Alpha Protocol: Difference between revisions

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The game received mixed reviews -- while its innovative story and dialogue systems were widely praised, some found fault with its gameplay, graphics, and/or lack of polish. Sales were soft enough that [[Sega]] has no plans to release a sequel. [[Hope Spot|However]], [[Obsidian Entertainment|Obsidian]] [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/110277-Obsidian-Would-Like-to-Make-Another-Alpha-Protocol-Game have expressed tentative interest in making a sequel] or [[Spiritual Successor]] so who knows? Received a jolt of new life in the fall of 2011 after a [[Valve Software|Steam]] sale sold the $20 game at a mere $2.

* [[Aborted Arc]]: {{spoiler|Sis' locket}} never comes up again after Mike shows it to Albatross.

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* [[And This Is For]]: {{spoiler|Mike can do this to Leland in the ending. What he says depends on what grudges he's holding. He could say Madison, Mina, his life, and anyone or anything else bad that's happened.}}

* [[And Your Reward Is Interior Decorating]]: Mike's trophies of his various adventures (many of which are specific to his choices) pop up in his room after missions.

* [[Anti Hero]]: Michael Thorton can be played as this, as the game offers a lot of choice in character development. {{spoiler|Thorton can even make a Face Heel Turn, complete with Evil Smoking! See [[We Can Rule Together]].}}

* [[Anti-Hero]]: Michael Thorton can be played as this, as the game offers a lot of choice in character development. {{spoiler|Thorton can even make a Face Heel Turn, complete with Evil Smoking! See [[We Can Rule Together]].}}

* [[Anyone Can Die]]: Though very very few deaths are plot-mandatory, play your cards right (or wrong, depending on your point of view), and the only people from the character page left alive at the end will be {{spoiler|Mike, Steven, and SIE or Albatross/Sis.}}

* [[Arab Oil Sheikh]]: Ali Shaheed.

* [[Arms Dealer]]: Omar Nasri, responsible for selling stockpiles of Russian weapons to anyone who is willing to pay. The game has several other arms dealers as well, although they're mostly contacted anonymous through an Internet-based sales hub.

* [[Arson Murder and Jaywalking]]: "Execution, imprisonment, possibly another lecture from Westridge ..."

* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: "Execution, imprisonment, possibly another lecture from Westridge ..."

* [[Ax Crazy]]: Konstantin Brayko: crazy, [[Knife Nut|loves his knife]], obsessed with '80 american pop-culture, etc.

** Steven Heck is pretty loopy too. Fortunately, he's somewhat controllable.

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* [[Chew Bubblegum]]: One of Brayko's taunts during his bossfight.

* [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]]: Like you wouldn't believe.

* [[Cluster F Bomb]]: Brayko

* [[Cluster F-Bomb]]: Brayko

* [[Coincidental Broadcast]]: If your latest mission made enough of a splash to make the news, it will be the first story aired when you get back to your safehouse and turn on the TV.

* [[Collapsing Lair]]: {{spoiler|The Alpha Protocol base}} in the [[Grand Finale]].

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{{quote| ''Surkov:'' "You have a lot of pockets! Have you come to check my internet connection?"<br />

''Thorton:'' [[Deadpan Snarker|"Only if you let me plant a bug on it."]] }}

*** Omen Deng will comment on your choice of armor in the subway station. For [[Highly Visible Ninja|stealth armors]], he compliments you on wearing camouflage, but says civilian clothing would have been smarter. For heavy armors, he says "You look like you're prepared for war." And for [[The Engineer|utility armor]], he tells you "You look like you're prepared for anything." He compliments you on blending into the crowd if you choose civilian clothing, even though you're [[Highly Visible Ninja|openly carrying two guns.]]

*** Omen Deng will comment on your choice of armor in the subway station. For [[Highly-Visible Ninja|stealth armors]], he compliments you on wearing camouflage, but says civilian clothing would have been smarter. For heavy armors, he says "You look like you're prepared for war." And for [[The Engineer|utility armor]], he tells you "You look like you're prepared for anything." He compliments you on blending into the crowd if you choose civilian clothing, even though you're [[Highly-Visible Ninja|openly carrying two guns.]]

** Informants for a particular mission hub will be pleased if you came to them first rather than going to do some other business in their turf. Grigori will show off even more of how much he knows if you happen to have visited places other than Moscow first. "Taipei, out of Rome?" There was no reason the developers needed this level of attention to detail, but they did it!

