Ambition Over Technical Execution

Alpha Protocol is not a game without problems. Graphical hitches, awkward animation, and an annoying checkpoint system constantly interfere with the globe-trotting, espionage experience. Ultimately, these and other issues remain relegated to mere interruptions to what is otherwise an excellent role-playing game. 
 

The cornerstone to Alpha Protocol's success is its obsession with presenting the player with choices and more importantly, recognizing and rewarding the player for whatever choice they make. The most exciting of these rewards are perks: hidden achievements that, once unlocked, provide the player with permanent bonuses. Prefer the nonlethal approach? Tend to be honest in conversations? Alpha Protocol seems to watch and reward every aspect of a given play style. 
 
The reward system isn't just limited to perks. Depending on player decisions, the game's diverse cast of characters may offer or refuse aid in future missions. They also interact with each other, creating a web of intrigue with far-reaching consequences. Some of these consequences are felt immediately. Some are more subtle with effects that won't be realized until hours later into the game. The complexity of the game's relationship with player choice is nothing short of brilliant. 
 
These choices are often made in conversations. Dialog trees typically branch into three categories. All three feel natural, and switching between them in the same conversation doesn't make the player sound like a bipolar fool. This design extends to the rest of the game; approaching missions guns blazing or from the shadows aren't mutually exclusive options. Additionally, choices never boil down to the ridiculous "feed the puppy, kick the puppy" moral systems of other games.  
 
Outside the more plot-centric choices of Alpha Protocol, the game also boasts a skill tree that constantly rewards the player with new and improved techniques as well as an economy that forces the player to make tough choices concerning equipment and intelligence. 
 

Weaknesses of a less technical nature do exist, however. Too often boss fights devolve into simple shootouts, including cliché battles with helicopters. The story can get a bit convoluted, but mission summaries are effective in reminding the player why a mission was important and what were the outcomes. Despite the mission summaries, the plethora of femme fatales and double crosses can be hard to track, and the game's conclusion fails to tie up some loose ends. 
 
In the end, Alpha Protocol is a rewarding experience to be enjoyed by anyone looking for a variable action RPG with the heft to make that variety feel worthwhile.