A Thorough Look at Wolfenstein

This an in-depth retrospective and critique of all the major Wolfenstein single-player release, 1981-2015. It talks about the games historically and from a player's perspective.
CORRECTION: There is an error in this video where I attribute Return to Castle Wildenstein to the developer Raven-- it is actually Grey Matter who developed it.
__TABLE OF CONTENS__
Castle Wolfenstein (1981)-- 0:41
Beyond Castle Wolfenstein (1984)-- 3:25
Wolfenstein 3-D (1992)-- 5:44
Spear of Destiny (1992)-- 12:50
FormGen Accessory Packs (1994)-- 15:23
Return to Castle Wolfenstein (2001)-- 18:33
Wolfenstein (2009)-- 30:10
Wolfenstein: The New Order (2014)-- 42:49
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (2015)-- 1:00:08
Appendix: Running Castle Wolfenstein on Dosbox-- 1:11:30
Thanks-- 1:12:40
__DOWNLOADS__
DosBox:
www.dosbox.com/
Castle Wolfenstein:
www.abandonia.c....
Beyond Castle Wolfenstein:
www.oldskool.or...
Wolfenstein 3-D Shareware Edition:
www.dosgamesarc....
_________
If you enjoyed this video and want to contribute to the creation of other like it, please consider supporting me on Patreon!
/ noahcaldwellgervais

[@ChairmanKam]

"If you start killing Nazis, and keep killing Nazis, it stands to reason that, eventually , they'll run out of Nazis." Goddamn it Noah. Your comedy kills!

[@britneyfierce]

+ChairmanKam This!!! I had to pause the video ^^

[@jokesterthemighty227]

+ChairmanKam neo-nazis then

[@babypolerpopster]

+ChairmanKam Nazis.

[@pbjent]

I kept waiting for Noah to mention the Grammar-Nazi scene.

[@disposablehero1235]

@@jokesterthemighty227 nah communist

[@CharcharoExplorer]

The way RTCW takes on stealth in its "non" stealth levels is very interesting. For example, the first 2-3 levels of the game can be gotten through with mostly knife kills. The player is expected to run and gun, but they can also simply slaughter the enemies in a quiet fashion. The only difference is how much action happens. In the Rocket level, you can start shooting through dozens of nazis, but you can also continue the stealth from the last level, hide in a box a crane is moving around and get to the rocket without being seen. The Dam level? Silent sniping will make it into an easy, calm level. Shooting like a madman will change the music to the "Action" theme and make it one gigantic slaughter fest and one of the hardest levels in the game. So in a sense, it is often kind of like TNO, just never quite so explicit. And again thank you! This is one of the best Wolfenstein videos I have ever seen. Thank you sir, I love this series :) !

[@chrissesock4245]

Man, I've been watching through your videos in chronological order over the past few weeks, and I'm really impressed by how much you've embraced and improved your format. I seriously love long-form analytical videos, so your channel is like home for me.

[@silverclawedwolf]

*Crosses fingers for Noah to eventually do a thorough look at Wing Commander*

[@AJ-kj1go]

that would be awesome!

[@donniedarko2815]

Your fingers still crossed creep?

[@AlexeiVoronin]

Great video - you actually do a real critique of Wolf 2009 instead of just hating it outright like most people do. I also like the fact you included the 80's games too :)

[@seiban8455]

Maybe somewhat repetitive gameplay let the New Order focus on polishing the game. Just because you like a game does not mean everyone else has to. Noah gave his analysis of why the game worked in certain areas and failed in certain areas while trying to express overall why the game is considered bad by most people. If you like Wolf 09' that's okay, just don't be a dick about it.

[@george867]

The biggest reason people like the new order over the 2009 wolfenstein isnt because TNO had better story ideas, but because the gameplay is more polished and the actual writing and pacing of the character dynamics is both engaging and somewhat believable. I mean, on a base gameplay leve, the New Order has more going on in the shooting gameplay, with more mobile play, and focusing a lot less on the (superficial) realism of 2009. As far as the themeing of the ongoing levels and story, TNO is just as whacky and crazy as 2009 is with it's crazy occult green gravity and time controlling thing, I mean god damn you fight your way across a German superbridge across the ocean that you tore down with stupid Jew magic in order to destabilize the Nazi world government.

