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Mediocre Critical Reception
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0 8 9 0 |
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 Excellent  Good  Mediocre  Poor |
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Platform: |
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PlayStation 3 |
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Genre: |
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Action Role-Playing |
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Developer: |
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Obsidian |
ESRB: |
Mature |
Release: |
June 1, 2010 |
Publisher: |
Sega |
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Critic Reviews The following reviews are used to calculate the overall reception for this game. All applicable scores are converted to our simplified rating system based on the specifics offered by each publication or the tone of each review. You can read more about how we do this here.
May 28, 2010 - Good - Alpha Protocol isn't a terribly long game. That's not actually a bad thing, though. So much of the dialogue and story changes depend on your choices that it's absolutely worth revisiting at least once after the credits roll.
July 1, 2010 - Good - In an industry that demands the delivery of promises and return on producer investment - where trying and failing are not an option - [Alpha Protocol] does its best and tries out some truly interesting ideas. Even though Alpha Protocol's best won't be enough for everyone, those drawn to a compelling story and the possibility of a new kind of RPG will find this mission worth signing on for. [Issue #6, p.50]
May 28, 2010 - Good - Obsidian can't really compete with the bigger boys in the RPG field, then, but it's carved out a little space to call its own. With ambition instead of budget, and integrity instead of polish, in the end the choice of whether to persevere or not is pretty easy to make.
June 2, 2010 - Good - For a game that's been through numerous hurdles, Alpha Protocol's a solid rental. The way the story and relationships change depending on your choices will keep you hooked, and warrants at least two play-throughs to see what might have been. However, just be aware that you'll have to put up with some problems.
June 1, 2010 - Good - While its story, characters and conversations are interesting and fun to play around with, Alpha's third-person shooting - which makes up the bulk of the game - is not. It's a far cry from terrible, but we'd been led to expect much more.
May 28, 2010 - Good - Though it sacrifices some genre staples, such as open-world exploration, in the pursuit of its new approach to role-playing, those sacrifices are outweighed by the gains. A very different, innovative RPG, Alpha Protocol is essential gaming for anyone willing to put their pre-conceptions aside and have fun with a new type of RPG on its own terms.
June 9, 2010 - Good - If you're looking for an engaging story that's potentially more dynamic than anything you'll have ever played and characters that are almost guaranteed to entertain you, you should play Alpha Protocol. It's not the most finely crafted RPG on the market, but it definitely deserves some attention.
June 7, 2010 - Good - Alpha Protocol does one thing really well, and it may be the absolute best game in the genre for what it does. The fluid and engaging plot is designed in such a way that you can have completely different and surprising outcomes to a lot of plotlines. Unfortunately, aside from the one thing that it does really well, everything else in the game ranges from mediocre to broken.
June 7, 2010 - Mediocre - The convoluted controls never feel natural; even switching guns is a clumsy chore. The camera pushes in too close, limiting your vision. And the behavior of your bumbling enemies can hardly be called "artificial intelligence." Moments like these - not the less-frequent flashes of ingenuity - define the tone of Alpha Protocol, a game daunted by its potential and resigned to falling short.
June 1, 2010 - Mediocre - Alpha Protocol can occasionally - even often - be lots of fun due to its unusual cast, and its innovative use of RPG systems under the surface will satisfyingly dictate the many outcomes the player can get, but ultimately it just doesn't work as a whole.
May 28, 2010 - Mediocre - The team at Obsidian Entertainment knows role-playing. Alpha Protocol isn't necessarily a counter-point to that expertise; the RPG systems under the hood are solid. I just wish that I could experience them in the context of a compelling espionage adventure, not a last-gen third-person shooter.
May 31, 2010 - Mediocre - It could have been a lot worse, but for all its worth, the game simply doesn't deliver enough of an experience to keep the player wanting more. A dull experience rife with technical flaws and badly-combined mechanics.
May 28, 2010 - Mediocre - Alpha Protocol's ambitions are commendable, and if you're a role-playing fanatic, you'll enjoy investigating its intricacies. It's unfortunate that its various ingredients are so undercooked. The flaky cover system, the mediocre production values, the fundamental blemishes gone unchecked--these elements add up quickly and drag the experience down.
May 31, 2010 - Mediocre - If you decide to play Alpha Protocol, just know that your main enemies over the course of its 15-or-so hours will be its collection of misery-inducing technical issues and the clash between its action and role-playing elements. There are parts of Alpha Protocol that I feel are totally amazing and absolutely worth seeing, but you'll have to trudge through a lot of very disappointing stuff just to see it.
June 1, 2010 - Mediocre - A more rounded cast of characters could have helped out immensely because it's difficult to build up any emotional investment with the stereotypical personalities wrapped up in this twisting tale of conspiracy and global domination. Imbalanced skills, glitches, dim-witted enemies, and repetitive encounters further undercut the entertainment, making Alpha Protocol a game you can safely pass by.
June 8, 2010 - Mediocre - Each glimmer of hope that you see through the cracked venir of graphical glitches and all to regular system crashes will spur you to play your way through the game and maybe even try it again to explore some alternative character choices. Still, you will be haunted all the way by the game that could have been had Obsidian been given more time.
May 28, 2010 - Mediocre - Despite its myriad of shortcomings there's a moderate amount of fun to be had with Alpha Protocol. There's a lot of potential hiding under the flawed shell, and although Obsidian has failed to coax it out this time around, I hope somebody does the concept justice in the future.
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