I sent this video to Steve Weatherly (one of the programmers & my uncle) and he replied with "WHOA that brings back some old memories! Hahahaha, I didn’t have time to watch it all but really glad people still care about that game. It really suffered from a lack of vision and honestly ended up changing the way we made games at obsidian. After that every single game had to have a Director like a movie that was responsible for the vision."
It's exemplified by a game like Titanfall 2. The first game had an amazing premise and decent multiplayer, but a story like background static and a upper ceiling for progression. Then along comes Titanfall 2, and fixes every problem existing in 1. Fully fleshed out and compelling story, more Titans, bigger and better multiplayer maps. It's still easy to find lobbies to this day because of how many people consider it some of the best multiplayer out there. All it took was EA of all fucking things to trust in Respawns vision being actualised with more time. If it wasn't for that insane launch window next to Battlefield 1 and Infinite Warfare, more people would see it as the polished gem it really is.
NotFederalAgent Titanfall 2’s multiplayer was considerably smaller in terms of map size and potential of the mechanics. More Titans, definitely. But they reduced the skill ceiling by reducing map size and ability to accelerate as much. TF1 was like the Wild West, TF2 was like a Wild West themed amusement park.
I know someone that replayed Alpha Protocol at launch like 7 or 8 times back to back because of the dialogue and branching choices. He looks back on it fondly as bad game that he loves
Thats me. I havnt seen most of these bugs and I played it several times at release and a rerun a few years ago. Awesome dialog design, rest is not great but enjoyable because of the dialog/story.
There are plenty of games that hold up after 13 years and still feel like master crafts. It's far from inevitable. Hence... flawed gem. It's the difference between Doom 2 and Goldeneye.
37:17 fun fact: The boat's name is "победа" ("victory"), but the first two letters have fallen off, leaving "беда" ("misfortune"). What I find especially interesting is that this very pun was prominently featured in a very similar context in a 1976 Soviet cartoon which parodies James Bond (see the first image on en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventures_of_Captain_Wrongel ).
@@marinebymistake the cartoon did. It had secrete agender 00X who's schtick was to be self-absorbed and to get killed every episode only to pop back later
So Russians don't start with a positive adjective and then make a negation? They start with a negative and tack on a negation to make it positive? Please tell me this is not the case because if it is it would totally explain Russia's low self esteem issues.
So I actually have a bunch of info to dump onto the development history of this game, because one of the people who worked on it reached out to me after I got the world record speedrun for it (alongside some datamining of the games files I did): First of all, Alpha Protocol was effectively THREE different games, and the first two were scrapped. I'm not totally sure about the timeline for this and its been a while since I've checked, but from what I remember, it goes like this: The first Alpha Protocol was the game with the QTE plane sequence that cost way too much to make just one scene for. They scrapped it pretty early, and the second Alpha Protocol had a completely different plot. There are actually a lot of voice files for this second version of Alpha Protocol still in the game files! I missed some of the development info when I was looking back through the development of the game, but it seems to match up with the linear, non-hub version of the game you mentioned. The story seemed to be structured fairly linearly, split almost into chapters, and had a lot of the same characters but VASTLY different locations and characterisations. It was going to be a buddy-cop thing, with Mike being a new hire into the CIA, and his partner was Westridge. From what I can tell the first mission was some kind of situation where (presumably Al-Samad) terrorists had taken a bunch of people hostage, one of them being Parker. There's some dialogue from this area where Mike kills someone for the first time and has a really disheartened call with Westridge about having to kill someone (granted, it was a terrorist that was about to torture him). All of Parker's dialogue from this scrapped version of the game is great, he seems to have something to do with nuclear weapons being sent to different locations around the world but acts like a complete coward and pretends he had nothing to do with it. There's even a part where a terrorist is asking him about the nukes and plays an audio recording of Parker talking about nukes, and he still pretends to have no idea what he's talking about. Anyway, Parker gets taken to an airfield and is possibly killed. The second "act" (or whatever you want to call it) places Mike in a Halbech office somewhere, posing as a Halbech employee. There's not much I can piece together from this section, but I think it's implied that Mina and Mike are in a relationship, and Mina works at the same office? I'm not 100%. Mina was voiced by someone else in this version as well I'm pretty sure, I didn't recognise it was her from voice alone. There's a bunch of missing files and stuff that isn't super interesting, so I'll skip ahead a bit. At some point in Saudi, Westridge is set up and killed, and Mike is somehow implicated. When Mike gets back to the safe house he receives a call from someone from the Pentagon who he informs that Westridge is dead, and the call that follows has some of the most interesting information I heard: Because Alpha Protocol as an organisation didn't exist in this version of the story (Mike and Westridge worked for the CIA instead), Alpha Protocol was the name of a status that CIA operatives were placed under instead. It's explained that an agent operating under Alpha Protocol is still working for the good of the CIA, but isn't officially endorsed by the CIA. This is because they weren't sure what Mike's role in Westridge's murder and the overall global conspiracy is, so they were temporarily distancing themselves from him while they did their own investigation. The CIA, to my knowledge, weren't hunting down Mike like Alpha Protocol do in the final game. The plot from that point on would've been for Mike to figure out what was really going on, present the CIA with the evidence to clear his name, and end whatever was actually going on. As a side note, it's worth saying that the models for the very first plane scene that was super expensive to make are still in the final game! They're completely unused but still hidden in the games files, alongside a cut character from an earlier version of the game's story called "Uli Booli" (which a Euro Gamer article incorrectly spells "Uli Booi"). All I know about this character is that they were supposed to appear in Moscow, and they were modelled after/based on someone connected to one of the developers. I won't say more than that because it gets incredibly sour and it's not a happy story. Probably a good thing the character got cut, actually... Edit: Wrote this before watching the full thing. You briefly mentioned Uli Booli at the end, my bad. There's a lot more to it than just this, pretty much every character and the entire story was different from what I've been told. The locations were the same, but everything else changed. An example of this is still in the final game, during the Brayko boss fight (the fight itself, not the cutscene) he calls Mike "Mikael", even though Mike and Brayko are never introduced prior to that boss fight, and Mike never tells Brayko his name. It honestly feels like the final game is a cobbled together mish mash of ideas from earlier in development and whatever ideas they were able to get finished in the "new" draft of the script that eventually became the final game. Part of me wonders how the game would've been if they'd stuck to the CIA story, because it sounds like it would've been more interesting and better polished than the final game's story.
Thank you very much for all this intel, agent. It'll definitely facilitate further proceedings. We've sent a little token of our appreciation to your subscribers list
27:20 Game Designer: We've got time, let's add nice details, for example - terrorists buy grenades from cheap suppliers and therefore they're defective in combat Programmer: Who, enemies or grenades? Game Designer: yes.
N00bers Highly doubt the Bethesda circlejerk is as retarded as the anti-Bethesda circlejerk. You people act like Bethesda is the worst thing in the world after they made one bad game. Even Fallout 4 was average but with DLCs is good and is still far better than The Outer worlds.
Watch Yesterworld's "Rise and Fall of Disneytoon Studios" for the context around it (past the 19 minute mark). Howver, it's JUST the context. Next to nothing is known about the Seven Dwarves game apart from the facts that the project existed, and it was based on a dark, cancelled Disney sequel.
@@jacobottesen5279 I'm sorry but what!? Game based on a cancelled dark disney sequel about seven dwarves? This is sounding like some creepypasta. I gotta know more.
@@Stevey2578 I imagine a white girl on sofa being with 7 white dwarves behind her. Though I guess in the picture, all you'd see is Snow White on a sofa.