[@AlexeiVoronin]

Night -the claw- Nightclaw Ever heard the term "science fiction"? :P

[@george867]

AlexeiVoronin My point isnt that TNO isn't realistic, it's literally that TNO is just *as* whacky and insane as 2009, if not even more crazy.

[@seiban8455]

TNO has more realistic characters. The only real thing I thought the game handled poorly with the characters is that you don't spend enough time getting to know them. A few more optional dialogues would have been nice.

[@Owlpunk]

Excellent video as always! I really love your in-depth de-facto essays :D 2 Things: 1.: There's one Wolfenstein game you actually left out: The Multiplayer-only, (actually) free-to-play&stand-alone Expansion Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, which was originally planed as an expansion disk (which is what we called our DLC back in those days, you young whippersnapper), but was then released as a free download. God, I played a ton of that until I switched to the real hardcore shit like Day of Defeat and Red Orchestra :D 2.: As a German&someone who absolutely _loves_ The New Order: I was both surprised and very pleased by how much care the German writing and voice acting received. With the exception of Deathshead (who's voiced by Dwight Schultz), all the German-speaking characters are voiced by actual German speakers, and both the dialogue and the many, many flavor texts are very well-written. In fact, there are so many little jokes and tidbits hidden in the details, that I sincerely think you need to understand both German and English at an advanced enough level to really get *all* out of the game (tho you miss maybe like 1% if you don't speak any German, so don't worry too much :D ) The quality of foreign languages in even AAA video games is often veeeeeeeery bad - if you've ever played Gabriel Knight 2, that game is almost absurdly funny to native German speakers, because the voice acting is So. Very. Bad. "NAIN, KOHMISSAH GRUBER EEST NEEKT HEER!", fucking lmao. This is doubly interesting because the games - in their uncensored, original versions - are actually _banned_ in Germany. And I really mean banned, not just "indexed"; like Doom was until some years ago. (Tho, to be clear, it's not actually illegal [or rather, penalized] to own any banned media as long as you don't have _intend of distribution_, sorta kinda like weed is handled here.) I've only played the original version (it's fairly trivial to get - there's no customs check on inter-EU mail, and I live like 10 miles from the Dutch border, which is useful for obtaining both formerly mentioned items :D ), but as I understand it, even the plot was changed in a big way in the German version, kinda Hydra-ifying the Deathshead organization. It stems from our censorship laws - basically, video games are treated as _toys_ and not as works of art by the law, so stricter rules apply. It's no problem to show Raiders of the Lost Ark - Swastikas and all - on prime time TV, nor even showing nekkid people on the afternoon - that's covered by freedom of speech (or rather: freedom of art). Video Games are not. And that, to any angry internet shoutymen who might be reading this, is what *actual* censorship looks like, so kindly grow the fuck up, you fucking children.

[@NenaWednesdays]

29:53 He mentions Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory here

[@northmetalguy]

Yes! Another episode. Man, you deserve so many more subs and views. All I can say is thanks, and keep up the great work!

[@QMMarc]

Man, your videos are the best, always look foward to them popping up. Great work as always.

[@eyedyeoff1024]

Your voice is so soothing. Like the way you talk and how close you are to the mic reminds me of npr in the best way.

[@contardation]

As a lifelong fan of Wolfenstein I'm really interested to hear your take on the series. Keep up the good work.

[@tuxandashotty]

Will/when we get a thorough look at XCOM?

[@remoteviewer6]

and maybe XCOM 2, at this point? a similar "thorough look at XCOM" sort of video?

[@williamlydon2554]

Been praying for it for years..alas, i feel Noah couldn't take the time to make what might be a 3 hour video on it.

[@td3312]

+tuxandashotty I like what you were going for, I think a better way to do it would be "[When] will we get a thorough look at XCOM?"

[@zesty2023]

Amazing, simply amazing! This was everything I'd hoped it would be. Seriously if I ever come into more money, you'll be the first I'll consider supporting on patreon.

[@DoomMunky2]

You're the best game critic I know. Utterly amazing stuff. Thank you.

[@fendertool]

Thank you, cant wait to dig into this

[@benmurray8903]

There needs to be an addendum to this video concerning Wolfenstein: The New Colossus.

[@807D14M0ND5]

There is! :) Maybe you posted this just before he uploaded it. Can't tell.

