However, at one point, it was known for Wolfenstein, a contemporary continuation of id Software’s legendary shooter. Wolfenstein: Youngblood was its last title (we don’t talk about Cyberpilot), but MachineGames may not be done with the series just yet. In noclip’s recent documentary, The Making of Wolfenstein, co-founder and studio director Jerk Gustafsson said the team has always “seen this as a trilogy.”

“So that journey, for B.J., even during those first weeks at id when we mapped out New Order, we still had the plan for, at least, that character; What will happen in the second one, what will happen in the third one. I think that’s important to say, because, at least, I hope, that we’re not done with Wolfenstein yet. We have a story to tell.”

A listing emerged in 2023, potentially indicating a new first-person game was in development, but there’s been no official announcement. With rumors of more Indiana Jones titles in the works, it might be a while before MachineGames returns to Wolfenstein. Never say never, though, and stay tuned for more updates.

In the meantime, check out our review of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on PS5.

Wolfenstein: The New Order

While its sequel got a little too lost in the cinematic sauce (not that it’s a bad thing), MachineGames’ first crack at the Wolfenstein series felt just right in its delivery of story and bloody action. Sure, there’s also plenty of stealth play, but when it came down to steamrolling over hordes of enemies, dual-wielding assault rifles and chunking away with the shotgun, it was a visceral breath of fresh air.

The Bloody Baron – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Arguably the most morally bankrupt NPC Geralt encounters in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, The Bloody Baron’s history as an abuser to wife Anna and daughter Tamara is revealed during Geralt’s attempts to locate The Baron’s estranged family in exchange for information on his own daughter’s whereabouts. Neither of The Baron’s conclusions are favourable for him (or, indeed, his wife Anna); should both The Baron and Anna survive, Anna will have succumbed to madness whilst a band of witches abscond with the orphans of whom she was residing. Should Anna die, the Baron will tragically hang himself due to a lifetime of grief and guilt.

Halo 2

You could make a case for any Halo game featuring on this rundown – Halo 3 for its gameplay, Halo 4 for its writing and character development, Halo: Combat Evolved, where it all began. But Halo 2 gets the nod here because it has all those standout elements but additionally its easily the most varied in terms of locations visited, with each locale itself superbly designed. The introduction of Arbiter Thel ‘Vadamee as a playable character not only put new weapons into our hands, but greatly expanded Halo’s lore too, presenting deeper purpose underlining Covenant motivations.

]]> 600361 https://gamingbolt.com/all-these-years-later-wolfenstein-the-new-order-is-a-blast-to-play Wed, 08 May 2024 14:07:57 +0000 https://gamingbolt.com/?p=585982 Wolfenstein 3D is widely considered as the granddaddy of first-person shooters, and the game ended up being a runaway success on account of its innovative gameplay for the time. It’s an important piece of gaming history itself, and the franchise would go on to create new entries until games like 2001’s Return to Castle Wolfenstein and 2003’s Wolfenstein Enemy Territory failed to capture much of the same magic that made us fall in love with the IP in the first place. 

After a considerable period of absence from the market and a failed reboot from developer Raven, MachineGames took the helm of redefining Wolfenstein for a brand new audience. Wolfenstein: The New Order was released in 2014 for consoles and PCs, and it immediately ended up becoming one of the best first-person shooters on the market and winning multiple awards in the process. It’s been almost 10 years since the game first came out, and it continues to be a blast even after all these years. 

A big reason behind Wolfenstein’s eventual downfall was a major disconnect between what fans wanted out of such an experience and what the developer wished to do with the franchise. You see, the essence of Wolfenstein lies in the sheer chaos and the brutality of the combat itself. The original game was very confident with its over-the-top action as BJ Blazkowicz downs entire squads without batting an eye, but later entries like Return to Castle Wolfenstein watered down that experience with its insistence to delve into the military shooter genre. 

MachineGames understood that gap, and Wolfenstein: The New Order was pretty much antithetical to the principles of military shooters. Instead of hiding behind cover and waiting for opportunities to take down your targets, The New Order forces you to be aggressive in your playstyle and jaunt down the battlefield armed with heavy ammunition. However, that doesn’t mean that you could just mow down enemies without much hassle – Wolfenstein forces players to understand the intricacies behind the shooting mechanics. 

It felt like a breath of fresh air against the homogenized releases of the time, and much of that feeling remains the same even after all these years. The combat loop blends elements of stealth into the mix to create some interesting scenarios as you slowly cut down unsuspecting commanders before you mow down the remainder of the enemy opposition with nothing but raw force. There’s a very careful dance of dodges and well-placed shots that you need to master if you don’t wish to be blown into smithereens, and attaining that mastery is what makes that power fantasy of being an unstoppable force so endearing. 

In a similar vein, Wolfenstein: The New Order forgoes popular shooter trends like regenerating health bars and goes back to the old-fashioned way of using health kits to recoup lost health. These kits are spread throughout battle arenas, and smartly navigating your way through firefights to get those kits regularly becomes really important in later sections when fights start to get especially intense with multiple larger enemies grouped together with nimble foot soldiers. 

Of course, the gunplay here is the star of the show and it’s just as brutal as fans would want out of such an experience. There’s a huge selection of weapons to choose from ranging from pistols to shotguns and machine guns to sniper rifles, and each of these types of weapons feel good to play with. Pistols are better for stealth kills, machine guns work well at medium distances, and shotguns are great against certain enemy types. 

It also helps that Wolfenstein’s progression systems are closely knit to the combat loop which forces you to get good at clearing out rooms upon rooms of enemies. Instead of showering you with XP upon each kill and sending out skill points to then use for upgrades, skills in Wolfenstein are unlocked through completing challenges such as doing 50 stealth kills, 50 headshots and so on and so forth. As such, building out your character requires being adept with the mechanics themselves and there aren’t artificial skills that you can use for an easy victory.

