


Obsidian has said that these options are based on the personalities of the "three J.B.'s": Jason Bourne of the Bourne Identity novels and films, James Bond of the eponymous film and book series, and Jack Bauer of the television series 24, although the game itself does not use these names. The dialog system in the game allows the player to choose from three different attitudes when speaking to an NPC. Conversations occur in real-time, giving the player a limited amount of time to respond at key "decision points" during dialogue. Dialogue Īs with any RPG, Alpha Protocol features numerous characters to interact with. Examples include making Thorton more capable of stealth, more deadly in hand-to-hand combat, or better at gunplay.


The player can choose which skills to advance, allowing them to reinforce their play style. One ability that has been mentioned in previews allows Thorton to scan a group of enemies in slow-motion before popping out of cover and shooting each of them more rapidly than he would be capable of normally. These abilities are free to use, but require a "cooldown" period before they can be used again. These skills will increase Thorton's ability to use certain weapons and grant different abilities to him. In addition to the action elements, though, players also earn Advancement Points, which can be placed into any of the ten different skills in the game. As Thorton is a trained CIA operative, the tools at the player's disposal include numerous firearms, hand to hand combat using American Kenpo, and spy gadgets. In response, Michael uses the "Alpha Protocol", though it is normally reserved for more senior agents, and begins to operate undercover, to uncover the conspiracy.Īlpha Protocol is played from a third-person perspective, allowing the player to see Thorton and his surroundings at all times. After a mission goes awry, Michael Thorton is cut off from all of his contacts and betrayed by his superiors and is being hunted by the United States government.