[@Axetwin]

The big interesting difference between Wolf '09 and FEAR 2, is that FEAR 2 is still available to buy on Steam, whereas Wolf '09 has since been pulled. I know BJ's character design in New Order is supposed to be reminiscent of Wolf 3-D. However, I always thought he looked like John Cena. I really enjoyed the new Shadow Warrior. More than the classic Doom clone. Before New Order came along, Heck I bought the new game because the community opinion was that Shadow Warrior was the goto game when it came to a remake done right.

[@GypsumGeneration]

38:00 regarding the idea that controls must be designed around the limited format of a handheld gamepad because they are at a disadvantage that must be compensated for mechanically--i'd honestly argue that is still the case and that games have ratcheted up the compensation in the name of accessibility. controls haven't somehow improved, as in their engineering isn't somehow better in the parts. the auto aim has been increased to such a degree that it is a regular point of controversy in multiplayer shooters. i'm sure you remember the days when the mouse was just accepted to have a higher overall potential in a performance environment but crossplatform competition has shown in recent years just how untrue that is and it isn't because games like apex or fortnite are somehow more well-thought out from a design perspective. their improvements are strictly incremental and their designs-when it comes to the shooting-is more derivative than innovative by far. i see something like bullet time which you describe as the design working around the limitation of a controller as fundamentally the same thing as auto aim or aim assist, which are the things that have improved with time, because the degree to which it affects the design is a decision by the developer and not a decision by the console manufacturer. also, i know you just mentioned this offhandedly to make a larger point about what fits where and why mechanically speaking, but i just can't help myself.

[@fartzinwind]

Just had to post this as I'm leaving work. Grr.. now I'm going to have to watch this at home on a tiny little tablet, instead of while dinking off at work. Or I could save it for Sunday when there is even less to do.. I shall ponder this.

[@will4127]

Apologies if you've received this request already, but do you have any plans on doing "a Thorough Look at Turok?" And as mentioned below by another commenter, a look at Max Payne would be pretty cool, too.

[@cgoode1201]

I'll be honest with you, I, (like some of the games-critics/reviewers that I follow) looked at 'The Old Blood' after 'The New Order' and judged it on that merit, gameplay-wise without necessarily considering its placement, thematically, and finding The Old Blood lacking. After your review, I am literally downloading the both of them and plan on taking your advice--Playing The Old Blood first, and then marathoning The New Order afterward.

[@ghostel9253]

“If you start killing Nazis, and you keep killing Nazis, it stands to reason that eventually they’ll run out of Nazis”, simultaneously one of the rawest and funniest lines of all time, chefs kiss

[@TamrenStarshadow]

Don't suppose you'd do Master of Orion after the latest incarnation is released? Or perhaps the very long running Exile/Avernum or Geneforge series?

[@likeahorse]

Is it just me, or do Noah's videos never buffer as opposed to other videos? It might be a location thing; I've heard of stuff like that happening.

[@JonathanRossRogers]

The last levels of Spear of Destiny remind me of Catacomb Abyss, the immediate predecessor to Wolfenstein 3D.

[@RadiantSolarWeasel]

I remember hearing The New Order was good, but I had no idea how good until this video. It's been years since I was last interested in a shooter, but I might have to pick this one up the next time I have some spare cash.

[@aleksanderolbrych9157]

I love your videos, I really do, but did you really just say that Enemy Territory was not well known? :P I mean, Enemy Territory was all the rage back in the day and even today it's regarded as one of the most important online shooters in history.

[@powervidsful]

finally some love to the real first fps thank you good sir thank you

[@alexcruz3043]

I am knifa shocked that anyone had anything negative (besides the final boss) to say about the old blood DLC. I thought it was campy and over the top ridiculous in all of the right ways. Also the lead pipe might be one of the best weapons in the game.

[@mbe102]

Noah, do you use arrow keys and your mouse in the left hand?

[@broadcaststsatic]

+Weeaboo Jesus No, you're right, I use right-handed mouse and left-handed arrow keys. I started playing games in the Doom 2 era, and never gave up the arrow keys for WASD.

[@randomfaca]

I liked 2009. It copied enough different features from enough different games to create its own style. To me it felt like one of the best combinations of the old and the new school.

[@ShredFredBikes]

return castle wolfstein 2001 the BEST online game in the world! lost sooo many hours playing it haha

[@severin.m]

How about Witcher retrospective? Or are you waiting for that final dlc to hit the shelves?

[@jaerockets]

Does downloading dosbox provide any advantage compared to simply using the web browser version?

