Alpha Protocol Retrospective | An Extremely Comprehensive Critique and History
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- čas přidán 2. 06. 2024
- A lengthy retrospective examining the history and importance of Alpha Protocol - the forgotten black sheep of the immersive sim/action RPG world - and how it asks us to decide if function or ambition are more important to a game's quality.
Along with that we'll also look at the history of Obsidian Entertainment, one of the most unlucky developers in history, and how they went from the peak of the industry, to the brink of bankruptcy and all the way back again.
It's part critique, part retrospective, part review and part history lesson - obviously full of spoilers and obviously full of my opinions.
Patreon - / ifinishedavideogame
Twitter - / ifinishedagame
Credit for the incredible thumbnail goes to the immensely talented - @MicahTheBrave
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CHAPTERS
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:03 - I - The Origin Story
00:07:47 - II - Spy Games: Hidden in Plain Sight
00:12:57 - III - Mission Impossible
00:22:45 - IV - The Thirty Three Steps
00:28:11 - V - Enemies and Friends
00:35:48 - VI - Choice and Consequence
00:47:32 - VII - Cloak and Dagger
01:02:04 - VIII - The Big Boss Man
01:11:45 - IX - Tinker Tailor Solider Spy
01:16:59 - X - Mini Game Madness
01:21:15 - XI - Perks of the Job
01:28:35 - XII - The Post Mission Debrief
01:34:23 - XIII - The Grand Finale
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RECOMMENDED VIDEOS
The Road to Eternity (Obsidian Documentary) - • The Road To Eternity
Alpha Protocol Development Presentation - • Obsidian Ent. But Thou...
The Knights of New Vegas (Jason Schrier Interview) - kotaku.com/the-knights-of-new...
All media in this video is used for the purpose of review, commentary or criticism and is defined as fair use under US Copyright law.
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#AlphaProtocol #Obsidian #Retrospective #RPG - Hry
Imagine my joy to see that two years after this video came out - Alpha Protocol is indeed finally available again! The fine folks over at GOG.com managed to get Sega to agree to a re-release and you can now play it in all it's janky glory. I highly recommend checking it out as for £15 it's a steal
www.gog.com/game/alpha_protocol
Yup it's pretty exciting ain't it? 😁 quite the thrill don't ya think?
This is one of the few games that actually *needs* to be remade. There is nothing else like it.
I completely agree - it would really benefit from being tidied up and having it's full potential realised!
Despite the gameplay being a mess, this was one of the best roleplay experiences I've ever had
That's pretty much Alpha Protocol in a nutshell isn't it - unforgettable experience but also pretty terrible haha
It's still the best "role" playing system I have played. And I mean the threads are even tighter than Mass Effect (like M.E. has longer strings through its Trilogy but everything you do in Alpha Protocol has some reference or change in the plot, like messing up stealth after being nearly perfect before hand, or changing into stealth/non-lethal, after being agressive previously. on certain missions brings up or changes dialogue by different characters, where they question why the change?). I have probably played the whole game a minimum of 10 full times trying to do it from all angles; 30 plus if you include saves and reloads for different outcomes.
What I'd expect from Obsidian. Except that most of their games have pretty solid gameplay. They always deliver on roleplaying IMO.
I loved this game. Finished it 3 times. The permutations there are in terms of story, based on your choices in role-playing, are great. Sad how overlooked and underrated it was when it came out.
It's really extremely impressive and hopefully this video can turn more people onto it!
Id guess this is even harder to market than mass effect dialog options, which TBH are pretty simple in ME1 and shuffling it in every part of trilogy shows even devs of ME werent sure how to fit it. Alpha Protocol managed, just it is less "gamey" result.
When I had my first playthrough I didn't know to use tranqs on American soldiers. Being scolded afterwards always stuck with me.
Yeah I beat it 3 or 4 times and loved the heck out of it. Wasn't without some issues of course but seriously great game overall
I know Obsidian bears some responsibility for the many challenges they faced, but man it sure feels like publishers were out to get them at times.
Oh for sure - bascially one semi-failed release in KOTOR2 (which is still a great game) and they're completely blacklisted by publishers
@@IFinishedAVideoGameglad to see they bounced back and are now fully funded by Microsoft.
Unfortunately, Obsidian was never in a position to negotiate good contracts. The whole company started out in Feargus Urquhart's attic because they couldn't afford to rent an office. They didn't move into a real office until they started working on Neverwinter Nights 2.
They were constantly on the edge of bankruptcy so they had to accept unfavorable deals to survive. And they couldn't push back against unreasonable demands from the publishers because a project cancellation could result in the company going under.
For years after first playing this I thought this game was just a fever dream. It's genuinely a mess, but it might just be the most inspired and ambitious mess I've ever seen, and were it actually finished, it could very well be one of the best rpgs of all time
It's so strange isn't it - I really do wish that it was more available for people to play now as I really think it's still so worth experiencing. I on purpose tried to not spoil too much of the game so people could see just how crazy things can get! Ironically that actually made it quite hard to write about as there is just so much here!
I was hyped for this game and at the time I was a employee of GameStop now you think working at a game store you’d just Know when game was coming out lmao little did we know They Didn’t Know When it Was Coming out 🙂. What A Shame.
Finally, I get it! This must be why Bond was always using that Walther PPK/s in .380 ACP. It's the only gun he leveled up enough with to reliably hit anything he was shooting at.
Could be worse, it could be Deus Ex at first level without putting any points into any of the weapon types. Waiting for that crosshair to close in...
I still wish for the day Alpha Protocol 2 or a spiritual successor is made cause it’s by far one of the best role playing experiences ever in a game for me.
Same my friend - I really hope that Obsidian are given the chance to revisit it one day!
i plan to make one, though I'm only just starting my computer science degree so itll be years off. possibly a decade, being realistic, and probably a lot smaller scale unless I accidentally stumble into a team willing to work for peanuts - a sort of cross between AP and MGS3, with the survival viewer and all.
