History VideoGame / AlphaPrime

[[quoteleft:266:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AlphaPrime.jpg]]

** [[CodeName Coral Snake]]. The codename was chosen for a reason. They have all the typical traits of a character described as a "snake" and they even mention poison as a metaphor at one point.

* UsingYouAllAlong - [[spoiler:Coral Snake's {{plan}}. The entire time, Livia just wanted to get back to Alpha Prime to get Glomar's heart to the Company. The protagonist thinks she is on his side, and the antagonist is also trying to get the heart for the company. Whoever gets to the heart and kills the other makes the heart available to her and the Company.]]

* KaizoTrap - During the part where you have to defend Warren from the attacking Marines, a bug in the A.I. scripting sometimes causes Warren to shoot at ''you'' when he retreats from the room at the end of the fight. He can potentially kill you, especially since you're probably weakened from the difficult fight against the waves of Marines. This has been captured on at least one of the major Let's Plays of the game.

The story involves a man named Arnold Weiss traveling to a sealed off mining station to rescue his friend Warren Reynolds. The station was originally set up for mining a valuable mineral called hubbardium, said to come from a mysterious creature named Glomar. While looking for his friend, Arnold meets up with a prospector named Paolo, another ex-employee named Bruce, and the Colonel sent to clean up after the incident that shut down the station. As he gets deeper and deeper in, Arnold discovers that there may be more to this Glomar thing than he originally expected and there may be no one that he can trust.

* BadAss - Arnold is just some wash up doing a favor for a friend, and ends up massacring an entire army.

----
<<|FirstPersonShooter|>>

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AlphaPrime.jpg

* AIIsACrapshoot - At first it seems like the robots on the station are hostile to everything, even the other workers, for no reason whatsoever, as the humans at least have the excuse that they've been exposed to hubbardium. Later, you learn that the disaster that wrecked AlphaPrime ''did'' actually affect the robots when it unleashed hubbardium radiation. This is alluded to in the intro, where there is an ad that talks about how hubbardium is used to make positron brains, implying that the robots only went insane due to the raw material that makes up their brain being disrupted by something that few people really could have predicted.

* EldritchAbomination - Glomar. Most people on Alpha Prime have been driven mad and those who haven't, like Paolo, mention being able to feel Glomar in the walls at night.
** Whether Paolo can be considered mentally sane is open to debate.

* LeftHanging - The company has since been bought out by Bohemia Interactive, and while they initially stated that they wouldn't stop the individual projects of the companies in the purchase, they removed any reference to Black Element Software in their co-developed game, CarrierCommandGaeaMission, and nothing has been heard from the company since. It seems unlikely at this point that we will ever know what was intended to happen after the CliffHanger.

* AirVentPassageway - Used only a couple of times.

* GatlingGood - The main rifle in the game is known as the "Gatling LE" and features six rotary barrels.
** Subverted in the old tradition of making a weapon rotary just because it looks cool, not because it needs it. Specifically, the main rifle has a low enough rate of fire that multiple barrels are entirely useless.

* AIIsACrapshoot - Justified. At first it seems like the robots on the station are hostile to everything, even the other workers, for no reason whatsoever, as the humans at least have the excuse that they've been exposed to hubbardium. Later, you learn that the disaster that wrecked AlphaPrime ''did'' actually affect the robots when it unleashed hubbardium radiation. This is alluded to in the intro, where there is an ad that talks about how hubbardium is used to make positron brains, implying that the robots only went insane due to the raw material that makes up their brain being disrupted.

* OneBulletClips

* KickTheDog - The conversation between Olivier and Paolo, [[spoiler:leading to Paolo's death]] though it's technically one of his men who perpetrates it specifically against his orders.

** Coral Snake. The codename was chosen for a reason. They have all the typical traits of a character described as a "snake" and they even mention poison as a metaphor at one point.

