Michael "Thornton" can't shoot.
Michael Thorton Can't Shoot:
Or, How I learned to love Alpha Protocol
I won't lie to you- you cannot play this game and expect the refined experience you might get out of Mass Effect 2, Call of Duty, or any other blockbuster hit. Guns fire erratically, the AI was programmed by the monkeys we usually hire to write the works of Shakespeare, and the game has more bugs then the worlds largest ant farm. In fact, you will sometimes be lucky if the floor of the next room loads correctly. Through all of the muck and grime, however, there's a brilliance to Alpha Protocol, a shining light that blinded me in surprise as I surrendered myself to the game. "I'm... enjoying this?" I thought to myself, but the truth was I was doing more then that. Witty dialogue and well defined characters managed to hook me for the whole experience. Before long, I was emotionally invested, and despite all the problems I had been warned to look out for, I emerged on the other side thinking I had played one of the most underrated games of all time.
I have to be fair, though. There are a number of issues plaguing Alpha Protocol that could easily put anyone off continuing the game. The AI, from my observations, was programmed by someone who once had a psychology book summarized for them. Soldiers will charge blindly into your gun, lumbering left and right as if that will somehow help them avoid a spray of bullets. Or they grab hold of a turret and fire. Not at anything in particular- least of all you- they just fire. They fire wildly, hitting every piece of matter in the vicinity except you. The most infuriating type is probably the AI that happily waits around corners with a shotgun, and flips around just in time to place the barrel at your head and fire regardless of how silent you may have been moving. Aside from the AI, other in-game issues can quickly hamper your progress. The visual cues that let you know you can interact with objects sometimes vanish, making you miss vital clues or paths as to what to do next. Sometimes a room will load improperly, leaving Michael Thorton to fall into a black hole indefinitely. I've heard that occasionally necessary doors will refuse to open, though I never experienced this during my playthrough.
For the most part, these issues can be resolved by loading the previous checkpoint, which is usually not too far of a setback in a particular level. As if Alpha Protocol wasn't done racking in the blemishes, some issues are not the result of bugs. Gunplay feels weird and occasionally random. steadying your aim for a lengthy amount of time and staying out of sight can help the inaccuracy of pistols, but in fast and frantic situations no gun functions well. Shotguns don't seem to hit with a proper amount of force, pisols become horribly inaccurate, and SMG's hit everything but what you're aiming for. Only Assault Rifles functioned in a way I found tolerable, and even then my occasional three round bursts would hit walls or sky. In terms of story decisions, the conversational stance system leaves options that are not always clear at your disposal. At one point, the option "get out" appeared, and thinking I would urge a character to leave in the interest of safety I selected it. instead, Thorton proceeds to berate them angrily, quite contrary to what I anticipated. This is a small issue, however, and for the most part the conversation system functions just as well as any Mass Effect style conversation wheel. In fact, the game lays out your options in conversation very clearly. The buttons are:
X, for the suave, sarcastic Michael.
Y for the tough, asshole Michael.
B for the professional, one-track mind Michael.
A for special options that appear sparingly, usually only given previous choices or obtained items (guess which one had "Get Out" as a choice).
Different characters will respond favorably, poorly, or indifferently to your particular stances, and learning what the people you meet will respond best to is key to getting by in the game- or distancing yourself from everyone you meet, depending on your way of playing.
It is in that conversation system that Alpha Protocol managed to grab hold of me. Meeting different characters, tracking down informants, and seeking out the Mole that sells Michael out at the start of the game was where I found so much merit to the game that I was willing to forgive all other blemishes I had witnessed. The choices at your disposal are almost overwhelming, and they have a significant impact on the rest of your missions. Getting in nice with one organization may open up back doors or provide support in future missions, and causing a scene or getting witnessed frequently can cause an increase in enemy forces in others. There are a few moments in Alpha Protocol where you will be forced to make a binary choice, and its these moments where players will feel the greatest impact on the world around them.
No matter what bug or frustrating encounter I had, I wanted to keep pressing through Alpha Protocol to see my decisions trickle down to the ending, and it did not disappoint. While I would have appreciated a larger wrap-up, I felt satisfied with the results of my choices and was presented with all the options I'd hoped I would have going into the Endgame. Ultimately its the political intrigue and the personalities Michael encounters in Alpha Protocol that save the game from complete mediocrity, and I was glad to have spent my time with it.
As a final note, it is worth mentioning I grabbed Alpha Protocol for 5$ during a sale on Steam. For that amount, I am more then pleased with the result. For its current 30$ price tag, however ,it may be a bit steep considering the wide array of problems. As a rule of thumb, if you've ever enjoyed a Bond movie or consider Burn Notice a prime-time must see, the price may be worth your time, especially if you don't mind some extremely stat-based gun-play. If you're like me and are looking for a Mass Effect fix until ME3 comes out (and I'm sorry if you are), you might be able to enjoy the Alpha Protocol experience so long as you prepare yourself for the constant blemishes that mar the experience.
(If Spy fictions don't do it for you at all, I'm not even sure why you read this and urge you to stay away.)
