Alpha Prime

 PC
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
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  1. Murica
    Feb 24, 2014
    0
    I pride myself on being fairly forgiving on games, if they have at least one redeeming characteristic. In this case, there is none. I have never played a worse FPS in my entire life. I'm able to play through [most] FPS games on the highest difficulty setting with very little trouble, due to the fact that the games have decent mechanics that allow for the player to use the environment toI pride myself on being fairly forgiving on games, if they have at least one redeeming characteristic. In this case, there is none. I have never played a worse FPS in my entire life. I'm able to play through [most] FPS games on the highest difficulty setting with very little trouble, due to the fact that the games have decent mechanics that allow for the player to use the environment to their advantage in order to stay alive.

    Not so in this game. Yes, you can take cover behind things such as boxes, but if you do, you are pinned down completely. Most rooms have at least five enemies in them, which are horrible AIs that have been equipped with instant-detection capabilities, inhuman reaction time and accuracy, and apparently endless magazines of bullets. In the four hours I played this game, I never once saw an enemy reload. All they did was aim directly at the player and spam bullets until you either died or somehow managed to kill them. Then, once they're dead, they [most of the time] drop their weapon, only for the player to pick it up and realize that the magazine size is only good for [at most] five seconds of continuous fire.

    As for the health system, I have never before encountered such a heavily-skewed health scale in my life. Enemies can take twenty bullets to the face before going down, but you can barely take two to the chest. This wouldn't be so bad if there were more resources available to the player, but medkits are few, far between, and extremely ineffective.

    The weapon selection in this game is extremely limited, and so is ammunition. Never before have I played a game for over an hour and still only have two guns. Don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting Borderlands 2-esque gun variety, but even games that only allow you to carry 1-3 weapons at a time generally have a few more unique weapons that you encounter. Additionally, while you will pick up ammunition from fallen enemies, you generally only get a handful of bullets, even though the enemies are capable of laying down a continuous stream of bullets for an indefinite amount of time. (I tested this out. I crouched behind a box for ten minutes in a room with one other enemy. There was literally no interruption in the stream of bullets, and he never moved from his original position.)

    Game mechanics are completely messed up. The control scheme is decent, but nothing is as responsive as it is in almost every other game I've ever played. For some reason, you have to crank the mouse sensitivity up incredibly high in order to have any sort of decent cornering/aiming speed, even if you have a mouse with on-the-fly DPI switching and you turn the mouse all the way up. The "peek" function is worthless, because apparently even though you're only extending your head out from behind cover, the hitbox extends all the way to the floor, as if you were crouching next to the box, rather than peeking out from behind it.

    Graphics are so-so. Artistically, it's very well executed, and I have no complaints about model quality, texture quality, ambiance, etc. The problem I have with the graphical style is the fact that everything looks like it's been wrapped in plastic or sprayed with a glossifier of some sort. I have this same complaint about DOOM 3. It really breaks realism of a game when literally every surface is shiny. Even games developed on the Source engine are more believable than this, despite the age of the engine and its limitations.

    The music is decent, but extremely repetitive. If you're a fan of things like Deadmau5, you'll probably really, really enjoy the style of music used in this game. However, if you expect any sort of variety in a song, you will be sorely disappointed.

    The characters are very human and believable, so this is the one aspect of this game that I cannot fault for any reason.

