14 DAY TRIAL // SEGA and Obsidian are now saying that Alpha Protocol, the action and espionage title on which the two companies are collaborating, is set to be released for the Xbox 360 from Microsoft, the PlayStation 3 from Sony and the PC sometime during the month of October. The title should have been launched to players this February, but SEGA kept quiet during the release window, choosing not to talk about the delay.
Alpha Protocol is an espionage tale that has Michael Thorton as the main character. He was initially employed by the government as a special agent with particular skills and was involved in some very sensitive missions. As the government tries to dispose of him, he goes rogue and the game will allow the player to shape his destiny as he tries to escape those who follow him while uncovering a larger conspiracy threatening the entire world.
It all sounds a bit like the Jason Bourne trilogy, but Obsidian has repeatedly said that the game would offer a wide variety of options to the player, allowing him/her to create and control a character that could be more like James Bond, focused on technology and misdirection, like Jack Bauer of 24 fame, skilled in extracting information and firearms, or any other combination in between.
The whole game will have a variety of role playing elements, amongst them a very detailed and branching plot, with side missions that can be skipped and with main missions, which shape the personality of the main character, depending on the outcome.
SEGA and Obsidian also collaborated on a more mysterious project, called the Alien RPG, which was set to arrive in 2010. In February, SEGA announced that it had been canceled, so Obsidian is now free to focus on Alpha Protocol, making it the best game it could be for the October release date.