Wow in all of my playthroughs of this game there are still interactions and dialogue that I have missed and I have tried to play it every which way (Different personality types, different order of travel, mixing up each location randomly by doing some missions here and there, lethal/non-lethal stealth, lethal/non-lethal head first, befriending everyone, making everyone hate you).... Wow just wow a true testament to how deep the game was.
I remember sitting in front of a TV in the tutorial location and getting a perk just for sitting through an entire news report. That was a huge surprise. This game is really a gem. A very murky, unrefined gem, but a gem nonetheless.
One of my favourite things is that I've never found a complete list of all the perks online. Even the one on the game's wikia ommits some perks I've obtained in the past. There are just *too damn many* XD And yeah, some of them have just the silliest unlocking conditions, like tanking 5,000 damage over one playthrough. 5,000 ! When your maximum health at the beginning is 100 ! 😂
One thing I always loved about Alpha Protocol was that, unlike pretty much every other major "espionage" themed game of the time, it never treated spy-craft like it was romancing sultry women and commandoing it up in some top-secret facility, but actually understood that so much of that is actually based on forming relationships with people and being able to network and think creatively to procure information and desired results. To put it simply, Alpha Protocol was all about social stealth, which hasn't been done all that often, let alone well. I found myself getting so worked up with trying to play different sides against each other to my advantage or to coerce my target to give me vital information, often times without them even knowing my exact intentions. At the end of the day, this game was so compelling to me because it was never about what guns I had, what armor I was wearing, or even what gadgets I had at my disposal, but my ability to think critically and to read people. Honestly, the glitches and bugs don't really even factor into my view of the game, mainly because I found myself so often working around them and taking my time to really process what I was doing in the game. To summarize, for those who don't want to read all of that, I love this game because it challenged my mind and my commitment to the role I was playing instead of the my mastery of reflexes or my ability to exploit overpowered game mechanics.
@@AggieNC I'm not sure I understand the question? Suave is superficial by connotation. A 'ladies man' is often charming, but with a cynical attempt to get sex.
@@JeremyComans the "suave" dialogue option is considered the James Bond option. So I don't understand how suave also includes chauvinist and misogynist elements. They seem to be more insulting than charming
I think Mina only really gives you grief for saving Madison if she doesn't like you. If you've shown yourself to be a good person up to that point she says something like "That was an impossible choice." At least that's what I remember from playing the game multiple times years ago.
Not only that, if she hates you but you stopped Marburg, she also gives you shit, saying "And you let Madison die..." Basically, by this point, she's just looking for more things to pin on you even if it's hypocritical, which I feel is a very realistic depiction of hatred
Totally should be the other way around, and it sucks that I'll have to resort to piracy to find my own copy on the PC. Maybe I'll track down a console port instead.
I played it for the first time recently and honestly with a trainer to give you more time on the minigames it's actually pretty decent. Like, most of the gameplay is not good but it's not bad either. Making the minigames reasonable and boosting your XP accumulation really goes a long way and honestly most of the things it does wrong could be solved pretty easily.
@Nagger I think New Vegas is at least a major leg up from 3 and while 4 seems better on the surface it suffers drastically from a drop in clairty making Vegas more playable - especially with mods. Honestly a lot of Obsidian games are better with some cheats added in.
The encroaching madness of managing all those variables, I would imagine. You have to be one of a few kinds of crazy to do that kind of work and not just break.
it's one of the reasons I hate when people say stuff like "oh why didn't they add this, or add more options to this, or another path here, or more choices here?" it's so easy for people who don't know how hard it is to develop a game to ask for all these branching paths and choices and options, not realising to do that you'd have to sacrifice visual quality, polish, diversity of gameplay, acting quality, and most importantly time and manpower. there's a reason obsidian never made anything as complex as alpha protocol or fnv again. it's crippling work that only gets more crippling as standards go up over time.
Not only the crosshairs but the weapon spread in general. I hated that part of the game soooo much. I have to say, whilst it was far from perfect - as discussed thoroughly in the video - I did actually enjoy playing it. Apart from the minigames. Those really sucked... and the shooting of course. I don't know.
I played ME1 as an engineer and took me a while to realize my build's weapon of choice was SMGs (IIRC). I remember the sniper rifle's crosshair took the entire screen. Literally.
This video is a prime example of why your videos are so enjoyable. Still own Alpha Protocol and now I want to play it again. Worth the $3-5 I paid. It’s flawed, but for story driven gamers with a little patience and observation for the subtle mechanics, there is a lot to experience, enjoy, cringe, and laugh at. Great video.
As a Taiwanese, I was delighted to know there's an AAA game coming out features Taiwan and is a big part of it. And Obsidian was brave enough to include plots about the political situation between China and us (a bit "fantasized" I'd say, but it's a game after all), which I think no other big game ever did (because, well, CHINA). Sadly it didn't turn out well.
At first I was like: "Come on, this game I almost never heard about isn't worth a 1 hour video!". But now, I completely understand. Thanks for making me discover this odd gem.
I've had this game for years, it's tight length and reactive choices combined with my lack of shame to constantly meta build a character towards stealth (which comes with a literal thirty second invisibility cloak, complete awareness of every enemies exact location and two minutes of silent sprinting) kept me replaying this game at least six times. But only now, years later and with more than six replays, have I considered moving between safe houses between missions to see how characters react, I've never seen that email from SIE about the Italy museum mission, and I got the stop surov mission, but not one where brayko killed the boss of the level for me. Its seriously amazing how repayable this game is, and part of it is due to its short length, for comparison I have not replayed dragon age inquisition once, despite being a huge dragon age fan because its not enjoyable enough for another 60 hour run, comparatively, I find alpha protocol on normal more than tolerable for the short, rewarding campaigns it gives me . As much as this video is beautiful to have, since so many new people will uncover this unique experience l, I can't help but be extremely disheartened by the fact it will now be extremely difficult for people to play it, thanks to the music rights expiry.
I just wanted to say thanks for making this video. I watched it when it first came out nearly two years ago, and I'm coming back to it minutes after finishing the game for the first time. As a long-time fan of stealth games, RPGs, and Obsidian in particular, I can't thank you enough for pushing me to give this game a try...even if it took a few years to find a working copy.
Honestly, I would probably buy a remake of Alpha Protocol if they kept in the story and dialogue systems, but did a complete overhaul of the gameplay, environments, and graphics.
Even for a game that I cannot give a damn about you still manage to capture my attention with your script and high production value! You are an inspiration for what a true game analyst should be...
"Adam Jensen resists damage because he has a neodymium skin matrix underlay built of nanomachine rare-earth magnets and powered with hook-ins to a biocell electrical system. Mr. Thorton resists damage because he's blue." How did you say either sentence, much less one after the other, without cracking up?
Alpha Protocol is one of my favourite games, it's flawed and frustrating at times but it's soo fucking good when you look past that as extra difficulty and just immerse yourself in the world and objectives you're moving through. A solid game and this video makes me appreciate it even more.
Man, this was the only time in my life that I was excited for a video all the way back since you uploaded the last one with a teaser at the end. Alpha Protocol is one of my favourite games and I re-play it almost every year. Love your channel and thank you for making this. Now I just feel sad that I've already watched the whole thing. Exceptional summary of the journey of this game, found myself agreeing with you over and over again, though that's not uncommon for me. Oh, and you said Thailand instead of Taiwan at one point, so any and all criticism of the game is /entirely/ invalid. xoxo
Still the overall "best" rpg in that almost every action actually does have a reaction, and some characters just won't ever like the type of character you are playing depending on how you behave. In that I feel sad it didn't get more love.
