Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (2015)

A decent expansion, playtime is solid and the gameplay is basically just The New Order but repackaged in a new theme. The story is good for an expansion, nothing extraordinary but it does it's job. I hoped that this expansion will fix the problem where you have to manually pick up everything like ammo, armor and health, which is just really annoying, that shouldn't have been in the main game either.

Another problem I had, and maybe I'm just a newb, but the enemies chuck so many grenades it sometimes reaches bullshit levels, it reminded me of Call of Duty 4 on veteran difficulty where 80% of the time you are just throwing enemy grenades back.

Challenges you unlock are just unnecessary, basically you just replay one part of a level but this time you get points, I feel like this is very cheap and just don't see how it makes the game more fun. They could have maybe take that part of the level and chuck an endless wave of enemies at you with each wave being harder and see how long you last, and put some modifications on the map like pickup locations and mounted guns etc... now that seems like it could be a fun challenge.

This one is a nitpick really, but how many times did Blazkowich get captured in both TNO and Old blood? I feel like every few missions he gets captured and by some miracle he escapes. Come on...

Overall, good expansion, I would still recommend it for sure.

I enjoyed this reimagining of the infiltration of castle Wolfenstein quite a bit. There’s quiet among action and a good flow to all of it. There’s not as many moments of characterization but those that are there work. Some more quick highlights:

• Rudi is a great big bad and the introduction was well done.
• The old school levels are still a fun throwback
• As silly as the final boss was it was a lot of fun

Overall, it struck a good balance of being an intro to the new Wolfenstein games that could be released on it’s own and as a self contained adventure fans of the new order would love.

If you're only going to play one of the new Wolfenstein games, play 'The New Order' or 'The New Colossus' instead.

Yeah, just kinda boring. The gunplay is still fun but few of the levels really stand out, and it's missing so much of what made New Order so compelling, the charismatic cast of characters, the action movie mission montages, etc. Plus if you grind for perks you can unlock most of them in the first chapter.

The plot is also very barebones. Like, the actual story of what you're doing is just...looking for a folder. I mean, yes it is more than that, you have to sneak into Castle Wolfenstein and then escape and then get to a crypt and then fight a monster...but none of that is story so much as just...stuff that happens. Once I got to chapter 5 or 6 I had to look up the plot on Wikipedia just to check why the hell I'd gone to Castle Wolfenstein in the first place. All the interesting story is told in a plethora of wordy lore dumps spread throughout the game, and this isn't the kind of game where I want to be stopping every 5 minutes to read just so that I know what's going on.

So yeah, if all you want from a Wolfenstein game is shooting (and fair enough if you do) then this'll probably be a fun little romp. But if you liked everything that New Order brought to the table, I'd skip this one and go to straight to New Colossus, which I'm guessing has more of the vibe of New Order, and at least isn't a prequel.

p.s. There's a point in the game where you have to choose to save one of two people, except the game doesn't make it at all clear that that's what you're doing, just giving you a choice of directions and not telling you which one leads where. I didn't realize what was happening until I got a trophy that was like "Chose to save so-and-so" and I was like "Chose my ass" and restarted the level so I could save the person I would've chosen if I'd known I was choosing. And frankly I don't see how it's even a choice, obviously I'm going to save the best character in the game.

p.p.s. Wolfenstein 3D isn't actually that fun. It was a cute joke once, putting it in every level is too much.

After thoroughly enjoying my time with the first Wolfenstein of the new generation, I genuinely felt neither of the next two entries would be able to top that experience. The Old Blood, however, proved me wrong. There are definitely parts in which The New Order stands out in comparison to the sequel, or rather the prequel: it is longer without overstaying its welcome (in contrast, you can easily finish The Old Blood in 5 to 6 hours so it may feel more like a DLC experience to some); it has a less linear, more emotionally intricate story; it offers more mission variety; and even the weapon models seem sharper and more detailed (what the hell is up with the new knife?!). Yet for all its upsides, it loses out to its successor on one crucial aspect: atmosphere. As the game progresses, the tone in The Old Blood becomes darker, more ominous, more isolated, almost claustrophobic, delivering a densely packed experience which feels less ‘breathable’ and consequently more tense than The New Order did. And the setting has everything to do with it.

Twenty years later, it is hard to describe the feeling you get walking once again through the eerie hallways, rooms and tunnels of Castle Wolfenstein. More than TNO, TOB is a true return to form. It is clearly divided in two parts, and although some may not appreciate the reintroduction of more supernatural elements, they are almost entirely developed in a gradual, sensical way. Another aspect in which TOB stands out in relation to TNO is the actual gaming experience: even though both titles share the exact same gameplay and challenge level (though the addition of some new weapons and a couple of new mechanics was a welcome and useful bonus), TOB is more uncompromising in its approach: you are often thrown into tight spaces with relentless hordes of nazis of all shapes and sizes coming at you, and you need to go through these waves one after another before you can take a breath. To me, the whole experience felt more intense, crushing, and when all was said and done, exhilarating.

Even though I would probably rate TOB the same way I rated TNO - 8.5/10 -, I ultimately ended up enjoying it even more than its predecessor. If you didn’t play TNO (which I strongly recommend you do) and feel like jumping back into the Wolfenstein saga, this can be your game. If you've never played Wolfenstein title but would like to give the franchise a go, this can still be your game (it is after all a ‘remake’ of the 2001 release). If you played TNO and were left wanting more, this will definitely be your game. The Old Blood stands as a rare case of a game that underpromised yet overdelivered, and offers an experience I feel everyone even slightly interested in the FPS genre would absolutely enjoy. Top notch.

