There are so many games that end up in the Phantom Zone of everyone’s brains. You know the type, games that have a set of good ideas wrapped in an interesting premise. And then they get left behind because the gameplay was just a bit off. In an era where the western RPG was really taking off, Alpha Protocol got left behind. It didn’t get wildly positive reviews upon release, but time has been much kinder to it. With the reveal of 007 First Light recently, I thought it would be a perfect time to look back at this spy RPG.
aLPHA pROTOCOL WAS LIKE MASS EFFECT FOR SPIES
Alpha Protocol places you in the shoes of Michael Thorton, an agent who was recruited into the Alpha Protocol program. After a mission goes completely sideways in the way that all of these tend to go, Thorton finds himself dealing with being left for dead and having to right some wrongs from within his own agency. I’m being intentionally vague because I really think this is a game worth playing.
The game does put you in positions to make choices that affect the story. Obsidian did a great job of putting me in a crunch. Choosing between one person or the destruction of a building may seem like an easy choice to make in a video game. But the story does just enough to make you consider all options even if for a split second.
It really does feel like their answer to Mass Effect though they didn’t reach the obvious highs of the classic BioWare series. But I do think Obsidian had some good ideas and even executed a few of them well. The game just needed to be cleaned up a bit. Given that I no longer have my Xbox 360, I’ve been tempted to buy it again on my laptop just to give it another run. Especially seeing it’s on GOG for less than 14 bucks.
SHOULD WE RUN IT BACK?
YES. Given the massive Mass Effect related hole we’ve been experiencing, I would have thought Sega would be willing to dig it up and give us a new one. Even with the trademark for the game expiring in 2021, I’m still holding out hope that they bring this back. Don’t let the James Bond game scare you out of retooling and coming back with your own spy epic. Spy vs Spy doesn’t have to be just for Mad magazine.
The post Retro Runback: Alpha Protocol- The Spy RPG That Absolutely Needs Another Shot appeared first on VICE.