* ImprobableAge - Realistically averted. All the characters (including the hero and the female lead) appear to at least be in their mid 40s, which makes sense considering they're all supposed to be grizzled mining veterans. This is in contrast to several mainstream shooters that generally feature characters that seem unusually young for their current professional rank and informed level of experience (i.e. the first ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'', with the lead STARS members being seasoned ex-Special Force soldiers ''in their early twenties'', or ''{{Halo}}'' where the main character's commanding officer looks (as WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation puts it) like a prepubescent gymnast.)

* MegaCorp - The Company. They seem to be responsible for a wide range of things in this universe, including mining for a substance that's used in everything from beer to positron brains. They're also corrupt beyond belief, willing to sacrifice the lives of their employees for a chance at a veritable Philosopher's Stone, actively engaged in the eliminating of all witnesses of their conspiracies, able to hire exceptional lawyers and assassins, and have a private group of marines to enforce their will.

* InformedAttractiveness - Both Arnold and Warren had fallen for Livia in the past, and both Paolo and Bruce mention that she's attractive. Regardless of whether or not it's true, the texture quality of Livia's face is definitely not on the same level as, say, Arnold's.

* HumanPopsicle - Arnold and the crew of the Artemis seem to [[SleeperStarship travel this way]]. This turns up again [[spoiler:in the end, where Arnold's "corpse" is being kept in a "Cryobox"]].

* SleeperStarship - The Cryoboxes on the Artemis imply that it can be used this way, but considering it seems like Livia was piloting it the whole time, and the characters are making a trip that obviously can be made multiple times within their lifetime (Livia and Warren had gone to Alpha Prime for his job at some point, Livia had come back to get Arnold, and now she's returning), it doesn't come off as necessary. The brief mention of a teleport to Earth, at some point, imply that there might even be other technologies that makes cryonics superfluous for colonized sections of space.

* UsingYouAllAlong- [[spoiler:Coral Snake's {{plan}}. The entire time, Livia just wanted to get back to Alpha Prime to get Glomar's heart to the Company. The protagonist thinks she is on his side, and the antagonist is also trying to get the heart for the company. Whoever gets to the heart and kills the other makes the heart available to her and the Company.]]

** When told to kill Olivier for being a madman: "Yes, ma'am! Oh, I'll find Warren! I'll save the world! I'll bring you the head of Colonel Olivier wrapped in newspaper! Is that good enough for you baby?

* YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo - This is played with when [[spoiler:Warren is captured by Olivier]]. Bruce can't believe that he would give the villain what he wanted in exchange for a way off the station, because the marines were specifically sent to kill all witnesses. Arnold says not to doubt him, and sure enough, it was just a ploy so he could get close to the ship and [[spoiler:sabotage it, creating a distraction that allowed him to escape]].

* YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo - This is subverted when [[spoiler:Warren is captured by Olivier]]. Bruce can't believe that he would give the villain what he wanted in exchange for a way off the station, because the marines were specifically sent to kill all witnesses. Arnold says not to doubt him, and sure enough, it was just a ploy so he could get close to the ship and [[spoiler:sabotage it, creating a distraction that allowed him to escape]].

* InformedAttractiveness - Both Arnold and Warren had fallen for Livia in the past, and Paolo goes off on how she's very beautiful. Regardless of whether or not it's true, the texture quality of Livia's face is definitely not on the same level as, say, Arnold's.

* ImprobableAge - Realistically averted. All the characters (including the hero and the female lead) appear to be in their mid 40s, which makes sense considering they're all supposed to be grizzled mining veterans. This is in contrast to several mainstream shooters that generally feature characters that seem unusually young for their current professional rank and informed level of experience (i.e. the first ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'', with the lead STARS members being seasoned ex-Special Force soldiers ''in their early twenties'', or ''{{Halo}}'' where the main character's commanding officer looks (as WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation puts it) like a prepubescent gymnast.)

* INeverToldYouMyName - Arnold starts to become suspicious of [[spoiler:Livia]] due to this. He points out that it's quite odd that the marine commander knows him by name as soon as he arrives, although it may be explained in that Livia said he and Warren were the Company's best prospectors in the past.