Storyboardings done, to summarize briefly, deploy as one of a dozen mercenaries hired to raid a remote siberian facility in what should be a relatively easy job - this is the virtuous mission - things seem to go mostly okay, shit hits the fan, everyone dies but you; critically injured and liable to die of exposure, try to flee, command/client refuses evac until the mission is complete. Begin the game proper, survive however possible, trek through the woods, mountains, and several urban facilities through traditional stealth, guns blazing, or disguise/social engineering, infiltrate the target facility.
Plot(semi)twist, employer is the US government using you as a deniable asset to fuck up russian separatists cooking up a new chemical weapon without compromising international peace - hence no NATO affiliation - after the initial fuckup airspaces are tight, no opportunity for us/nato to get another team in, russia's military-proper is coming to deal with the separatists but the weapon will be released too soon so the final act of the game becomes a sort of race against time.
Have 8 different endings storyboarded out so far based on factors of how you act with various characters, how lethal/loud you've been, if you destroy the facility or not, and if you survive or not.
As a bonus, and to make simply stealing a vehicle and fucking off on your own a viable choice, game has low TTK with the injury/wound system so its hard to die outright, but also difficult to heal so combat holds weight. Add in permadeath/roguelite system, runs are scored based on what you achieve, score is cut in half if you die instead of fleeing, score can be spent on unlocks/goodies for the next run.
It's definitely ambitious and not something i plan to be the first game i ever release by any means, but its an endgoal/long term ambition I've been planning for and working on in the background for a few years now.
Know this is an old comment, but I needed an excuse to gush for a moment as I've been very excited about this project (watching this retrospective to sort of remember all the best aspects of AP to learn from it, as well as from its mistakes) recently.
Your video game essays are by far some of the best I've heard in the medium in quite awhile. I hope you continue with content to come for many years, or at least for however long you can.
My friend I'm enjoying making these videos quite a lot and have actually been writing about the games I beat for quite a while before that so I shouldn't be stopping any time soon! Only if people seem to not like them anymore and at the moment it seems like people are enjoying them!
10/10
This breakdown/essay was so good for such a weirdly broken game. Your coverage was excellent and the minutiae touched on all the important stuff.
Thanks so much Gonzalo! I'm glad you enjoyed it and that we can help spread the word about such a beautiful mess of a game!
Alpha protocol is proof that a game doesn't need to be good to be great. Just make sure you play it on the easiest difficulty so you don't actually have to "play" it. Its kinda like reading the script of a great movie that was never made.
Absolutely spot on! It's a lovely contradiction - somehow incredible despite all the endless terrible elements! I feel like it's a must play for people who love game design
I always just have fun with acting like I need to shoot the enemy the right way or take them down in a fun spy way like I'm playing out a scene rather than just a game and it makes my experience so much more.
Alpha Protocol is one of the most fun game I've ever played. I've finished it repeatedly just to see all the ways your choices play out.
It really is pretty good isn't it! The replay value of it is just so high and I'm not sure a lot of people realise!
Same! XD
YES! I swear to god you are in my head. As I was going through Jade Empire, I was thinking if you'll make an Alpha Protocol video, but under the premise of "least likely thing to happen but it would be cool nonetheless". And here it is. AP being one of the games I own (or rather I've exchanged discs with my classmates and we never returned the games we gave each other so the game is mine now for all I care), I remember playing it and getting absolutely dusted in the first section of the game because I used SMGs because "wow you dual wield those?!" but they suck so much if you don't spec into their tree, and even then I'd have more luck sniping someone with a shotgun from 300 miles away compared to just abysmal accuracy of SMG. Being the fool that I was, still not done with the martial arts bug, I put my specs into combat tree because the combo looked cool, and after seeing the initial 3-hit turn into 5-hit I thought I'll be playing DMC by the end of the game. Turns out I'm an idiot and I couldn't get past the first section because the way game worked was a mystery for a while to me. One rage quit and about a week later I find my little brother absolutely demolishing this game and thinking to myself "Am I actually dumb?", so I asked him what perks and specs he has. Turns out, he actually WAS smarter than me and leveled pistols/assault rifles. So that's how I played too, later on doing stealth build. During my pistol build I found out that the game is actually super broken yet enjoyable, but my god you can just cheese it entirely with crits and waiting. And when you land that assault rifle burst crit? Euphoric. Stealth build made me understand that this game along with AI was actually dumb, and I didn't enjoy the stealth approach, but it was funny to see how every enemy including most of the bosses get absolutely stalled by stealth. Also I don't remember the amount for which you can disappear during invisibility skill, but man, I remember cleaning entire rooms with it. That and putting pistol proficiency as priority makes you god. One room cleaned in stealth, another with pistol headshots, and even bosses HP can't resist the crit. The plot was actually kind of cool mainly due to dialogue options. REALLY MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE ALPHA PROTOCOL AGENT (sorry/10 - IGN). Haven't watched the vid yet, but I know it's gonna be awesome. Won't write "UPD: it was", but instead I'll just thank you for a good video beforehand, and wishing you a happy birthday. I'm glad to have found your channel.
Haha I am indeed in your head! I actually had planned and half finished this video while I was doing Jade Empire as I felt the two games really have a lot in common from a design perspective (although Jade Empire is a lot more polished obviously) but got distracted with other projects - I'm really happy it's out now though!
That's so funny that you basically went through the two worst builds possible before landing on a playable one. Your comment is a perfect example of why this game is so important though - I cannot think of a single other game that is so utterly broken and rejected by it's creators and yet STILL lives on in people's memories.
Hopefully this video ins prises a few more people to check it out! And thanks once again for the comment and discussion!
Just discovered the channel, appreciate you keeping this game’s memory alive. Played this broken gem a lot through secondary school.
Watched a few of your videos and I've got to say they are all really well done. I watch quite a few different retrospective series on YT, a lot of them just cover the same beat in their scripts from game to game without ever really saying anything but the games itself, but you genuinely give a good retrospective of the titles you review, you can clearly see the passion that goes into making your videos and it's very much appreciated that we have people like you making these.
Keep doing what you're doing :)
Thanks very much! I really appreciate that as I do really try to cover games that aren't often as talked about but I still have the passion for! Glad that's coming through in the videos!
Got another one coming out in a few weeks time and then another big boy! No slowing down yet!
