Alpha Protocol E3 Preview

IGN is the latest website to conjure up an E3-based preview of Obsidian’s spy-themed RPG, Alpha Protocol.

This embassy mission served as the E3 demo, as the goal is to talk to an important NPC inside. As soon as you’re inside the embassy it comes under attack by forces of a rival agency, and depending on how you dealt with the guard can affect how the battle unfolds. If you were nice and the guard let you in, then you’ll fight alongside the Marines against the invaders. But if you pulled your gun on him and were hostile, then you’ll be in a three-way battle, with the Marines, you, and the invaders battling one another.

The action unfolds in third-person, behind-the-back style, and uses a combination of reflexes and role-playing statistics. You’re more accurate the more points that you invest in a given firearm skill, and as you invest points you unlock special abilities. It’s sort of like how skill points work in Mass Effect. For instance, dumping points into the pistol skill will give you the ability to blind fire around corners and critically hit opponents.

Then there are some special attacks that you can also queue up as well. One lets you basically go on a rampage with effectively unlimited ammunition, while another gives you a version of bullet time that lets you target three enemies in slow motion. It then kicks back to real-time, unleashing a fusillade of fire.