14 DAY TRIAL // In many of the role-playing games of old, as players progressed through the story, they got stronger and stronger, until they arrived at a point where they would become overpowered and would easily overcome the challenges presented before them. It was true for Morrowind, it was true for Baldur's Gate and it is true for Alpha Protocol.
The last time, I was saying that I hoped to be able to finish a mission undetected in the shoes of the stealthy Bourne-type of character I created. I have surpassed my own expectations, as the Stealth Operative ability that turns the “Thornton” invisible for a while becomes very powerful towards the end of the game. I can stay out of sight for 24 seconds at a time, and I still haven't got the last upgrade to it. I must admit I have a perk that extends its duration by three or four seconds, but, still, 20 seconds are more than enough to knife a room full of enemies.
In the last few levels I played, I mostly used the pistol in boss fights or in mandatory fight sequences. Most of the time, I crawled unseen and killed or disabled all the enemies without even breaking a sweat. The funny part is that I don't even have to chase them. I can knife one grunt in the center of the room and the other fools will rush to his body only to be stabbed themselves, because silent kills don't cancel the invisibility power.
The story is advancing at a pretty fine pace and I've been through some very cool missions, like infiltrating a CIA listening post in Rome without being seen, eliminating three Triad leaders in Taipei and fighting the Chinese Secrete Police at a train station. The mission design seemed great to me, but I suspect that that was because I'd learned how to avoid the game's technical mishaps.
The nice-guy approach has gotten me more friends than I expected, as I managed to get a like status with most of the characters I'd met. I have got to mention Steven “Don't Call Me Steve” Heck because he is a riot of a character that will either scare you, or make you laugh, or both at the same time. Next time, I will probably get to talk about how the game handles romance, or so my character hopes.