Alpha Protocol

Alpha Protocol came in the mail today.  Released in 2009 by Obsidian, Alpha Protocol is a third person action cRPG.  (Or as the box say, it's an "espionage" cRPG.)  When the game originally hit the shelves I didn't pay it any mind because, to my understanding, it deals heavily with stealth and utilizes gun play as a central component.  I'm sure that it's been mentioned before this, but ranged weaponry and I have a very strained relationship.  My success rate with guns, bows, and crossbows is rather abysmal without a good targeting system; so generally if a melee option exists I'll opt for that instead.  Recently, however, I've begun to realize just how many games have flown below my radar due to their reliance on ranged weaponry.  Thus, after repeated references to, and recommendations for, the game from Game Banshee contributors, Alpha Protocol has joined my rapidly growing to-be-played library.

Another thing that has also previously deterred me from purchasing AP, is the fact that reports regarding its "brokenness" abound.  We aren't just talking one or two obscure references here.  References to its broken nature (largely in the form of bugs but also regarding balance issues) appear in customer reviews, professional reviews, and even serve as qualifiers for otherwise positive recommendations.  Considering AP was distributed by Obsidian I suppose this isn't too much of a surprise, but when negative comments are that common, one will certainly think twice about sinking their money into a release.  Something that I've discovered lately though, is that despite all its nay-sayers, this game has continued to intrigue me. The basic premise, or at least what little I understand of it, is perhaps not exactly earth shattering material.  What I've heard about AP's dialogue system and character development though certainly makes me sit up an pay attention.  Only time will tell what I'll ultimately think of the game, but for now I'm thrilled to finally own Alpha Protocol and hope to get to it soon.  Once comprehensives are finished there (theoretically) will be a lot more time on my hands, so hopefully that won't take too long.

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