User Review : Wolfenstein: The Old Blood

The Old Blooded Killer

Wolfenstein The Old Blood is the standalone prequel expansion to last years hit shooter, Wolfesntein The New Order, and while it's more Wolfenstein this experience proves to have it's own distinct flavor compared to The New Order.

Gameplay:
Like how the title implies The Old Blood tries to be more of a traditional Wolfenstein game with the same gameplay & mechanics that are in The New Order. You're going to get a mixture of good old run & gun shooty fun and some really well implemented stealth mechanics, but don't start planning on using stealth to avoid conflict as it's there weed out the enemy threat in the given area. The stealth works very well for a game that wants you to spray the walls with Nazi blood, you'll have silent pistols, throwing knives and rusted steel pipe to violently kill Nazi's without raising the alarms but don't start thinking the series has become a stealth game cause while it's good it's very basic.

If you screw up the stealth the game that switches into a hybrid of old school & new first person shooting action. You're health & armor will be displayed at the bottom of the screen, but The Old Blood sports a hybrid health system that combines the old ways & the new. Bunker down when taking damage and you'll get back the health you've lost, take too much damage however, you'll lose that health until you can get a med pack to heal you.

The combat also borrows some elements of modern shooters with B.J being able to lean while behind walls & cover to take shots from cover, the also let's you carry every gun you pick up so you'll be able to switch it up when things get crazy. The game also sports a perk system that gives you some in game bonuses to help that Nazi killing go by easier that are based on how you play the game. If you enjoy sneaking up behind Krauts and installing a faucet in their neck you'll get the perk that grants you health boosts when doing a stealth kill and so on.

Presentation:
The Old Blood looks great, the character models are highly detailed and the environments look great, animations also match the visuals with well animated melee kills. in my playthrough I didn't see any tech issues like frame rate drops or screen tearing, however later on there was a bug where dead bodies would spaz out but nothing to break the immersion. The game only has a handful of cutscenes and they're mostly in first person and take the following statement as you will but there is a very clear indication of when a cut scene is playing the filters for cut scene don't match gameplay.

Story:
For a first person shooter about slaughtering Nazi's The Old Blood actually has a very compelling story. You take the role of series Nazi Killing Badass, B.J. Blazkowicz, as he is sent on a mission to Castle Wolfenstein to retrieve some important documents. From there the game sets you off on a journey through the castle and the town of Wulfberg as you discover the plans of the game's antagonist, Helga Von Schabbs, as she tries to uncover ancient secrets to help the Nazi win the war.

While the overarching story may seem like a typical Wolfenstein plot, where the game shines is in it's characters who help sell the experience and to drive home how horrible the Nazi's are (if you needed any more of a reason to not like them). Reading notes & letters left behind helps flesh out the world of The Old Blood in a way most shooters fail to do.

Closing:
It took me about 12 hours to finish The Old Blood on hard and I enjoyed every minute of it, from the exploration, the visceral but satisfying combat, and a story that had me hooked. Wolfenstein The Old Blood is without a doubt worth the $20 asking price (digital version) for fans of the series, shooters fans and for anyone looking for a good time. Also a hint for anyone playing, sleep in the beds for a nice little bonus.