[@Bauglir100]

1: You can play it without worrying about internet connection. 2: Once it's on your hard drive, it's there to stay (unless you deliberately delete all the files). 3: You can add as many mods as you want. 4: You can reconfigure the controls to however you wish using Keymapper.

[@leejones2557]

:) is that a new mic ?

[@toadofsteel]

1:02:01 "having the Nazis sprechen their actual Deutsch" XD

[@MsLia32]

no mention of rise of the triads

[@TheRogueMonk]

I HAD GREAT FUN with 2009 wolfenstein I DONT KNOW why people have to ragg on some games without true reason... just because it didnt have the same old style?

[@acetrigger1337]

"if you kill Nazis... and you keep killing Nazis, it stands to reason that they will run out of Nazis eventually." i love this logic.

[@2la84me]

48:17 Holy fuck did I laugh.

[@andrewpytko4773]

There is some sound reasoning behind it.

[@thebestever7788]

"...That's a big part of why movie versions of video games struggle so much. Frequently, the narrative of the game is inseparable from it's structural and mechanical ambitions, and when you rip those things out to get a purely cinematic experience out of it you're left holding something that is decidedly less impressive and engaging than when you started out with." Do you know how many movies/careers could have been saved if the Uwe Bolls of the world had your understanding?

[@Benniemilo]

Uwe Bolls movies are money laundering schemes tho…

[@DuckAlertBeats]

The most strangely soothing gaming content on KZbin. I fall asleep to these most nights recently. Much props to you Noah, seriously. Love to see your take on the original Doom games, and Quake. Peace.

[@ryaner591]

Just saw this comment, I do the exact same thing - it'll take me a month to hear all the latest fallout one...

[@joewatson7069]

I've been listening to noah to sleep for about a year

[@beylie1387]

I actually laughed when I realised why you had to explain what shareware is. Made me realise I'm old but from the classic era! :D Excellent vid, thanks.

[@shenandoahologist6713]

At one point you mention that the buildings of Wolfenstein 3D resemble nothing that's ever been built for any purpose, and exemplify it with floor plans shaped like swastikas. As a student of architecture, I can tell you the swastika is a frustratingly useful shape. A fair amount of us has at one point or another realized we're drawing a swastika-shaped building and had to redesign it from scratch. That's not a criticism, mind you. You points are valid. Just a fun fact.

[@salokin3087]

Oh my god Noah you are fucking Beautiful! I always wanted someone to cover the series like you covered the COD games, hell i was about to do it! But i knew, I KNEW, you'd come through with this video. Fuck you, you're amazing, Fuckin' A!

[@BrassNukes11]

+Salokin Sekwah We meet again my friend.

[@salokin3087]

no love sad fish TBH i got into Wolfenstien Thanks to GGGGGGGggggman.

[@BrassNukes11]

Salokin Sekwah Oh yeah, I like his reviews a lot too. I ended up watching his vids for hours because they are so great in length and content.

[@salokin3087]

no love sad fish Shit i was watching him back when he had only a couple hundred subs!

[@ramox90]

Halo, Max payne, GTA, Deus ex, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil and Silent Hill Franchises. I really would pay to see Noah do a retrospective of these, or at least some of these. That said, what Noah has made already is grand and I can see the effort and detail he has put in, truly a well cultured and intelligent man. Grand work my friend.

[@EnvyOmicron]

Welp, looks like you got your wish with Max Payne and Resident Evil

[@kayeplaguedoc9054]

Great vid! But a bit of a correction: Return to Castle Wolfenstein was NOT made by Raven and was NOT made by the same team that would go on to make Wolfenstein '09. RTCW made by Gray Matter Studios in collaboration with Splash Damage and Nerve, who handled the Multiplayer aspects.

[@JonnyJoestar_]

What are the chances of a getting a Max Payne retrospective?

[@JoeSixThreeOh]

Seconded.

[@TheAtlas247]

thirded

[@pedroportillo1585]

+Jonny Smith I've been asking for one for the past few months! I would really like to hear Noah's perspective.

[@AJ_MUR]

+Jonny Smith Fourthed

[@xanaxodgrindcorelover9191]

+[Insert name here] fipfthd

[@farmzombie]

This video convinced me to play The New Order. It was fantastic, though I do have one caveat: the tragic/noble nature of Blazkowicz carrying on a war that already ended was undercut a bit by how he and his friends just kept winning. This is a ragtag group of maybe a dozen rebels who manage to steal a nuclear submarine, blow up a giant robot, and storm a heavily guarded fortress. It doesn't always seem like a hopeless cause, because they punch big holes in the Nazi regime simply by trying really hard.

