Alpha Protocol Preview
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Do not forget that this is a RPG. Michael is a low-level agent at the beginning with considerably more training than John Doe, of course, but nowhere near the experience of James Bond. Using an attribute and skill system that I suspect draws heavily on the Fallout SPECIAL character development system, the player will be able to shape and mould Michael in a myriad of ways. Thereafter, performing different actions successfully will accrue Advancement Points which may be spent on any of ten different skills, each of which have ten slots. One such skill is improved reaction time which allows you to study a group of enemies, note their placement, then pop up in slow motion mode and place an amazing number of very accurate shots while the Bad Guys are still trying to figure out where all those shots are coming from. Depending on your personal preferences, you can develop Michael to be stealthy, a martial artist whirling dervish, and/or weapons wizard. It's up to you to decide whether it's better to be a specialist or a jack bauer of all trade.
Much of the game will involve dialogue trees. Within any given dialogue, the player may decide to model his approach to emulate the J.B. of his choice: Jack Bauer (aggressive), James Bond (suave) or Jason Bourne (professional). It should be noted that Obsidian pointedly does NOT use these labels. But if it (walks like a duck and talks like a duck. However, you had better get the conversation right the first time, because you will NOT be able to re initiate any given dialogue tree as you can in many other games. NPC reactions to you now will be influenced by what they have seen of you earlier. Personally, I think this is the aspect of the game that will stand out most favorably; the rest of the game will most likely play as you would expect a third person Action game to play out. Bodies to the left of me; bodies to the right. NPCs learn about Darwin the hard way.
