Alpha Prime

 PC
Metascore
59

Mixed or average reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 19
  3. Negative: 2 out of 19
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  1. Thunderbolt
    70
    It's a bog-standard shooter with some cool graphics. Honestly, Alpha Prime feels like the product of a first-person-shooter checklist. It hits all the marks that, if missed, would bring a game's score down. Multiple enemy types? Check. Narrative? Check. Slow-motion? Check. Good graphics? Double check. Aside from the embarrassing acting.
  2. Game Chronicles
    70
    There have certainly been far worse games in the extremely well-traveled FPS genre. For what it is, Alpha Prime delivers the goods and ends up being an engaging experience.
  3. PC Format
    69
    Pretty but tedious, Alpha Prime is a solid but supremely derivative shooter that's more often a chore than a pleasure. [June 2007, p.60]
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  5. GameZone
    69
    Alpha Prime is a commendable game that offers a solid FPS gaming experience but lacks the innovation some might expect with a new game.
  6. Gamers' Temple
    67
    Alpha Prime does a great job of being average.
  7. Worth Playing
    67
    It's a fun shooter with a well-done bullet-time feature and a decent storyline. What more could you ask for from a $20 dollar game? Oh, Hubbardium-crazed humans? It's got that too!
  8. Gaming Nexus
    65
    When I could shake the feeling that I had been through all of this before in one place or another, Alpha Prime was a pretty good ride, considering that there was nothing particularly new or innovative about it.
  9. Play Magazine
    65
    At 20 bucks, Alpha Prime may be a decent stocking-stuffer for FPS junkies. [Dec 2007, p.97]
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  10. PC Gamer UK
    60
    A pretty shell for a game that's pretty lacking. Not much fun. [Aug 2007, p.92]
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  11. AceGamez
    60
    The game has huge potential for the long term, even if a lot of it remains unfulfilled at this point.
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  12. CPUGamer
    60
    For the most part, I’d say that the weak points overpower the few positives in Alpha Prime and because there isn’t anything that’s really new or unique and the sound ruins the intensity, I find it fairly boring. You shoot enemies, watch a cut scene, shoot some more, interact with something, repeat.
  13. Game Over Online
    60
    Alpha Prime takes a little from each game but has a hard time carving out its own identity.
  14. PC Zone UK
    58
    Alpha Prime, with a passable storyline and passable gameplay, is a little passable anomaly. [July 2007, p.77]
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  15. Gamer 2.0
    58
    Alpha Prime is a very average game. It might have nice visuals that make it look comparable to other games of its ilk, but in the end it suffers from being a truly derivative and under-developed game.
  16. Computer Games Online RO
    54
    Unfortunately for Black Element Software, this type of game has been done to death, so there were only two options for the designers to consider: a) innovate or b) use the classic recipe, but use it the right way. And even though options b was chose, the results are disappointing to say the least.
  17. GameWatcher
    53
    All in all this game is solidly average. It’s a decent if predictable story saddled with a pedestrian game.
  18. Game Revolution
    50
    Were Alpha Prime really fantastic in some specific aspect, at just $20, I would be happy to recommend it to one and all. It isn’t bad – you can have fun playing it and it’s not going to crash inexplicably – but it is an offering exactly matched by its budget price.
  19. PC Gamer
    40
    Flashy weapon effects partially mask the mediocre gameplay, and to the untrained eye, Alpha Prime could almost pass as "Doom 3". I trust that PC Gamer readers are smart enough not to be fooled. [Apr 2008, p.66]
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  20. Eurogamer
    30
    The cinematic cut-scenes are poorly voiced, the characters unconvincing, and the plot is so-so at best.

Awards & Rankings

37
#37 Most Discussed PC Game of 2007
54
#54 Most Shared PC Game of 2007

User Reviews

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User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 124 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 124
  2. Mixed: 50 out of 124
  3. Negative: 33 out of 124
  1. KyleB
    Dec 23, 2009
    7
    This game is really underrated. It reminds me of System Shock 2 and Unreal 2. It is great for a small company to release. I bought it for This game is really underrated. It reminds me of System Shock 2 and Unreal 2. It is great for a small company to release. I bought it for $2.70 off steam and it is truly worth at least 10. The physics, graphics and hud are great. AI can be dumb sometimes. Voice acting is par, cut scenes should be shorter. The gameplay is standard but it is still fun to play.… Full Review »
  2. aveilleux
    Jun 13, 2012
    4
    Allow me to disclaim this review by stating I completed the game on "Normal" difficulty in about 8 hours or so (including death andAllow me to disclaim this review by stating I completed the game on "Normal" difficulty in about 8 hours or so (including death and reloading).

    Let's get the good stuff out of the way. I really like the fresh IP growing here. The story is solid, if a little cliche, and the world-building is very well done for such a short game. The game paces itself well, and I really love the soundtrack. The game requires a modicum of strategy, and it's next to impossible to run-and-gun. The level design is interesting, if a little linear. The ReCon hacking mechanic is a neat little quirk that's far too underused.

