General Information - Guide for Alpha Protocol

What is Alpha Protocol?

 Alpha Protocol is an action RPG game that is set in the modern world.  You 
play as Mike Thorton who is a American secret agent who becomes embroiled in a 
globe-spanning spy-genre conspiracy.  The game allows you to use full-blown RPG 
character development mechanisms and a fast-paced, reactive dialogue system 
called DSS to let you choose how you want to play. You can be a rambo gunman, a 
stealthy martial arts infiltrator, or a hacker and gadget-user; you can 
be 'Bond, Bourne or Bauer' in the way you talk to behave. The game's most 
important quality is its choice and consequences: Alpha Protocol offers not 
just alternative endings based on your choices, but also alternative 'middles': 
it will take at least 3 or 4 very different games to see the majority of the 
game's content. 
________________________________________________________________________________
 
Who is Obsidian?

Obsidian Entertainment is a California-based video game developer that 
specialises in role-playing games. Their past work includes Knights of the Old 
Republic II: The Sith Lords, Neverwinter Nights 2 and its expansions Mask of 
the Betrayer and Storm of Zehir, and the upcoming Fallout: New Vegas, to be 
released this fall. 
________________________________________________________________________________

What platforms is Alpha Protocol available in?

Alpha Protocol is available on the PC, XBox 360 and Playstation 3.
________________________________________________________________________________

Where can I find Alpha Protocol?

You will find it in just about every retail video game shop, as well as online
________________________________________________________________________________

What ESRB rating does Alpha Protocol have?

Alpha Protocol is rated M (Mature) in the US, and is likely to have similar 
ratings elsewhere. Check with your local distributor. 
________________________________________________________________________________
 
When will Alpha Protocol be released?

It's out now!
________________________________________________________________________________


Game Features

 What kind of character can I play?

You play Mike Thorton, a male American spy. You can edit his appearances to 
your liking, ranging from bald to shaggy hair, clean-shaved to a complete 
beard, caps, shades and more, but it is unlikely that you can make a completely 
different model. There is no party and you will always play as Mike. However, 
there will often be 'handlers' - NPCs who you ally with and who will give you 
information and talk with you over the headset while you do your missions.
________________________________________________________________________________

How do missions work? Is this an open-world game?

Alpha Protocol is based around several 'hubs' around the world, such as Saudi 
Arabia,Rome,Taipei and Moscow.  Each hub has several missions that you can 
carry out, and a safehouse.  The hubs can be visited in any order, and many 
missions done in any order; and the order in which you do things changes what 
happens there, as well. Inside a mission, you have a lot of freedom in where to 
go, what to do, what optional areas to go / things to do, or how to solve that 
mission. Safehouses are also places where you can gather intel on NPCs, buy 
equipment, upgrade and modify guns, read e-mails and speak to your handlers.
________________________________________________________________________________
How does dialogue work?

Alpha Protocol features a brand new dialogue system called DSS (Dialogue Stance 
System). When an NPC begins speaking, you are presented with a range of 
choices - often 4 - while the time bar grows smaller and smaller. When you are 
a spy in a high-tension environment, people don't wait 20 minutes for you to 
make up your mind: so you must pick your response before the time bar expires, 
or the default option will be chosen (the last option you chose). In many 
cases, similar kinds of responses will be in similar places - such 
as 'aggressive' responses or 'suave' ones, allowing players to choose quickly, 
but there are also 'extraordinary' options such as headslam or shoot. The 
options do not tell you everything Mike says, but rather a short abbreviation: 
the developers promise that there will be no 'nasty surprises' as to Mike 
coming out and saying not what you intended. There are various videos, like 
this one, that show how it all works. 
________________________________________________________________________________
How does character development work?

You gain XP, gain levels, and spend your points in ten different skills, which 
let you invest in skills such as Pistols, Submachine Guns, Stealth and 
Technical Aptitude. You can choose to specialise in one area, or to become a 
jack of all trades: whatever path you take, every mission in Alpha Protocol 
promises to have multiple solutions and thus not punish you for making 
the 'wrong' character. As you get better in a particular skill, you can gain 
special abilities that make you even more effective - such as the 'Chain Shot', 
which let you line up multiple shots and then fire them almost instantly.
________________________________________________________________________________

How does combat work?

You use an over-the-top third person view, and essentially engage in a typical 
shooter experience with a cover system. The difference here is that you can 
choose to stealth, use martial arts attacks or takedowns, grenades, gadgets and 
more. For example, you can set off a false alarm that lures guards elsewhere, 
then watch a train run over them. 
________________________________________________________________________________

 Are there romances in the game?

Yes: there are definitely romance options. Spurned or abused romantic interests 
may even take it badly and work to sabotage your mission. Explicit sexual 
content is not seen as appropriate or necessary, and the game prefers to 
remain 'tasteful'. 
________________________________________________________________________________

What save system is used?

Alpha Protocol uses a save checkpoint system, meaning you cannot save anywhere. 
However, developers promise checkpoints are very plentiful and you will never 
be backtracking 20 minutes' worth of play because you died. 
________________________________________________________________________________

 How do difficulty settings work? What kind of options are there?

There is a standard set of difficulties that controls how hard the game is, and 
then there are also two extra 'modes' you can enable: Recruit and Veteran. 
Veteran is only available after you complete the game once. These are different 
from difficulty settings, and more like 'Director's Cut' versions. The recruit 
version features additional dialogue that presumes Mike Thorton to be 
a 'rookie' agent; the veteran version presumes him to be a hardened veteran, 
and also has more odd, funny and wacky dialogue or voice acting. The developers 
recommend going through the game in each of these modes in order (None, 
Recruit, Veteran) to get the full experience.
________________________________________________________________________________