It was an ambitious project at its time. I'm surprised to see it not getting more recognition than it deserved, because even though the gameplay is dogshit, it's one of the few RPGs where your actions actually matter and they're not boiled to just "being a saint" or "being an asshole". I just learned about its existence like a month ago, and I'm currently playing it for the first time. Currently having a blast with it.
Yeah, it's been one of my all-time favourite games ever since I discovered it many years ago, and I've been defending it online and with my friends ever since. That said, there is one instance of the game not acknowledging your actions that really took me out of it the first time I reached the ending section, and it thus still bothers me to this day. If you tell Marburg about Parker's role in ruining his life, *then* tell Parker about Marburg killing his daughter, the game proceeds as though you had only done the latter, because there isn't a scene where they're both aware of the information you've given them. This was the culminating point of all the investigating I had done, all the work I had put into figuring out who these two men were, and after figuring out a way to turn them against each other, it just didn't happen the way it should have. Talk about poor returns for my hard work...
I think Stoofer did amazing work, I especially appreciate that he kept the style as one befitting the game. Making the video and some of its graphics flow seamlessly from the gameplay surrounding it. Not to say you don't do great stuff Ray, but the great stuff you do is amplified by his. I can't hate the time it takes you to make these when their quality is so great I still to this day tell my friends to watch your videos on Halo because they are the baseline for discussion on the franchise. And that's your early stuff, you've most certainly gotten better since then.
It's a small world when one of your favourite Easter egg finding TH-cam content creators... is talking about one of your favourite gameplay commentary TH-cam creators... whilst watching one of your favourite Video Game Documentary style content TH-cam creators...
*This video editing, review, and research was pure perfection* plus i only found your channel because my Game Design teacher recommended your videos to our class, your videos are much more than simply entertainment, your videos are educational and point out things that even teachers can forget or never notice.
Honestly, I'd go for a sequel. All of its ideas and mechanics that work can be showcased well in a new game, and it allows them to leave behind all the difficult trapping of the last ones. Plus a point of the spy genre is that a new game with a new character doesn't have to do much to explain away the last game, because all your other team in an other place knows is rumours and hearsay.
@@platano_frito Thats pretty much what a remake is, remaster is just audio or graphical updates. Remake is changing mechanics, even if its just 1 small thing
I mean I doubt they could do that w/o getting the rights to the game back again -- plus if anything it would be better to keep the base game as is, since they even stated there was 180+ extra stuff in the game, I'd say overhaul it again and then add the rest of what SEGA didn't allow (due it being rushed out the gates) from the ground up.
I regularly come back to this video for the intro alone. Part of what makes Ray videos the special once in a blue moon events that they are, are the video introductions. Sick work from you and everyone else involved in your videos
The "Madison choice" in the museum is one of my favourite story telling moments in gaming. One that I tried to replicate countless times playing dnd with my buddies. Thank you for sacrificing so much screen time for that moment.
Before I watch this video I'm just going to state I thoroughly enjoyed this game when released, there was nothing like it and it scratched an itch that has never really be satisfied since. Regardless of what Raycevick (or anyone else) may say and/or think of the game, it will always hold a special place in gaming history for me. Alpha Protocol is one of a kind and I love it with all it's flaws. That said, I'll enjoy watching this video.
"Even its laser sight can't be trusted, inflicting damage while it's off-target" - oooooooh, there's an idea for a boss fight. A character who fights super dirty, and it comes through in his exploiting of your expectations of tropes. Laser sight moving and not on you, you're good to go? Lol no sry, that's just a janky laser pointer he shakily affixed to his gun at an angle to make you think you're safe to leave cover, his real sights are purely optical and trained on your last known location. In melee he will call out his attacks, anime-style! But half the time what he called out won't be what he does. There's more this character could do, there's so much more, and executed right it would be the most hateloved fight in gaming history
honestly if Obsidian announced a Alpha Protocol sequel, I would be rather hyped. also its sad to hear how this game got removed from steam because while I have it, its a game I often recommend to people (while telling them its really jank)
imagine if Darcy had a laser pointer and making you think his aiming away from you while in actuality he has you dead center with his sniper rifle 28:27
In my personal view, having done SEVERAL playthroughs (first (and redo because I got stuck first time) being on Recruit on NORMAL as I figured Hard would be unforgiving), the game is a Diamond in the Rough, sure there's gristle, dirt and seeming flaws here and there and if one focused on those, it's not hard to see the mixed reception. But get past this and you find an RPG that, unlike others boasting similar today, have choices that GENUINELY matter, who you befriend or embitter affects how they treat you or address you, what bonuses you get if it's a handler and even effects some missions, who you choose to kill or spare affects missions, contacts for the black market and more, suddenly sparing people seems kind of viable. Dossiers actually affect your character's knowledge of others and some of how they interact, even granting a perk with full documentation (meaning bonus damage usually to those targets). I got the game for 3 dollars (thank you Bookmans) on PS3 and have loved my time with it.
For PC players I'd advise downloading a 100% savegame, which will unlock a new mode giving you three points in EVERY skill to *start*. You'll have most skills into 'broken' territory before the end of Saudi Arabia. After that, you'll go through the combat sections so fast the conversations will at times actually be longer that what you did to get there. Nice.
@@simondaniel4028 ah Veteran, earned by beating the game on recruit and ideal for when you want to feel like a god. Moreso broken when you actually REMOVE points from worthless skills and reallocate them (Go the fuck away SMGs, Shotguns I am so sorry)
Your intro and editing styles are SO unique! Makes you set apart from the rest of the people on TH-cam. No to mention you pick some sick music, that I to listen to
@@Raycevick I think Many a True Nerd is actually an extension of the TH-cam algorithm. Pet theory I’ve been working on. It’s in league with Pepe Silvia. The dots are there I just need to find out how they connect.
I had to stop after that intro to write this. I truly think that Raycevick is one of the best content creators out there. It's like a movie and i'm ALL IN.
If there's one thing I learned from these type of development stories, it's that most studios don't know what they're doing and swinging for the fences.
one of ex-obsidian dev that is now working in CDPR actually talks about Cyberpunk 2077 taking a bit of indirect inspiration from Alpha Protocol. Things that he personally unable to realized in AP.
I played Alpha Protocol on release and I absolutely loved it. This would definitely be in my top 5 "games that need a sequel" list. Awesome video, enjoyed it a lot! Thanks :)
Nice to see you here again. The video was fantastic as a dissection of Alpha Protocol's various faults and revolutionary storytelling, but the editing by Stoofer makes for an especially tasty cherry on top.
Always thought this was a damn underrated game. It has it's faults in the gameplay department but the setting, roleplaying mechanics, narrative, characters and the story are excellent.
My memories of this game consist of stealth, tranqing every enemy in the head, and chain shot-ing every boss into oblivion. All done with a single pistol, from start to end.
This all just makes me want to explore the games on my shame pile even more. Thank you for this. Games are even more fun when there is this much interesting conversation around on it. Always a treat, I smile when a new Raycevik video pops up.
Love this game, such an underrated gem. The writing and variables in this game were endless; seeing your choices actually have a monumental effect was a treat, and it was even more amazing that a game with the fraction of the Mass Effect series' budget actually delivered on the power of choice. Obsidian were always top notch when it comes to writing, and truth be told they're much better than Bioware and Bethesda in that department. It's just a shame that their games were always buggy and rough around the edges, and always seemed to be rushed. Obsidian with an unlimited budget and development time would be unstoppable. I'm still bitter that KOTOR II was robbed of its full potential.
