February was supposed to be the month in which Sega was to ship Obsidian Entertainment's Alpha Protocol. However, instead of announcing the action role-playing game's imminent arrival, Sega said that its other Obsidian collaboration--operating under the working title Aliens RPG--had been indefinitely suspended. Alpha Protocol, too, had ostensibly hit the skids as the month came and went with no word of a hard release date from Sega.

　　That changed today when Sega provided an updated release window for the espionage-heavy action game, saying that Alpha Protocol is now expected to ship worldwide for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC in October. Along with revealing Alpha Protocol's delay, Sega also offered a handful of new screenshots for the game, showing protagonist Michael Thorton in various states of threat.

　　A modern-day espionage tale, Alpha Protocol weaves a story not unlike Robert Ludlum's popular Jason Bourne novels. The plot follows the aforementioned secret agent Thorton, who has turned rogue after being disavowed by his government. However, given that the game accommodates a branching storyline a la BioWare's sci-fi RPG Mass Effect, players can assume a variety of undercover personas, ranging from a suave James Bond-style spy, to one like the maniacal Jack Bauer of 24 fame.

　　For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Alpha Protocol.