Alpha Protocol/Headscratchers

• This is a minor thing, but why are Omen Deng's CSP agents wearing full uniforms with helmets in broad daylight in Taipei? The only reason I can think of is that they're masquerading as Taiwanese Security Forces in riot gear.
  • If you're referring to the last mission, the park was closed to the public so there wasn't any reason to be discreet. The helmets are probably part of the reason why they're resistant to flashbangs.
  • On a related note, Deng has some nerve chiding Thorton for failing to blend in with the crowds in the subway system because of his armor, when Deng himself is wandering around the capital of Taiwan in a full People's Liberation Army dress uniform. To quote Lisa Vito: "Oh, yeah. You blend."
• Why does Shaheed being executed and Shaheed dying in the missile strike result in different outcomes for Al-Samad? As far as Al-Samad knows, there should be no difference - Shaheed is dead, and (compared with the first opportunity to execute him) he died at the same time (so Shaheed's lieutenants should act just the same regardless of how he died), yet the news-report in the credit has Al-Samad splintering into competing cells if Shaheed was executed, but has Shaheed taking credit for a bombing in the West Bank if he was not.
  • It appears to simply be a bug.
• Why is the fact Marburg's statues have visible wangs apparently a clear sign of his homosexuality? Isn't the wang-ness just a Greek/Roman aesthetic thing?
  • It's not really a 'clear' sign. Mike might just be prejudiced or uncultured, and Madison's comment isn't clear whether or not she knows about Marburg's sexual orientation or is just prejudiced too.
  • Yeah, Madison speculates, but it's never clear whether he is actually homosexual or just likes the art style. The statues themselves don't indicate anything on their own (Mike, for example, just asks about Marburg's taste in artwork with no indications of what he thinks), and Madison bases her speculation more on the fact that Marburg's never entertained any women in her history as his employee. Note that none of your other handlers insinuate anything about Marburg being homosexual, not even SIE. So, the statues are definitely not a "clear sign" of his orientation at all.

• During the last stage of Alpha Protocol, I managed to run into SIE, Scarlet and Mina, all of whom assisted me for a time while going through the base. So how come in the ending, only one of them (usually Mina) is in the boat with me? Come to think of it, SIE, Scarlet and Mina waiting for Micheal would either be a Crowning Moment of Awesome or Awkward all by itself.
  • They likely all have their own means of getting away from the facility on their own. They certainly had some means of getting there on their own, particularly G22, and Scarlet is able to slip out of the base on her own if you don't rescue her personally. It's just that whoever you were in a relationship with will be waiting for you on that boat specifically if they survive. Remember that you're going for the boat specifically to prevent Westridge/Leland from getting away, but that doesn't mean it's the only way out.
  • Good point. Still, I like the thought of ALL the ladies Mike Romanced waiting for him on the same boat. If there ever was a time to choose your Dialog Options carefully, now would be it.
  • Forget about surviving a world wide conspiracy. Worry about surviving the next 10 seconds against an Axe(Machine Gun)Crazy Blood Knight, a Cold Sniper, and a Deep Cover Agent.
  • At the ending of Metal Gear Solid, one can either leave with Otacon since Meryl is dead, or with Meryl, whereupon Snake notes that Otacon can find his own way out.

• You know, I absolutely love the G22 uniforms. They've got this kickass cyberpunk/special forces getup going on, with those bitching helmets, goggles, and jumpsuits. It looks really cool and sinister. Except these guys are secret and covert agents. Begoggled special forces tromping around snow-covered Moscow in bright red suits or openly patrolling on the rooftops and loading docks of a Taipei warehouse in broad daylight (with a helicopter!) does not help your covert organization, guys!
  • Considering that Sis tried to kill Mike after confirming their mission was accomplished, eliminating evidence and witnesses is probably a given.
    • Also, their distinctive look actually HELPS disguise them in the long run. By regularly changing their "look", they can abandon old identities and continue operations under another alias, like the game's various secret organizations actually.
    • Well, considering they are masked, fully clothed AND they use voice-changing equipment, recognizing a plainclothes G22 operative is almost impossible and the only times we can see them in Moscow is either on the yacht on a river or during an assault, so there's no need to stay inconspicious. And in Taiwan, seeing armed people in weird uniforms is seemingly nothing unusual - you can just go into a hotel room or take a subway in Interceptor armor without pedestrians looking at you funny.