I'm sure this will get lost, but genuinely I am so happy you're back at it Ray. Hope all is well for you and your work/life balance allows you to feel better as a whole. Best of vibes to you man
An excellent video, as ever. I did find it a bit hard to keep track of all the characters' names, but beyond that I really enjoyed learning about a game I knew nothing about. Keep it up!
I know you feel the need to apologize for not frequently uploading and I can kind of understand that. However just know, that all I feel when I see a video of you popping up is exitement and happiness with no sign of reproach or demand of more. Also your videos are the very best TH-cam has to offer. Your production quality is incredible. This is great, but please don't try to outdo yourself with every other video. There comes a time where this is not possible anymore (I thought you reached that many times already, but you've proven me wrong.) and the last thing I'd want is to lose you making the awesome content you provide. I'd love to support you financially too but I don't really have the money for it. But be sure that, should this ever change you will see da money!
I love this video so much I think it is one of the best video essays I have ever stumbled upon. Also love this guys voice helps me fall asleep if I'm tired and keeps me interested if I'm not.
Always glad to have a new upload, your videos are true and pure entertainment in a pleasingly unique form. Thank you for your continued production and hope your software is more cooperative in the future!!
I sent this video to Steve Weatherly (one of the programmers & my uncle) and he replied with "WHOA that brings back some old memories! Hahahaha, I didn’t have time to watch it all but really glad people still care about that game. It really suffered from a lack of vision and honestly ended up changing the way we made games at obsidian. After that every single game had to have a Director like a movie that was responsible for the vision."
I'd love to see them give it another try, with a little more direction and polish. One of my favorite games that I still haven't finished lol.
(X) Doubt
(X) doubt
@@Nikp117 r/nothineverhappens
@@plastefuchs666 r/ihavereddit
That statement about flawed games needing sequels hits me where I live.
Amen to that
It's exemplified by a game like Titanfall 2. The first game had an amazing premise and decent multiplayer, but a story like background static and a upper ceiling for progression.
Then along comes Titanfall 2, and fixes every problem existing in 1. Fully fleshed out and compelling story, more Titans, bigger and better multiplayer maps. It's still easy to find lobbies to this day because of how many people consider it some of the best multiplayer out there.
All it took was EA of all fucking things to trust in Respawns vision being actualised with more time.
If it wasn't for that insane launch window next to Battlefield 1 and Infinite Warfare, more people would see it as the polished gem it really is.
NotFederalAgent Titanfall 2’s multiplayer was considerably smaller in terms of map size and potential of the mechanics. More Titans, definitely. But they reduced the skill ceiling by reducing map size and ability to accelerate as much.
TF1 was like the Wild West, TF2 was like a Wild West themed amusement park.
hi Sseth
Heyhey Mandalore.
I know someone that replayed Alpha Protocol at launch like 7 or 8 times back to back because of the dialogue and branching choices. He looks back on it fondly as bad game that he loves
love ur vids bro
Loved your splinter cell video man keep up the good work also, why don't you make a video on metal gear series?
Thats me. I havnt seen most of these bugs and I played it several times at release and a rerun a few years ago. Awesome dialog design, rest is not great but enjoyable because of the dialog/story.
That is an almost perfect description of the game
That's what I loved about it too!
Raycevick... 10 years later
*Raycevick... 5 Years Later
Raycevick... 1 Year Later
Hm interesting.
In two years we'll reach that 10 year mark!
“The story is as immersive as the gameplay isn’t” is the best description of Alpha Protocol I’ve heard.
Truer words have never been spoken
The whole "flawed gems need sequels" thing is very true.
Imagine if The Witcher 1 never had a sequel
The witcher 1 was a success.
The first Witcher was praised by critics and players. Best RPG of 2007 in my eyes but Mass Effect happened.
Played it recently? It's incredibly janky by modern, or sequel standards. I loved The Witcher... but flawed gem is more than fair.
@@hamsters7760 LOL! After 13 years - of course you are right! It is so flawed... by modern standards... (bruh face)
There are plenty of games that hold up after 13 years and still feel like master crafts. It's far from inevitable. Hence... flawed gem. It's the difference between Doom 2 and Goldeneye.
37:17 fun fact: The boat's name is "победа" ("victory"), but the first two letters have fallen off, leaving "беда" ("misfortune"). What I find especially interesting is that this very pun was prominently featured in a very similar context in a 1976 Soviet cartoon which parodies James Bond (see the first image on en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventures_of_Captain_Wrongel ).
Wrongel parodies James Bond? Wait what?
@@marinebymistake the cartoon did. It had secrete agender 00X who's schtick was to be self-absorbed and to get killed every episode only to pop back later
@@marinebymistake Agent 00x is the best example of this (of course this isn't the *main* focus of the film).
Bruh that cartoon was part of my childhood
So Russians don't start with a positive adjective and then make a negation? They start with a negative and tack on a negation to make it positive? Please tell me this is not the case because if it is it would totally explain Russia's low self esteem issues.
He's finally done it
Ur videos are dummy good my guy
Ayyyy ur vids are crazy good
Your Turn Pixel
GODDAMN IT AVERAGE PIXEL MAKE A NEW VIDEO FOR GOODNESS SAKE YOU ARE THE COLOSSALISCRAZY OF GAMING
Your vids make me ink myself
So I actually have a bunch of info to dump onto the development history of this game, because one of the people who worked on it reached out to me after I got the world record speedrun for it (alongside some datamining of the games files I did):
First of all, Alpha Protocol was effectively THREE different games, and the first two were scrapped. I'm not totally sure about the timeline for this and its been a while since I've checked, but from what I remember, it goes like this:
The first Alpha Protocol was the game with the QTE plane sequence that cost way too much to make just one scene for. They scrapped it pretty early, and the second Alpha Protocol had a completely different plot. There are actually a lot of voice files for this second version of Alpha Protocol still in the game files! I missed some of the development info when I was looking back through the development of the game, but it seems to match up with the linear, non-hub version of the game you mentioned. The story seemed to be structured fairly linearly, split almost into chapters, and had a lot of the same characters but VASTLY different locations and characterisations.
It was going to be a buddy-cop thing, with Mike being a new hire into the CIA, and his partner was Westridge. From what I can tell the first mission was some kind of situation where (presumably Al-Samad) terrorists had taken a bunch of people hostage, one of them being Parker. There's some dialogue from this area where Mike kills someone for the first time and has a really disheartened call with Westridge about having to kill someone (granted, it was a terrorist that was about to torture him).
All of Parker's dialogue from this scrapped version of the game is great, he seems to have something to do with nuclear weapons being sent to different locations around the world but acts like a complete coward and pretends he had nothing to do with it. There's even a part where a terrorist is asking him about the nukes and plays an audio recording of Parker talking about nukes, and he still pretends to have no idea what he's talking about.
Anyway, Parker gets taken to an airfield and is possibly killed.
The second "act" (or whatever you want to call it) places Mike in a Halbech office somewhere, posing as a Halbech employee. There's not much I can piece together from this section, but I think it's implied that Mina and Mike are in a relationship, and Mina works at the same office? I'm not 100%. Mina was voiced by someone else in this version as well I'm pretty sure, I didn't recognise it was her from voice alone.