The algorithm has delivered me fucking GOLD today. Very good analysis! I love seeing long-form review and analysis content on youtube, so having another person added to my list of people I can listen to is great.
No worries at all! I'm glad you enjoyed the video and hopefully you like my others too! I've got some fun projects I'm currently working on so hopefully everyone is as into them!
11:00
Damn I loved Nightfire so much as a kid. One of my favourite FPS games at the time.
It's a bonefide classic. I couldn't get enough of it
Hidden gem of a channel (new sub after the Prince of Persia vid)
Thanks James! I hope you enjoy the video!
This is a genuinely fantastic video, about an amazingly interesting project. You deserve a ridiculous amount of attention.
That's really nice of you to say man! Glad you like it! I've been meaning to message you myself as I've recently been watching a lot of your stuff and I've really been enjoying it! Always means a lot to be complimented by people whose work you admire so thanks very much!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame For sure! Keep up the good work!
Your long form videos are absolutely incredible, as is your taste in games. I can't imagine the time and effort these take of you, but I do know how much we appreciate it. Thank you for the amazing content and Happy New Year!
Thank you very much and a happy new year to you too!
I love these deep dives, you have a knack for making them really interesting.
Thanks very much Scott! I really appreciate that as I do really pour a lot of work into these videos! Hard at work on the next few which should hopefully be out soon!
I love the way this video is laid out, very interesting and entertaining. You know so much about these great games
Man as ever thanks so much for the support - seeing the old faces (or usernames) pop up in the comments to still encourage me really is heart warming! I hope you're doing well and enjoyed the video!
My friend played it back then, fan of stealth action. I never realized how deep it really is. Now I want sequel too, even tho I personally never played it.
Unless you have an Xbox 360 lying around, it's pretty tough to recommend, but it really is worth the time if you can get it! I'd love even a spiritual successor as it's such a truly hidden gem - there is so much to love here that people will have never seen!
You can get a copy for 360 or ps3 on ebay for between 8 and 15 bucks, I checked earlier when I started watching the video (luckily my fiance still has her ps3 😎) P.S. it might be possible to play it on the ps3 emulator RCPS3? something like that I can't remember the acronym but, I'm pretty sure it runs ok enough to complete the game though, you'll need an alright pc and likely have to fight the settings/find work arounds to make it run smoothly. All the same good luck if you do want to play it at some point.
Alpha Protocol is one of my favorite games ever despite being incredibly flawed. This video perfectly explains why it’s so amazing and terrible. I hooked up my ps3 to replay it today and I still love it.
I hope you enjoy having another run on it! I know it'll throw up some new elements!
this was one of my favourite games of all time, I played it so many times, and I'd tell my friends all about how it's a great game, nd they'd always go "oh but it's so broken, I'm not going to play it." even though I would have honestly allowed them to borrow my copy to play and see for themselves but they never gave it a chance, and I think that's something that helped bring it down, especially since I didn't run into many bugs, especially no game breaking ones. Had the game been given more of a chance by everyone, maybe we'd have Alpha Protocol 2: Beta Protocol or whatever they would have called it. Honestly after Microsoft purchased Obsidian, they should have (or should still try to) buy the rights for Alpha Protocol from Sega. Perhaps they have plans to do that, but I'm aware they have a lot of IP now from buying Activision and they're busy at the moment spreading that love around their companies. Perhaps in the future we will see another attempt at a Spy RPG
Lmao Beta Protocol really tickled me
Yeah it's a real shame especially as Obsidian already tried to get AP2 made and were turned down. I sadly think they've just moved on and are onto making other things now. It's a real shame!
Another great video. Thanks for the hard work you pour into these for our viewing pleasure! 🙏
Triss my dude - thanks so much for your support as ever my man. Seeing the old faces pop up in the comments really is so heart warming!
ive never played this so i was very interested in giving this video a listen and you did an excellent job painting your narrative as well giving a good sense about the games strengths and weaknesses. top shelf work.
That's great to hear! Honestly I wasn't too sure about the quality of this one but it looks like people enjoyed it! Glad you did!
Not to get all y'know...logical, but how can you possibly know that without actually *playing* it. Be careful not to get any on your chin. Christ, talk about "painting a narrative!" XD
@@mikejonesnoreally i wouldnt call that take particularly logical. If what you're saying is that you can only understand by doing you've called into question the entirety of study. Of course a person can read a book and gain substantial applicable knowledge. Its preposterous to say otherwise. If that werent true then historians wouldnt fair well making accurate predictions based on their studies. Of course they do, have and will again.
A video is essay is still an essay afterall so its more than a little absurd to think you couldnt extrapolate from it. Now its accuracy might be debatable but that was never the point:
Its not illogical for that reason alone, though it would absolutely be enough, the post was speaking to the merits of the essay itself. I watched this video specifically to evaluate how his essays would fair for a topic i knew nothing about. And the posts purpose is to commend his exceptionally detailed writing and its ability to paint his vision. I left this video with a very good understanding of the history of this series and im glad I watched it even for something i knew absolutely nothing about.
This guy is a helluva diamond in this coal mine we call youtube and he deserves praise. Especially at the time of this video when it was a part time effort.
I would like to say that you are an amazing narrator and you have a calm and relaxing voice tone to listen to for hours. The youtube algorithm showed me your Prince of Persia analysis and that was so amazing that I was convinced halfway through to subscribe!
That's so nice of you to say and very much appreciated as I currently have covid and am feeling quite rotten at the moment! I'm so happy you enjoy my videos and hopefully will enjoy my future ones too!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame I hope you get well soon. Wish you all the best!
Hey man just found your channel and have been binding through it all. Gotta say your videos are fantastic, keep up the good work man with quality content like this the recognition will come
Thanks so much Ethan, that's incredibly kind of you to say! I'm really enjoying making videos at the moment and I've got a few really good ones planned! Really hope everyone is just as into them as my last few!
Ahh Brayko. I couldnt even be mad that he was kicking my ass because the scene was just so hilarious
Another fantastic video my dude - never knew or had heard anything about this so it was great to see. Thanks very much
No worries man - thanks for the support as ever - it means a lot to me!
