Hypebusta? Alpha Protocol

Hypebuster: Alpha Protocol

Mass Effect 2 and Final Fantasy XIII were two of last year's big RPGs. If Resonance of Fate was the anti-FF13, then Alpha Protocol was the anti-ME2. Mass Effect 2 was a third-person shooter RPG that started turning its back on RPG elements and Final Fantasy XIII was a traditional RPG that forgot it was a game to be more cinematic and automated. While those two existed in the light, Resonance of Fate and Alpha Protocol lurked about in the margins giving more traditional RPG fans the conventions they wanted while still offering genre-bending innovation. I originally planned to pick up Alpha Protocol in the "Summer of Sega" that involved Bayonetta, Infinite Space, and Resonance of Fate. In 2010, Sega made an effort to bring forth new IPs. It's a shame none of them sold well since they'll probably stop publishing new IPs and focus on licensed properties and Sonic. I would've further supported Sega's fostering of new IPs with the purchase of Alpha Protocol then, but I didn't want to pick up another RPG without having finished Resonance of Fate. Time went by, summer ended, Resonance of Fate was still unfinished, and the price of Alpha Protocol went lower and lower.Now a year later, I have picked it up for $12.Reconnaissance:

Espionage RPG? What a novel idea! Finally an RPG that isn't sci-fi or fantasy!

Good ideas, very flawed execution.

Guns blazing, melee, stealth, or talking my way through a situation? It's nice to have options unlike certain bat themed heroes. Let's go for a stealth focus with shotgun proficiency. That might not work out so well, but what the hell.

Obsidian is known for interesting stories that allow for dynamic role-playing.

Obsidian is known for making some janky ass games.

Dialog choices that have actual consequences. Much better than waiting for a sequel to see all a choice changed was a single line of dialog.

Even negative relationships have perks. What a nice carrot to get people out of the mind set of thinking of what conversation choice will yield benefits

Missing head shots due to invisible "dice." Gross. This ain't 2007.

Stuck as Michael Thorton. Can't make a female character. You're ruining my RP, bro! That's fine though. It's not a spy story with out a little misogyny. Gonna play Thorton as a giant poon hound.

Deep Cover:

Holy crap. The classic "Sega" sound bite.

Mike Thorton, a man of many poor animations.

The gameplay is ass!

I regret picking Recruit class, I have no starting points!

Better understanding of gameplay and systems, less ass.

Hubs, hubs, hubs, I love hubs. I want to give all these hubs hugs.

If the game didn't crash, I probably would've skipped dinner. Thanks, Obsidian.

Okay, skills leveled up. Gameplay much less ass, having loads of fun pumping stealth. Forced into a firefight where I had to protect a guy. Only time I regret not putting any points in weapons.

Crash number 2. And while it was auto-saving. Here's hoping I didn't lose that file.

Brayko is awesome! 80's obsessed Russian gangster with gold SMGs who cokes up and chases you with knives. "when you bleed like that, you remind me of my first girlfriend." Easily the best taunt of any game. Too bad it's one of those fights where they send endless goons at you. A glitch worked out in my favor though. I don't think I would've beat him otherwise. Note to self: at least put a couple points in your guns.

Stealth maxed, decent points in hand guns and melee, a couple in hacking and assault rifles -- Thorton is now a badass. This is leveling up: making significant changes in how your character operates. So very rewarding.

These boss fights would be cooler if they took the time to tune their diffculty up instead of just tossing in endless goons.

End game bosses are cool because I actually got to use my stealth against them.

I would've whipped up more notes while playing, but I was quite involved in the exerience.

Wet works or a sopping wet mess?

As was established in the Batman: Arkham Asylum edition of Hypebuster, polish doesn't make a game. However, the severe lack of polish can break a game. Alpha Protocol, though rough at times and without coat upon coat of polish, is a gem nonetheless. Alpha Protocol is a captivating game. As of this posting, two playthroughs have been completed with the possibility of a third. The game's level of variation has me coming back. The choices I made in the two playthroughs had produced different results and I'm curious to see how I can further alter the events of the game through my decisions.

Decisions matter in this game, and not just decisions made during dialog. From the order in which the missions are completed, how you respond to people, whether or not you killed certain enemies or knocked them out and so forth, most all decisions in the game carry weight. Unlike the previous hypebuster game, Mass Effect 2, decisions do not revolve around a binary system that limits the player's options when they don't adhere to the binary system. There is more complexity in the web of role-playing as decisions the player has do not always have obvious outcomes and there is an uncertainty as to how other characters will respond to choices you made hours earlier. Alpha Protocol rewards role-playing instead of the people pleasing for rewards type of role-playing that is in Mass Effect. Even having negative character relationships offers perks and other benefits, not just positive relationships. Anybody who loves role-playing should definitely check out Alpha Protocol.

With such solid role-playing, it's the game that holds Alpha Protocol back. Though the game has cover based third-person shooting, it can't fully be judged by the criteria of that genre. Strictly by that criteria, Alpha Protocol is not the best shooter. Shooting requires a more tactical approach for it to be useful. Because of the RPG factors involved in shooting like passive abilities and active abilities, the combat more akin to a Valkyria Chronicles than say an Army of Two. Off the bat, weapons are weak and inaccurate. A weapon's effectiveness is a matter of lining up shots and waiting for the reticle to either charge or focus. Fortunately, the enemy is as awful a shot as Thorton which allows the player to charge their shots.

Stealth is also a bit wonky, at least at the outset. At first, especially with the Recruit class that has no starting points to allocate, stealth is tough to pull off. To make stealth effective, it's necessary to level up stealth to increase the effectiveness of passive skills and it also helps to equip the right type of armor and add the armor mods that enhance stealth. The game isn't a stealth game or a third-person shooter; for better or worse, it's an RPG to it's core. It's a mindset that takes a bit to adjust to, especially when one's standard to stealth is Metal Gear and when coming off a solid third-person shooter like Mass Effect 2. Becuase it's an RPG, the player has to consider the RPG elements. It's easy to forget that Michael has access to active skills and buffs that aid in combat. Playing without those skills makes the game harder to play and playing with those skills makes the game more fun and interesting, like the ability to cloak and sneak up to a guy's face and punch him in the neck.

A small sore spot is the game's boss fights. The bosses have the potential to be more interesting, or maybe I've been spoiled by Metal Gear. The boss for Moscow, Brayko, is one of my favorite characters in a while. The other bosses also have interesting personalities, but nowhere near as fun as Brayko. Unfortunately for the bosses, the actual fights aren't as interesting as their character. Any potential for an interesting boss fight is swept away in frustration by the endless waves of goons that accompany every boss. The boss fights aren't game breaking in the least, I just thought I needed something to gripe about after gushing so much earlier. Alpha Protocol is a must play for any RPG fan, especially if they're bored with the genre's tropes.



Next time on hypebuster... who knows? I'm waiting for El Shaddai to hit that $45 mark or for my buddy to platinum Shadows of the Damned so he never has to play it again. This is probably the end of the hypebuster series. Having Alpha Protocol in this blog series was a bit of a stretch. Until next time, keep your brains burning and those thumbs blistered.