There's a bunch of missing files and stuff that isn't super interesting, so I'll skip ahead a bit. At some point in Saudi, Westridge is set up and killed, and Mike is somehow implicated. When Mike gets back to the safe house he receives a call from someone from the Pentagon who he informs that Westridge is dead, and the call that follows has some of the most interesting information I heard:
Because Alpha Protocol as an organisation didn't exist in this version of the story (Mike and Westridge worked for the CIA instead), Alpha Protocol was the name of a status that CIA operatives were placed under instead. It's explained that an agent operating under Alpha Protocol is still working for the good of the CIA, but isn't officially endorsed by the CIA. This is because they weren't sure what Mike's role in Westridge's murder and the overall global conspiracy is, so they were temporarily distancing themselves from him while they did their own investigation. The CIA, to my knowledge, weren't hunting down Mike like Alpha Protocol do in the final game.
The plot from that point on would've been for Mike to figure out what was really going on, present the CIA with the evidence to clear his name, and end whatever was actually going on.
As a side note, it's worth saying that the models for the very first plane scene that was super expensive to make are still in the final game! They're completely unused but still hidden in the games files, alongside a cut character from an earlier version of the game's story called "Uli Booli" (which a Euro Gamer article incorrectly spells "Uli Booi"). All I know about this character is that they were supposed to appear in Moscow, and they were modelled after/based on someone connected to one of the developers. I won't say more than that because it gets incredibly sour and it's not a happy story. Probably a good thing the character got cut, actually...
Edit: Wrote this before watching the full thing. You briefly mentioned Uli Booli at the end, my bad.
There's a lot more to it than just this, pretty much every character and the entire story was different from what I've been told. The locations were the same, but everything else changed. An example of this is still in the final game, during the Brayko boss fight (the fight itself, not the cutscene) he calls Mike "Mikael", even though Mike and Brayko are never introduced prior to that boss fight, and Mike never tells Brayko his name. It honestly feels like the final game is a cobbled together mish mash of ideas from earlier in development and whatever ideas they were able to get finished in the "new" draft of the script that eventually became the final game.
Part of me wonders how the game would've been if they'd stuck to the CIA story, because it sounds like it would've been more interesting and better polished than the final game's story.
nice
Thx👍🏻
Thank you very much for all this intel, agent. It'll definitely facilitate further proceedings. We've sent a little token of our appreciation to your subscribers list
27:20
Game Designer: We've got time, let's add nice details, for example - terrorists buy grenades from cheap suppliers and therefore they're defective in combat
Programmer: Who, enemies or grenades?
Game Designer: yes.
This fucking got me
17:16 "There absolutely have been buggier games released before and since. One of them by an Obisidian employer." - sickest burn 2020
It wrote itself.
Burn of the fucking century right here!
I bet that if Bethesda was car bombed alá the Oklahoma Bombing, everyone would laugh hysterically like it was an episode of South Park.
@Youre Gonna Need a Bigger Boat Todd IS the employer.
N00bers
Highly doubt the Bethesda circlejerk is as retarded as the anti-Bethesda circlejerk. You people act like Bethesda is the worst thing in the world after they made one bad game. Even Fallout 4 was average but with DLCs is good and is still far better than The Outer worlds.
"Disney-commissioned Seven-Dwarfs RPG"
Excuse me, what?
It's true.
Watch Yesterworld's "Rise and Fall of Disneytoon Studios" for the context around it (past the 19 minute mark).
Howver, it's JUST the context. Next to nothing is known about the Seven Dwarves game apart from the facts that the project existed, and it was based on a dark, cancelled Disney sequel.
right?
@@jacobottesen5279 I'm sorry but what!? Game based on a cancelled dark disney sequel about seven dwarves? This is sounding like some creepypasta. I gotta know more.
@@Stevey2578 I imagine a white girl on sofa being with 7 white dwarves behind her. Though I guess in the picture, all you'd see is Snow White on a sofa.
Wow in all of my playthroughs of this game there are still interactions and dialogue that I have missed and I have tried to play it every which way (Different personality types, different order of travel, mixing up each location randomly by doing some missions here and there, lethal/non-lethal stealth, lethal/non-lethal head first, befriending everyone, making everyone hate you).... Wow just wow a true testament to how deep the game was.
I remember sitting in front of a TV in the tutorial location and getting a perk just for sitting through an entire news report. That was a huge surprise. This game is really a gem. A very murky, unrefined gem, but a gem nonetheless.
One of my favourite things is that I've never found a complete list of all the perks online. Even the one on the game's wikia ommits some perks I've obtained in the past. There are just *too damn many* XD
And yeah, some of them have just the silliest unlocking conditions, like tanking 5,000 damage over one playthrough. 5,000 ! When your maximum health at the beginning is 100 ! 😂
I'd consider the description to be a cloudy, uncut gem
One thing I always loved about Alpha Protocol was that, unlike pretty much every other major "espionage" themed game of the time, it never treated spy-craft like it was romancing sultry women and commandoing it up in some top-secret facility, but actually understood that so much of that is actually based on forming relationships with people and being able to network and think creatively to procure information and desired results. To put it simply, Alpha Protocol was all about social stealth, which hasn't been done all that often, let alone well. I found myself getting so worked up with trying to play different sides against each other to my advantage or to coerce my target to give me vital information, often times without them even knowing my exact intentions. At the end of the day, this game was so compelling to me because it was never about what guns I had, what armor I was wearing, or even what gadgets I had at my disposal, but my ability to think critically and to read people. Honestly, the glitches and bugs don't really even factor into my view of the game, mainly because I found myself so often working around them and taking my time to really process what I was doing in the game.
To summarize, for those who don't want to read all of that, I love this game because it challenged my mind and my commitment to the role I was playing instead of the my mastery of reflexes or my ability to exploit overpowered game mechanics.
Jack really outdid himself on that intro, i've yet to see the rest of the video but i hope it's just as great.
Thank you! It was a blast to make
Well, what'd you think?
Jack Coster Stay with Raycevick! You're work elevates Ray's content to new heights!
@@jackcoster8246 It was a visual feast for the eyes. like really professional grade stuff.
"He can be a chauvinist, a misogynist, or a ladies man". Well they nailed James Bond's range.
Genius
But how and why is that considered "Suave"? Ladies man, sure. Cause to me that implies some level of charm.
@@AggieNC I'm not sure I understand the question? Suave is superficial by connotation. A 'ladies man' is often charming, but with a cynical attempt to get sex.
@@JeremyComans the "suave" dialogue option is considered the James Bond option. So I don't understand how suave also includes chauvinist and misogynist elements. They seem to be more insulting than charming
@@AggieNC To the right woman they're part and parcel. What gets you in one girls pants would insult another, suave is knowing what to say to whom.
Adam Jensen: "I never asked for this..."
Michael Thornton: "I'm blue da ba dee da ba daa"
I think Mina only really gives you grief for saving Madison if she doesn't like you. If you've shown yourself to be a good person up to that point she says something like "That was an impossible choice." At least that's what I remember from playing the game multiple times years ago.
I remember this too.
Not only that, if she hates you but you stopped Marburg, she also gives you shit, saying "And you let Madison die..."
Basically, by this point, she's just looking for more things to pin on you even if it's hypocritical, which I feel is a very realistic depiction of hatred
Raycevick, SO glad to come back to watch this after your recent GOG Partnership to keep Alpha Protocol alive.
Glad to see you back. I was wondering why so many people answer the "Is Alpha Protocol good?" with "Well yes, but actually no."
I would say “well no but actually yes”
Game could most definitely be better but I keep coming back to it 10 years later
Totally should be the other way around, and it sucks that I'll have to resort to piracy to find my own copy on the PC. Maybe I'll track down a console port instead.
