Soviet Strike [PS1] - All FMVs and Mission Videos

Channel:

Detective Masterclass

Subscribers:

21,500

Published on May 23, 2020 6:20:49 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THGu1y5V2nU

Game:

Soviet Strike (1996)

Duration: 44:22

11,784 views

198

- CHAPTER SELECT -

INTRO - 0:00
CRIMEA STRIKE - 01:05
BLACK SEA STRIKE - 07:23
CASPIAN STRIKE - 15:23
DRACULA STRIKE - 24:28
KREMLIN STRIKE - 34:16
EXTRA (BAD ENDS?) - 42:16

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Released in 1996 (nearly 25 years ago!), Soviet Strike was the STRIKE series' foray into the 32-bit generation. In addition to the implementation of true 3D models and a few gameplay changes (chase camera, HUD during gameplay, etc.), surprisingly good FMVs and voice acting now accompany a thrill-a-minute military thriller story.

I have compiled all of the FMVs and Mission videos into a single, continuous video. All videos are ordered chronologically, as well as by INTEL - ASSETS - ENEMY - MISSION. I've also included a few "EXTRA" videos that I found ont the disk at the end. I've never seen them before, but I believe they're cut bad end videos. Then again, they COULD be in the game, but to quote General Earle in the sequel, Nuclear Strike: "I wouldn't know... I've never lost."

This game was one of my favorites growing up, due to the hard difficulty, crazy-ass military story, and spectacular video work. Just think, a super-secret organization that measures their success "by wars that don't happen." This game also introduced to me to the ever-sexy AH-64 (Super) Apache. That bird can cure anything that ails you!

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Special mention goes to the cast and crew of the video sections. The videos themselves are edited in such a way that you feel the intensity of the situation: multiple things are happening on screen at once, quick cuts keep you on your toes, and the characters are all unique- they have their own speaking style, voice and mindset. General Earl is tactical and hard charging, Hack is technical yet laid back, and Andrea focuses on the political/public side while also remaining mysterious and sultry. Thank you to everyone who worked on this! They nailed the look and feel of a high-stakes Hollywood movie, on a video game console, and in 1996 to boot!

- MAIN CAST -

General Earle - John Marzilli
Hack - Antwon Tanner
Andrea Gray - Sue Turner-Cray
Nick Arnold - Al Sapienza
Amad - Ari Barak
Ivan Uralia - Alex Veadov

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As for the technical side, the videos themselves are in two different dimensions: Campaign Intro and Trigger FMVs are in 320x224, and the in-game menu videos are in 224x160, all running at 15 FPS. I've upscaled everything to 1980x1344 (a 6x upscale), in order to give the videos the closest thing to 1080p that their ever gonna get. [320x6=1980 | 225x6=1355] I was also thinking of encoding at 60FPS, but at a 15FPS base, there won't be any discernible difference, and it would just bloat the file size for no logical reason. I went with double (30FPS) so that YouTube wouldn't wouldn't lose it's marbles over a weird framerate.

I was also debating on applying noise reduction and a little deblocking, but all of my attempts yielded less-than spectacular results, so what you see is the original videos, with some upscaling work done to them.

Audio-wise, the balancing is consistent... but unique to the two sets. For example, the Mission Intro FMV's are mixed down nicely, and the overall volume is at a normal level. The Mission Intel videos on the other hand... oh man. the mix is consistent, but only because the overall volume is clocked to the max. I had to apply a -6.0 db to the mission intel videos to make them consistent with the intro videos, and then I slapped on a custom limiter on the whole project to boot. Unfortunately, the ending of Crimea Strike has Andrea's opening statement start off low due to the hard cut before hand and the limiter's release setting, but I don't feel like spending 7 hours rendering the whole thing through again.

Also lol, Nick was absolutely the Shadow man. In fact, I think there was a post-game STRIKE file that says so. STRIKE was playing 4d chess while Metal Gear Solid was still in diapers. (Now that I think about it, playing all of these military-thriller type games at a young age really shaped my love and appreciation for the genre when I got older. Not that I'm complaining, haha!)

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