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. Eurogamer
    30
    The cinematic cut-scenes are poorly voiced, the characters unconvincing, and the plot is so-so at best.
  2. 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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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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