I played it for the first time recently and honestly with a trainer to give you more time on the minigames it's actually pretty decent. Like, most of the gameplay is not good but it's not bad either. Making the minigames reasonable and boosting your XP accumulation really goes a long way and honestly most of the things it does wrong could be solved pretty easily.
@Nagger I think New Vegas is at least a major leg up from 3 and while 4 seems better on the surface it suffers drastically from a drop in clairty making Vegas more playable - especially with mods.
Honestly a lot of Obsidian games are better with some cheats added in.
"why don't all rpgs have choices that matter?"
11:46
"This was like two months of my fucking life!"
But if you can't make, it if it'S too much work. Don't make a RPG, it is about choices
The encroaching madness of managing all those variables, I would imagine. You have to be one of a few kinds of crazy to do that kind of work and not just break.
i am fine with the illusion of choice in rpgs, or the lack of them as long as the world and story is interesting like human revolution or skyrim
it's one of the reasons I hate when people say stuff like "oh why didn't they add this, or add more options to this, or another path here, or more choices here?" it's so easy for people who don't know how hard it is to develop a game to ask for all these branching paths and choices and options, not realising to do that you'd have to sacrifice visual quality, polish, diversity of gameplay, acting quality, and most importantly time and manpower. there's a reason obsidian never made anything as complex as alpha protocol or fnv again. it's crippling work that only gets more crippling as standards go up over time.
The crosshairs in this game are absolute units.
Hardly even consider a crosshair, it’s just a chunky boi of a HUD element taking up like 40% of the screen
Not only the crosshairs but the weapon spread in general. I hated that part of the game soooo much. I have to say, whilst it was far from perfect - as discussed thoroughly in the video - I did actually enjoy playing it. Apart from the minigames. Those really sucked... and the shooting of course. I don't know.
that's why stealth+endurance+martial is the ultimate build
@@m.thorton9305 coming from the man himself
I played ME1 as an engineer and took me a while to realize my build's weapon of choice was SMGs (IIRC). I remember the sniper rifle's crosshair took the entire screen. Literally.
Raycevik I just want to thank you! Your show introduced me to black lagoon and I am head over heels with it now. Much appreciated dude.
Ayeee, glad you're loving the show like me.
Can you tell me please in wich video does Raycevick mentions Black Lagoon?
@@gabrielferoldi4427 Almost all of them my dude XD
The Downward Spiral, hell yeah
This video is a prime example of why your videos are so enjoyable. Still own Alpha Protocol and now I want to play it again. Worth the $3-5 I paid. It’s flawed, but for story driven gamers with a little patience and observation for the subtle mechanics, there is a lot to experience, enjoy, cringe, and laugh at. Great video.
As a Taiwanese, I was delighted to know there's an AAA game coming out features Taiwan and is a big part of it. And Obsidian was brave enough to include plots about the political situation between China and us (a bit "fantasized" I'd say, but it's a game after all), which I think no other big game ever did (because, well, CHINA). Sadly it didn't turn out well.
Omen Deng was a boss.
@hi there i dig his design because he's kind of like the m.bison of taiwan.
Sadly, you won't find a company who'd dare to even mention Taiwan by name these days... greed has them so blinded.
Taiwan might have been my favorite location just cause of the soundtrack
@@Acesahn the gamers there get mad, huge market and all
At first I was like: "Come on, this game I almost never heard about isn't worth a 1 hour video!". But now, I completely understand. Thanks for making me discover this odd gem.
Its routinely sold for 2 usd and it’s worth every cent and millions more. No game gives you a real living world better than alpha protocol
This was actually one of t he first games I ever bought on steam.
i don't even remember of HAVING it on my steam library lol, i guess one day it went free & i claimed them without thinking much
@@rav3style Alpha Protocol is truly one of the best games I ever played lmao
Man I straight up avoided this video for six months and I am kicking myself now. This has been so good.
I've had this game for years, it's tight length and reactive choices combined with my lack of shame to constantly meta build a character towards stealth (which comes with a literal thirty second invisibility cloak, complete awareness of every enemies exact location and two minutes of silent sprinting) kept me replaying this game at least six times.
But only now, years later and with more than six replays, have I considered moving between safe houses between missions to see how characters react, I've never seen that email from SIE about the Italy museum mission, and I got the stop surov mission, but not one where brayko killed the boss of the level for me. Its seriously amazing how repayable this game is, and part of it is due to its short length, for comparison I have not replayed dragon age inquisition once, despite being a huge dragon age fan because its not enjoyable enough for another 60 hour run, comparatively, I find alpha protocol on normal more than tolerable for the short, rewarding campaigns it gives me .
As much as this video is beautiful to have, since so many new people will uncover this unique experience l, I can't help but be extremely disheartened by the fact it will now be extremely difficult for people to play it, thanks to the music rights expiry.
The RIAA and the DMCA is the bane of gaming.
Designers forgot how to make short games and today everyone demands 100+ hrs which they fill with tedious grind.
@@FalkFlak alpha protocol still is a 15 to 20h experience thought...
I just wanted to say thanks for making this video. I watched it when it first came out nearly two years ago, and I'm coming back to it minutes after finishing the game for the first time. As a long-time fan of stealth games, RPGs, and Obsidian in particular, I can't thank you enough for pushing me to give this game a try...even if it took a few years to find a working copy.
Honestly, I would probably buy a remake of Alpha Protocol if they kept in the story and dialogue systems, but did a complete overhaul of the gameplay, environments, and graphics.
"The flawed gems are the ones that need sequels the most"
As someone who (partially) unironically wants a Ricochet 2, I feel this hard.
Bad Company 2 :(
First was was so much better (singleplayer mode)
Ricochet is unironically a fun game if you can get some players on a server.
@@beetheimmortal you talking about the nearly 20 yr old halflife "expansion" right?
God Hand...
@@pickelsvx Yes, indeed
When Raycevick drops a video I drop everything to watch that video... One of the best content creators on this site no cap
AN HOUR!!!??? HOLY SHIT 😂😂... WHAT A GIFT 👏🏿
yeah same. I've watched every video and he's the only channel I have on notification.
@@liambrewerpowerlifting yeah he's one of those "notification on" channels for sure
I had to wait for a little while because I wanted to beat the game myself before watching
Even for a game that I cannot give a damn about you still manage to capture my attention with your script and high production value! You are an inspiration for what a true game analyst should be...
52:29 Not everyday you hear someone give SR2’s banging cutscenes credit.
Never cared how unfinished this game was, I loved it at first sight. And I still remember it fondly for what it was trying to be.
"Adam Jensen resists damage because he has a neodymium skin matrix underlay built of nanomachine rare-earth magnets and powered with hook-ins to a biocell electrical system. Mr. Thorton resists damage because he's blue."
How did you say either sentence, much less one after the other, without cracking up?
He probably cracked up multiple times and the final version was like he 10th attempt lmao
The power of editing!
Another game that desperately needs a sequel or remake but will probably never get one
a remake would fix its bugs... thereby breaking its greatness.
Maybe a new IP
A Spiritual successor could be fun
Heh Bloodlines getting a sequel, so who know
Sadly Obsidian died long ago just as Bioware so it's better that a sequel is never made.
That intro was so hot my wife got jealous of what I was looking at
GAGAGAGAGAGA!!! I want to cut my toe nails... NEVER! I am the feet TH-camr. Thanks for being a fan, dear rick
My non-existent wife threatened divorce because of this intro.
@@AxxLAfriku I’m going to go back to bed now.
