Alpha Protocol Preview

Edge offers a preview/interview of Obsidian’s upcoming spy-RPG, Alpha Protocol.

So, Alpha Protocol shows a lot of promise, but it’s too early to tell whether its desire for accessibility can also provide depth for those that want it. This is something Avellone has thought about rather a lot lately:

(The challenge for RPGs going ahead is that there’s always been a problem with accessibility. One issue we had with Neverwinter Nights 2 is when you have a lot of interface screens that show a lot of number-crunching before you allow people to use the number-crunching that’s a problem. So instead we immerse them in the world, get them playing in the first place, and then allow for those additional developments. We don’t flood the players all at once.)

The team has still made some potentially controversial choices, however, such as offering unlimited ammo (except in the case of very special weapons), and an inability to pick up guns from enemies. Obsidian is explicit that it really wants players to get to the end or ends of their game, but there’s a danger that this streamlining of resource management, coupled with Alpha Protocol’s brand of simplified stealth, may result in a game that has removed too much of the challenge for some of its audience. Alongside the ditching of classes and the increasingly clichéd morality meter, some may argue that Obsidian is dismantling scary amounts of its own beloved RPG architecture.