One of the more interesting aspects of the game’s design is the ability to dual-wield weapons. You can mix and match different weapons together like a shotgun in one hand and a machine gun in another. Dual wielding does come with a caveat of reduced efficiency, but the power fantasy that you get from using this technique is unparalleled and one of the biggest drawing features of Wolfenstein’s combat loop. It was extremely fun when it first came out, and it remains such even after all these years. 

MachineGames also does a wonderful job with The New Order’s story which manages to strike a good balance between the over-the-top nature of original games. The New Order’s BJ Blazkowicz isn’t the hot headed killer despite him being extremely efficient with firepower; he also has an emotional side which makes him likable in more ways than one.

As for the visuals, Wolfenstein: The New Order makes use of the same muted color palette that you would find in most military shooters with dull colors like brown, green, and gray dominating the presentation. It does look somewhat dated by modern standards, but it’s not too dated to come in the way of fun. The art direction here is also pretty great, and the many pieces of retro-futuristic technology like the fierce metal dogs and heavy armored units also look pretty convincing. 

All that said, Wolfenstein: The New Order is not a game without its flaws. For instance, there are issues with the pacing of it all, as there can be long stretches of doing nothing but shooting goons one after another without much in the name of interesting set pieces. 

But then again, those flaws aren’t too substantial to come in the way of enjoyment. By and large, Wolfenstein: The New Order feels like a confident offering that not only pays due homage to the past but presents a solid foundation for its modern existence. Later entries like Wolfenstein: The New Colossus would continue to build on these foundations with more interesting set pieces and over-the-top settings like outer space levels, but there’s an undeniable charm to this entry that continues to hold its special place even after all these years. 

In conclusion, Wolfenstein: The New Order holds up surprisingly well to this date – and it’s a game that’s well worth trying out for the first time if you haven’t already. But even if you have previously completed the story of BJ Blazkowicz, it wouldn’t do you much harm to revisit the game a second or a third time while we wait for what MachineGames does with the franchise. 

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Grand Theft Auto 5 – Xbox 360/PS3

Rockstar delivered an excellent open world in the form of Grand Theft Auto 5, which features an extensive single player campaign alongside a live service multiplayer component that continues to rake in enormous cash to this date. Grand Theft Auto 5 was originally released for the PS3 and Xbox 360, and while it did certainly push those systems to their absolute limits – there were visible signs of crack all around. The textures were blurry, and the dense world streaming caused loads of slowdowns and frame rate drops which resulted in a very sloppy experience.

Further making matters worse is that support for the online component has been prematurely shut down for these platforms, and those who previously played the game on the seventh generation platforms couldn’t team up with those on PS4 and Xbox One. While that doesn’t completely ruin the enjoyment of the game, there’s little doubt that it is a compromising experience that would have been best if it was restricted to the eighth gen machines only.

However, there are games which turn out even better than expected. Even if they looked good, the final result is something truly special. Here are 15 games that are way better than they initially had any right to be.

Inside

Coming off the success of Limbo, Playdead Games began work on Inside, a spiritual successor of sorts. Many praised the former for its presentation and gameplay in 2010. However, despite starting development on Inside two months later, it was a long journey for the studio. Revealed in 2014, it faced some delays, which wasn’t enough to create overwhelming concern. At the time, many expected Inside to be good, but not that good.

And it was more than good on release in 2016. Earning near-universal praise from critics, its dark mood and storytelling were arguably superior to Limbo. The short length also exemplified how a video game could deliver pitch-perfect pacing with compelling puzzles and mechanics, on top of an incredible plot that didn’t hold the player’s hand.

Several years later, Inside is remembered even more fondly than Limbo, transcending its indie identity to become one of the best games ever made.

Fallout 76

While Fallout had already switched gears from being a top down RPG to a full blown first person adventure with the third entry, the franchise’s biggest risk to date has undoubtedly been Fallout 76. Released in 2018, Fallout 76 sought to take what was a predominantly single player franchise and morph it into a live service game. But that process was far from smooth, and the launch version of Fallout 76 was criticized by fans on account of its empty world and technical inefficiencies galore. But thankfully, Bethesda didn’t give up on the game and Fallout 76 has become much better with each new content update. As it stands now, Fallout 76 is easily one of the best ways to experience the franchise – which ultimately makes this risky venture a smash success.

Wolfenstein: The New Order, MachineGames and Bethesda’s 2014 single player first person shooter, is free on the Epic Games Store, and will be free to claim for all users until tomorrow, December 21, 8 AM PT (which is when the next free game will be unlocked). Up until now, previous giveaways have featured Bloons TD 6, Horizon Chase Turbo, Costume Quest 2, Sable, and Them’s Fightin’ Herds.

In our review of the game upon its launch in 2014, we awarded it a score of 8/10, saying, “Wolfenstein: The New Order is a great shooter that balances old school design sensibilities with modern storytelling and excellent production values to produce a Nazi blastin’ good time.” Read the full review through here.

Of course, there’s no clarity (and hasn’t been for a while) on what the future holds for the Wolfenstein franchise, but developer MachineGames is currently working on an Indiana Jones game, so fans of the studio’s work certainly have something to look forward to in the coming years.

Panic Rolling

Rolling, especially in Souls games and Monster Hunter, isn’t just a quick means of repositioning. It also provides invulnerability frames, allowing you to dodge attacks. Knowing the timing of attacks is still important though, so it’s not odd to just keep rolling, rolling, rolling and hope you dodge an enemy’s attack. It looks ridiculous and is no substitute for properly learning a boss’s patterns. But on the other hand, when it works, it works.