Dude, you’re crazy. Get off TH-cam and get some help. You probably need it.
@@FNTM2k3 it's a joke my man
This is serious coverage of topics not normally covered. And well researched. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
Won a race, had a great 2nd date, and Alexander fucking Brandon shows up!
This day can't get any better, thank you!
Alpha Protocol is one of my favourite games, it's flawed and frustrating at times but it's soo fucking good when you look past that as extra difficulty and just immerse yourself in the world and objectives you're moving through. A solid game and this video makes me appreciate it even more.
Man, this was the only time in my life that I was excited for a video all the way back since you uploaded the last one with a teaser at the end. Alpha Protocol is one of my favourite games and I re-play it almost every year. Love your channel and thank you for making this. Now I just feel sad that I've already watched the whole thing. Exceptional summary of the journey of this game, found myself agreeing with you over and over again, though that's not uncommon for me.
Oh, and you said Thailand instead of Taiwan at one point, so any and all criticism of the game is /entirely/ invalid. xoxo
"Mr. Thorton resists damage because he's blue" is a line that i'll weirdly be thinking about till the end of time
Still the overall "best" rpg in that almost every action actually does have a reaction, and some characters just won't ever like the type of character you are playing depending on how you behave. In that I feel sad it didn't get more love.
Rdr2 be like: Hey I cleared an entire town but let me say hi to every person I see so that my everybody would not hate me.
It was an ambitious project at its time. I'm surprised to see it not getting more recognition than it deserved, because even though the gameplay is dogshit, it's one of the few RPGs where your actions actually matter and they're not boiled to just "being a saint" or "being an asshole".
I just learned about its existence like a month ago, and I'm currently playing it for the first time. Currently having a blast with it.
Yea but its still a shit game. Which is why I wish it got a sequel
Yeah, it's been one of my all-time favourite games ever since I discovered it many years ago, and I've been defending it online and with my friends ever since. That said, there is one instance of the game not acknowledging your actions that really took me out of it the first time I reached the ending section, and it thus still bothers me to this day. If you tell Marburg about Parker's role in ruining his life, *then* tell Parker about Marburg killing his daughter, the game proceeds as though you had only done the latter, because there isn't a scene where they're both aware of the information you've given them. This was the culminating point of all the investigating I had done, all the work I had put into figuring out who these two men were, and after figuring out a way to turn them against each other, it just didn't happen the way it should have. Talk about poor returns for my hard work...
@@loren5432 Where did you get it from?
I think Stoofer did amazing work, I especially appreciate that he kept the style as one befitting the game. Making the video and some of its graphics flow seamlessly from the gameplay surrounding it. Not to say you don't do great stuff Ray, but the great stuff you do is amplified by his. I can't hate the time it takes you to make these when their quality is so great I still to this day tell my friends to watch your videos on Halo because they are the baseline for discussion on the franchise. And that's your early stuff, you've most certainly gotten better since then.
43:31 made me nearly spit out my drink XD
The legend on a Raycevick video? Holy crap...
Holy shit i religously watch your channel seeing you here is insane Metallica forever \m/
Huh, I was just watching a Many A True Nerd play through of this.
the timing right?
Its insane timing. I hope its not just a one-off, though.
Can we expect an Easter eggs video??
It's a small world when one of your favourite Easter egg finding TH-cam content creators... is talking about one of your favourite gameplay commentary TH-cam creators... whilst watching one of your favourite Video Game Documentary style content TH-cam creators...
Finally, proof they are the same person.
*This video editing, review, and research was pure perfection* plus i only found your channel because my Game Design teacher recommended your videos to our class, your videos are much more than simply entertainment, your videos are educational and point out things that even teachers can forget or never notice.
If there’s a game more deserving of a remake: it’s Alpha Protocol
A remake would be too complicated. Maybe a remaster with refined mechanics would be okay
Honestly, I'd go for a sequel. All of its ideas and mechanics that work can be showcased well in a new game, and it allows them to leave behind all the difficult trapping of the last ones. Plus a point of the spy genre is that a new game with a new character doesn't have to do much to explain away the last game, because all your other team in an other place knows is rumours and hearsay.
We need Beta Protocol
@@platano_frito Thats pretty much what a remake is, remaster is just audio or graphical updates. Remake is changing mechanics, even if its just 1 small thing
I mean I doubt they could do that w/o getting the rights to the game back again -- plus if anything it would be better to keep the base game as is, since they even stated there was 180+ extra stuff in the game, I'd say overhaul it again and then add the rest of what SEGA didn't allow (due it being rushed out the gates) from the ground up.
"I still think about Alpha Protocol" same.
I regularly come back to this video for the intro alone. Part of what makes Ray videos the special once in a blue moon events that they are, are the video introductions. Sick work from you and everyone else involved in your videos
How funny that a game with "alpha" in its title came out in such an unfinished state.
It's more weird that this Game still makes fun, bugs and problems anyway
The "Madison choice" in the museum is one of my favourite story telling moments in gaming. One that I tried to replicate countless times playing dnd with my buddies. Thank you for sacrificing so much screen time for that moment.
Nah. I convinced myself it was possible to do both:save Madison then disarm the bomb in time. But nope. You win some, you loose some.
Before I watch this video I'm just going to state I thoroughly enjoyed this game when released, there was nothing like it and it scratched an itch that has never really be satisfied since. Regardless of what Raycevick (or anyone else) may say and/or think of the game, it will always hold a special place in gaming history for me. Alpha Protocol is one of a kind and I love it with all it's flaws.
That said, I'll enjoy watching this video.
"Even its laser sight can't be trusted, inflicting damage while it's off-target" - oooooooh, there's an idea for a boss fight. A character who fights super dirty, and it comes through in his exploiting of your expectations of tropes. Laser sight moving and not on you, you're good to go? Lol no sry, that's just a janky laser pointer he shakily affixed to his gun at an angle to make you think you're safe to leave cover, his real sights are purely optical and trained on your last known location. In melee he will call out his attacks, anime-style! But half the time what he called out won't be what he does. There's more this character could do, there's so much more, and executed right it would be the most hateloved fight in gaming history
The poor support department would be inundated with bug reports. :|
And also shit talks a lot when you fail to avoid his hits.
You're definitely on to something..
I feel like somebody should give this idea to suda51 or hideo kojima or something lol
Yeah, there would be no love for this boss fight. Nothing but pure, unfiltered, seething hatred XD
honestly if Obsidian announced a Alpha Protocol sequel, I would be rather hyped. also its sad to hear how this game got removed from steam because while I have it, its a game I often recommend to people (while telling them its really jank)
imagine if Darcy had a laser pointer and making you think his aiming away from you while in actuality he has you dead center with his sniper rifle 28:27
If the game sold this.
"Hahahah, you thought my laser was where I was aiming?! What do I look like, a fucking amateur?"
Considering he's Alpha Protocol's gadget guy, that would be completely in-character for him to do.
In my personal view, having done SEVERAL playthroughs (first (and redo because I got stuck first time) being on Recruit on NORMAL as I figured Hard would be unforgiving), the game is a Diamond in the Rough, sure there's gristle, dirt and seeming flaws here and there and if one focused on those, it's not hard to see the mixed reception. But get past this and you find an RPG that, unlike others boasting similar today, have choices that GENUINELY matter, who you befriend or embitter affects how they treat you or address you, what bonuses you get if it's a handler and even effects some missions, who you choose to kill or spare affects missions, contacts for the black market and more, suddenly sparing people seems kind of viable. Dossiers actually affect your character's knowledge of others and some of how they interact, even granting a perk with full documentation (meaning bonus damage usually to those targets).
