A Thorough Look at Wolfenstein 

"...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?

"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!

"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.

The most strangely soothing gaming content on RU-vid. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 :) !

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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 :)

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.

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

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.

This Guy deserves more subscribers

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.

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.

YES! Came here just to rewatch one of your older videos while i had a chunk of free time, maybe while playing an online game of civ5... seeing a new video really brightened me up! Thanks, Noah. You put out the most thoughtful and thought-provoking video game retrospectives!

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

Aa someone whose experience with this franchise begins and ends with The New Order, this video really helped me appreciate just how special these games are to the history of the medium.

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

I can't stop watching your reviews. They're so insightful and well put together. It's amazing how much time and effort you put into critiques funded by nothing more than patreon supporters

thank you for the video ! it was wonderfully made and i can feel the care you put into the creation of this. i first played wolfenstein on a c64 using an atari joystick and keyboard. my dad was stationed in germany when it came out for the commodore, and i remember the first time we played it, and hearing the actual german speech coming from the tv and we looked at each other saying "THEY ARE SPEAKING REAL GERMAN !" thank you for the nostalgia

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.

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

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

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

your videos make me want to make my own analysis videos, such an inspiration. love ya, noah

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

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!

RTCW was INSANELY good. Amazing game.

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

holy crap the audio quality is great

the only part that i dislike about your videos is deciding what to watch next, literally it's so hard, they all look so good.

Will/when we get a thorough look at XCOM?

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

As always Noah, brilliant work! Despite the longevity of your videos, I never feel as if you include anything superfluous just to reach that 1-hour mark. Keep it up brother, it's a crime you don't get payed for this (Patreon excluded).

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

Fantastic! And serendipitous as I just started "The New Order" earlier today, my first Wolfenstein since 92's 3D.

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

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.

I was so hoping you'd talk about Wolfenstein someday and I'm very glad you did.

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.

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.

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*. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2kur41flzdQ.html

Noah, another masterpiece. Your level of connoisseurship of video games is superb.

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

You're doing gods work, Noah.

Always love to see new videos, Noah. Thanks much! Very informative and rewatchable.

Thank you for another amazing video.

YES YES YES! New Noah video and its about one of my favorite series. Noah, you're the man. Never stop.

The "Papers please" scene was amazing :O I cant believe i havent played the newer Wolfs. madness. Thanks for the motivation and the great video Noah :)

Always lights up my night to see a new video from you!

This is easily the best channel youtube will ever have to offer.

Noah, you are someone who seemingly witnesses games and gaming through my eyes.

50:53 "Alright captain, you can jump out now." *falls*

FANTASTIC....Love this retrospective, great job!! Easily one of my favorite RU-vid channels out there.

I love your analysis videos bro

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!

Outstanding video. Thank you so much for this.

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.

Yo, I have been really liking your long form "reviews?" I'm glad you a large back catalog to binge.

really appreciate your deep dives bro. lots of fun to watch and very smart.

Noah, I think this is your best video, yet. Your pronunciation is practically perfect.

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.

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.

Your intros are the best on RU-vid not for their quality but for there imagination.

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.

I actually very much enjoyed Wolf 2009.

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.

this video is very extensive and you give a well though out dialogue. nicely done!

Every time you post a video it makes my week! Great job Noah.

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

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

Awesome presentation ! so many memories love these!

The intro was especially great :)

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?

Brilliant work as always! I never even knew about the original two games, overall a very insightful und interesting video.

The murdered staff of the hospital where Anya worked, were Anya's parents, the elder couple were her grandparents.

I didn't realize until the end that this video was eight years old, gods know why youtube decided I needed to see it but I'm glad they did.

The New Order had this feel of originality I haven't felt in a FPS since Half Life 2.

Thank you, cant wait to dig into this

Love the new mic Noah, a lot better then your last one.

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

A very good piece of work as always. Loved the intro, too. :)

Noah doesn't just create timeless and informative retrospectives, as he's a surprisingly good narrator. I never cared for shooters with crpgs being my usual cup of tea, yet here I am listening to a wise voice talking about wolfenstein for over an hour, interested and content.

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

Man, I really like the comparison videos better. But these thorough look ones are still excellent.

Noah's thought process and jump attempt at 50:50 are hilarious.

If i'm ever in a better financial position to where can support you on patreon I absolutely will, I love your videos, you do a great job man.

"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.

Enemy Territory was massive to be honest. One of the best online shooters ever created. Still fun to play in 2016.

I had the same thought about Homefront. The first one jumped on the CoD-bandwagon with a linear campaign while the sequel looks like a Far Cry title with an open world, crafting and plenty of busywork padding.

Never played wolfenstein but I will be buying the new order now. The atmosphere and architecture are amazing. Reminds me of dishonored and thief even. I also have a weakness for stealth gameplay.

Such a great video! This is probably my 6th time listening to it.