Several times, the developers at Obsidian have pointed out that you can play through their upcoming, spy action-RPG Alpha Protocol as one of the three "big Bs" of modern espionage fiction: Bourne, Bond, or Bauer. To that end, I actually play through the opening act of a recent preview build with three different versions (in terms of character class and attitude) of main character Michael Thorton. While I won't go as far as to say it feels like three different games, I'll admit that there are some pretty cool tweaks and twists depending on your general attitude and play-style.

From what I can tell (I've only played up until the end of Operation Desert Spear, meaning the tutorial and four missions within Saudi Arabia), the story begins with a terrorist organization called Al-Samad firing stolen missiles at a civilian airliner; Desert Spear is Mike's operation to track down Sheikh Ali Shaheed (Al-Samad's chief financier). The different attitudes (suave, aggressive, and professional) you adopt during dialogue affect things such as your relationship to other characters (and what bonuses they give you when you start a mission under their supervision); for now, I'm focusing on Mike's boss (Yancy Westbridge), the first contact/romance option (Mina Tsang), and rival agent Sean Darcy. Other factors that change depending on your style during Desert Spear include what happens while pursuing an arms dealer named Nasri (his own fate, and a sequence involving his guards, have different consequences), and what happens when you finally meet Shaheed himself.