Alpha Protocol is one of developer Obsidian’s original games, after having spent the last few years working on Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights 2, and the upcoming Fallout: New Vegas. All of those sequels were good (we dunno about Fallout New Vegas yet), so how does Alpha Protocol stack up with them? Well, considering the kind of talent Obsidian posses, it’s disappointing, to say the least.

Alpha Protocol is your usual spy/action game/shooter extravaganza where you play as Micheal Thorton, a former agent who now works alone and is hunted by several agencies, as part of a global conspiracy. It’s basically the Jason Bourne plot, and surprisingly, the game does a good job of conveying the story throughout the 15-or so hour campaign. The game also has some heavy RPG elements, some of which are clearly inspired by Mass Effect. You’ll be interacting with lots of characters, and you can chose to treat them anyway you want, as friends or enemies. But it’s better to have at least a few good allies throughout the game. However, the characters are one-dimensional and their goals and acts are quite stereotypical of what we’ve seen in games before.

While the story and characters are barely passable, the gameplay is what really bogs down Alpha Protocol. The cover system is broken and works only half the time, the AI lacks basic intelligence like when you pop behind cover, they tend to forget that you ever existed — and of course, they’ll get stuck in walls. But at least they’re a decent challenge when you face off against a few squads — until they just charge you in suicide attacks, which they will. Not only is the combat dull because of the bad AI, it’s also very repetitive throughout the entire game.

Technically, the game fails to live up to the standards of the current generation consoles. Graphics look dated, and to make matters worse, the frame rate stutters quite a lot. Sound effects seem stock, and the dialogue isn’t anything to cheer about (but your ears won’t hurt, at least). Overall, the game had some potential, but not much, and the overall lack of polish in almost all aspects of the game make it appears as a bad knock off of Mass Effect.

The Good:
Interesting story — for a while

The Bad:
Horrible AI
Repetitive gameplay
Lots of bugs
Lacks polish in most aspects

Overall score: 2/10

EA has had its own E3 press conference, albeit small then the Microsoft one, where they announced several new games and lots of sequels and add-ons. One of those is Bad Company 2: Vietnam, an add-on to the popular shooter Bad Company 2. There was little else revealed — besides that it’s a multiplayer-only expansion, with just 4 maps. The new DLC will arrive in “Winter 2010″.

EA, Epic and developer People Can Fly are all showcasing Bulletstorm, the Gears of War inspired shooter. Besides revealing the cool trailer above, they revealed the release date: February 22, 2011. Less than 9 months away.

Microsoft has officially unveiled the new Xbox 360 console, which is smaller and a lot glossier than the previous version. The new Xbox 360 will feature a 250 GB internal, removable hard drive and built in WiFi. Under the hood, it’s rumored that it’s a new chip by Microsoft which combines the CPU and GPU on one die, and only requires one cooler. Microsoft says that the new console is “whisper” quiet, which we’ll find out very soon. The consoles goes on sale this week and is already available for pre-order.

E3 is known for its huge size, booths and attendance. But it’s equally known for the gigantic banners that are set up all over and around the Los Angeles Convention Center, and E3 2010 is no different. Check out more banners here.

According to rumors just before E3 kicks off, Sony is rumored to be unveiling a 500 GB version of the PS3, which will not only sport the bigger hard drive, but 802.11n wireless standard as well. In addition, the new SKU is rumored to include Move, Sony’s motion controller.

Gizmodo managed to spot Microsoft’s new Kinect at a test station at E3 (which opens its doors in a few hours), and the device isn’t as large as people originally thought — barely the size of an Xbox 360 controller. Also, it was confirmed by ad-banners at E3 that Kinect will be out in November. Price? We’ll know later today.

According to a new ad from Microsoft’s Italian division, there will be an Xbox 360 slim unveiled at E3, at least according to a new ad they posted prematurely on their site — which has now been pulled. The rumored “slim” console will sport a 250GB HDD, and built-in WiFi. Yep, we’re 99% sure this is the real deal you’re seeing above.

Rockstar has patched the buggy multiplayer element of Red Dead Redemption, the full set of fixes include:

• Resolved various NAT incompatibility issues
• Improved connectivity to multiplayer for users with slower connections
• Improved reporting for Shootout and Gang Shootout games
• Fixed instance where Mo Van Barr would not appear as a bounty
• Fixed multiplayer titles not appearing for some users in the outfitter
• Fixed instance where lawmen stopped responding even though the player was wanted
• Fixed Issue with hogtied victims disappearing when ragdolled
• Fixed crash in Free Mode when cooking dynamite and going into the water
• Fixed audible glitch at the end of some cutscenes
• Fixed Solomon’s Folly Action Area not ending after posse leader teleports in late
• Corrected Social Club 100% Tracker so stats update properly
• Various multiplayer issues addressed including load screen hang-ups and UI glitches
• Eliminated miscellaneous game crashes

Microsoft has unveiled the official name and design of the new motion sensor for the Xbox 360, previously known as “Natal”. The new name is “Kinect”. As you can see above, it resembles the prototype a lot, although Microsoft hasn’t unveiled a price on the device. Several games have been unveiled as well, including Kinect Sports, Kinect Adventures and a Star Wars game which will be introduced at E3 next week.