“Alpha Protocol” a predictable game with a forgettable ending

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Action RPG

M for mature

2.5/5 stars

Obsidian Entertainment has proven over the years that it can create fantastic sequels to some very well received games: “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords,” “Neverwinter Nights 2” and, hopefully, “Fallout: New Vegas.”

Yet after teaming up with SEGA and creating a game of their own, Obsidian’s third-person espionage RPG, “Alpha Protocol,” is a bit of a let down.

You control agent Michael Thorton, the newest member of Alpha Protocol, a covert operation service that doesn’t officially exist. You will travel around the world, unraveling conspiracies in a plot very similar to the Bourne series.

The game does offer some real-world locations for its missions, including Rome, Moscow and Taipei. In each of those areas, Thorton has a safe house in which he can check his e-mail from various contacts, purchase new weapons and equipment and change his appearance at any time.

The game does offer a lot of customization, which is one of the few things it did right.

A number of armor and weapon add-ons can be purchased from the store, allowing you to upgrade your equipment with attachments like silencers, gun sights and armor enhancing tools.

Character development

Unfortunately, once the game really gets going, its awkwardness, repetition and design flaws outshine the rest.

Every mission feels the same: you begin in your safe house, usually with a briefing from your handlers. You check your e-mail, buy equipment, then leave the safe house and choose which mission you want to complete. This process never changes.

During missions, Thorton often comes across a new contact willing to team up with him or provide him with cash or equipment. After initiating a “Mass Effect”-like conversation, you can choose whether or not you want to make a new friend or outright kill everyone standing between you and your objective.

The conversation interaction is one of the highlights of the game, as Thorton’s responses are usually well-scripted and it feels like you genuinely control the direction of his personality.

Glitches and AI

However, the main issue with the game is its frustrating and poorly coded AI.

During missions, you can literally sneak behind two guards standing next to each other and take one out with a stab to the head as his friend stays none the wiser.

If you engage in a firefight with multiple enemies, expect them to throw grenades with incredible accuracy.

Though most enemies are not difficult to dispatch, you will have to activate and rely on your newly gained abilities if you hope to survive the inconsistently difficult boss battles.

Expect to die a lot, only to catch a lucky break and have the boss glitch out and continually run into a wall, allowing you to blast away until he’s defeated.

Aside from AI, the game presents a few other issues, including clunky controls, glitchy graphics and an ending that was even more cheesy than Thorton’s tendency to detonate every infiltrated base with a lot of explosives.

Though not awful, “Alpha Protocol” is overwhelmed by flaws and frustratingly ignorant AI.

It’s hard to care about a game when its developer did not.