Jump to content

Lego Alpha Team


Bambi

Recommended Posts

I liked the idea of the theme, but never collected the sets. My family collected a couple from the first and second iterations and a couple from the third iteration, but overall we never put forth a concerted effort to complete a collection. I did, however, have the Alpha Team video game from the first wave on Game Boy Color and loved it. It bothered me how many things changed between iterations. Between the first and the second, the color scheme of the Alpha Team vehicles became a bit garish, using far more yellow than I liked. Additionally, the changes in the faces of some of the figs kind of bothered me, such as Dash's horrid gray eyes in Mission Deep Sea. It took me a while to warm up to the more evil look of Ogel's skeleton drones as well. In the third iteration, the distinctive arm colors of the individual agents changed dramatically, some agents lost all resemblance to their previous depictions (Charge in particular was a victim of both of these things), and I didn't like how radically the skull pattern traditionally used for Ogel's fortresses was altered. The change in the logo (from a wireframe globe to three lightning bolts forming the letter... delta? :???: ) is one change I still feel was an all-around bad decision. Back then I had a much simpler set of values when it came to consistency: anything that stayed the same was good, and anything that changed was bad. This is part of why I didn't invest heavily in the second and third iterations, along with the fact that my family had only gotten one set from the first iteration anyway. Even though I've gotten a lot less demanding with regards to consistency over time, I still dislike the changes that occurred in the Alpha Team theme. The overall shift in the theme seemed to be from a cute, close-knit, and slightly silly evil-fighting force, each with their own specialty techniques, eventually to a sprawling secret agent network (where new, less amusingly-named agents we'd never heard of could be called into service on a whim) painfully trying to seem "hardcore" despite being little LEGO people. One thing I worry about today is Hero Factory undergoing the same transformation, hence why I really dislike some people's suggestion that the story and sets should shift their focus to a lot of new characters and away from those we've gotten to know. While I'm not a stickler for new forms of characters remaining totally consistent, I don't want to see the theme completely lose touch with where it started. Anyway, years after Alpha Team was current I developed a liking for LEGO Agents, a theme within the same genre which didn't seem like it was trying to take itself so seriously. And that theme I collected passionately, at least in the first year of sets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I loved Alpha team. It was my favorite for years. The last version, which some fans refer to as Mission: Deep Freeze, was a downgrade, however. The sets for that year I liked, but the overhauling of the team was a bad move, I think. I would have preferred them to bring back Alpha Team rather than make the Agents line. Not that the Agents line was bad, but I would have liked it more if they had just worked with what was the theme that got me into LEGO.

How well will you die?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought that Alpha Team was a pretty good theme. I personally never got many of the sets, but my brothers got some. I think that it had some pretty odd color schemes, and in the ice-based wave, I still can't find many uses for those parts. It was a pretty humorous theme too, in that it had puns and it had some funny minifigs. I liked that Ogel's name is LEGO spelled in reverse (When my brother's pointed that out to me, I laughed so hard!). I never saw many of the first wave sets in real life, and I've only built one or two of the underwater wave. The arctic wave, as I stated above, was definitely not my favorite. I've seen and built more of the sets in that wave than any other though, but I find the large pieces somewhat useless, and the colors were pretty bad in my opinion. The thing that I still think was nice, was the BIONICLE tools in dark red. I never have been much of a BIONICLE MOCist, but I like to have a colorful variety of pieces, if you know what I mean. :P

--

Meiko - @georgebarnick

LUG Ambassador and administrator at Brickipedia

News reporter and database administrator at Brickset

Administrator at BIONICLEsector01

 

DISCLAIMER: All opinions and contributions made under this account are based solely on my own personal thoughts and opinions, and in no way represent any of the above groups/entities. If you have any concerns or inquiries about the contributions made under this account, please contact me individually and I will address them with you to the best of my ability.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When it was still out, Alpha Team was one of my favorite themes. It was featured in my first Lego Magazine (March/April 2001) and I was immediately interested. I got the Ogel Control Center for my birthday (or maybe Christmas, I don't remember :P) and it's still one of my favorite sets. I liked Mission Deep Sea too, and ended up getting the Ogel Shark Sub, as well as Alpha Team robot diver. I also remember playing the online missions for Deep Sea, though I don't think I beat any of them. :P Mission Deep Freeze definitely didn't have the same feel as the first two waves. I never actually took an interest in the theme until later. Like Aanchir said, the complete restructuring of Alpha Team didn't seem to be for the better. In addition to the random color changes, they also seemed to accidentally switch Flex and Charge's identities. I did receive the Blizzard Blaster at some point, but it, and I assume the entire theme, was really incompatible with Deep Sea and the original wave.