Your videos are so high quality! Cheers for the content
No worries my dude - I hope you enjoyed it! Got a nice big one I'm working on for the next video so hopefully this will tide everyone over until then!
Can’t believe your channel isn’t bigger! Amazing work
Thanks so much! Honestly the channel has been growing loads! I recently hit 5k subs and had a video get 100k views which is honestly mad compared to where I was last year! Looks like the gods of the algorithm are smiling on me!
Despite all of its flaws, I ADORE this game! I think the end result was amazing, with definite hick-ups in execution. Barely anything like it out on the market. Real shame.
It is a real shame - I wish that there were more studios like Obsidian from the 2000s - always ambitious, often overly so, but always making interesting games. That's the element of this jobby that I love!
Nice work - glad you made the switch dude as you never disappoint
You're too kind!
Ive never played Alpha Protocol but Im a huge fan of Obsidian. They've made most of the greatest games ive ever played with Kotor 2, Fallout NV & Pillars of Eternity. I have a ps5 but im definitely going to try to get my hands on a series X just to see what they can do with a Microsoft AAA budget. they really deserve all their success
I'm in absolutely the same boat - I think they're such an interesting and ambitious studio, always trying to push the RPG genre and make interesting games. My dream is for them to be able to make a spiritual successor to this game that smooths out the jank and incorporates some more of the lessons taught by immersive sims over the last decade. I think that could potentially be an absolutely fantastic game!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame I hope so too.
Obsidian died a long time ago. All their OG talent and creative minds that made games like Fallout NV and KOTOR 2 have already left the company. And it’s easy to see with their most recent release Outer Worlds which was just an incredibly mediocre game filled with bugs. It wasn’t a bad game but it wasn’t good either, it was just boring to play.
I actually like your videos.
I like how you show other games and compare them.
Please keep doing videos like these.
Great video! Can’t wait to see what you’ve got in store for the future.
Thanks so much Jake - glad you enjoyed it! Got another really big video that I'm working on at the moment - should be out soon, hopefully everyone enjoys it!
I really, really enjoyed this, thank you. Even-handed, comprehensive, lots of context, not screechy, well-edited, well-written, it's the video game video essay we all hoped for.
Haha that's pretty much the ultimate compliment for a writer! I was a bit unsure about this one when I put it out but it's been great to see the response! It's always great to feel like you're shining a light on some hidden gem!
Never heard of this game before and I'm actually invested! Definitely going to look it up
Stellar review/retrospective of this game that i never heard of my man. You've made it very interesting. Enjoyed this a lot! Thanks & keep up the good work.
Glad I could entertain and highlight something less well known! Hopefully you enjoy my others too!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame Certinly. In fact, I'm in the process of ordering a pizza, making coffee and starting up your Lord of the Rings marathon video right now! Great channel you have here. Interesting information, clear narration and crisp delivery. Will stay awhile and listen, for sure. Cheers ;)
@@misterkefir Awesome! I really hope you enjoy it!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame Thanks! I bet I will. I'll be sure to leave a comment under that one, too. Let the marathon begin (in approx. 15 min)!
Your videos are amazing and you put so much effort into them, I’m binging your entire channel now, it’s really helping me mentally and turning off. Continue grinding and you’ll get there, we all will :D
Thanks so much! I'm really glad my videos could help in that way - I also find it really relaxing to dive into a really long in depth video and lose myself, it's extremely helpful after a really busy day!
I'm currently working on a really big project that might take a little while but hopefully everyone likes it when it's out!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame it’s for mutual benefit then :) looking forward to your next video, keep on pumping them out and with the quality of your videos I can gaurantee you’ll grow a very steady and large following, the only thing stopping that is, like with everything, wether it be in business or fitness or studies, lack of consistency. Bang one out every month and in a year 1-2 you’ll be reaping the rewards, and I’ll be to say I told you so haha😝
@@emil7336 haha that's the aim at the moment! Let's see where it all goes!
Thank you CZcams recommendation. I have been looking for more channels doing long-form video game essays.
Luckily that's really all that I do! I don't post very often but when I do - it tends to be pretty damn big
Great work, it was a really enjoyable retrospective~
Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it and glad I could contribute some more discussion to this fine (and highly strange) game! Hopefully you enjoy my other stuff too!
One of my favourite games to go unarmed in. Its great to just be a walking punch God.
If you know what you're doing with the builds it can really be quite a funny enjoyable game experience!
Thanks for these Videos. Jade Empire into Alpha Protocol feels like you are in the head of a lot of us that were just falling in love with and exploring console RPGs in the 2000s.
FWIW, I really love both titles. I know Deus Ex HR has an incredible pedigree and is an extension of a legendary world, but it still felt to me like what it really wanted to be was a polished AP, and just couldn't muster the heart required for the task.
Absolutely my friend - it's funny because I grew up on CRPGs and often that leads people to hate their console cousins as they feel simple by comparison but I love the more streamlined attempts to replicate those mechanics. I'll certainly be covering more games in this vein in the future!
YOURE SPEAKING FACTS!! dude, the vision for a game is so much more important than whether or not it runs butter smooth. I love playing old games on my shitty computer and I always fall in love when there’s real passion put in! Yet every time I show my friends (who are real game nerds with expensive computers and multiple monitors) they are immediately turned off by the graphics and frame rates. I honestly miss lots of old games.. they got experimental and out there sometimes and I just LOVE it. I’ve been hyper fixated on vampire: the masquerade and when you mentioned it, I GOT SO EXCITED I ALMOST THREW UP AND I WENT BACK AND LISTENED TO YOU SAY IT THREE MORE TIMES! I got so relieved knowing someone else cares about it instead of just shrugging it off because it “sounds dumb and all over the place”. All of the other games you mentioned I always wanted to play, and this game sounds like it’s right down my alley! God bless my friends who will have to deal with this new interest of mine…
It's a great game! I'd love to give it the lengthy treatment one day!
The perfect Saturday evening viewing. A real triumph of skill, storytelling and hard work! Also, Happy Birthday 💜
Thank you (L) and hopefully everyone enjoys it!
I think you mean perfect Saturday morning viewing, cause I'm not waiting a couple hours to start watching this!