**** This game ran so rampant with this trope that even [[Zero Punctuation (Web Animation)|Yahtzee]] commented on it, stating his opinion that the game was "just showing off!"

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* [[Dissonant Serenity]]: Steven Heck's a nutcase, but he is remarkably calm and casual most of the time, even in combat. He tends to treat missions where things get blown sky-high as absolutely normal.

** But God help you if you don't know where his keys are! Poor Wen Shu...

* [[Does This Remind You of Anything]]: [[Burn Notice|A talented, snarky spy named Michael framed for something he didn't do]] [[Splinter Cell|and forced to go rogue]]? To be fair, [[Clear My Name]] is a pretty common trope, and has been applied to spy stories several times.

* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]: [[Burn Notice|A talented, snarky spy named Michael framed for something he didn't do]] [[Splinter Cell|and forced to go rogue]]? To be fair, [[Clear My Name]] is a pretty common trope, and has been applied to spy stories several times.

** To be even more fair, Alpha Protocol was announced before [[Burn Notice]]. It just languished in [[Development Hell]] for a while.

** In Alpha Protocol, you can choose to be [[James Bond|the suave secret agent who specializes in gadgetry]], [[The Bourne Identity|the stealthy martial arts expert who's coldly professional]], and even [[Twenty Four|the aggressive weapons expert who gets things done, no matter who he pisses off]].

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** Especially SIE, dear god SIE. {{spoiler|If you choose her as your handler for the final mission she shows up to rescue you but, before releasing the restraints holding you to the gurney, she decides you should both have little fun... Mina will later comment about the scratches you have on your neck if you remember to save her.}}

* [[Fighter Mage Thief]]: Combat, tech, and stealth skills, along with the Soldier, Tech Specialist and Agent professions. Subverted in that, as the Operative specialization points out, most veteran field agents ''don't'' pigeonhole themselves into one method of solving problems.

* [[Five Bad Band]]:

* [[Five-Bad Band]]:

** [[Big Bad]]: [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|Leland]]

** [[The Dragon]]: [[Complete Monster|Marburg]]

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* [[Heroic BSOD]]: What happens to Michael {{spoiler|after Rome. It's worse if you didn't save Madison}}

* [[Heroic Comedic Sociopath]]: Steven Heck hands down. Just imagine Max from Sam and Max but set in a non-cartoon universe. His introduction is a reference to [[Twenty Four|Jack Bauer]] [http://www.jackbauerfacts.com/ Facts].

* [[Highly Visible Ninja]]: The advanced stealth armors are very shiny...

* [[Highly-Visible Ninja]]: The advanced stealth armors are very shiny...

** Thorton has the option of skipping stealth altogether and just shooting everyone. Lampshaded by Albatross if you bungle the Embassy mission: "Do you just walk up to every soldier you see and introduce yourself?"

* [[Hoist By His Own Petard]]: Alpha Protocol by it's very nature of encouraging agents to have their own source of funding, supplies and intel ensures that {{spoiler|after Thorton goes rogue, he can not only stay under the radar but come back and destroy them.}}

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** True to form, Obsidian have planned for the latter approach and it'll be noted that "nobody could ever understand what's going through [Mike's] head".

* [[Kent Brockman News]]: The INN newscasters, who occasionally report on stories like "the dreaded Nigerian puppy scam" and the shocking new study linking sugar to hyperactivity in children.

* [[Kill Em All]]: Depending on how you play, the game can end with nearly the ''entire'' main cast dead. The only major character you ''can't'' kill off is {{spoiler|Steven Heck}}, though you can't eliminate both {{spoiler|SIE and Albatross}} in the same game.

* [[Kill'Em All]]: Depending on how you play, the game can end with nearly the ''entire'' main cast dead. The only major character you ''can't'' kill off is {{spoiler|Steven Heck}}, though you can't eliminate both {{spoiler|SIE and Albatross}} in the same game.

* [[Kirk Summation]]: Michael Thorton delivers an epic one to Conrad Marburg if you choose to {{spoiler|let Madison die and give suave responses when talking to Marburg before and during the boss fight}}. If you have enought negative repuation, {{spoiler|Marburg [[I Shall Taunt You|will fight to death]].}}

* [[Kill It With Fire]]: Steven Heck's preferred method of killification.

