A spy game is a challenge all on its own by having to mix entertainment, reason and sensibleness with a pinch or two of mystery.
Comparisons using different eras of Ian Flemming's James Bond movies, the quality of a "spy" game can mimic the suaveness of Sean Connery, be over the top ridiculousness of Pierce Brosnan, the straight professionalism of Roger Moore, or become the slick modern spy of Daniel Craig. Some games utilize their spycraft in unique ways that seem plausible while still maintaining dignity but others are so outlandish and confusing they are thrown to the wayside quickly. Recently two titles have been released, one being a sequel to a long series of stealth and gadgetry and the second being a newcomer from a company with an interesting history.
The first, Splinter Cell: Conviction from Ubisoft, was released back in April of this year and is the fifth game in the series. A continuation of the storyline is the core of this series and yet this game branches off in a vastly different direction from its predecessors with regards to gameplay. Where previous SC’s were very stringent on plausible deniability, this title cares little for consequence when leaving piles of bodies and yes up to Drowning Pool amounts of bodies may hit the floor. Your average security guard or even U.S. solider can be given a headshot with no recourse. Bodies no longer have to be hid or cameras bypassed to help keep the stealthy approach rolling since most alarms only create more roadblock targets instead of game over failures. This guiltless pleasure and freedom to its possessor works in two different ways. It steps away from what this series was known for to create a more accessible game to the casual gamer yet breaks the continuity of the previous four games to a slightly unreasonable or illogical approach. But yes, one must accept the rules set forth by their creators.
But don’t spend so much time dwelling on those five orphans you’ve just created, because it was done so using a new feature in SC:C called ‘mark and execute’ where previously flagged enemies can be simultaneously taken down with the push of a single button. SC:C also adds a new feature where storyline and checkpoints are illuminated on the walls of your current surroundings instead of breaking the action with loads of cutscenes. Graphics are pristine for a 3rd person shooter while the sounds and music are present but nothing special much like your favorite television parents Jon and Kate Gosselin. The controls are slightly awkward like all SC games using odd default button arrangements. The overall difficulty is no where near the previous games since guns blazing is a more viable option sending stealth to the achievement playground. This ease may be a warm welcome to veterans of SC but with very little reloads or respawns, the game can be accomplished quickly (less than 12 hours). The addition of a Co-op only portion of the story is a bonus but unnecessary to accomplish the single player game.
The story plays out as a nice continuation but is somewhat predictable in its entirety. Where the good spy novel or movie presents its story in the fashion of an enigma, SC:C’s story would only feel that way to someone new to the spy or even suspense genres. For the player that’s new to SC, the story will give slight confusion until it reaches its fruition and for fans of the previous games, will feel almost as if the story is now complete. Obviousness like the alter egos of Bruce Wayne or Edward Nigma aside, the presentation flows well with the gameplay. The pre-mission customization of equipment is great but the preference for silent weapons versus the tornado siren of an unsilenced one keeps the choices limited.
Overall, Splinter Cell: Conviction is a handful of changes, steering the series in new directions that are a big step away from the original. It is a very short ride like some rounds on the Bill Paxton pinball machine but none of the new features make this title in the Splinter Cell series one that is unforgettable like the first. It is worth a single play through, especially for fans of the previous games, but this is definitely not a game that will be missed and doesn’t drive the need to replay or compel a player to spend time on other single player modes or even bother with the multiplayer mode more than once. And where does this fit in the realm of comparisons to spy movies? Splinter Cell: Conviction is probably the typical Roger Moore spy of a game so rent it if it tickles your fancy.
Rating: 5.0 {on a scale of –10 to 10}
The second spy game first needs to have its company established to give a proper background. Alpha Protocol was released by Obsidian Entertainment on June 1st, an offshoot of Interplay. Obsidian Entertainment has created games like Knights of the Old Republic 2 and Neverwind Nights 2 and the soon to be Fallout 3: New Vegas. Why they have been allowed to create entire standalone sequels with the same title made by Bioware should start to perk up ears and make itchy heads since franchises, especially very successful ones, tend to keep high amounts of money flowing by making their own sequels. Quite simply, Obsidian was formed from a group of employees that Interplay laid off: Black Isle Studios at the time. Bioware purchased some rights to games like Fallout while Obsidian maintained some rights being they were from the original company that produced Fallout. It’s all confusing as far as intellectual rights are concerned but understanding that Alpha Protocol is a 3rd person action spy game with RPG elements created by a unique company that has been on the cusp of outstanding RPG titles is important.