(love the content, big fan)
@@midgetsparkle Hopefully it makes your Saturday pretty good! Cereal and Alpha Protocol!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame the complete part of a nutritious breakfast. Cause when you start the day with a complete breakfast, your giving it your best shot!
I really liked how the Xenomorph moved at 6:42 .
The powerpoint presentation movement just makes it all the more scary!
Just discoveres your channel, and have been bingewatching your in-depth reviews over the past few days. Excellent and insightful stuff! Keep up the good work!
My friend played that Alpha Protocol back in the day, and he liked it so much, that he even compared it favourably with Mass Effect 2, which came out around the same time. I never understood him, as i thought it looked pretty mediocre, up until now, thanks to your review!
Thanks so much! I'm so happy you've been enjoying them - I'm currently working on another big on which hopefully everyone likes!
Yeah it's a really unique game that's been criminally underrated - hopefully this video inspires some more people to check it out!
Absolutely fantastic video! Folks like you are an absolute key to helping preserve these strange moments in this modern world.
Thanks very much! This is such a weird game and the fact that' it's almost entirely unavailable made me want to make sure there was a record of just how interesting it is!
I would love Obsidian to bring this game back as a free game for the PS4/5, It looks absolutely awesome.
That would be fantastic! It would be brilliant if Microsoft could give them the freedom to put together a true spiritual successor!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame
I would love it but ultimately feel like this is one of those "vaulted media" moments. It was something a mainstay company tried when they were just starting out, they didn't really know what they were doing and ultimately thought it would be better to kill your darling, as it were.
It's a genuinely interesting concept that I would /love/ to see done with everything we know about the advancements of everything from the RPG world to choice building to dialogue branching and beyond -- it's an interesting game that would absolutely do with a redo, with a proper pitch from the jump.
Just started watching the video, but Alpha Protocol is one of my favorite games ever and nobody has ever heard of it. I've been dying for a sequel for years and years while knowing it will never happen. Also maxing out the pistol was game breaking lol. Thank you for the vid! So great to see this game again!
You're welcome - glad I can help spread some love for this super strange game
Your end points are great and I’m happy I found this channel after watching your Prince of Persia retrospective. I also need to give more time to PoE and PoE2 after watching this.
Thanks so much - I'm glad you enjoyed it so much and I couldn't recommend PoE more!
it was bizarre coming across a video about alpha protocol like this for me in general. I had been obsessed with it once I had seen jerma play it live once like an eternity ago and I bought it and I sank so much time into it. there's almost no games like it. the micro/macro choice thing you went over in this had left a huge hole in me and I'd googled "games like alpha protocol" in probably a thousand different ways looking for something similar and I just couldn't find it. DUNNO! THANKS!
You're welcome - hope you enjoyed it!
Such an underrated gem. If only it was given a bit longer in the oven!
Hey Shan - great to hear from you! Glad you enjoyed the video! It really is quite a hidden gem and such a shame that it's not more readily available for people to play on modern systems. So many interesting ideas!
Thanks for the video. Great watch.
One thing I really liked about Alpha Protocol is the malleable tone of the game. If you play the game like a standard action game, like a Call of Duty game or something, if you're ruthless and execute characters who could become your friends, and you're hostile towards your colleagues, the game is a dark, violent tale in a world of black and grey morals, a cynical tale where you wonder if saving the world was even worth the effort.
In my first playthrough, I went for a no-kill run, I was friendly with the good guys and snarky towards the bad guys, and except for Madison (and Darcy, I guess... maybe?) everyone lived. Even though my ultimate goal was the same, and I fought the same opponents in the same locations for the same reasons in the same order, the game acknowledged my efforts, and suddenly, because of my skill and clever choices, the story changed to be a hopeful tale where heroes can make a difference, where, after saving the world, Mike rides off into the sunset with his love interest and a pleased smirk on his face.
I have never seen a game manage that before.
That's a great point that I wish I'd been able to include. The tone really does shift around your actions and dialogue choices - I can't really think of many other games that do that
@@IFinishedAVideoGame Another game about super agents on impossibly secret military operations and world-spanning mega-conspiracies, where you have a crew of support people that you stay in contact with electronically, and which encourage you to not kill your enemies, is the Metal Gear series (the not killing-part from MGS2 onwards at least). I guess Metal Gear Solid 3 is held up as the best one when it comes to story, but you can't influence the tone of that game like you can Alpha Protocol.
Saying Alpha Protocol is a better game than the MGS games might be a bit of a stretch, all your points about the technical and gameplay shortcomings of the game were very accurate, but I wish Alpha Protocol would have been more noticed in the video game culture, because that aspect is something I really wish people would talk about. Especially back when it came out. The Telltale Games, David Cage games, Infamous, and many others- all of them proudly boasting that you can influence the story and make it your own, but where the illusions falls apart really easily, while Alpha Protocol manages something really interesting and succeeds in fields it seems the creators of those others games hadn't even considered, or so it seems to me.
I also feel like I have a lot more influence over the story when playing New Vegas than when playing just about any other CRPG from the last 20 years. Someone, or some people, over at Obsidian seems to really knows what they're doing.
my favorite was that the stat screen tracks how many 'orphans created'.
Didn't expect this video to end with a huge dunk on Alex Battaglia, but I approve. Then again, of course I'd say that, Black Isle/Obisidian/Troika are some of my favorite devs ever with their magnificent broke-ass games.
Oh I don't mean it specifically as a dunk on him personally, it's just that I'm really in the camp of "specs don't matter". I'm here for the art and I basically couldn't care less about the functionality - as shown by my deep love of Alpha Protocol!
Great stuff I've been loving these retrospectives
Thanks so much! I'm glad you're enjoying them - really gives me motivation to carry on!
@@IFinishedAVideoGameIt's no problem especially when they're so entertaining. I've only got the Jade Empire one to work through and I'll be through them all
@@onetitwndr I'm currently working on a very big one that's due to come out next! Might be awhile until it's done but I think it could be a really good one! Hopefully everyone likes it!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame I think I speak for most when I say take all the time you need. Can't wait to see it!
