Wolfenstein: The Old Blood standalone preqel to The New Order

[FrontierCybrarian]

If you liked The New Order (TNO) you should like this. It's a huge standalone at 38 GB and the graphics and play seem every bit as good as TNO. I've played about 2 hours and have enjoyed it so far. I like the new ability to use pipes to club/stab demon dogs, climb damaged walls to escape, and pry open jammed doors and grates.

It's selling for $19.99 and so far seems to be worth it to me. It is more than just a short dlc and provides good background to lead into The New Order. You actually enter Castle Wolfenstein again to discover Deathead's plans. Some players indicate it is anywhere from 10 to 20 hours of play. It took me about 25 hours to complete TNO on the "whimp" setting...your mileage will vary.

Maybe you want to terminate more NAZIS? No/Yes

http://store.steampowered.com/app/350080/

[JasonPratt]

So, does this now take the place of Return to Wolfenstein and/or.. um... .... Wolfenstein 2009?

Because I would at least like an official explanation why the reboot or whatever it was isn't available anywhere, apparently, but Return is. (Or was.)

[FrontierCybrarian]

Jason, good questions. I can't offer a professional or franchise explanation but here are some thoughts:

1. As long as Blazkowicz doesn't die then the franchise can (maybe even illogically) go in any direction the developers desire. They likely will invent stories to go around the gameplay.
2. Even though Wolfenstein 2009 claimed to be a sequel of Return to Castle Wolfenstein it's overly wrought supernatural element, to me, didn't much seem to fit with all the other titles in the series.
3. Some feel Castle Wolfenstein is so evil, mysterious, haunting, and challenging that it warrants a return "time & time" again. Besides each time it looks quite different anyway. The 1992 Castle Wolfenstein didn't even have a roof...just light green block "partitions" separating the areas.
4. I ceased along time ago to put much stock in the story line and just kept going forward killing Nazis, rescuing the innocent, blowing up things, fighting monsters and machines...and finally saving the WORLD from Hitler & his minions.

I don't know why Steam isn't offering all the Wolfenstein titles. Amazon will have them even if it's only in disc form.

Now, after all that's been said please don't take much of the above too seriously. I don't have the faintest idea of what's coming next!

[Gusington]

I am two hours into it myself. Loved The New Order and love this game too.

[FrontierCybrarian]

Gusington, I'm glad you like it and have informed our fellow Wargamers of such.

Here's a tip I learned from sad experience...sometimes it's best to build up armor and overcharge health then sprint as fast as possible past large mechanized dogs or huge electric robot soldiers rather than try to fight or defend yourself. After the sprint find a duct, grate, or safe area you can recuperate in. Maybe I'm a wimp but there are times to flee rather than be smashed like a flea! Good luck in your gaming, Gus.

[Gusington]

^Have you reached the canal at the bottom of the prison in the first chapter? I don't want to ruin it for you if you haven't but...it's awesome :) And it will kill you a lot.

By the way...where have you been? I hope all is well with you and yours.

[FrontierCybrarian]

Gus, I've played a little less than 2 hours. I don't believe I'm at the prison canal yet but so far the play has been quite good. The electronic robots that needed to be "unplugged" frustrated me somewhat until I learned to sprint past them. I look forward to the canal and to see rats...every canal has rats, right?

Thanks for asking about my health...it's in fair condition but I keep going on.

I've been concentrating less on hardcore or hex-based wargames and more on fps. Over the past year I've beat the following (some re-visited):

1. The Call of Duty series up to Call of Duty World at War (I don't care for the newer titles)
2. Medal of Honor titles
3. Wolfenstein The New Order
4. Sniper Elite 2 & dlc
5. Sniper Elite 3 & dlc
6. Sniper 2 Ghost Warrior & dlc

Currently playing:
1. The Old Blood (as indicated)
2. Zombie Army Trilogy (like the Sniper Elite series better even those these aren't bad)
3. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (don't care for this much)

Since the above games aren't titles needing or requiring much advice or deep discussion I haven't posted about them.

I also go fishing quite a bit when the weather cooperates and I'm involved in community activities.

I have all the Battle Academy and Panzer Corps titles but haven't really started them. It seems I'm always leaning toward fps and like the feel of weapons figuratively in my hands. I especially like WW2 weapons since they're usually not silenced (except for select handguns) and have a good "bang" to them. More modern war and sci-fi weapons are often without much noise & imagined recoil.

So, am I a true "wargamer"? Some say no, some say yes but regardless I have many friends and associates here. I do check and read the forums every day and review titles that catch my fancy.

[Gusington]

I hesitate to ask - but you know you have to shut the power down first for those armored cyborgs and the attempt to unplug them within a limited time, right?

Definitely try out Battle Academy...Battle Academy 2 is one of my favorite recent games.

Glad to hear you are holding up.

[FrontierCybrarian]

Gus, Yes, most of the Cyborgs I've unplugged but some I sprinted past and once I found an "uber" chain gun in a smashed crate that I used to blast a couple electric robots to bits. I escaped a few of them, too, by crawling through some metal vents on the floor.

For gameplay I like WW2 the Pacific Theater best of all and am looking at Order of Battle: Pacific but don't want to purchase without playing it. I loaded Battlefront Strategic Command: The Pacific War but haven't played it. It appears the reviews favor Order of Battle over the Strategic Command title.

Actually I want more Pacific Theater fps like those in the earlier Call of Duty and Medal of Honor series. Also, want the Brothers in Arms series to continue with Battle of the Bulge and another going the Pacific War direction. It doesn't appear Brothers in Arms WW2 is going to continue anytime soon though.

One thought...why can't there be a fps game that features a super evil WW2 Japanese villain instead of always German Nazis? Is it because to hate Nazis is more politically correct than to hate Asian evil doers? Come to think of it there have been a few games that portrayed evil Russian/Soviet characters. Japan seems to be a good ally to the U.S. and others while Russia has a more checkered past in diplomatic relations. I guess whatever sells and isn't overly insensitive is the direction developers follow.

Back to Wolfenstein. I'll play a couple more hours today and hopefully experience the prison canal as you describe.

[Gusington]

I have Order of Battle set up, will probably start t next week, along with Medal of Honor: Pacific and. Battlestations - Pacific. The last WWII Pacific game I played was Battlehawks 1942 circa 1989! So it's been a while :)

[Arctic Blast]

Downloading this now. Green Man has it as a VIP deal, so you can snag it for under $20.

[Gusington]

Yeah that's how I got it.

[LongBlade]

I nearly popped on it this weekend. Looks like with all the positive chatter here it's worth getting.

[Jarhead0331]

I nearly popped on it this weekend. Looks like with all the positive chatter here it's worth getting.

Me too, but in the end I resisted. I still haven't finished the main game and some reviews mention that although good, there is not much really new here and actually less in the way of story telling and character development.

[Gusington]

About 5 hours in now and this one is more traditionally 'Wolfenstein'...ie big old German castle with lots of occult accoutrements and big ass guns. There is no one on these boards who will not squee when they fight their first heavy infantryman...