? Well, here’s a bit from the end of my review of Space Siege:
Space Siege isn’t a terrible game … but it might as well be. I promised to compare the game to similar games such as Alien Shooter Vengeance and Shadowgrounds: Survivor, but I am not sure to what extent that even matters at this point. Suffice it to say that Space Siege is inferior to those games in every way – including as a RPG. That seems really strange, especially since those games bill themselves as action games, with Shadowgrounds: Survivor mentioning that it added some RPG-lite features to provide added depth. Space Siege pretends to be a RPG, yet it is incredibly lacking in features that would allow players to feel in control over the growth and development of a character. There are really no choices that are permanent, as you can undo any effects of your cyber-tendencies, and even the ‘multiple endings’ are really just different entry points to the same place.
None of it would matter if the game was just loads of fun to play like Alien Shooter Vengeance. In that game, it would have been a blast if you played it in a language you didn’t understand, so the RPG-lite features and story were just icing on the bloody cake. But Space Siege never puts you in ‘that place’, where you are very powerful but still in a constant struggle for your life. Sure there is a horde of enemies around every corner, but the pacing and lousy control scheme and lack of tactics make it a dreary affair. You kill them, pick up the upgrade parts, move on, kill more, move on, kill more, and so on until you decide you’ve had enough for that gaming session.
So … while I have pre-ordered Alpha Protocol, getting a second copy of one of the worst games I’ve played in recent years wasn’t a motivating factor – and I also found the fact that I couldn’t get either of the weapon packs highly annoying.
But perhaps the most intriguing and amusing item is the panel discussion held by Obsidian Entertainment at the PAX East Expo last month. Led by Chris Avellone (something of a minor deity to RPG fans), this seemingly light discussion actually delved deep into choice and consequence mechanics as they apply to the game:
The added ‘juice drinking’ overlay just made things more fun as the panel were clearly struggling a bit as they got towards the end … but for the amazing depth and breadth of choice and reactivity I was very glad I watched the full hour!
Alpha Protocol is one of my most highly anticipated games this year, melding members of the teams who have made nearly all of the best written games in recent RPG history and a design that looks to intrigue fans of multiple game genres without leaving hardcore RPG fans behind. It is due out on June 1st, and I definitely recommend anyone who likes the spy genre and action/RPG games for computer or console to check this out!