believe victims. its actually not that hard, and youd look kind of bad if you were to, say, side with an abuser because theyre your friend

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah, the memories... The first LEGO set I got (aside from some old sets my brothers gave me) was a Mission Deep Sea set, the mutant killer whale. I then ended up getting all the sets in the first two waves except for the bomb squad, control center, Ogel shark sub, and Alpha Team command sub, and I think a couple of the impulse sets. Otherwise I had all the sets, and loved them to death. Got the video game for PC, too, but of course ended up falling prey to the looping sound glitch. Recently, however, I got a Windows 7 computer which can run the Alpha Team game without any glitches, so I've been playing it through without the sound all muted like I had to have it before. I also played the online games a lot back then... ... Then the whole arctic thing came along and screwed everything up. Some of the characters had their names swapped or were renamed entirely, the logo changed, and Ogel lost his evil personality in exchange for a more insane one (freezing time? Really?). And as Aanchir said, the team didn't feel like the close knit group it used to (who the heck is this Zed guy?). Also, something interesting - the video game came out in 2000, the first wave of sets in 2001, Mission Deep Sea in 2002, and Deep Freeze in 2004. The video game came out first and had four areas - Ogel Island, Goo Caverns, Deep Sea Orb Factory, and Ogel's secret Arctic Base. The sets that came out over the next few years followed the video game, with the exception of Goo Caverns. Did LEGO have the theme planned out in 2000?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I loved the fist year and like every one said the whole roster change in the third year and story was rather strange... (though I admit I loved the transforming helicopter set from this year). I also own the PC game(it was pretty good) and noticed how the theme seemed to follow the levels over the years. I just cant figure out why Lego did what it did in the last year and what it was thinking, I mean Ogel wanted to FREEZE TIME, literally. How did anyone sane come up with that. ~M

Link to my comic :D

To anyone contacting me, I'm of to Uni soon so I might take time to respond.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Loved the first year. Great sets, awesome figures, awesome everything. The second year was alright. It introduced some important stuff, like the new skeleton drone heads. I never liked the underwater theme that much though. The last year was cool. The sets were great overall, but the gimmicks were a bit overused and some of the redesigned characters hardly resembled their old selves. (Flex's mouth is closed!? D:) Anyone got a favorite Alpha Team member? Mine's Cam.

cholslegofursig.png

Latest MOC:

Ol' Dusty

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I was younger, I LOVED Alpha Team. I have a vague memory from back in 2000, I think, when I got Dash's helicopter for my birthday and I was building it with a bit of help from my mom. Ah, the nostalgia...I still have the Lego Alpha Team PC came, actually. It's a strategy game where you place items such as movement tiles, jump blocks, stairs, etc. in the correct positions for team members to make it through the level; and there was the added bonus of being able to arrange the items such that the agents would run through a looping course.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyone got a favorite Alpha Team member?

The guy with the big mouth—I mean Flex. :P

--

Meiko - @georgebarnick

LUG Ambassador and administrator at Brickipedia

News reporter and database administrator at Brickset

Administrator at BIONICLEsector01

 

DISCLAIMER: All opinions and contributions made under this account are based solely on my own personal thoughts and opinions, and in no way represent any of the above groups/entities. If you have any concerns or inquiries about the contributions made under this account, please contact me individually and I will address them with you to the best of my ability.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Like the other posters in this thread, I'm not exactly a big fan of Alpha Team '04 - I preferred the old team + theme (the original was best, IMHO). Deep Freeze had one of the best online Lego games ever though, IMHO.

Anyone got a favorite Alpha Team member? Mine's Cam.

Dash. Awesome shades are awesome.

Every moment gives us a chance to become more than what we are.

-Ryu, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike: Fight for the Future

Not luck. It's what you do that makes you a hero.

-Kopaka Nuva, MoL

I have but one destiny.

-Takanuva, MoL

rtll200x160.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wish they would reboot alpha team; but not like they did with agents, which, let's be honest, stunk. OGEL was a great character, and they shouldn't have just dropped him. I think that the whole thing has some great potential in a game or graphic novel, too. Why are they casting such a great theme by the wayside?

Deep Freeze had one of the best online Lego games ever though, IMHO.