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* [[Manipulative Bastard]]: Michael, if you pick up on people's behavior (which isn't hard) and how they prefer to be treated - read the dossiers! - can be one of these. Nothing quite like playing someone up so that they really like you, and then smashing their face into a table.

** This is actually one of the reasons Westridge thinks Mike would be a good agent. Basically, Mike questions if his people skills are really that good. Westridge says no, it's not that he's charismatic, it's that Mike can read people very well and thus manipulate his/their responses as needed.

* [[Master of None]]: Inexperienced players want to avoid this, especially if not playing with the bonus AP from the Veteran background. A generalist build is doable but [[Self Imposed Challenge|very difficult]] if you don't know what you're doing.

* [[Master of None]]: Inexperienced players want to avoid this, especially if not playing with the bonus AP from the Veteran background. A generalist build is doable but [[Self-Imposed Challenge|very difficult]] if you don't know what you're doing.

* [[Memetic Badass]]: There's one or two theories on the official forum that the ''true'' architect of AP's plot is none other than... {{spoiler|the Gelato Man.}}

* [[The Men in Black]]: The CIA agents and Marburg's Deus Vult agents tend to rock this look, though the G22 agents tend to fill in the role as shadowy agents.

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** Tip: pick the "rookie" dialogue choice whenever possible during the tutorial sections, and make use of stealth [[Instant Takedown]] moves to compensate for your lack of fighting ability until you've leveled up a bit.

* [[Nice Hat]]: Quite a few, including Hong Shi's fedora, SIE's beret and Omen Deng's [[Commissar Cap]]. Mike can get a beret of his own, or an ushanka during the Russia hub.

* [[Nice Job Fixing It Villain]]: When Alpha Protocol {{spoiler|betrays}} Thorton, they forgot that Alpha Protocol is so secretive that not even Westridge knows where all their safe houses are. {{spoiler|Guess where Thorton hides from Alpha Protocol between missions.}} Additionally, Alpha Protocol {{spoiler|by it's very nature of encouraging agents to acquire their own information and supply networks made sure that Thorton could stay under the radar and still get supplies and information. In short, Alpha Protocol made sure that Thorton had the resources required to destroy Alpha Protocol}}.

* [[Nice Job Fixing It, Villain]]: When Alpha Protocol {{spoiler|betrays}} Thorton, they forgot that Alpha Protocol is so secretive that not even Westridge knows where all their safe houses are. {{spoiler|Guess where Thorton hides from Alpha Protocol between missions.}} Additionally, Alpha Protocol {{spoiler|by it's very nature of encouraging agents to acquire their own information and supply networks made sure that Thorton could stay under the radar and still get supplies and information. In short, Alpha Protocol made sure that Thorton had the resources required to destroy Alpha Protocol}}.

* [[Ninja]]: If you let Brayko live he later describes you as the offspring of "[[Tactful Translation|(expletive)]] Ronald Reagan and an (expletive) American Ninja."

** Darcy calls you one of these in an email if you go through an early mission without killing anyone or raising any alarms.

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* [[Time for Plan B|Plan B:]] [[Kill It With Fire]]. See above.

* [[Playing Hard to Get]]: In a rare male-to-female inversion, the less interested Thorton is in SIE, the more interested she is in him.

* [[Precision F Strike]]: While the game certainly does not want for swearing, Mike can engage in an absolutely glorious example of this against Marburg in Rome provided he has the proper intelligence on Marburg and Deus Vult.

* [[Precision F-Strike]]: While the game certainly does not want for swearing, Mike can engage in an absolutely glorious example of this against Marburg in Rome provided he has the proper intelligence on Marburg and Deus Vult.

{{quote| '''Mike''': Does Leland send you out for dry cleaning, too? Maybe shoot your chauffeur on the way? Chief of Security for Halbech - talk about a ''joke''. Yeah, I know all about Deus Vult and that abortion of an op in the Middle East. Poor Agent Marburg believed dead...maybe wishing he was dead. Boo. Fucking. Hoo.}}

* [[The Present Day]]: The game is set in 2009. Recent trailers say 2010; this may because the release date was pushed back.

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* [[Psycho for Hire]]: Heck, SIE, the rest of the VCI.

