I wasn’t shocked by much at this year’s E3. Spaz-happy Microsoft motion-controller sans, uh, controller? ‘Bout as exciting as seeing an Avatar’s shoe. Hanna Montana PSP bundle? So 2007. Wii Vitality Sensor? Beep…Beep…Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep…
But amidst all these ho-hum announcements, something actually did make me do a Don Mattrick triple take: Sega’s spy-themed third-person shooter role-playing game Alpha Protocol.
Phew — that’s a long descriptor. And though it sounds like a Katamari-covered mismash of popular genres, it surprisingly works. Which is why I came out of my demo wondering why I never cared about this game previously. Easy: I needed valuable first-hand intel.
Though it seems a little odd to combine a RPG with a shooter (a spy-themed one at that), it makes sense when you know who’s making it — Obsidian, the guys who developed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2, are whipping this one up. So they obviously know how to work out all the stat-building, yap-happy dialogue, and story-driven plot that most RPGs contain. But what about the combat? Are we going to be pausing time while we roll in-game dice to determine if our shotgun beats our enemy’s assault rifle with a +25 damage scope? Of course not, silly. Wait…really?
Yes, that’s what is so interesting about Alpha Protocol: On the surface it plays like any other cover-based third-person shooter (think Gears of War, Uncharted, etc.), but the game sneaks in a bunch of cool RPG conventions.
Sure, Mass Effect pretty much already does this, but the combat in Mass Effect isn’t nearly as smooth as a traditional third-person shooter. Like I said, if you were to glance at the gunplay in Alpha Protocol, you’d think it was a normal shooter. Oh, but it’s not.
That’s why I was so shocked: Alpha Protocol really makes you feel like you’re a badass spy in a game that could have been a fairly competent shooter minus the RPG features. And it does this by giving you a ton of interesting choices to make. For starters, you can customize your main character with a variety of different outfits and disguises (y’know, because it’s customary for every spy to at least wear one fake beard during his career). And, just like every professional sneaker, you have to smooth talk your way through various situations. So of course the game has a robust dialogue system that offers many choices that directly influence the story. What’s cool is that when you have the option to speak, a little timer goes down forcing you to think and respond quickly. Sure, you don’t have to give your gut reaction (the timer is just there to keep you on your toes), but the added pressure does give it a spy-like level of urgency.
And what you say really does matter, too. In the demo, a Russian bombshell attacks you when you start your mission. While arguing with her, you have a few options: 1) make peace or 2) kill her. Playing it cool has its benefits, as she and her gang of mercenaries will actually aid you during the mission. Decide to shoot her, and well, she’s gone. For good! Yep, she’ll never show up in the game again even though she has the potential to become a love interest later on.
If you’re wondering how to know what to say to people, it’s actually really easy: Every time you meet a character in the game, you receive an intel report on them. In this report (which updates as you play), it tells you how they like to be talked to. For instance, the Russian chica is turned on when you’re aggressive with her, so doing that will actually put her on your good side. Other characters, however, may want you approach them in different ways.
Enough about the blabbering, right? What about the gunplay? Well, like every RPG, leveling up plays a big part. Sure, you got your normal categories to build (strength, speed, etc.), but what’s cool are the special “spells” for your guns. The one we saw was a shotgun-related ability called “room sweep” which essentially allows to rapid-fire a series of quick shots a helluva lot faster than manually pumping each shell. Pretty cool, I must say. And this is in addition to the ability to totally tweak just about every aspect of your weapons (scope, magazine, stock, etc.). It’s like Army of Two‘s weapon-creating system but even more wacky.
Wrap all this up in a Bourne Identity-like story and you have one of the best camouflage demos I received at E3. Hopefully everything Obsidian promises pans out, though, because I’d hate for this game to all be a clever ruse.