Oh goodness yes. I LOVED those games when they first came out, played them every day for a while until I finally beat them. Tons of fun. :lol:
Also true. I've beaten it like 4 times. It's loooong, but worth it. Edited by Leg O'Brick

Nuparu's BoomBoxor is temporarily out of commission (been infected by some malware & whatnot, curse those anonymous russian bots). I guess I'll get around to putting it back up eventually. Maybe when Templar finally get around to re-doing the soundtrack to MNOG.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyone got a favorite Alpha Team member? Mine's Cam.

Cam is my favorite, too! I went into a tizzy when they didn't bring her back in Deep Freeze. She was so epic.... (sniffle) At any rate, my favorite year of Alpha Team was the undersea mission. I remember playing the animations over and over again, until it drove my brother nuts. :P

Current Epic: Life is a Blank - last post Jan. 22

My Library: The Esoteric Athenaeum

Member of the Epic Critics' Club

 

aa0ef09c4ad9bf8017ddec306412e550_zpscff1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wish they would reboot alpha team

Oh no, that would be a disaster.
I'm not so sure; Lego has rebooted brands before that have come out just fine - Life on Mars or Lego Castle anyone? - though I understand your concern.

Every moment gives us a chance to become more than what we are.

-Ryu, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike: Fight for the Future

Not luck. It's what you do that makes you a hero.

-Kopaka Nuva, MoL

I have but one destiny.

-Takanuva, MoL

rtll200x160.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wish they would reboot alpha team

Oh no, that would be a disaster.
Agreed, if they do it like they did agents. It was awful. But it could be good if they did it right. I'm almost dreading the day they revive BIONICLE, because I can practically guarantee I won't like it. I probably wouldn't like BIONICLE 2001 if it came out now, simply because I'm older now. Alas, BIONICLE can never enrapture me the way it did back then. Mata Nui will never be so beautifully mysterious as it was once upon my childhood. ...and I'm ranting. Back on topic!

Nuparu's BoomBoxor is temporarily out of commission (been infected by some malware & whatnot, curse those anonymous russian bots). I guess I'll get around to putting it back up eventually. Maybe when Templar finally get around to re-doing the soundtrack to MNOG.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wish they would reboot alpha team

Oh no, that would be a disaster.
I'm not so sure; Lego has rebooted brands before that have come out just fine - Life on Mars or Lego Castle anyone? - though I understand your concern.
A lot of people would disagree. First of all, Castle has been around in some form or another pretty consistently, so the 2007 theme wasn't really a "reboot". And if it was, it would have been a very disloyal one-- the Castle theme had previously not relied on fantasy enemies at all, unless you count the Fright Knights and Dragon Masters. Mars Mission was also not a loyal reboot of Life On Mars in any sense other than it being a theme with humans and aliens looking for crystals on Mars. Otherwise, the stories and sets were extremely different in several ways. The aliens didn't have any mechs, for instance, despite almost every one of the alien vehicles being a mech in Life On Mars. By your logic, Agents was a reboot of Alpha Team, seeing as there was a close-knit secret agent organization fighting a mad villain and his uniformed henchmen using bulky vehicles.

I wish they would reboot alpha team

Oh no, that would be a disaster.
Agreed, if they do it like they did agents. It was awful. But it could be good if they did it right. I'm almost dreading the day they revive BIONICLE, because I can practically guarantee I won't like it. I probably wouldn't like BIONICLE 2001 if it came out now, simply because I'm older now. Alas, BIONICLE can never enrapture me the way it did back then. Mata Nui will never be so beautifully mysterious as it was once upon my childhood. ...and I'm ranting. Back on topic!
Personally, I liked Agents waaaaaaay better than Alpha Team. For one thing, the sets managed to incorporate a lot of play value while still looking cohesive and streamlined. Compare the tastefully-concealed or otherwise non-intrusive weapons of most Agents vehicles with the chunky cannon of the Alpha Team Bomb Squad. Furthermore, Agents had far fewer "juniorized" parts than Alpha Team. And finally, Agents had much more creative villains, with absurd personality quirks and thematic designs. Ogel's drones were boring to me from the beginning, and perhaps one reason I didn't collect many of the sets. Now, if LEGO did try to treat Agents as a "reboot" of Alpha Team, I agree it would be extremely different than the source material. That wouldn't necessarily make it bad, though. And as mentioned already, the later years of Alpha Team already spit on and ground their heels into some of the first wave's traditions, so how much more harm could a reboot possibly do? At the worst it might bring back some of the charm of the first wave's unique and purposeful character designs, as opposed to the final iteration's pathetic attempts to re-imagine the theme as a hardcore G.I. Joe-style story. Now, I understand that the last iteration of Alpha Team was pretty good in some ways. The transforming vehicle designs were incredible, the color schemes were snappy, and there were lots of cool character designs. But in terms of loyalty, it almost seemed like there was a concerted effort to do away with all the things that made the theme so fun and lighthearted before. Not nearly as loyal and consistent a revival of a theme as Orient Expedition had been a year previous.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

