Wolfenstein: The Old Blood Review

Played on Xbox One (base)

Developed by MachineGames

Released 5th May 2015

Starting off as a set of DLC packs for the New Blood, MachineGames soon decided to grab two out of the three DLCs and merge them together as a "B-List movie" experience that didn't need people to play the "previous titles in the series". While we're talking about the game's development process, I might as well add this fun little fact: At a certain point in the game, you'll come across singing Nazis in a tavern and the audio director requested for the voices to be performed by members of the development team; to achieve an accurate performance, members of the team learned some German, and became inebriated prior to recording.

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Story

The story of Wolfenstein: The Old Blood is great with a sudden, jarring shift in tone towards the end of the game. In this game, you once again play as BJ Blazkowicz, this time in a prequel setting where you infiltrate Nazi compounds and areas on the search for files that dictate the location of the New Order's antagonist, Deathshead. The game smoothly accomplishes great pacing of going in and out of new locations from the Wolfenstein Castle to the flaming village of Paderborn. There is a sudden switch in tone from Anti-Nazi espionage to a horror-esc supernatural. While it was unexpected and it made the sudden change more interesting and fun, and the tone itself reminded me of Call of Duty's original Black Ops' zombie mode, the events taken place afterwards repelled me from giving the story a solid 9/10.

Gameplay

The gameplay is once again a shooter hit. The switching between a range of somewhat generic weapons like a rifle or a double-barreled shotgun is quick, however, for some reason, the weapon wheel is the same button as a grenade which messed up some of my stealth attempts. Every shot felt responsive and powerful as I blasted enemies into bits and the fast-paced action that Bethesda games accomplish never leaves, not even in this game. The ability to overcharge your health and shield for riskier pushes against enemies is back and still a great mechanic as on harder difficulties the overcharging can be used to switch between locations more safely. The stealth in this game is well-done as some of the larger enemies require quick movement and the disabling of their powerline, almost accomplished in a puzzle-like manner, while other forms of stealth are the gritty brutal knifing and silent pistol shots that the series has adapted incredibly well. The powerline disabling and the usage of climbing with pipes like it is a form of shoddy mountain climbing are some of the newer features that only appear in this game and while they're cool and unique, they get milked hard to the point that one of the starting levels is nothing but that.

Bossfights

The boss fight of this game is trash and the biggest disappointment. The game throughout was nailing its gameplay and tone even during its tonal shift, however, it feels like the developers got lazy for the ending as it's so ridiculous that it's not even funny. The boss fight also follows the crappy formula of a big creature in the background which you shoot and dodge its obvious attacks that it lays on the arena next to you. As a final boss and conclusion to this fantastic game, the fight really feels like a slap across the face, more than anything.

Characters

The characters presented are all greatly voice acted and done. Blazkowicz is still a badass dealing with Nazi scum, Rudi Jager is still a menacing antagonist that violates every human right of his victims and Richard Wesley is an enjoyably well-written companion for a short amount of time he's in the game. Some characters didn't come across the best way like Helga Von Schabbs, who came across more as an annoying joke than a proper demon in human skin and Annette Krause feels more like a damsel in distress than a properly written character.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere is fantastic. The rough tension of going from a well-lit castle to a flaming village to the damp feeling caves are done great and the sound effects all deliver the bang from a gun and the slice of a knife perfectly. The soundtrack delivers a smooth melody that flows nicely but has a hint of haunting and corruption while the combat soundtrack makes my adrenaline flow, urging the need within me to shoot some Nazis.

Story- 8/10

Gameplay- 9/10

Bossfight- 3/10

Characters- 7/10

Atmosphere- 8/10

Good

Old Blood is a solid entry into the remake series of the Wolfenstein titles. It grabs everything that succeeded in New Blood, smooths out its rough edges and holds that formula in place for the 6-hour journey, while the newer implementations stick a rough landing.