I like that the hacking and lockpicking minigames are actually representative of hacking and lockpicking, as opposed to just being some weird, out of place point-and-click task that looks as if it sounds like a monotone robot voice saying “hi-tech.” I like that you have options when you’re taking on a level - you can quietly infiltrate a compound by sneaking through a locked door and scaling walls in silence, or you can run in with your shotgun and go straight to Scattershot City. I like that each type of gun has its own distinct gimmick. There are loads of things that Alpha Protocol does well.

Janky, sure, and a bit messy at times, but ultimately it’s a fantastic game that - for some weird reason - nobody really talks about all that much. Anyway, I booted it up for the first time a few days ago and it’s brilliant. I was 14 years old when Alpha Protocol came out and was too busy stupidly entertaining the idea that I was decent at football to play it - reader, I was not decent at football. In our piece about how it was made, it’s pretty clear that although multiple factors contributed to the turbulence of Alpha Protocol’s development, this was probably the most major one.īut listen, right - I’m 25. I don’t mean that in any way that’s negatively connotative of the game itself - what I mean is, Alpha Protocol looked like the first Mass Effect game but ended up having to contend with the radically improved mechanics of Mass Effect 2. Related: The Making Of Alpha Protocol, An Inventive, Brilliant RPG That Was Murdered By Mass EffectĪlpha Protocol is probably one of the most unfortunate games to have ever existed.

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