While I do like the Agents sets a lot better then the Alpha Team sets, I like the Alpha Team characters quite a bit better. The team members each had a lot of personality in looks alone, and they each had a specialty that made them more unique, as opposed to the generic protagonists of Agents who all wore the same outfit, had generic faces, and no personality to remember them by. Ogel also had a lot of character (at least in the video game, where he had some pretty entertaining writing and voice acting), but Dr. Inferno, like the Agents from, er, Agents, just felt like some generic mad scientist. Dr. Inferno just built random things and had no overall scheme, while Ogel had several plots through the years, which were all fairly interesting (except for the last year... Freezing time, blarg). I also liked the drones in Alpha Team, at least in the first wave (Can't say I like the faces and helmets that were used in the last two waves). I'm not sure exactly why, I just kind of like them. And in the video game, they had a lot of different kinds of drones as well, such as worker drones with overalls and black baseball caps, drones that wore hazmat suits and pushed around barrels of goo, and some others. I'm kind of tempted to make the video game exclusive drones in real life via custom decals now that I think about it, they were pretty cool. As for the Agents henchmen, I'd say they were pretty good. They all had something that made them unique characters (as opposed to the agents themselves), and I LOVE some of the pieces they introduced, like that robot arm and the cyborg style head pieces. I love those so much. So, I prefer the protagonists from Alpha Team, and the main villain from Alpha Team, but the henchmen from Agents.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While I do like the Agents sets a lot better then the Alpha Team sets

Wow. Agents was a pretty bad line, IMO.
I'd say it's a matter of perspective. I preferred Agents as well. The vehicles had a great deal of artistry, with the Mobile Command Center being (IMO) perhaps the best set I've ever had in terms of play value. The sets used a lot of parts in creative ways (for instance, the airplane doors used as compartments on the speedboat) and I found the designs inspiring. In contrast, I didn't really enjoy Alpha Team's set designs too much. The transforming functions of the last iteration's sets were BRILLIANT, but the aesthetics didn't really appeal to me, and there was a lot of juniorization in the designs of all three iterations (note that for me, "juniorization" is not just a synonym for "big pieces I don't like", and it's a criticism I quite resent when used too broadly). Naturally, though, Agents was released after LEGO's set designs had spent many years developing. During the late 90s there was rampant juniorization in several themes, and I feel it took LEGO several years to create high-detail sets that were fun enough and attractive enough for kids to buy. Alpha Team was really in the midst of all that improvement, so the sets in all iterations were often far better than what had come before, but still not to the level of design quality I see in many more recent themes.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

LEGO ALpha team was one of my favourite themes, behind Bionicle and RockRaiders. the PC game sold it for me alot, and I really enjoyed the first and second years. The third year, whilst techniaclly clever jsut wasn't as good somehow. But it was possibly the only lego theme with the whole james bond vs meglomaniac mad scientist - you can't beat that! EDIT: Yeh I forgot agents, same comment about the third year sets applies to them, technically wonderful but soemhow lacking.

Edited by Sukura

Attention - I am looking for voice actors for a small bionicle based audio drama. There are 4 main parts available, and of course everyone needs crowds! PM or check on my BZP blog if you are at all interested.

 

IF the above post/topic is a dupe or violation any BZP rules, then please do not hesitate to close it and inform me.

 

I love red and blue pins - I don't really think that bionicle is over.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I always liked Agents more than Alpha Team. Alpha Team always felt like a more specialized story compared to the archetypal nature of Agents. With Alpha Team, you had to have the story explained to you, whereas with Agents you could get a good idea of the story simply by looking at all of the sets. I liked Agents' characters more as well; the villains in particular had a lot more personality than Ogel, who is basically a standard formula megalomaniac, and his army of soulless drones. Compare that with Dr. Inferno, who was beautifully over-the-top and hammy compared to Ogel's stoic malevolence; and Inferno's henchmen, who were as fully developed as characters as Inferno himself was. That's not to say that I didn't like Alpha Team; I never got many sets, but I loved the original game for Game Boy Color. But looking back, it started out weaker than Agents and got progressively weaker each successive year.

Formerly Lyichir: Rachira of Influence

Aanchir's and Meiko's brother

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...