Obsidian would be the first to tell you - in fact, it did - that it would have loved to change so many things (I wrote a big 'making of Alpha Protocol' piece after a trip to Obsidian two years ago). It has fun with itself, and that's a hard thing to resist.Īlpha Protocol is scruffy, I don't think that's up for debate. It makes games like Alpha Protocol charming because they work harder on their personality. It's this creative boldness double-A games were so good at, as if they knew they weren't going to compete in the looks department so they pushed hard elsewhere - pushed in ways buttoned-up blockbusters were too timid to. Want to see how things end if tackled a different way? That's fine - breeze through it again. It's a masterstroke because it works gorgeously with the game's celebrated web of choice and consequence, which is bold enough to make the game play out very differently depending on the decisions you make. Watch on YouTube Even the marketing was ridiculous (and I secretly love it)!Īnd you don't balk at the prospect of potentially playing again. You woosh through, smooching, high-kicking and gadgeting, and all in time for dinner. Alpha Protocol feels so breezy by comparison. You'd crucify an RPG for being that long today - hundreds of hours or go home (and therein lies a much deeper problem with game length because what good is a narrative if most people don't see it through to the end?). It's only around 15 hours long (that's a long Sunday afternoon, Bertie). That's really refreshing these days, when everything is so big and long and seeeerrrrious. It's all exactly as it should be, a Sunday afternoon spy film. Ridiculous characters and ridiculous plots: check.
I'm OK with Alpha Protocol doing the same. That's what happens in the films, doesn't it? How many times have you really thought James Bond was in trouble?Īnd I'm OK with that. Sometimes I just want to romp around like an invincible secret agent and wipe a load of baddies out, and save the day. I don't always want a challenge, not a really tough one. But I love them! And I love the game for having them. The first thing I think, when I think about Alpha Protocol, is 'stupid enemies'. We've got a Double-A Team archive where you can catch up with all of the pieces so far. Today, drum roll, it's Alpha Protocol at last! The Double-A Team is a weekly series honouring the unpretentious, mid-budget, gimmicky commercial action games that no-one seems to make any more.
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