Alpha Prime Review (PC)

I have had Alpha Prime in my library for a long time, but, like with many games, I never got around to playing it. However, I finally decided to play through it one night, and it was quite entertaining. The game is a single-player FPS (it allegedly has multiplayer but I do not believe there is a way to play it at this point) and was designed by Black Element Software. The basic premise is that there is a planet called Alpha Prime that mines a precious mineral called "hubbardium," which is used for synthesizing rocket fuel for interstellar travel, which also causes dangerous side effects in humans upon exposure to said mineral, and a terrible tragedy occurs, culminating in the company (think Weyland Yutani) sealing off the planet, without evacuating said miners. "What's that? Sorry, I can't hear your distress call..." - The company, probably. Anyway, the protagonist, Arnold Weiss, is recruited by a former friend (perhaps former lover as well - I can't remember) named Livia, who in turn wants to hire Arnold to rescue another mutual friend named Warren from the hostile planet. Our cynical antihero accepts the deal and that's where the action starts, and there is significant action to be had.

First, however, let's discuss the graphics. The game has some decent graphics and visuals for its time. One of my favorite times in gaming was 2000s era gaming; I found the environments and atmosphere of these games to be compelling, and everything was sort of painted in a dark and mysterious lens. Alpha Prime has environments similar to Doom 3, in my opinion. The grittiness of games like these are, of course, in stark contrast to the modern era of bright-colors-over-everything (basically anything made by Blizzard these days except for Diablo IV). The character models in Alpha Prime stand out to me in particular, with the animations fairly advanced regarding poses, movement, and dialogue. They clearly put effort into making the characters believable, except perhaps Paolo, but that is another story, haha.

Speaking of realism, I would say that the sci-fi, though relatively vague from what I remember, is grounded in believable technology. The mechanics of the game are typical for their time, with some similarities to games like F.E.A.R. and Half-Life, but it can be a little clunky to play at times, and there are occasional graphics and AI glitches, but rare enough that it doesn't really affect the experience. It's a typical FPS and it has, like the aforementioned F.E.A.R., bullet-time, which can spice up some of the numerous combat sequences. They also have some electronic hacking sequences throughout the game, which are fine, as well as an interactive environment. Some have criticized the game for being too difficult; I thought it was challenging but I don't remember getting overly frustrated during my playthrough.

The shooting mechanics were also standard for the time, which seemed to be a cross between the aforementioned Half-Life and Doom 3, as the weapons seem to range from standard assault rifles and shotguns to more futuristic ones. One will perhaps notice that some of the electronic door panels are similar to those in Doom 3 and that the wall-mounted health receptacles are similar to Half-Life. That is not to say that Alpha Prime is unoriginal, as although they borrow concepts and designs from other games, the overall product seems fairly original.

So what can one expect regarding the campaign? There's a lot of shooting, with almost no breaks in the action except cutscenes and brief commlink dialogues that advance the story. The story itself is quite compelling, or at the very least how they tell it. It is a typical sci-fi premise with a linear narrative, but there is enough intrigue and deception that it also is part spy-thriller and mystery, believe it or not. Additionally, the characters are fairly complex with different motivations. You will see the main character as everything from a hardened killer to a comedian to a simp (some of the dialogue is pretty hilarious), but what he shows you outwardly is not always the same as his internal motivations, just like with most of the characters. There's an Italian character named Paolo, who is hilarious in that he is so stereotypically Italian that you'll think he jumped out of a 90s Italian restaurant commercial. His presence in the game is an unexpected bonus and unintentional comedy gold. The campaign is not particularly long, as I beat it on normal in six hours or so, but it is just the right amount of time to play the game, in my opinion. The ending is a little lackluster, and perhaps predictable in some ways, though there's a final cutscene that ends on a cliffhanger, which might have been intended for a sequel (I would play one if it ever gets released, I can tell you that much).

The bottom line: If you have a day or evening to play an entertaining game, I recommend picking up Alpha Prime. For the current price (when I last checked) of five dollars it's definitely more than worth it. This discount also makes up for the fact that multiplayer no longer exists, but that is simply a reality when going back and playing old games (for example, I just finished Assassin's Creed 3 on Xbox 360 last month and you can't even connect to Ubisoft on there anymore). I have to emphasize again that the characters and dialogue are a lot of fun - a lot of developers play it too safe and generic these days, which is not my taste, as I prefer controversial and edgy, as that leans closer to being realistic and more "human." The combat is nothing to write home about, but the other aspects enhance the experience enough to where you will want to blast through enemies just to find out what happens next.