Or, How I learned to love Alpha Protocol
I won't lie to you- you cannot play this game and expect the refined experience you might get out of Mass Effect 2, Call of Duty, or any other blockbuster hit. Guns fire erratically, the AI was programmed by the monkeys we usually hire to write the works of Shakespeare, and the game has more bugs then the worlds largest ant farm. In fact, you will sometimes be lucky if the floor of the next room loads correctly. Through all of the muck and grime, however, there's a brilliance to Alpha Protocol, a shining light that blinded me in surprise as I surrendered myself to the game. "I'm... enjoying this?" I thought to myself, but the truth was I was doing more then that. Witty dialogue and well defined characters managed to hook me for the whole experience. Before long, I was emotionally invested, and despite all the problems I had been warned to look out for, I emerged on the other side thinking I had played one of the most underrated games of all time.
I have to be fair, though. There are a number of issues plaguing Alpha Protocol that could easily put anyone off continuing the game. The AI, from my observations, was programmed by someone who once had a psychology book summarized for them. Soldiers will charge blindly into your gun, lumbering left and right as if that will somehow help them avoid a spray of bullets. Or they grab hold of a turret and fire. Not at anything in particular- least of all you- they just fire. They fire wildly, hitting every piece of matter in the vicinity except you. The most infuriating type is probably the AI that happily waits around corners with a shotgun, and flips around just in time to place the barrel at your head and fire regardless of how silent you may have been moving. Aside from the AI, other in-game issues can quickly hamper your progress. The visual cues that let you know you can interact with objects sometimes vanish, making you miss vital clues or paths as to what to do next. Sometimes a room will load improperly, leaving Michael Thorton to fall into a black hole indefinitely. I've heard that occasionally necessary doors will refuse to open, though I never experienced this during my playthrough.
For the most part, these issues can be resolved by loading the previous checkpoint, which is usually not too far of a setback in a particular level. As if Alpha Protocol wasn't done racking in the blemishes, some issues are not the result of bugs. Gunplay feels weird and occasionally random. steadying your aim for a lengthy amount of time and staying out of sight can help the inaccuracy of pistols, but in fast and frantic situations no gun functions well. Shotguns don't seem to hit with a proper amount of force, pisols become horribly inaccurate, and SMG's hit everything but what you're aiming for. Only Assault Rifles functioned in a way I found tolerable, and even then my occasional three round bursts would hit walls or sky. In terms of story decisions, the conversational stance system leaves options that are not always clear at your disposal. At one point, the option "get out" appeared, and thinking I would urge a character to leave in the interest of safety I selected it. instead, Thorton proceeds to berate them angrily, quite contrary to what I anticipated. This is a small issue, however, and for the most part the conversation system functions just as well as any Mass Effect style conversation wheel. In fact, the game lays out your options in conversation very clearly. The buttons are:
X, for the suave, sarcastic Michael.
Y for the tough, asshole Michael.
B for the professional, one-track mind Michael.
A for special options that appear sparingly, usually only given previous choices or obtained items (guess which one had "Get Out" as a choice).
Different characters will respond favorably, poorly, or indifferently to your particular stances, and learning what the people you meet will respond best to is key to getting by in the game- or distancing yourself from everyone you meet, depending on your way of playing.
It is in that conversation system that Alpha Protocol managed to grab hold of me. Meeting different characters, tracking down informants, and seeking out the Mole that sells Michael out at the start of the game was where I found so much merit to the game that I was willing to forgive all other blemishes I had witnessed. The choices at your disposal are almost overwhelming, and they have a significant impact on the rest of your missions. Getting in nice with one organization may open up back doors or provide support in future missions, and causing a scene or getting witnessed frequently can cause an increase in enemy forces in others. There are a few moments in Alpha Protocol where you will be forced to make a binary choice, and its these moments where players will feel the greatest impact on the world around them.
No matter what bug or frustrating encounter I had, I wanted to keep pressing through Alpha Protocol to see my decisions trickle down to the ending, and it did not disappoint. While I would have appreciated a larger wrap-up, I felt satisfied with the results of my choices and was presented with all the options I'd hoped I would have going into the Endgame. Ultimately its the political intrigue and the personalities Michael encounters in Alpha Protocol that save the game from complete mediocrity, and I was glad to have spent my time with it.
As a final note, it is worth mentioning I grabbed Alpha Protocol for 5$ during a sale on Steam. For that amount, I am more then pleased with the result. For its current 30$ price tag, however ,it may be a bit steep considering the wide array of problems. As a rule of thumb, if you've ever enjoyed a Bond movie or consider Burn Notice a prime-time must see, the price may be worth your time, especially if you don't mind some extremely stat-based gun-play. If you're like me and are looking for a Mass Effect fix until ME3 comes out (and I'm sorry if you are), you might be able to enjoy the Alpha Protocol experience so long as you prepare yourself for the constant blemishes that mar the experience.
(If Spy fictions don't do it for you at all, I'm not even sure why you read this and urge you to stay away.)