* [[Punctuated Pounding]]: Mike {{spoiler|does this to Leland after the final boss battle.}}

* [[The Reason You Suck Speech]]: Mike can deliver one of them to several main characters. It is especially violent against {{spoiler|Marburg and Mina}}

* [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]]: Mike can deliver one of them to several main characters. It is especially violent against {{spoiler|Marburg and Mina}}

* [[Regenerating Shield Static Health|Regenerating Endurance Static Health]]

* [[Relationship Values]]

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* [[Say My Name]]: The official Music Video.

* [[Scary Shiny Glasses]]: These are an optional look for Michael.

* [[~~Schrodingers~~ Gun]]: No matter what your character's background is that makes him perfect for joining Alpha Protocol. {{spoiler|But since you're just the fall guy...}}

* [[Schrodinger's Gun]]: No matter what your character's background is that makes him perfect for joining Alpha Protocol. {{spoiler|But since you're just the fall guy...}}

** Also used so that your choices always lead to the same results. For example, no matter what you choose in the [[Sadistic Choice]] in Rome, Marburg will say he expected you to choose the other path.

** Used in the Rising Star/Thorton Inc. ending. {{spoiler|If you choose the Rising Star ending, Thorton handed Leland the information on a data disc. In Thorton Inc., however, Thorton reveals that he actually gave Leland one of his remote mines instead.}}

* [[Screw the Money I Have Rules]]:

* [[Screw the Money, I Have Rules]]:

{{quote| '''Nasri:''' ''"Did you not hear me? I pay you! I pay--"'' <br />

'''Mike:''' ''"Westridge; One for extraction."'' }}

** Ironically, you actually get ''more'' money by turning Nasri in than by accepting his bribe.

** In a couple of the endings, {{spoiler|Leland}}'s last words will be an offer to bribe you if you choose to kill him.

* [[Screw This I'm Outta Here]]: Depending on your actions you can make {{spoiler|Marburg and Scarlett abandon Halbech. Scarlet makes her resignation [[Eye Scream|memorable]]}}

* [[Screw This, I'm Outta Here]]: Depending on your actions you can make {{spoiler|Marburg and Scarlett abandon Halbech. Scarlet makes her resignation [[Eye Scream|memorable]]}}

* [[Secret Character|Secret]] [[Mission Control]]: In the final mission, if you've done your homework and have a high enough reputation with a certain character, {{spoiler|you can have Scarlet replace your handler partway through. This is the only time you can get her handler bonus.}}

* [[Shoot Him He Has a Wallet]]: {{spoiler|The ice cream man. You can shoot him when he reaches for a ice cream cone}}

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** The emails you get from tapping the NSA and CIA lookout posts in Rome have names appended to them that are references to spy characters from [[Tom Clancy]] [[Jack Ryan (Literature)|books]]: Chet (Nomuri), (John) Clark, and Ding (Chavez).

* [[Shown Their Work]]: Quite a bit of Stephen Heck's rambling is based on either actual events ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_Kitty Acoustic Kitty] really happened) or conspiracy theories floating around in Real Life (like the one about the Federal Reserve).

* [[Shut UP Hannibal]]: You can do it several times. {{spoiler|Punching [[Smug Snake]] Leland and banging his head against the table is especially awesome - see above}}.

* [[Shut UP, Hannibal]]: You can do it several times. {{spoiler|Punching [[Smug Snake]] Leland and banging his head against the table is especially awesome - see above}}.

** Especially since the above was your {{spoiler|last chance to avoid imprisonment or death. Or so Leland thinks.}}

*** {{spoiler|Oh how ''wrong'' he was...}}

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* [[Sociopathic Hero]]: Mike can be played as one.

* [[Sociopathic Soldier]]: The VCI is a faction of these.

* [[Spell My Name With an S]]: Thorton was often confused with Thornton in previews. There is even a [[Lampshade Hanging]] on this in the game.

* [[Spell My Name With an "S"]]: Thorton was often confused with Thornton in previews. There is even a [[Lampshade Hanging]] on this in the game.

** Ditto for his first name. Michael is correct over Micheal. To save confusion just call him Mike.

*** ''"Darcy sent me this for acing the tech course. He misspelt my name - 'Thornton'..."''

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* [[What Could Have Been]]: The entire plot was rewritten when [[Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines|Brian Mitsoda]] left Obsidian and [[Planescape Torment|Chris]] [[Knights of the Old Republic (Video Game)|Avellone]] took over the project. Not much is known about the original version, but judging by ''[[Syriana]]'' having been mentioned in early interviews as a major influence, it would've been quite a bit more serious.