    Finally, the graphics are great. No, they're downright gorgeous. The human faces are unique and recognizable, and even on the highest graphical settings I was playing quite smoothly. The clear surfaces ripple and reflect light in a realistic manner, and the shadows are very well-done.

    Now, onto the reason for my low score.

    The weapon choices are mediocre at best (the melee attack becomes useless within two maps and I rarely found myself using the shotgun or flamethrower due to their ineffectiveness at long range), and the explosives (rockets and grenades) are about as effective as a bunny's fart if not aimed perfectly at your target. I found myself relying very heavily on the sniper rifle early on, since the primary automatic weapon was not yet effective against the enemies in the game. Somehow it feels like the enemies get weaker later on... I have no possible explanation for that except the game becomes more balanced the longer your play it.

    The same physics applied to objects is applied to the player, when normally the player is much stronger. Even a slight incline on a "smooth" surface (such as the lid of a container) was enough to send me sliding slowly backwards. The vehicle physics are "meh" at best. Once heights high enough to induce fall damage arrive, there's next to no feedback when fall damage takes place, and the height at which your character takes fall damage is very, very low.

    The writing is perhaps the weakest aspect of Alpha Prime. The dialogue is very forced, and the characters tend to be stereotypical. The woman who shouts in your earpiece is sexually promiscuous, the black character uses "punk-ass" as many times as is legal, and the main antagonist is a cruel military commander, taking pleasure in torturing prisoners. The hero is a disgruntled prospector, one of the few people not affected by exposure to the game's MacGuffin, Hubbardium. The intro cutscene features two throw-away characters and the protagonist, Arnold, drinking in a bar. This scene becomes an exposition dump as the female love interest strides in, wearing shiny latex and a plunging neckline, taking a seductive pose on a table while she speaks very seriously about a rescue mission she wants to recruit Arnold for. It lasts for almost five minutes, explaning events that happened before the game and still somehow not cutting down the cutscene content later on in the game.

    The voice acting ranges from good (the antagonist's dialogue is strong) to laughably parodic (Paolo Bellini delivers his lines with a disinterested monotone and hilarious Italian accent), and the overall quality of the game suffers for it. I feel that the poorer VA jobs suffer mostly from the poor writing: many crutch phrases pop up during the dialogue, and the tone and vocabulary of the long-running characters tends to change over time. Additionally, the dialogue pacing is very sporadic. The lines tend to flow with each line of the (hilariously typo-ridden) subtitles, so longer sentences get broken up with awkward pauses in the middle of clauses.

    Most of the other negative reviewers already complained about the difficulty, so I'll just clarify things a bit: The game is not hard due to engine mechanics. The problem arises from poor design: Enemy weapons are extremely powerful over long ranges and the enemy AI has near-perfect aim. These combine to make traversing a single hallway inordinately difficult.

    The final problem is the lack of an autosave feature. I know it's petty, but this isn't 1998 here. Upon death, the only options are to load from the start of the level, load from the last Quicksave, and return to the main menu.

    Overall, the game has lots of very good ideas. New IP, a solid story, amazing graphics with a low performance threshold, a design document that's essentially Valve's "Raising the Bar" copy-pasted, and a strong gameplay hampered by poor AI, weak player weapons, hilarious voice talent, and a silly script. If this game hadn't been $2 on Steam when I purchased it, I would have felt as disappointed as I felt when I paid full price for Mirror's Edge. As it stands, I can only say it's worth about what I paid. Buy it when it's on sale and give it a shot, but be prepared to throw your keyboard against the wall in frustration.    … Full Review »
  3. halosis
    Dec 23, 2013
    4
    To start off this game is fairly awful. No not like it's old school NO this is NOT how old school games should be remembered the bad voiceTo start off this game is fairly awful. No not like it's old school NO this is NOT how old school games should be remembered the bad voice acting and overly long cut scenes as well as the poorly executed game play with the wonky controls and weapons that seems to have little to no effect on enemy's. However i can comfortably say that the game poses difficulty.... in an unfair manor as the enemies shoot right through walls. the story isn't terrible but it was fairly standard. The graphics for its time are fairly decent so i cant give this an overly bad rating a below average of 4 is exactly how this game preformed. it is below average and i honestly wouldn't recommend playing this game it is okay BUT its a very rough ride all the way through. All the AI are just pathetic But what i think saves this game from a worse rating is its excellent use of bullet-time which is well done to say the least. now the level design its well done for it's time but nothing to be amazed about there are places where you will get stuck or be clueless in the exact direction you should go. But it isn't worth buying all in all perhaps if it was cheaper but even then it isn't worthy as a game that deserves the praise it received.… Full Review »
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