Alpine Intrigue

"Alpine Intrigue" is one of the longest levels in The Operative: No One Lives Forever. It is the 12th mission of the game and the first installment in the "Alpine Quartet", which forms the great finale of the game. The mission sees Cate Archer tailing Baroness Dumas and gaining access to her private chateau in the mountains.

Briefing
''If your theories are correct, the Baroness will lead you right to the list of H.A.R.M.'s intended victims. You must retrieve that list and put an end to H.A.R.M. before more innocent people die.''

Time is short Archer, you must succeed.

Scene 1
In a small town in southern Bavaria, Archer meets with a local spy who has been observing the Baroness. She learns from him about the Baroness' daily routine, as well as that the chateau is reached by two gondolas, with one stopping at a middle landing. Archer sends him ahead to the middle landing while she trails the Baroness through town.

Scene 2
Archer arrives at the middle landing, where she is hindered by an electronic gate the Baroness goes through. She sneaks into the control room and uses the Code Breaker to hack into the system, opening the gate for herself.

Scene 3
Further into the base, Archer catches up with her contact, who discloses that there are two gondolas in this area. There is a main platform, which is too difficult to access, and another service gondola used for supplies only a few miles away. She thanks him for his findings before moving through, and eventually out of, the compound, leaving via a frozen lake. Now at risk of hypothermia, she runs some way across hazardous terrain, warming up at a small cabin.

Scene 4
Archer informs Mr. Jones that she is approaching her target, and is given his approval to continue. She then uses the Snowmobile outside to drive through the Alps towards the supply gondola station, encountering heavy resistance along the way, even having to cross a minefield. A while later, she reaches the service station, fighting through more enemy forces before riding the gondola up.

Memorable quotes
"I've been practicing my beer drinking all year to prepare for this festival. I want to set a new record."
 * Oktoberfest attendee

"You're late." "Sorry, I was shopping for my son and I lost track of time. It's his birthday next Sunday. By the way, we're having a party of Sunday afternoon. If you and Hilde are free, why don't you bring Johan over? We'll have plenty of schnitzel and birthday cake." "Sure! Sounds like fun."
 * H.A.R.M. Thugs

"Toby was telling me about what happened in France. I'm glad I wasn't there." "Hearing about stuff like that makes me think about a career change. I mean, what would happen to my wife and my little girl if I got gunned down by some superspy?" "I know what you mean."
 * H.A.R.M. Thugs

Trivia

 * The guard the Baroness "fires" in Scene 1 is still hostile and will shoot the player on sight. If they jump from the balcony on which they start, however, they can bounce off his head without him noticing.
 * One of the guards in Scene 1 stands right underneath an icicle just outside a pub. It can be accessed by walking along the wall and hitting it. It will then fall down and kill the guard instantly.
 * One of the civilians will walk into that very same pub after finishing his conversation. The player cannot be armed and they cannot let him find the guard's body. If they follow him in, they will see him walk up a seat and onto a table before standing in the corner. He cannot be talked to.
 * The whole town seems to be preparing for Oktoberfest, which was also previously advertised in The Dive.
 * In Scene 2, a guard can be overheard explaining the difference between an operative and a spy. While a spy is a more loose term used to designate anyone who sells secret information to a foreign government or organization, an operative (such as Cate Archer) is more like a secret agent who works for a specific agency on a mission-to-mission basis.
 * Another guard mentions that he "prefers women singers" such as Edith Piaf, Shirley Bassey, Ella Fitzgerald and Nancy Sinatra, all of which were popular singers and performers throughout the middle of the century. Out of all four, Bassey and Sinatra are still alive (Piaf died in 1963; Fitzgerald in 1996) and have sung the title songs of four James Bond films between them.
 * A Code Breaker is needed to unlock the gate in Scene 2, but the player does not need to equip it before the mission since one can be found in the garage.
 * Near the start of Scene 3, a conversation between two guards ends earlier than expected due to a lack of voice files. This is apparent from how the guards just stand there awkwardly after the line, "Are you serious? That's pathetic", is uttered. The correct ending is actually, "Yep, I sure hope I'm there to see it."
 * In Scene 4 the player will encounter two electrical fences. The electricity for the first fence can be turned off by shooting the red barrels on the opposite cliff to destroy the generator. There is no such option for the second fence.
 * Once the player first enters the gondola station, there will be a door to their left leading to a few rooms with body armor and more enemies. This area appears to have been left underdeveloped as the sentences spoken by two guards are in the wrong order and, even though they are supposedly using a radio, no radio can be seen anywhere.
 * The player must get on the gondola as soon as they get it working, or else they will be left behind and fail the mission.
 * Unlike the sequel, enemies do not use snowmobiles and this is the only time in which one appears in the game (apart from the previous training level).
 * Unlike every other mission, this is the only one to have two scenes without any intelligence items. Containing no more than six in total, it is also one of the few missions to feature less than 10 intel items in the game.