[@TheArtkaw]

farmzombie I think the story felt appropriately pulpy, and the genuine human drama among the characters sold it for me. I was kind of cheering during certain moments, like the helicopters flying through the tunnels, or the Jimi Hendrix stand-in last stand.

[@AbstractTraitorHero]

I think you miss that their also constantly showing how the Nazis are already falling and how their system is not sustainable, how wrong nazism is.

[@springboard1803]

Thank you for making these videos Noah. I re-watch them constantly, and look forward to every single one. Your ability to approach a subject with such a degree of objectivity is amazing. Your clarity of thought is excellent and the hard work you put into making these videos surely pays off. Most video game analysts are incredibly juvenile, and it is nice to see someone taking this shit seriously. You are able to take each game for what it is, rather than criticizing what it should be. Great work.

[@camycamera]

Yep, out of all the games, TNO is definetly my favourite because of the story, the themes it dealt with, and the pacing. It is so bizzar that they managed to make a game that is about murdering loads of nazis in ridiculous fasion with two massive shotguns and have a story where the characters really feel fucking genuine and *human* in one game. It is such an accomplishment. And you can totally see that it is very Tarantino-inspired, with the way the story is told and how the cutscenes are shot, which of course is one of the reasons why its so great. I felt that, while Old Blood was good, it was missing that heart and soul that TNO had, and I am so hungry for more. And the music... TNO is one of the few games that had me in awe at the main menu, just sitting there listening to the music. It just sets the tone *perfectly*. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJzYo2dnm9GtmrM

[@scottski02]

After playing RTCW and The Old Blood back-to-back, I thought it was a very well-crafted homage to its roots while still having some of that human heart TNO added. Indeed, playing The Old Blood convinced me it was a mistake for the later titles to completely nix the occult aspect of Wolfenstein. There's a ton of great angles they could take on it with a world-wide Nazi empire as a starting base.

[@elroyscout]

That and the fact you can dualweild automatic shotguns never hurts... except for the Nazis, then it hurts a LOT

[@NutritiousBagCircles]

You have the english pronunciation amd tonality of Rick Steves I like that

[@icannotfly]

+Nutritious Bag Circles oh my god youre right

[@bigdog517]

Never fucking ever thought I'd ever see him mentioned anywhere in anyway whatsoever lol

[@benjaminpowell2066]

This Guy deserves more subscribers

[@daniellewasdelayed8921]

The vast majority of your videos are about games or game series that I don't care about. And yet, they're still massively engaging, thought-provoking, and paced incredibly. I'll join the chorus of comments praising you, your style, your writing, and your videos. Thank you for your content.

[@JoshuaVvee]

I was really happy you showed off the hotdog scene. I really is a great moment that lends a lot to pretty much the entire artistic vision of Wolfenstein. One of many, really. I do remember hearing a few neat conversations done in full German through the games and they're a real treat. I love the German language and I'm glad MachineGames took the time to include them. I was also really hoping you'd do this series, and I'm glad you did. I didn't even hear of the '01 Wolfenstein though. I'm kinda surprised, especially if it was as good as you talked about. Guess I could hunt around for it and play it myself, if just for funsies. I actually haven't finished Old Blood either since I bought New Order late and just tried playing them back-to-back and got burned out I guess. Sounds like I was close to the paranormal stuff too. Anyway good stuff, Noah. Love your work as always and loving the frequency of that work. Makes me really love supporting you. You deliver.

[@DeadYorick]

are you ever going to do a video on Command and Conquer? It's rare I ever see anyone critically examine every individual game in the series. Or even talk about games like the original.

[@broadcaststsatic]

+DeadYorick I've wanted to do Command and Conquer, but haven't worked out the time, the patience, or the technical problems-- I tried doing Renegade as a Genre Orphans video, but even with fan patches, it was crashing 4 or 5 times a level.

[@shadowasmr7759]

RTCW was INSANELY good. Amazing game.

[@macabre101]

this is one severely underrated Channel the way that Noah articulates his thoughts and ideas is flawless

[@MegaKilerr]

Can you please take a look at the s.t.a.l.k.e.r. franchise?Am sure ull enjoy playing them gamez^^.

[@123doomdoom]

I actually very much enjoyed Wolf 2009.

[@Bluehawk2008]

+123doomdoom One thing that bothered me in 2009 is the change in tone regarding the Nazi characters. In RTCW they butted heads and had conflicting outlooks which you could read in the letters they wrote each other, and you got the sense that they were human beings, albeit briefly sketched ones. Furthermore, not all of them were good Nazis - Strauss thought the occult was nonsense and deliberately disobeyed orders to retain some of his prototype cyborgs. But in Wolf 2009, Strauss is a cackling goon without any skepticism or nuance, there are no more inter-agency rivalries or miscommunications, even the uniforms become more farcical and officers don't address each other by rank properly. You'd almost think it was was a deliberate aesthetic choice to go full-cartoon instead of trying to strike a balance. In fact, the writing of RTCW becomes better in retrospect when you have 2009 to contrast it with. At least, that was my opinion when both games were fresh in my memory.

[@glucosaminecondroitan9135]

Wolfenstein 09 is my favorite

[@pyramideddie7813]

Hate to be the nitpicky guy noah, especially since this is a great video as always, but RTCW was developed by Grey Matter Interactive, Raven worked only on Wolf2009.

[@DJWolfHouse]

I love how your videos started out fully formed and already great, from Fallout to Elden Ring every single one is its own travelogue into a virtual world.

[@belinskiparadox7687]

even if the story isn't as good as New Order, killing Rudi's f***in' dog felt so good.

[@bacaestrife3615]

Not much of a point now, but just FYI, Doom was also Ray Casted, it just faked 3D better, but it was the same tech that was in Wolf 3D. You can tell because there's no Y axis, you shoot below an enemy standing above you, and somehow you hit them directly, because there's no up and down, just left right, forward and back. It just made it look like it was actually 3D with elevators and trickery.

[@TevyaSmolka]

any opinion on the wolfenstien new colossus

[@zetetick395]

I enjoyed the 2009 iteration! Story was functional only; but the I found the gameplay to be solid fun...I actually prefer it to, say, Singularity - Ravens other big game release from that period (also seen as fairly mediocre/derivative at the time by the critical commentariat in general, but has some small following now, giving it _some_ retroactive love...) ...Wolfy2009 could also use a hug or two... and W:TNO was a wonderful, totally unexpected SP FPS treat! - full of that old-school goodness! ...The future's lookin' pretty snazz-tastic for Wolfenstien! :D

[@gordonneverdies]

I like silent protagonists. I get annoyed in modern games getting pulled out to watch cutscenes. Especially when I'd never use the dialogue the main character is using. The Dead Space ones weren't too bad.

[@richardm6985]

fun points, re: new order, his line "mother of all headaches", I read somewhere that "mother of all" is derived from Desert Storm, so he wouldn't have had that phrase back then. fluh~ love the video Noah

[@thescatologistcopromancer3936]

Yeah it's like fantasy movies not set on earth mentioning "Swiss cheese"

[@wibiz9657]

Fantastic analysis! I couldn't help but cringe a little bit when you didn't pick up ammo and armor when their prompt popped up in your Old blood and The New Order gameplay footage

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

Can we talk about the fact that the visual design on RtCW shows remarkable understanding of Medieval German armor and architectural design. I've tried to get that crazy zealot Shad at Shadiversity to check out the design of 'Castle Wolfenstein' in the first few levels of the game because for a video game - and especially for such an early video game - the devs showed an actual, functional castle complete with machicolations and ingresses at the windows. Additionally, ggmanlives assertion that Wolf 2009 was superior to The New Colossus was when I realized "oh, this Aussie has no fucking clue what he's talking about when it comes to shooters" - I'll have to thank that game for helping me lose some dead weight on Patreon.

[@joker-0723]

Yes indeed, Dark Souls would be a a great undertaking.

[@historyben7122]

I love Wolfenstein 09, it's just great fun. The gunplay is excellent.

[@karkrash81]

Raven did not make Return To Castle Wolfenstein. I'm surprised that you haven't corrected that. The rest of the video's content is so well researched and presented. Keep up the good work.

[@liamsulic-woodgate3936]

"Thief led to a resurgence of stealth games." you realise MGS1 came out the same year, if anything BOTH Thief and MGS contributed to popularizing stealth games, not just Thief.

