Alpha Protocol Preview

1UP also managed to get their hands on a pre-release build of Alpha Protocol, and have since wrangled up a two-page preview. To present us with something a little different, though, they cover the game’s first couple of hours from three different perspectives (by making Borne-, Bond-, and Bauer-like decisions). If you intend to play as 007 would, this is what you should expect:

Basic playstyle: This is where I hit the Suave option in every conversation, which is basically a big flirtation/sarcasm filter added to every statement. If Mike is talking to a potential romance NPC, he goes heavy with the flirting. If it’s just another fellow, he’s cracking wise. For this class, I pick Field Agent which emphasizes the stealth, pistol, and martial art skills. I basically spend most of my time sneaking around, and disabling most foes with either my hands or a silenced pistol.

Your relationships: Westridge doesn’t like your smartass remarks; as a result, instead of granting a cooldown bonus, you get a damage bonus from him (for being a “loose cannon”). Mina doesn’t like flirtatious Michael quite as much as professional Michael, so your bonus to endurance from her isn’t as substantial compared to the professional playthrough. Sean remains pretty neutral, so you still get the bonus to tech damage from him.

What happens when you go after Nasri: The guards at the gate don’t buy your sarcasm-filled story, and because they want to call Nasri for verification, you’re tasked with taking them down before they can do so. Unlike the other two playthroughs, this one requires you to fight Nasri’s men from the very beginning. When you meet Nasri himself, rather than arrest him, you actually extort him for additional money. Westridge likes your thinking — having Nasri alive and out in the open makes it easier to gain Shaheed’s whereabouts. Though, as a result, his weapon trade continues (so foes in future missions will have better equipment), but additional intelligence to make future missions easier (whether by buying a map, or hiring a PMC to distract the enemy and lower their defenses) becomes much more accessible. Also, the money you get from Nasri is significantly more than the money you’d get from Westridge for arresting him.

What happens when you confront Shaheed: You don’t believe a word he says, and end up shooting him where he stands. To move the story along, you search his PDA for information that leads to your next objective(s). Though, since he’s an ally in the Professional playthrough, I’m curious about what the long-term effects are of not having him alive.