Role playing game fans should be really happy to find out that Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic II The Sith Lords and Neverwinter Nights 2 developer Obsidian is working on a new and exciting project, named Alpha Protocol and unveiled during the E3 trade show. Although just announced, the game is already expected to hit the stores in February 2009 and we must admit we're really thrilled to hear that.

This new RPG thriller will bring us a world of espionage where nothing is what it appears to be. Players will take on the role of Michael Thorton, a secret agent specifically trained to deal with national security-related issues. However, as it happens in life (and rarely in video games), a mission goes terribly wrong and an international catastrophe is about to happen. Thorton becomes the only person able to turn things around and your job will be to help him achieve that.

The game is not a fantasy-themed one as we could've expected, but set in modern society and, just as any new title is supposed to, it promises to bring a few things to separate it from the pack. For example, we'll get the chance to control every aspect of Thorton's personality and attitude - two feats which will eventually play an important role in deciding the future of the world as we know it. All these will be combined with a perfectly balanced RPG system and some fast-paced modern combat sequences which promise to keep us glued to the TV screens after the game gets released.

Although Obsidian didn't want to ruin the surprise, they presented some of the features we'll experience in Alpha Protocol, such as the "International Spy" mode of playing, which will take our character to various destinations around the world to different safe houses in order to obtain information, mission objectives and conduct meetings with a growing list of contacts. Also, a brand new feature, called "dialogue stance system" will be introduced and it basically means that the characters will react to each and every word uttered by Thorton, which further means that all sorts of approach tactics can be developed by players.

But, until we get to know more about the title, let's enjoy the screenshots released: