I hope I'll be able to enjoy ME2 after Alpha Protocol. I really think it'll be hard to play Bioware/Bethesda stuff after this where your dialogue choices are like GOOD/NEUTRAL/EVIL 
I was trying to replay ME1 last week so I can bring the save into ME2 and ME1 is ughhhh these days.
What exactly do you like about Alpha Protocol? Even "non-conformist" gaming podcasts have been panning it, mostly for the graphics and the combat, so I'm guessing you liked everything else about it.
I think it would be easier to ask, "what
don't I like about AP?" because then I'd just say...occasional weak graphics and buggiest game I've ever played. Everytime I play for 5 hours I hit at least one bug per hour. Also I think there are some mandatory alarms in the game (not 100% sure on this) which is frustrating if you are going for a perfect no alarms, no kills run like I am.
Everything else about the game is perfect. The only wrpg I've ever played that has been this good has been Fallout 2. It's not just that the story/character relations is amazing next gen stuff that blows away every game ever made. The gameplay is SO GOOD. If you play stealth like I am and try to get through every stage without being seen and not killing anyone, the game is better than MGS or SC in pure stealth gameplay. The guards can see further (though their scope is narrow), the level designs are great puzzles, the objectives are varied and the skills are awesome. Even the hacking mini-games are fun in this. Love the shooting mechanics as well from a stealth perspective. Having to get close and line up a shot makes it tougher and more fun than MGS/SC because you can't just tranq some guy from before he can even see you. You actually have to get close up where it's dangerous and sneak around him or finding a hiding spot close by and snipe him off.
And then yeah, the story branching is incredible. It's everything that makes Heavy Rain's branching impressive with 10x the amount of freedom to effect the narrative.
I'm about 13 hours in now and maybe 2/3rds through. Once I finish I'm planning on doing a 2nd run immediately and doing a RAMBO playthrough as a guy who goes guns blazing and has anger management issues and yells at everyone so they either hate him or they are afraid of him. Then I'm going to do a 3rd playthrough and try to get the 100% perfect no alarm/no kill run which I'm gonna miss slightly this time, plus I'll make a lot of different decisions now that I see how things stemmed from them.
I think the review scores just show how fucked up games journalism is now. Almost every rpg gamer who is playing AP and those who've finished it say it's EXCELLENT and GoTY material. Pretty much everyone agrees it is miles beyond Mass Effect 1 & Fallout 3, yet the media drooled all over those and scored them extremely well. I dunno, maybe Graphics really are THAT important to game reviewers, but in that case how did Fallout 3 score well when it's an ugly looking game.