Alpha Protocol created a lot of possibilities and hopes as it was a new venture by creating a new crossover of genres. No other company has attempted to mix RPG storytelling and customizing with an action spy game. There have been plenty of other action games but no RPGs centered on the idea of espionage. The only other RPGish spy game that comes to mind is Super Sneaky Spy Guy which contains no action while you stare at real photographs to unravel the mysteries of an empty cruise ship.
Cutting the fat before I drag this out, Alpha Protocol is not a game for very many people. There are three distinctive portions of this game: The 3rd person action, the storytelling system, and the RPG elements. Few people will enjoy AP due to large problems that truly are surprising for a company that has had their act together in the past. To put it bluntly the action parts of AP have a lot of issues; Graphics look old, the physics, combat, and camera control feel like riding a classic willy’s jeep on a rough road, the music and sound are so so, bits of the voice acting sound worse than local radio commercials, extremely linear paths for each level, and the AI enemies when not alarmed by your presence patrol rigid paths making 180 degree turns faster than a blink of an eye. It all adds up quickly to a pile of annoyances much like a long trip to the bathroom with only a creepy Celine Dion Anne Geddes book to pass the time. These problems do not make the game unplayable, but instead give obtuse glares from the shadows while gremlin laughter can be heard but not seen.
At the same exact time where this game begins to fail, it also dabbles in something great. KOTOR and other Bioware titles use a very simple system of RPG dialogue unfolding the story in various directions while the player makes choices on what type of character to be. AP takes this a step further removing the scripted choices. AP instead forces timed attitude responses on the fly that are reactive to the current dialogue. For example, if a mysterious new character enters a scene and says to leave this town or die, your choices can be sarcastic, professional, or aggressive in nature with the actual responded dialogue unknown until after you’ve made a choice on the type of response. The choice made can affect your relationship with that person in a neutral, positive (I like you), or negative (I loathe you) direction which also affects how much of the story is revealed from that character and future conversations with other characters. This system is slightly overshadowed by awkward voice acting at times but ignoring the spoken word and focusing on the written subtitles will keep an RPG lover enthralled. This system is very interesting and creative, working excellently in the spy genre and makes for a unique presentation of storytelling. The ‘true’ story in AP is a well kept secret hitting on the unpredictability of a Robert Ludlum level of storytelling for a game. Hopefully this will be implemented into future games (aka future Fallout games) because there is truly nothing else like it.
The other RPG elements are tiny glimmers of hope even if the visual portions were slightly lacking. Customizable guns and equipment (even if all weapon mods are identical looking), unlockable attribute bonuses, a competitive black market of equipment and intel, and an in-depth stat system that records all of the fatherless children you’ve created are among some of the high points of AP. Sadly all of these RPG pieces are interlaced in the 3rd person action and errors and bugs become easier to focus on than successes. The black market, for example, contains intel items such as maps or dossiers on characters yet options like maps are unnecessary since all levels are linear in nature.
The game can be completed in vastly different manners, ranging from not killing a single person in the whole game (using tranquilzer rounds), to ensuring all beating hearts become bleeding ones. Regardless of picking a full, empty or somewhere in between kill-count, stealth or disregard of stealth can be chosen much like SC:C but in AP’s case affects the outcome of the game as well as the difficulty and speed of completion. Guns blazing, this game can be finished in ten hours or less and the stealthy reserved approach pushes completion time beyond ten hours to about fifteen. Either way the only reason this game would be replayed (I finished it from start to finish twice) is to change all of the hefty dialogue choices and outcomes to better grasp the story yet this is probably unnecessary for anyone who dislikes punishment.
All in all, Alpha Protocol seemed like it was originally created from a dialogue and storytelling system that will rival future games to come but became a laughing stock of action games for this generation of games by poor implementation of a 3rd person shooter portion. A great reference point for the future, AP was a heavy disappointment in what was either a publishing, time pressure, and/or gross oversight during testing error. Because of this the only James Bond era AP can be compared to is George Lazenby’s uniqueness of starring in between Connery’s films and that’s about it.
Rating: 1.0 {on a scale of –10 to 10}
Helmet - Unsung
DeBlob is quite a fascinating game in its delivery, simple enjoyment, with a buffet of visual and musical dishes. The controls are simple to pick up and respond quite well but the game has very minor typical camera issues found with all three dimensional games. There are simple instructions for available actions and abilities and extra quests/achievements are easily explained and plentiful. The main actions of the game are accomplished by first acquiring a color from an enemy and then roaming around applying that color to everything in sight. 
After playing through the 2 levels many times, I realized, after the emptiness of finishing Fallout 3, I had something to look forward to once again. Hopefully you will say the same thing and maybe even want to fight along side of me as a scantily clad chesty female. Kind of like the tactical support of 