Mass Effect successfully combined third-person action, an engaging story and role-playing elements to create one of this generation's greatest franchises. If anything, it seems like a solid basis for a new videogame, right?

Obsidian's Alpha Protocol takes this route with its own take on the Mass Effect formula — and it seems like a good idea. The game sees you step into the shoes of agency operative Jack Thorton as you attempt to bring a terrorist mastermind to justice.

The story is quite captivating, with terrorists using state-of-the-art missiles to shoot down an airliner. Despite the subpar visuals, the cut-scenes do a solid job of setting up the story.

Dialogue also follows the Mass Effect formula, with the ability to choose responses and ask a variety of questions. The developers have modelled Thorton's dialogue choices after James Bond (suave), Jason Bourne (professional) and Jack Bauer (aggressive). It works well, with your choices influencing how others perceive you as well as the story itself.

Unfortunately, Alpha Protocol looks nothing like its inspiration. The lack of polish shows, with bland character designs and drab levels devoid of interaction. The hub levels are quite furnished however, with computers, massive screens and a weapons locker to check out.

Artificial Stupidity

Alpha Protocol also suffers from shoddy animations, with the enemies being particularly terrible. Death animations are hilariously bad, with enemies resembling action figures as they stiffen up and go flying. But bad visuals are forgivable if the gameplay is stellar, and Alpha Protocol does have some cool ideas.

The game tries to differentiate itself from Mass Effect by incorporating some stealth into the equation. It's a great idea, but the execution is spotty thanks to the brain-dead AI.

Occasionally, enemy soldiers will have X-ray vision and spot you behind cover; while other times, the enemy will stand around as bullets go flying. In one section, I stood atop a rocky outcrop and threw a grenade into the compound below, killing an enemy. His partner ran away, activated an alarm and then patrolled as if nothing was amiss.

And it's not an isolated case, with one enemy crouched behind a wall with his whole chest and head exposed anyway. After repeatedly firing upon the soldier, I stopped and noticed that he was simply looking at me, as if irritated.

Tools of the trade

The gunplay is pretty decent though, with your standard collection of handguns, assault rifles, shotguns and explosives. You're only allowed to take two weapons into combat however, so your choices are pretty important. The weapons can also be modified with sights, scopes, bigger clips and the like. One cool feature is that most weapons have an additional effect, such as shotguns knocking enemies down if you pause for a few seconds before firing.

There's also a hand-to-hand combat system, with players mashing the 'B' button to knock out a target. The rough animations make an appearance again, with no real feeling of satisfaction.

The cover system is another element that needed a bit more attention, with players unable to vault over even the lowest wall. It seems like a little issue, but it makes staying out of sight a little harder.

The game does have a few cool hacking mini-games though. The lockpicking mini-game, reminiscent of Oblivion, sees players use their trigger buttons to apply pressure. While the hacking mini-game has players selecting the right circuits to successfully gain access. There's also a skills system similar to Mass Effect's biotics, with players able to use skills like slow-motion aiming and enemy detection as they progress.

From the sub-par visuals to the lobotomised artificial intelligence, it's clear that Alpha Protocol needed a few more months in development to reach its full potential.

6.1/10

Buy this game: PS3 | Xbox 360 | PC