You do good work and deserve more subscribers. Your videos are always entertaining and informative. Also may I suggest breaking your videos into 2 parts? You will get people more willing to sit though a 30 minute video then a 2 hour one.
Thanks so much Razorfloss! I really appreciate your kind words!
So I did originally think about breaking them up but honestly I kind of like having it all in one location rather than split up. I think I respect my viewers to be able to watch the videos in chunks. It's why I also split them up with chapters so you can dip in an out if you want - almost like 15, 15 minute long videos!
Plus I kinda think it suits the whole "length retrospective" thing!
Absolutely stellar work with this video. You’ve convinced me to cover this game myself lmao
Haha that's fantastic! I'm glad you enjoyed it my dude! I'm excited to see your take on it as it's a super weird game and there is a huge amount I didn't cover (which seems odd to say as it's a 1.30 hour video!)
Great video. I remember trying to beat this game about two years ago but kept having issues so I never got to see the full story. Your video makes me want to try again this summer if I can fix the issues I was having.
I highly recommend it! It's an extremely rewarding game to play through especially if you plan on tackling it multiple times!
Can't watch all at once but so far, fantastic vid, man. Always appreciate chapters on the longer vids like this that make it easy to come back to. I wish there was more experimentation in AAA games today tbh. It seems like in the late 00s games got into that Hollywood sequel kind of cycle and games that seemed to be experimental like Brink and the like just fell flat or failed miserably. Originality is something I really value in games. Looking forward to the rest of the vid. I lean ambition, but both are obviously important.
Also: the aesthetic and action/rpg elements kind of remind me of an N64 game called "Hybrid Heaven"
Absolutely agree man - I think starting to do videos about games that I think need more attention has really shone a light on how much I personally value originality and ambition over everything else. I'm really struggling these days with ambition being equated to "make it open world and make it 100 hours long" rather than developers really getting into the design of games and trying to innovate. That dialogue system in Alpha Protocol is just utterly gripping and it's crazy that nobody has attempted anything better in the 12 years since it's release!
But yeah I hope you enjoy the rest of the video! Would love any other feed back from you especially regarding the production (I'm still the biggest fanboy ever of your aesthetic haha)
(Also I'm definitely going to be checking out Hybrid Heaven ahha)
Just found your channel, I’m only 18 seconds into the video, but I can already tell I’m going to subscribe and binge your videos.
That's amazing! I hope you enjoy them! I'm currently working on another big complete series retrospective which I'm really excited about - should be out soon!
Chris Avellone is one of the original developers from the original isometric Fallout games who has always championed extremely high reactivity in game worlds, as a means for empowering the player's ability to choose.
Alpha Protocol is flawed, but it's one of the handful of few games that matches New Vegas in its level of reactivity.. it possibly even surpasses New Vegas in this particular metric.
Btw, the best way to fight Brayko if you didn't spike his cocaine is to simply run around an obstacle. In cocaine mode, he just mindlessly runs toward you in the shortest possible path.
If you run around the obstacle right in the middle of the arena (in front of the stage), you can kite him until his cocaine high runs out, and also be near enough to shoot/kungfu the crap out of him when he comes down from the high.
Works for any character build (close range combat-heavy builds will do more damage, but even if you're not, you can just take a few more phases to do it).
Got to love some Avellone - he's worked on some of my favourite games and I just love the way he thinks about how stories should be told in this medium.
I bought this game for like 2 bucks at GameStop years after it released and I had a blast honestly
Looks like you got a steal my friend - it is worth 2 dollars and a whole lot more!
Once again great video!
Thank you!
one of my most treasured games, it's one of those games that are so special and so unique that you can't never forget
I absolutely agree!
great video, congratulations!
Thanks very much!
I don't usually do this but this time i'm commenting to please the all changing and all knowing youtube algorythm. Man, i love these deep dive videos! Keep them coming!
Thanks so much! I've got a new video coming out in the next few days so won't be long to wait at all!
This was fascinating thank you so much
You're more than welcome! I love that I can use this channel to shine a light on the stories behind some less well known games too!
I absolutely adored this game when it came out. It was janky and buggy and messy and I loved it. I thought it was so fun to engage with all of the characters and see how things changed and I was genuinely engaged with the narrative even if it wasn’t particularly unique because it was so malleable.
Malleable is the perfect word for AP. I've never seen a game hold up quite so well to multiple playthroughs!
Thank you so so much for this video. I absolutely loved this game when it came out. I personally didn't experience many bugs, mostly being able to shoot through walls in some select scenarios. It definitely felt like it needed polish, but this game had huge potential.
I would love obsidian making a sequel to this. While I never do any of those Kickstarters, if I saw Obsidian doing so to get their vision of a sequel out, or a proper remake, I would definitely pull a Fry and demand they take my money.
No worries at all - I also really love it and just wanted to share some of that with everyone that might not have heard of it before! Hopefully it can inspire some more people to check it out (and maybe even add my voice to calls for a spiritual successor!)
This is a fantastic video. Thanks for this.
(1:08:38) I loved this game so much that I DIDN'T rage quit at Brayko. That fight was one of the most grueling things I've ever done in my life and I did it without chain shot.
Now that is a video game achievement to be proud of!
Good stuff man!
Thanks so much my dude! Glad you enjoyed it!
I remember being excited to buy this game in its time, but the delays and later reviews kept me away in the end. I enjoyed this chance to learn about its flaws and features. Can't wait 'til we have the means to make a game to match it.
Got some on our slate for sure, but they're some ways off. Top marks yet again, bro. Looking forward to the next one!
Absolutely the same boat for me - I thought it sounded interesting and was put off by that really quite vicious initial reception. Luckily I've seen the truth and I'm glad I could put my contribution to Alpha Protocol discourse out there!
Glad you enjoyed it - hard at work on the next one which should be out shortly!
1:36:55 While I agree that being hyper-fixated on a game's performance isn't a healthy way to judge the product as a whole, I still think that performance issues are a very valid criticism. But I get that it depends on what you value most about a game. Some people value pure gameplay above all else, and a choppy framerate can genuinely ruin that experience.