    Overall, I would consider this game to be terrible. I have gotten frustrated at games in the past when they're incredibly difficult, but I have never in my life actually gotten angry enough to immediately uninstall the game after closing out of it; until now, that is. Had I not gotten this in the Bohemia Interactive Humble Weekly Sale along with ten other games for $6, I would feel shafted by it and would likely try to get a refund. Do NOT buy this game unless you enjoy horrible mechanics, crappy gameplay, underdeveloped AI, and/or general lack of creativity. Even Carrier Command: Gaea Mission is better than this trash.    … Expand
  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 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    Allow 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.    … Expand
  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 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 theTo 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.… Expand
  4. SelkitDiller
    Jan 4, 2010
    3
    Passable if repetitive soundtrack, somewhat pretty visuals, but it's broken. Utterly broken. Poor AI is made up for with inhuman reflexes, accuracy, and bullet spam. Enemies are repetitive, and 90% of them have the same generic gun to plink at you with. And you can kill yourself by hurling a popcan at the floor. Yes, an ordinary soda can can kill you if you throw it at the floor. Try Passable if repetitive soundtrack, somewhat pretty visuals, but it's broken. Utterly broken. Poor AI is made up for with inhuman reflexes, accuracy, and bullet spam. Enemies are repetitive, and 90% of them have the same generic gun to plink at you with. And you can kill yourself by hurling a popcan at the floor. Yes, an ordinary soda can can kill you if you throw it at the floor. Try it if you actually spent money on this beast. Broken physics, horrible block puzzles, annoying train sequences, bog-standard FPS guns... if you can pick it up for a buck on Steam if they do another sale, go for it; The voice acting is good for a cringe if nothing else.… Expand
  5. SnickEr
    Nov 15, 2008
    0
    This is the worst game I have ever played. The game control was barely tolerable. But what really did this one in was the characters and story. I hated ever single character including the guy I was playing. The story was lame and I only finished the game because I just couldn't resist seeing how bad it could be. It felt like it was written (and programmed) by a group of socially This is the worst game I have ever played. The game control was barely tolerable. But what really did this one in was the characters and story. I hated ever single character including the guy I was playing. The story was lame and I only finished the game because I just couldn't resist seeing how bad it could be. It felt like it was written (and programmed) by a group of socially inept teenage boys. This game is a total waste of time. Save yourself and don't make the same mistake I did. I still want my money and my time back for this one.… Expand
  6. TylerB.
    Dec 3, 2007
    3
    Graphics are all this game has, and they aren't even as good as Half-Life 2. Gameplay just downright sucks. I at first thought all the reviews were just harsh because this was another FPS, but I didn't listen and had to try it myself. I am sorely disappointed, and wish I never had this nasty program on my PC. It makes me almost vomit to think that Steam agreed to sell this crap.
  7. PyroB
    Jan 8, 2010
    3
    Decent Graphics. Sub-Par physics. Outdated. Generic Gameplay. All are characteristics of a mediocre game. The voice acting is decent, but nothing more. The storyline is barely interesting. There is barely a back story to this game. Overall, its a mediocre sub-par game.
  8. ChristianH.
    Nov 25, 2007
    2
    Its Exactly tha same as all other mediocre games..just without any good story. Lame ending.
  9. stevem
    Apr 20, 2008
    2
    This is a terrible, terrible game that fails completely on every level. Any "critic" that does not recognize this game outright for what it is (absolute garbage) should have his head examined. They are obviously cut and pasting the doom 3 engine, yet they somehow even managed to make the visuals more bland. Every aspect of this game fails. From the AI interaction, to the gameplay, the This is a terrible, terrible game that fails completely on every level. Any "critic" that does not recognize this game outright for what it is (absolute garbage) should have his head examined. They are obviously cut and pasting the doom 3 engine, yet they somehow even managed to make the visuals more bland. Every aspect of this game fails. From the AI interaction, to the gameplay, the plot, the weapons, the sound. It feels like it was released in 2002 which is the only way it could have been taken seriously. I'm glad I got the demo. This is a game that would make you regret spending a dollar on. They should consider releasing it for free and just using product placement since it was obviously made to try and make a quick buck as opposed to having any relevance in today's fps market. I guess they can't all be half-life 2. A game like Alpha Prime makes you appreciate the good ones.… Expand
  10. ZozoR.
    Oct 8, 2009
    0
    Do not buy this piece of crap!!! It is a CRIME against gaming and should be avoided under all circumstances!!! It is the most frustrating and horripilating FPS that I ever played in my entire life.Even if you EVER have the possibility to downloading FREE stay away from this PIECE OF SH*T!!!
  11. Lucretiel
    Nov 10, 2007
    3
    Generic to the extreme. not an ounce of originality; terrible voice acting. the save system is manual, meaning that if you die you have to start the whole level over again if you forgot to save. not worth your time.
  12. JonesR
    May 18, 2011
    0
    I was completely relieved when this game was over. What a waste of 5 hours of playtime from start to finish. There isn't anything positive to say about it.
  13. lavalampjoe
    Aug 31, 2013
    4
    Pretty pointless really considering how many better written and executed games are out there. It looks decent, but the AI, voice acting and story are all pretty uninspiring.
  14. NightGeisha
    Dec 9, 2018
    3
    At a start it shows some potential, it seems (until some point) that it will have a mysterious and captivating history. But quickly the interest was lost.

    Graphically the game is ok. The graphics are really ok for the year 2007, when was launch games like Bioshock or Crysis. But the lack of diversity of scenery or models of enemies is visible and one of the aspects that makes the game    At a start it shows some potential, it seems (until some point) that it will have a mysterious and captivating history. But quickly the interest was lost.

    Graphically the game is ok. The graphics are really ok for the year 2007, when was launch games like Bioshock or Crysis. But the lack of diversity of scenery or models of enemies is visible and one of the aspects that makes the game annoying.

    The mechanics of the game are simple to catch but sometimes AI seems too "accurate". It is not creating difficulty to progress but creates annoyance. You know for exemple that as soon as a door begins to open even if you're hiding in an impossible place to be seen, they immediately know where you are and immediately attack to that side.    … Expand
  15. NyanFish
    Apr 14, 2022
    0
    Худшая игра за последние 5 лет
    В ней плохо всё, от поведение вещей застряющих везде до поворота мышки
    Зачем я начал проходить его на сложном, ошибся, но прошёл и место 3-2 часов пришлось потратить все 6, ибо что бы пройти 3 врагов перезагружался до 10 раз, топ, враги стреляющие всегда в тебя и знающие где ты, не советую не под каким предлогом    Худшая игра за последние 5 лет
    В ней плохо всё, от поведение вещей застряющих везде до поворота мышки
    Зачем я начал проходить его на сложном, ошибся, но прошёл и место 3-2 часов пришлось потратить все 6, ибо что бы пройти 3 врагов перезагружался до 10 раз, топ, враги стреляющие всегда в тебя и знающие где ты, не советую не под каким предлогом

Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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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
  1. 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]
  2. PC Zone UK
    58
    Alpha Prime, with a passable storyline and passable gameplay, is a little passable anomaly. [July 2007, p.77]
  3. PC Gamer UK
    60
    A pretty shell for a game that's pretty lacking. Not much fun. [Aug 2007, p.92]
See all critic reviews »