[@AC-hj9tv]

Get em

[@sizor3ds]

holy crap the audio quality is great

[@JoshDoVids]

I remember seeing The New Order at E3 2013. I thought It looked terrible and had little interest in it past that. It launched and It faded from my attention. I bought both The New Order and The Old Blood because of the video. I'm very happy I did. They're probably the best FPS on the market the generation and I'd like to think you for that. This generation is severely lacking in worthwhile experiences and you prevented me from missing out on this one. Just wanted to thank you for that.

[@kibbletheturtle2359]

Oh I did. Seriously, it was the only worthwhile thing I took from this E3.

[@MalmroseProjects]

idk how you manage to make so many of these videos. It must be a pain but I'm glad you do it. I have all the free time in the world and in 3 years I've only managed to put out 6 in-depth videos, only a couple of which are even half the length of your average video. But I swear I'm going to do in-depth video game discussion videos some day. Once I work up the energy.

[@MalmroseProjects]

death becomes her While those tips may be true generally speaking, my severe ADHD issues prevent either from being the case for myself. Not to mention abnormally high levels of depression and good ol' writer's block. Generally speaking, inspiration either comes or it doesn't. And for months at a time, it just doesn't. And then one day it does and I can work tirelessly for hours and have something to show for it. Luckily youtube isn't the entirety of projects that I work on, so I manage to be productive in other areas when my video creating abilities are lacking.

[@broadcaststsatic]

+Malmrose Projects It's definitely hard to find the motivation sometimes, I had a pretty major fumble back in January where I was feeling down and played too many games without actually writing and producing anything-- lost more than a few patrons on account of it. The stress of knowing I was letting people down made it harder to bounce back from, so I bounced back unevenly-- ultimately, what I chose to do was take something I was close to finishing, my Doom 3 thing, get it out the door, do something new I felt really excited about, my Firewatch video, and by that point I was feeling like I was back on track and feeling like I had the stamina to grind out the larger projects I was stuck on. That Starcraft retrospective had been in and out of drafts since last October. I wish I had meaningful advice about how I do it, but I don't-- I started doing it for fun, then people started paying me to do it, and while I still have a lot of fun with it there's also a kind of unspoken agreement of professional conduct between me and the people supporting me. My navigation of that dynamic is occasionally messy, but I'm committed to the channel and to the faith people put in me with the investment. I think my biggest advice would be to focus on a thesis-- an idea you can follow from beginning to end in the video project, and then let the structure develop from there. I do a ton of outlining with paper and pen, so when I get distracted and have to come back to it I still have my sequence of ideas where I left it.

[@MalmroseProjects]

Noah Caldwell-Gervais Your advice is actually pretty good, it's how I managed to make an analysis of A Clockwork Orange. I started from the point of view that the film was, at least on some level, inherently feminist in nature. I actually came up with that idea because of your Postal series review, which is probably my favorite video of yours. You mentioned toxic masculinity and I realized that Alex from A Clockwork Orange was very much a representative of the idea of "toxic masculinity", so I started with that as the basic idea, and from that came a 30 minute review of Clockwork Orange's themes of power dynamics in both politics and gender. I guess the hard part isn't so much writing the script and voice-over as much as it is finding the ability to jump from "no idea" to "idea". It's especially hard when my most recent game I own is from 2007 or so. My hope is to do "mega-reviews" where I review an entire category. Like right now I'm working on doing a review of every Atari 2600 game I own (22 in total). Hopefully it won't suck but it probably will because I'm new to this idea. After that, I hope to cover Doom 1, 2, 3, ROE, and Doom 64 in one "mega-review".

[@broadcaststsatic]

+Malmrose Projects Well, you can let the material guide the structure-- just play the set and find a thread you can follow from within.

[@MalmroseProjects]

Noah Caldwell-Gervais My idea for "structure" was to just look at the gameplay footage, and then when I had a thought I wanted to say, I would just record it over the footage and then cut out all of the irrelevant parts until I had a video. Problem is that I end up just making a bunch of dumb jokes and never get around to any deeper points. I figure if I just keep doing it I'll eventually find a rhythm that allows me to turn it into something more serious. My biggest inspiration is good ol' Mr Plinkett from Red Letter Media, that combination of insight, personality, and humor. The hardest part for me is the insight. And not saying "um" every 5 seconds.

