As I've argued before, Mass Effect 2 has changed our expectations for action RPGs. When the original Mass Effect came out, for example, it's clumsy, stat driven combat may not have been everyone's cup of tea, but it was generally forgiven. But now that the series latest entry is a shooter, everyone wants action RPGs to be twitched based.
Well, not everyone.
Obsidian Entertainment must have missed the lecture on modernizing the RPG, because they created Alpha Protocol, its espionage RPG, as clunky and stats based. And not unlike the original Mass Effect, the first few hours of the game can be trying. You use that cool gun or attempt to be stealthy, and try as you might, it just doesn't work like you want it to. And that's because it doesn't depend on your skill as a gamer as much as on the stats that drive the entire system.
As I implied above, using stats instead of skill is not something everyone is happy with. And as game genres converge and the game market expands, developers move towards the lowest common denominator in hopes of selling enough copies of their latest game to make a profit. A noble pursuit, to say the least, but one that can be in conflict with what at least some gamers want.
And I fall into that "some" category. I am one of those people who waited a long time for Alpha Protocol, hoping all the while that it would be stats driven. I didn't want a shiny action RPG with lowest common denominator combat and streamlined character development and inventory. I wanted a game that would offer the clunky RPG greatness that can make games fun and replayable.
And on this front, Alpha Protocol delivers. Yes, you start the game and wonder why stealth is so difficult. You try to use the pistol and shoot and shoot and people just don't die. But as you interact with NPCs, gather intel, go on side quests, and get involved with the story and the systems that drive the underlying game play, you are compelled to complete missions in satisfying ways.