Now that I've finished you Alpha Protocol video, I really have now seen all of your retrospectives! I can't wait to see your next one!
I've got a cool one coming up next! Hopefully everyone enjoys it!
I am so excited to watch this video, I’ve been binging your videos recently and they’re always top notch. Alpha Protocol is a game I LOVED when it first came out, I’m not sure what it was, maybe the fact it felt like a more grounded Mass Effect? I’ve always accepted it’s got a lot of flaws, but I adored it and I can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it!
Ah that's so nice of you to say! I hope you enjoy the video and my others! I've got a really cool project that I'm working on next so hopefully that's something everyone is into!
Heartwarming that this becomes a celebration of BI/Obsidian & recap of its history.
It's a warmup for my eventual 5 hour video covering Dragon Age haha
@@IFinishedAVideoGame
Me:
Incredible content as always! Huge praise for the breakdown and research you put into all of your videos - Excited for the next already!
Man thanks as ever for the support - you know it means the world to me!
For the Brayko fight - you mentioned poisoning the cocaine but for the super speed phase all you need to do is run to the top of his stage and drop down - it stuns him for a few seconds allowing you to run up the stage again. Do this 2-3 times and the phase is over.
I played Alpha Protocol with a wonderful guide written up in Tips & Tricks(I wonder if anyone remembers that magazine). I had an absolute blast. I do wish this concept/gameplay style would be revisited in another title under better development circumstances. Amazing video analysis, I enjoyed it very much.
Thanks for watching and sharing the love in this truly hidden gem! We can only hope that we do indeed get a spiritual successor eventually!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame Thank you for replying, as well as a fantastic look back at this lovely mess of a game.
Great video ! ❤️
Thanks very much!
57:38 Loki from Warframe moment. Running around invisible and killing every enemy with them questioning where the hell you are.
Honestly your videos are as good as the best YT lengthy game reviews videos ! Minimalistic BUT JUST the right amount ! I'm practically comparing you to Whitelight and Raycevick, and i truly believe you deserve waaaay more recognition !! Try and contact them if you can, for possibly some free publicity (Since it seems that they all seem to contact each other and have a certain set of memes in the creators sphere that they share !). Honestly, good job man, you earned a subscribe from me ! (After i watched most of your vids too !)
Honestly I'm just in awe of those guys but I've really got to be careful with watching them. I'm a HUGE Noah Caldwell Gervais fan and his latest video just made me want to give up because it's so damn good! I think as long as I keep making videos in the style I enjoy, about subjects that I find interesting - that's enough for me to keep going! Thanks so much for the kind words!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame if anything, i'm the one who should thank you for the great content ^^
I enjoyed this game so much back in the day. Played through several times.
It's a true hidden classic!
Let me just say that I'm so glad i found your channel! It's overwhelmingly obvious how much work you put into these essays and all i can hope for is that you enjoy doing them as well!
-If you ever have the... let's call it mental fortitude, to do a video on KotOR II I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.-
Scratch that! A video on Cyberpunk!
Honestly I'd love to do a video about KOTOR 1+2 and then maybe incorporate parts of the MMO into it. I think what I'll probably do is wait for the remake to come out and then cover all four in a very big video as that would provide some nice comparative elements!
Although i find that MMO to be the death of BioWare, as well as the slaughter of the characters from the previous two games, i would most definitely love to see this video.
I've never been a massive fan of MMO's before, but i can say I'm very familiar with them (the two i played for the longest were 7 and 3 years, and i do mean daily grind, and they were grindey MMO of the freemium variety), all this and i never found any particular interest in TOR. I like the quality of the trailers for their expansions, but hard pass on anything else.
The remake sounds more like a fever dream by this point, as we've not had much information on it lately. I do hope it's still coming, but dread what it might actually be. Since the original game had... interesting... choice in combat that was always a low point for the game. Especially considering that the second game expanded and improved it, but still managed to feel lackluster...
Again, looking forward to your work, whichever it may be, and glad to hear that KotOR is in the works, but i really do wanna hear more than "it's uninspired" when it comes to Cyberpunk. At least when you have the time for it. To me that game is indeed... bad(?). Yet i do not know why i consider it as such. The first 5 minutes of that game ooze personality and quality writing. Even despite the overwhelming amount of bugs it still leaves a very good impression. They really did try their best to leave a good impression on the players, sadly... it didn't succeed.
I hadn't heard of this game but I'm definitely going to find it to get a few runs in now. Love these please keep them coming, do you have a Patreon? Because I would gladly support you to keep this level of quality on the internet.
Glad you're enjoying the videos so much! It's honestly so nice to get feedback like yours and it makes all the long sessions of writing and editing all the more worth it!
No Patreon yet though! To be honest I think that's one of those things where if you're really serious about having a proper channel long term, you have to time when you launch it and at the moment I think I'm a little small to be asking people for money! At the moment your views and comments are all the support I need to keep going!
I think maybe if we get nearer to that 20k subs mark and become a more established channel that might be where it's worth putting together! Who knows! It's something to think about in the future though :)
My advice would be to play it on easy to get the action out of the way quickly. The action really is a buggy mess that's not very fun to go through. The dialogues are unaffected by difficulty level, so the parts of the game that are actually genuinely good remain so.
Always thought this game was so underrated. I love it and glad to see a great video explaining it
Hope I did it justice!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame You very much explained why I also found the game to be so good. A great video. Consider me a fan of your stuff xD
Thanks!
Another fantastic look at a game I've never thought of playing until now - these are so good to listen to!
Bazza as ever your support means the world to me man!
Well done mate on another amazing retrospective. Never heard of this game and it's fascinating to hear all the good and bad qualities of it. I love a butterfly effect consequential game so I may pick it up... if I can hack the poor gameplay!
Thanks so much my dude! I would definitely recommend it as I think it would make for a pretty damn good stream game! Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for all the support man - it's always so nice to see you pop up in the comments!
After watching the mini game section I just wanted to say for anyone thinking of playing, the radio mimic gadget allows you to shut off the alarm without hacking them. Thanks for listening to this PSA.