[@moodyirishgamesguy5817]

love these videos truly amazing very well worded absolute perfection every little detail covered, every time I see a new video it makes my day that I get to sit down and soak in these videos amazing work keep it up the length is definitely a plus! also I know you said super bunny hop done a great analysis of the metal gear series and you couldn't add to that I love super bunny hop but I would really love to hear what you have to say about them, great work again keep it up!

[@UROSSSSSSSSSSSZ8]

Raven did not develop RtcW. They had nothing to do with it. Return was developed by Gray Matter Interactive, the same guys that made Kingpin in 1999 (though under a different name) and one expansion pack for original CoD. Wolf 2009 is the only game in the series to be made by Raven Software.

[@GreyWolfLeaderTW]

Love that you started the review with Spike Jones and His City Slickers and their "In Der Fuherer's Face".

[@smartbluecat]

zuerst :) Thanks for the upload, Noah. I'm looking forward to this one.

[@hanskelsen8184]

Wait, wait, wait... RTCW: Enemy Territory is not well known? I've spent hundreds of hours playing and loving it! ^^

[@Agenta-df3gb]

One of your best videos, and maybe even your best. Your true skill in analyzing the games is incredible, your voicing and tone superb, and your true blending of footage and voicing is great. Your videos make us think about the games being seen in a way we haven't thought about, and have opened up new ideas in my mind, and the mind of any others no doubt. Thank you for being here.

[@vallraffs]

Mmh. Der Fuhrers Face. Classic.

[@troyl200]

Return to castle Wolfenstein is fire. I always have it installed. Played it as a kid. Fun summers.

[@stevenwatermeyer2730]

Great Video - Is there any other single soul out there that rates Wolfenstein 2009 as a Brilliant Game - !

[@evillecaston]

I thought it was solid, but ultimately not as interesting as any of the other games. The occult focus was definitely the best aspect.

[@shrekhitler6721]

A decent fps, not great but better than "shoot same reskinned grunt with ar" as every mw2 clone was.

[@rbmadd]

A thorough look at Halo?

[@TheRogueMonk]

lol wolf 2009 is faar better then fear ... fear is only good in the ai.. but look at the bland boring limited corridiry ... doom 3 esque gameplay .. gosh i hate doom 3 and dnf

[@TheRichardson711]

Return to Castle Wolfenstein is easily among my top 3 favorite games of all time.

[@purplephish2]

Noah, if you waited for the DLC for Dark Souls 3, then did a full "Thorough look at" video for the series, I would love you forever. Metro would also be an interesting video if I might say so. Love each and every one of your videos, probably my favourite content creator on youtube, thank you! Peace.

[@nathaneskin3572]

He wouldn't be able to talk about Demon's Souls or Bloodborne unfortunately.

[@paolostrada93]

Like your vids dude. You need to edit your audio better though. It's kinda distracting when you cough/trip over your words.

[@neighbourhoodmusician]

I've watched all your videos Noah in the space of about the weeks. I love them, really brilliant analysis into what makes games work from a tonal and writing perspective. As you seem to be a bit of a strategy fan, how about a look into the Company of Heroes franchise. There is a masterclass in balancing and presentation.

[@jankjason]

RTCW is the best game of the series.

[@ichrismoku]

Enemy territory was awesome there are still servers up today

[@whthafk]

I love your analysis videos bro

[@HeyFella]

I am definitely not positive towards Nazism but I've always liked Nazi imagery from a visual point of view. The swastika, the soldiers uniform designs, the way their weapons and technology looked, its just cool.

[@RadiantSolarWeasel]

+Fidelio That's what happens when you get Hugo Boss to design your uniforms.

[@AVerySillySausage]

Return to Castle Wolf honestly does still look really good, nice lighting effects. Whereas 2009 doesn't look better enough, looks like it came out 1-2 years after the last game, not 8.

[@milosstojsic4844]

Thank you for another amazing video.

[@ShinoSarna]

Probably one of your best analysis videos so far, I'd say. Would you consider making a perspective video on Doom, perhaps when Doom 2016 comes out?

[@zlopy]

you have to do S.T.A.L.K.E.R series! one of the best games i´ve played

[@pissqueendanniella4688]

You seriously deeply inspire me. I also currently work in a pizza shop but soon I will be uploading my first youtube video, only in part because you inspired me. keep making great content please

[@glorytotheaprdeathtotheufl7917]

How about a Thief retrospective?