Bethesda, the publisher of some of the best games out there, including the Fallout and Elder Scrolls franchises is back at it again, this time with their stand alone DLC for Wolfenstein: The New Order entitled Wolfenstein: The Old Blood. The New Order was released in May of 2014, so it’s nice to see developer Machine Games following the original title up with fan service over a year later.
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
Developer: Machine Games
Price: $20.00
Platform: PC, PS4, and Xbox One
MonsterVine was supplied with an Xbox One copy the game
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood is actually a prequel to Wolfenstein: The New Order, and it tells the tale of B.J. Blazkowicz as he tries to escape Castle Wolfenstein while encountering ancient mystical powers that could put the outcome of the war up for grabs.
You begin Wolfenstein: The Old Blood posing as a German soldier in hopes of infiltrating the Nazi compound, but things don’t end up going according to plan. Once inside you meet a giant German soldier named Rudi Jager and his crazy augmented dog named Greta that’s covered in armor. Jager almost blows your cover, but with some quick thinking, B.J. is able to make him laugh with a joke about a hot dog. I know that sounds weird, but you’ll get it when you play the game.
A nifty little easter egg I found in the game was the Skyrim helmet, that gave you armor near the beginning of the game. Not much more to say about that, but I just thought I would mention it because I thought it was pretty cool.
After you get captured while trying to steal a secret Nazi file, you awaken in a dungeon-like cell. Upon trying to escape you get the main melee tool of the game, a metal pipe that can be used as two pieces or as one large pipe. I call it a tool because not only is it an instrument of death, it’s also used to climb walls and pry open doors and vents. The weapon aspect of this pipe is pretty brutal, allowing players to stab enemies in the neck which I must admit feels extremely gratifying.
The violence in Wolfenstein: The Old Blood is what you’d expect from a shooter including limbs that can be severed or exploded by your bullets. That’s all well and good, I just didn’t find Wolfenstein: The Old Blood to really bring anything new to the genre. Sure, it’s a good game as far as first person shooters go, but I felt there could’ve been more cinematic set pieces. There was a pretty awesome scene in the middle of the game where you are riding a cable car down from the mountains where Castle Wolfenstein is located, and it falls to the icy waters below with B.J. still inside. This is a perfect example of what I would have liked to experienced more of, but this kind of material is a few and far between. Once you escape the castle, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood begins to get far more interesting, but by that time you’ve already played through half of the story.
The Final Word
For 20.00 USD, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood is a fun enough first person shooter, and a good game for anyone looking to get their Nazi killing fix. The game starts off slow but finishes strong. Other than the second half of the game, it offers little else in the way of a memorable gaming experience.
– MonsterVine Rating: 3.5 out of 5 – Fair