• Did I just miss it, or is there never an option to make a golf joke at Albatross's expense?
  • It probably would be a very, very bad idea.

• Why, in my playthrough, was Mike surprised when Scarlet revealed herself as the would-be-assassin when Omen Deng had already told him this nearly an hour before?
  • The surprise may be from her willingness to share her secret with him. Its not everyday someone tells you something about themselves that could end in 20 to life in a Supermax Prison or firing squad.

• Why does Sung only wear body armor if you warn him about the assassination? I mean, wh ynot take caution, if he's the president he should be wearing some at every meeting he goes to for safety.
  • He says this outright when you talk to him. If he wears armor, it makes him look weak and frightened. He won't don any armor unless there's a credible threat.
    • Surely he could simply wear it under his clothes?
    • And? If he wears armor and word gets out he wore armor, it would make him look weak.

• If they sedate everyone who goes to Alpha Protocol, what about the driver/pilots who bring those people in? Wouldn't they know where the Greybox was?
  • Relay. One driver transports the agent to location X, another picks them up there, and then brings them to location Y, and then another picks them up there and brings them to the base. An email from Westridge to Darcy notes that it takes at least two days to transport any agent to the AP facility, not counting downtime while they recover and wake up after transit. There's probably a couple of drivers who are extremely well-trusted who know the location of the base, but all of the agents who operate out in the field are deliberately kept in the dark for operational security.
    • Also, while the final driver in the relay has to know where the base is, he doesn't necessarily have to know what the base is. All he knows is that its a covert facility he makes occasional delivery of sealed shipping containers to. You could grab this guy and give him the Jack Bauer treatment until he remembers where God's car keys are hiding, and he still couldn't tell you where the Alpha Protocol base because he has no idea it's called that -- you'd have to already know that he was part of the relay chain, from another source, before you could ask the right questions.
• At the end of the game, Mike may say: "I don't even know where here is.", indicating that he really has no clue as to where he is. Also, its a big ocean and a fairly small boat. Why the heck did he even try to leave and risk getting stranded out at sea? It wouldn't have taken that much of an effort to find some navigational tools before trying to leave.
  • Unless G22, SIE, or Heck teleported there, they know where the base is located and how to get there. One phone call is all it takes.
    • Did Mike have a phone or other com system?
    • Unless everyone who was giving him information during the mission was doing so via telepathy, yes, he does.
    • Even if he can't get in contact with his handler for the mission, it seems unlikely that a boat that fancy wouldn't have a GPS system.
    • Additionally, you have another person with you on that boat -- and whether it's Mina, Scarlet, or Steven Heck, they all know where the base is. (Mina because she's the NSA mole in Alpha Protocol, Scarlet because she came there with Leland, who knows the route, and Steven Heck because he was clearly able to find this place on his own.)
• It just hit me how strange it is that the president of Taiwan is named "Ronald".
  • Western names have filtered quite extensively into the naming conventions of East Asia, as an offshoot of Western control of much of China during the 19th century. It is very, very common for people to be named something like "Johnny Chen" or such.
    • Part of the reason is that its quite normal for a Chinese person to have at least 2 Names. One "official" Westernized Name to put on official forms and such, and another to use with friends/family or other Chinese people, even more "secret" names are for varrying reasons. This is mainly for convinience. For example, expecting the average westerner to be able to pronounce and remember the name Chang Kai Shek, is not as easy as the name Charlie Chang.
• President Sung will only believe Mike about the assassination plot if Mike can show him hard evidence of it. And where did Mike get that evidence from? Omen Deng. And who does Omen Deng work for? President Sung. So why doesn't President Sung already know about the plot? Wouldn't Deng have told him?
  • Sung's information was that you are the assassin. So it obviously hasn't reached Sung yet at this point in the game, because otherwise they'd never have let you in the building.