I started out with this one, opting to go chronologically through the four Wolfenstein alternate timeline series. While I did find iD's engine to be great graphically, I found both the story and actual gameplay to be underwhelming compared to New Order and Wolfenstein II.

Some of the boss encounters (dog mech before the town) also felt super broken and I had to find a youtube video where basically everyone cheeses to get past it. End boss fight also felt underwhelming and a bit broken (just kind of stand in the corner and shoot). Would recommend watching the story cut scenes on youtube to get full context of the story intead of playing through.

I don't think there's much to say here. If you played New Order you will also like Old Blood. It's basically more of the same, and if you liked both you will like New Colossus too.

This one though, in comparison to both New Order and New Colossus, focuses more on gameplay and less on story. There's barely any cutscenes in it and it's mostly moving from one encounter to the next. It's the most old school shooter out of the Wolfenstein reboot.

First half that focused on escaping the castle was fantastic and provided some of the best moments in the reboot series. In comparison the second half that shifted attention to the supernatural stuff felt a lot weaker and was just not that interesting or engaging for me. I also didn't like the final boss that much.

But overall it's a solid shooter and the whole Wolfenstein reboot, while nothing groundbreaking in comparison to Doom's reboot for example, is worth a playthrough.

I will rate this 7.5/10 which is closer to 8 than it's to 7.

As a big fan of both reboot Wolfenstein games, I was looking forward to finally giving this one a go. It's a lot smaller in scale compared to its big brother The New Order, but it takes advantage of its own restrictions by essentially making an updated version of an old Wolfenstein, while still incorporating the strengths of new Wolf's storytelling. You really get a sense of impending doom from the very beginning, as if BJ has already given in to the idea of a war lost to the Nazis. Despite this, he soldiers on determined to continue the fight against all odds, and that's why he's such a strong and interesting protagonist.

The game essentially peaks in its first half, then when the zombies showed up I could feel my eyes glazing over more and more by the second. The ending boss fight is brilliant fun and an actual challenge. It's the kind of fight which solidifies my opinion that the Wolfenstein games are some of the best in the modern FPS genre in the way MachineGames has essentially made movement and cover firing fun, which no one has ever done before to my knowledge (Titanfall 2 being the obvious exception). Overall, a very solid entry that makes me even more excited for the upcoming Wolfenstein: Youngblood.

7/10

The Old Blood tries its darndest not to look like an expansion, but there's plenty familiar with this adventure that ends up lacking the story of New Order. However, there's enough tweaks and new events here and there to make this the spooky little trip.

Taking place in 1946 before the Nazis take over the world, BJ foils a plot to utilize occult energies for Nazi bidding. Plenty feels like it's reaching for nostalgia from Wolfenstein 3D and Return to Castle Wolfenstein, with the zombies galore and machine gun mech suits. Some bits are brought back from New Order like the mech dog and the Ubersoldats, which have a weak point much like the heavy mechs in Wolfenstein 09 added to them. That said, the story borrows plenty to reference but there isn't much that Wolfenstein 09' didn't do better.

The big star of this show is the stealth. So much has been put into carefully sneaking up on commanders, past heavies and taking down regular soldiers, that the game is impressive as one of the stealthiest Wolfensteins to date. There's still firefights and giant mechs and melee abound, but a significant portion of it (especially on harder difficulties) will be mastering the art of the sneak.

The Old Blood might not break much new ground, but it's a quick fix for those that long for the old (post Apple II, so oldish) Wolfenstein feel and aren't quite ready to jump into the strange new world that New Order brought.

Lacks almost all of the story and character from The New Order. Almost no dialogue -- just shootin' Nazis.

Much like that first game, the normal difficulty is punishing & the stealth sections are super-not-fun. I got as far as the cable car escape stage on Normal difficulty, then bailed down to Easy mode to finish the game (which ended fairly abruptly)

In my recent review of Wolfenstein: The New Order, I pointed out how through simple additions, the Wolfenstein franchise furthered the FPS genre in really fascinating ways. The New Order found a way to take FPS' weaknesses and turn them into strengths, and I loved the game for it. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, however, is the exact opposite, playing up every tired FPS trope that The New Order avoided and becoming just another bland FPS in the process.

Unlike The New Order, The Old Blood scrapes by with almost no story and barely any character, and no reverence for the WWII setting. There is a castle you have to fight your way out of, then there is a village that you have to fight out of, and that's about it. Bringing back the Castle Wolfenstein is extremely promising, only to have about as much substance as the original PC version.

There's also no real reason to try new ways of combat, as the leveling up system is far less substantial than the new one. Plus, each level is built around a gigantic shootout that are often too overwhelming in their approach. The New Order was great in how it mixed stealth, action and historical ideas, and The Old Blood can only do one of these at a time, often with a heavy hand. Also, Nazi zombies? Yawn.

Wolfenstein: The New Order reminded me of the original Gears of War, in how it approaches shooters from a completely new way, with great characters and an actually exciting story that makes the genre far better than it had been in quite some time. By that logic, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood is essentially Gears of War: Judgment - a bland mishmash of the ideas from better games that bastardizes what made the franchise in an effort to make multiplayer maps and replayability king.

Yet I still enjoyed myself when playing The Old Blood, despite being disappointed in new ways by every new chapter. Even the blandest game can have its moments of fun, and I occasionally would see glimmers of what I loved about The New Order sparking out in The Old Blood. But those moments - and the complete 180 in viewpoint in what made The New Order so great - made The Old Blood a bummer, considering what came before it.