** Brayko's theme song was originally going to be "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyggY_R3jU8 The Final Countdown]," rather than "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al2ASM9XXT0 Turn Up the Radio]."

* [[What Happened to The Mouse]]: Two in the final mission: First, {{spoiler|if you're against Leland and you've been a good soldier, Westbridge will simply not appear in the final assault on Alpha Protocol.}} Second, {{spoiler|if you rescue Scarlet and have a high enough reputation to ask her to be your handler, your previous handler will disappear (though Heck will show up again near the end if you have a low reputation with Scarlet but ask her to help anyways.)}}

* [[What Happened to The Mouse?]]: Two in the final mission: First, {{spoiler|if you're against Leland and you've been a good soldier, Westbridge will simply not appear in the final assault on Alpha Protocol.}} Second, {{spoiler|if you rescue Scarlet and have a high enough reputation to ask her to be your handler, your previous handler will disappear (though Heck will show up again near the end if you have a low reputation with Scarlet but ask her to help anyways.)}}

* [[What the Hell Hero]]/[[What the Hell Player]]: Kill people or do overt actions, and you ''will'' get yelled at by various people for it, most commonly Mina if you're killing civilians or American agents, Albatross if you're being way too loud and obvious, or Madison if you're being a jerk to her. On the other hand, SIE or Steven will gleefully praise you for going on murder sprees.

* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]/[[What the Hell, Player?]]: Kill people or do overt actions, and you ''will'' get yelled at by various people for it, most commonly Mina if you're killing civilians or American agents, Albatross if you're being way too loud and obvious, or Madison if you're being a jerk to her. On the other hand, SIE or Steven will gleefully praise you for going on murder sprees.

* [[Where Are They Now Epilogue]]: During the end credits, a one of the INN anchors will update you on what happened in the Middle East, Moscow, Taiwan, and Rome as a result of your choices.

* [[Where Are They Now? Epilogue]]: During the end credits, a one of the INN anchors will update you on what happened in the Middle East, Moscow, Taiwan, and Rome as a result of your choices.

* [[Where It All Began]]: [[Meaningful Name|Operation Full Circle]].

* [[Where the Hell Is Springfield|Where the Hell Is Alpha Protocol]]: Deliberately invoked. No key personnel working for Alpha Protocol know where the "Graybox" base is, no matter how trusted they are. If you want to go the base or leave it, you get sedated for two full days while your body is transported. It's inefficient, but it makes the organization practically mole-proof. Presumably the ones doing the transporting aren't being told the truth about who they're picking up or dropping off, and presumably the very top guys at Alpha Protocol know where the base is, but that's about it. {{spoiler|Leland, meanwhile, knows exactly where it is because Halbech built the whole compound. Obviously, the contractors responsible for its construction would know where it was, even if they wouldn't know what it was for.}}

* [[Where the Hell Is Springfield?|Where the Hell Is Alpha Protocol]]: Deliberately invoked. No key personnel working for Alpha Protocol know where the "Graybox" base is, no matter how trusted they are. If you want to go the base or leave it, you get sedated for two full days while your body is transported. It's inefficient, but it makes the organization practically mole-proof. Presumably the ones doing the transporting aren't being told the truth about who they're picking up or dropping off, and presumably the very top guys at Alpha Protocol know where the base is, but that's about it. {{spoiler|Leland, meanwhile, knows exactly where it is because Halbech built the whole compound. Obviously, the contractors responsible for its construction would know where it was, even if they wouldn't know what it was for.}}

* [[With This Herring]]: Justified. Since Alpha Protocol doesn't officially exist, they can't give Mike supplies without risking someone tracing the supplies back to them and thus finding out that they exist. {{spoiler|It also helps that Mike was supposed to be killed at the conclusion of Operation Desert Spear, so giving him supplies would just be a waste of money.}}

* [[Word Salad Title]]: All of Steven Heck's names he give to operations in Taipei. Operation Turbo Panther. Operation Latex Turtle. Operation Angry Bees. Operation YYYEEEAAAHHH!!!