Great advice! I should have included that in the video!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame No bother, the game doesnt really explain the mimic gadget outside of an optional tutorial at the start so i wondered if u didnt know about them. I always pack a few cause i hate the alarm minigame the most and cant be bothered hearing alarms blare every time im caught😅
I feel like a good counterpoint against the "stealth doesn't lend itself to boss fights" would be the entirety of the MGS series, famous for some of the greatest boss fights of all time.
But then again, literally nobody but Kojima seems to be able to do stealth bosses well.
See I did definitely have those in mind as I was writing that (especially MGS1 and 3) BUT at the same time MGS so often brings non-stealth gameplay into it's boss fights which is probably why they're actually so fun and memorable. I would say the Sniper fight against the End is probably the greatest stealth boss fight of all time but that's actually somewhat unique in that series - most are more akin to the Ocelot or Metal Gear fights!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame either way, there's still a ton of examples of well-integrated stealth mechanics even in the more action-based boss fights (like Vulcan Raven, for example).
@@IFinishedAVideoGame I remmeber finding out years later that if you changed your PS clock to about a week or so ahead (or just let time pass as you were on that part), the End would die of natural causes. That was a cool concept/idea to me.
Alpha Protocol was just re-released on GOG. I still have my steam copy but now it can be bought legit again
The only title I've bought multiple times and played many more, Alpha Protocol will always stay with me.
It really holds up so well under multiple playthroughs - I'd almost say it's not a proper Alpha Protocol experience to only play through it once!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame So true. Fantastic video and thanks for the awesome videos you put out.
Great Video as always :D I had a question about your editing on these videos though. Why don't you usually add background music while you talk? I feel like it could help you influence the tone you try to portray at certain points of future videos or just increase the things keeping our brains occupied while watching :) Just figured I would share, I see you reply to lots of comments so I thought I'd put my thoughts to improve the quality of the videos. Great stuff as always, one of the few channels I have notifications on for :D
Not at all thanks for commenting with your feedback! I do really try to reply to every single comment as I feel like that "community" element is really missing from a lot of bigger video essay style videos - ultimately I'm nobody special so if someone wants to argue against something I've said that is totally cool!
Regarding the music - it's something I'm actually very torn on. Some of the biggest channels like mine don't use it at all and I suppose that gives the video more of a "podcast" feel to it. I think a lot of people put the video on while doing other stuff and dip in and out so I think no music can really help in those situations
That being said - you're totally right that from a production point of video music does indeed help the whole video feel higher quality and can help. I put music behind everything in my Mortal Shell video and while I did really like how it turned out - it's actually extremely hard to always find copyright free music and then manage the levels across 2+ hours of footage!
I'll be totally honest - I'm still really unsure about which direction to go in so I'll probably put out a community post and see what people think. I know music could add a lot but it's also a huge amount more work so I think it depends on the demand!
Thanks for your comment and support as well though - it's so nice meeting people who enjoy my stuff!
I have been meaning to play alpha protocol ever since I read the cover story on Game Informer and now I *must* play it so I can watch your video. Love all the well researched analysis dude. Pretty incredible seeing your channel grow exponentially in these last couple videos. If you start some sorta Patreon or whatever I'd be happy to help. This my new favorite channel on YT.
Here are some suggestions for future videos:
Battlefront series
Red faction series
any sorta roguelike
Civ/Xcom series
your favorite GTA clones, favorite roguelikes, or favorite bargain bin games
Keep it up my guy. Soon enough you wont even be able to find my comments among the others
Apologies it's taken me so long to reply - I'm so happy you enjoyed the video. It was a lot of fun to put together and I'm happy I can shine some light on such a unique and strange game (even if it doesn't particularly work haha)
Regarding a Patreon - I think I'll start one eventually but for now I'm happy just to put my videos out there and let people enjoy them! I'm a pretty low key guys not looking to make a brand or anything like that - just want to make videos I'm happy with and hopefully people enjoy them! Maybe I'll do it if I ever hit 50k lmao
Anyway hopefully you enjoy my next video - it's a seriously big one
@@IFinishedAVideoGame I finally played Alpha Protocol! Funnily enough, it really reminded me of Jade empire. A bunch of really great ideas, marred by extremely sloppy execution. Tons about this game was cool, but it was increasingly frustrating towards the end as the bugs and jank seemed to overtake everything else. Wanting to watch your video is actually what finally pushed me to play, I wanted to see it but I didn't want spoilers haha. Well, I'm glad I played it but it looks like Alpha Protocol will sit beside JE as a creative and innovative and RPG that could have been so much more, or led to an incredible sequel.
Probably wont find this comment now that you have thousands, but if you do I want you to know that you are the best new game critic I've found in years. I wish you continued success
@@IFinishedAVideoGame Just finished your video. One final note. I was surprised you didn't like all of the minigames. I get what you're saying about overuse and monotony, but like, I will stand by the fact that the safe cracking one was the only minigame I've ever seen to fully use the controller triggers as the precise pressure sensors that they truly are and that was genius.
Agree with your sentiments. People are too concerned with the profits and performance of games and don't care about them as art. Not saying making money and what not isn't important, but it really gives a black eye to the notion of "games as art" when all we do is preserve the most successful and dismiss those with technical hiccups despite having engaging elements.
I couldn't have said it better myself. The current obsession with performance and specs over creativity drives me insane
I would love a sequel to Alpha protocol
You and me both! Sadly Sega has been very clear that they don't want anything to do with it. That being said it would be great to see Obsidian give the stealth spy RPG another go possibly with a new IP - they did this with New Vegas/Outer Worlds so why not here!
SEGA would not only never touch that problem again, they have (thankfully) done their best to remove it, and their unfortunate association with this game and Obsidian, from all gaming memory.
I bought this game day one. Still have the disc for the 360. Nobody that I know has any clue about this game's existence. I liked it so much. Even in all it's jankiness. After this video I'll look at it with even more fondness. Gonna keep revisiting it untill my 360 eventually dies, or the disc rots. Thanx for this video man, awesome work.
No worries! I'm glad you enjoyed it! It's the kind of game where everyone you speak to who's actually played it loves it but not enough people have actually played it!
Hopefully videos like this can help raise it's profile and encourage other to check it out!