Alpha Protocol: trying to keep it nice.

RATING: 3/ 10
PLATFORM: PS3, XBOX 360
GENRE: Action RPG
RATED: Mature
PURCHASE RECOMMENDATION: Pass up (unless its on the bargain rack)

SUMMARY: I have the privilege of working in the game industry so I know first hand how hard it is to make a successful game. With that said I am going to try and be nice on Alpha Protocol. Alpha Protocol is a collection of great ideas wrapped in clunky gameplay and poor execution.

THE GOOD: Everyone enjoys being a spy so who would not enjoy playing a spy. Alpha Protocol places you in a typical spy situation with typical weapons and skills. At first typical might seem like a bad thing but in reality it helps with the immersion of the game. This combine with the amazing dialogue selection system leaves you really feeling like a spy during conversations. The satisfaction of being able to make choices that directly effect gameplay in a meaningful way is simply delightful. Also when the melee combat worked as designed it was loads of fun.

THE BAD: Bugs oh so many bugs. Ultimately I shipped the game back to gamefly after the game full on crashed my Ps3 for the second time in 30 minutes. I am not completely sure if Obsidian needed more time or what but overall the game simply was not ready to hit the market. Gameplay did not stand up to the concept of being a spy. With a poor camera and slow responding controls I felt like an average guy out of place not a super spy in his element. Enemies constantly got the jump on me and absorbed to many shoots. Name the last James Bond movie in which an average grunt got the jump on Bond or lasted beyond one shot. Alpha Protocol levels take everything away from customizing your character and making the game an actual RPG. If you are going to make a game that encourages customization in combat strategy you better make levels that support all possible strategies. Alpha Protocol forces stealth combatants to deal with alarms that are always trigger and brute combatants often must sneak around to stand a chance. In short Alpha Protocol just confuses the player by not being consistent in what they promised.

THE CONCLUSION: I give props to obsidian for creating an original IP that had potential. Unfortunately they just did not make the cut and with original IPs you rarely get a second chance. The main lesson to learn from Alpha Protocol is that level design must incorporate and follow your game philosophy.

Dark Void: A game full of empty

RATING: 4/ 10

PLATFORM: PS3, XBOX 360
GENRE: Third Person Shooter
RATED: Teen
PURCHASE RECOMMENDATION: Pass up (unless its on the bargain rack)

SUMMARY: My only guess is that CAPCOM ran out of money and/or time for this game. Slight moments of greatness are surrounded by sheer horribleness. My only hope is that someone will take the amazing rocket pack combat and place it in a deserving game.

THE GOOD: Rocket pack combat is a fun original gameplay experience. There are really only three phase of the rocket pack combat, on the ground, hovering or flying. While on the ground you have your basic 3rd person shooter but add in the hovering and the fun begins. Cover is no longer enough for your enemies as you can hover above them or to the sides flanking them. By adding the vertical dimension combat is that much more engaging. Now what make things even better is when you can come flying in from the open air full speed and then hover to take out your opponent. Like wise you can be hovering to take out a generator and then quickly switch to flying to avoid the massive explosion. The simplistic and freedom of this combat is hopefully something that we will see again in the future.

THE BAD: The first two hours of the game really shows how poor the game is. Without your rocket pack you find yourself in the middle of a B picture game. Combat is only ok at best, story is all but missing, and the visual look makes you think the game was made five years ago. As the game progress you realize you do not care for the game's characters or story. I got the most informational story segments from loading screens and the plot line is that of a 5th grader (an I do not mean the smart ones you see on TV). Soon enough you do not really care about any except you rocket pack and think to yourself hmmm maybe if everyone had ones of these and all we did was fly around all day fighting each other this might actually be fun.

THE CONCLUSION: Yes the economy is a mess and yes Dark Void failures were probably due to that but it was it is. Game developers these days have to work simple, small and push their game's strength. If your game's selling point is rocket combat you do not need to try and surround it by an epic story. You need to make the best rocket combat game ever and if your game for a moment stops you from rocket combat you are doing it wrong.