Alpha Protocol, what the hell is everyone whining about? Options

[Wounded Ronin]

I am in the middle of my second playthrough of Alpha Protocol. It appears to have gotten very mediocre reviews. I cannot understand why, especially given that it is a role playing game and not a fps.

The conversation trees and storyline manipulation available to the player are a lot of fun and as far as I can tell the reviewers concur. I personally think the characters are a lot of fun, with Heck being my favorite. But all the reviewers seem to think that the gameplay is so horrible that it drags down the rest of the game. They say that the AI is bad, that the cover system is bad, and they even object to the fact that there is a stealth ability that turns you invisible for 5 seconds.

What the hell, I say. It's a role playing game. It's not Splinter Cell, or Left 4 Dead. The gameplay is supposed to be about your character stats so it really cannot play exactly like a straight up shooter or sneaker. I personally have never had a single problem using the cover system. I guess the AI is a little weak but then again most of your enemies are supposed to be spy movie mooks.

I feel like there are so many complaints about things that are not really the point of the game, and at the same time everyone just glosses over the aspects that are outstanding and fairly rare in video games, such as the memorable characters and the ability to affect the story.