I got the game for 3 dollars (thank you Bookmans) on PS3 and have loved my time with it.
For PC players I'd advise downloading a 100% savegame, which will unlock a new mode giving you three points in EVERY skill to *start*. You'll have most skills into 'broken' territory before the end of Saudi Arabia. After that, you'll go through the combat sections so fast the conversations will at times actually be longer that what you did to get there. Nice.
@@simondaniel4028 ah Veteran, earned by beating the game on recruit and ideal for when you want to feel like a god. Moreso broken when you actually REMOVE points from worthless skills and reallocate them (Go the fuck away SMGs, Shotguns I am so sorry)
Just goes to show Obsidian's strength in characterization, plotlines, dialogue, and choices.
The production quality of your videos is amazing. I just wish you uploaded more frequently. Keep up the great work guys!
Your intro and editing styles are SO unique! Makes you set apart from the rest of the people on TH-cam.
No to mention you pick some sick music, that I to listen to
Many a True Nerd releases a video on Alpha Protocol, a few hours later Raycevick releases a video on Alpha Protocol.
COINCIDENCE??
I got messaged about that the day his video went up.
@@Raycevick I think Many a True Nerd is actually an extension of the TH-cam algorithm. Pet theory I’ve been working on. It’s in league with Pepe Silvia. The dots are there I just need to find out how they connect.
The plot thickens😳🤭
@@fuzzydunlop7928 If Jon was part of the TH-cam algorithm he'd have better visual pattern recognition.
I had to stop after that intro to write this. I truly think that Raycevick is one of the best content creators out there. It's like a movie and i'm ALL IN.
HOW DOES HE KEEP UPPING THE QUALITY, I DON'T UNDERSTAND
n i c e
I bet it’s been said but... “Fallout New Vegas 10 years later”.
I bet that if Bethesda was car bombed alá the Oklahoma Bombing, everyone would laugh hysterically like it was an episode of South Park.
In due time. Isn't it's tenth anniversary next month around the 23rd?
And here we are. Alpha Protocol is on GOG.
Blue Monday opening? That's how I know my Patreon money was well spent
If there's one thing I learned from these type of development stories, it's that most studios don't know what they're doing and swinging for the fences.
I really loved Alpha Protocol when it was released. I'm kinda sad we never got a more polished sequel.
one of ex-obsidian dev that is now working in CDPR actually talks about Cyberpunk 2077 taking a bit of indirect inspiration from Alpha Protocol. Things that he personally unable to realized in AP.
@@crozraven We'll have to see if its that dynamic and interesting. CP2077 will still be great regardless.
This is the Obsidian mantra. :/
Now we all know that’s because of SEGA, who didn’t want their game polished. Therefore, let’s just blame them.
@@adaptorperish1322 In general, blaming SEGA for a ruined game they're connected to is a safe bet.
I played Alpha Protocol on release and I absolutely loved it. This would definitely be in my top 5 "games that need a sequel" list. Awesome video, enjoyed it a lot! Thanks :)
That intro still brings me back to this video
I literally read Lazarus out of a whim cause you had in one frame of one of your video and it’s my favourite comic now
Betas < Chads < Alphas < Alpha Protocol Players
Alphas < Chads
Chad's < Stimpee
@@DrCoomer_1 thank you, Dr. Coomer
The fuck is a chad!?
@@theoneand0nly874 you'll know 'em when you see 'em
That Matt Rorie, Boss of Bossed pull was a MASSIVE blast from the past. Shout out to that guy showing me the way to get The End's special camo.
i loved alpha protocol. a game where the campaign played out based on your choices and missions wildly varied based on when they were played.
Nice to see you here again. The video was fantastic as a dissection of Alpha Protocol's various faults and revolutionary storytelling, but the editing by Stoofer makes for an especially tasty cherry on top.
At this rate we're probably going to get a Fallout 76 Years Later before a BioShock one.
Admittedly, seeing that rolling dumpster fire five years on does sound entertaining.
I bet that if Bethesda was car bombed alá the Oklahoma Bombing, everyone would laugh hysterically like it was an episode of South Park.
Any game that lets me fight a boss while "Turn Up The Radio" blasts in the background is a winner in my book.
Always thought this was a damn underrated game. It has it's faults in the gameplay department but the setting, roleplaying mechanics, narrative, characters and the story are excellent.
Man your production value is always off the charts.
Still one of the best rpg I played. I want another RPG with same dialog system and bountiful story branches
only 10 seconds ? hell yeah love your work
Best 10 seconds tbh
That introduction was HOT.
My memories of this game consist of stealth, tranqing every enemy in the head, and chain shot-ing every boss into oblivion. All done with a single pistol, from start to end.
Same
This all just makes me want to explore the games on my shame pile even more. Thank you for this. Games are even more fun when there is this much interesting conversation around on it. Always a treat, I smile when a new Raycevik video pops up.
That line about Sis when he's talking to Albatross makes me laugh Holy shit
Bummed that I didn't see this in my feed sooner. Missed you
Love this game, such an underrated gem. The writing and variables in this game were endless; seeing your choices actually have a monumental effect was a treat, and it was even more amazing that a game with the fraction of the Mass Effect series' budget actually delivered on the power of choice.
Obsidian were always top notch when it comes to writing, and truth be told they're much better than Bioware and Bethesda in that department. It's just a shame that their games were always buggy and rough around the edges, and always seemed to be rushed.
Obsidian with an unlimited budget and development time would be unstoppable. I'm still bitter that KOTOR II was robbed of its full potential.
“It’s time to get stupid” the most eloquent description of the Q/A section, that and “it’s time to date the video!”
I'm sure this will get lost, but genuinely I am so happy you're back at it Ray. Hope all is well for you and your work/life balance allows you to feel better as a whole.
Best of vibes to you man
Nothing gets lost, I read everything, and thank you for the kind wishes.
An excellent video, as ever. I did find it a bit hard to keep track of all the characters' names, but beyond that I really enjoyed learning about a game I knew nothing about. Keep it up!
Literally yesterday I rewatched raycevicks previous video & asked "Is this guy still alive? It's been 4 months since he posted anything."
"How does it feel to treat me like you do"
-Intro lyrics
-Also: all of us waiting for another video
7:40 Is that perfect dark Zero music I hear in the background...... we need a another perfect dark game
Michael Labrador yes, yes it is.
Okay that intro is absolute fire.
Criminally underrated diamond in the rough. I've had immensively fun with this game. I'd buy a remaster in a heartbeat!
One hour talking about alpha protocol and I didn't get bored, my favorite game review channel!
I know you feel the need to apologize for not frequently uploading and I can kind of understand that.
However just know, that all I feel when I see a video of you popping up is exitement and happiness with no sign of reproach or demand of more.
Also your videos are the very best TH-cam has to offer. Your production quality is incredible. This is great, but please don't try to outdo yourself with every other video. There comes a time where this is not possible anymore (I thought you reached that many times already, but you've proven me wrong.) and the last thing I'd want is to lose you making the awesome content you provide.
I'd love to support you financially too but I don't really have the money for it. But be sure that, should this ever change you will see da money!
HELL YES!!! I've been waiting for this video all my life... Let's get it
I love this video so much I think it is one of the best video essays I have ever stumbled upon. Also love this guys voice helps me fall asleep if I'm tired and keeps me interested if I'm not.
Always glad to have a new upload, your videos are true and pure entertainment in a pleasingly unique form.
Thank you for your continued production and hope your software is more cooperative in the future!!