Wolfenstein: The Old Blood review – been there, done that
‘Been there, done that’ is what you will feel when playing the ‘new’ Old Blood!
The standalone prequel to Wolfenstein: The New Order, The Old Blood marks a return to the classic shooter’s traditional ideas, environment and plot beats. The New Order proved that it was possible to separate B.J. Blazkowicz from Castle Wolfenstein and still create something that felt like a Wolfenstein game. The Old Blood is far more familiar. It is set in 1946, involves both a return to and an escape from Castle Wolfenstein, and plays out the consequences of Nazi practices of alchemy and magic in a manner that will feel eerily familiar to anybody who has played Return to Castle Wolfenstein or Raven’s 2009 reboot of the series.
The Old Blood is split into two main parts, both set in 1946 as the Allies desperately seek to end the war. The first is an assault (and escape) from the titular castle, the second a battle through a fishing town under siege from occult Nazi undead. The former is the strongest, contrasting your high-powered, out-dated weapons and armour with the decaying, dusty old castle you use them in.
They break up the action well enough, but it’s in the thick of things where Wolfenstein shines.
Things weaken in the last few chapters, as the action shifts to the aforementioned fishing town. The Nazi zombies lack both the intensity and excitement of fighting human opponent and also the visually interesting castle. There’s some interesting three-way battles, as the living SS troops fight both the player and the zombies, but it can’t compete with what came before. It also has a climatic boss battle but that is so uninspired and poorly executed that you will feel like the journey was much better than the destination.
The game is defined some impressive highs and many disappointing lows. There are entirely new environment, new enemies and a few gameplay ideas as well. B.J’s dual-wielded pipes are a fun addition. Imagine a nasty blood-gushing situation where blood is leaking from one and the other buried inside the skull or gut of a hapless soldier.
However, that said, there is nothing in the Old Blood what was not there in the New Order. There are some moments when you feel like, ‘Oh, I’ve seen this before.’ Despite the skill involved in The Old Blood’s execution, it’s disappointing to be confronted with so much familiarity after last year’s flood of original ideas. These are still good tricks, but they’re the same tricks.
Our verdict
The Old Blood is a false start for Wolfenstein’s life after The New Order, a creative step backwards that survives primarily because of the strong groundwork laid by the previous game. It will always be fun to fire these guns and MachineGames’s presentation is still ahead of the curve, but this isn’t the game you should play if you want to explore those qualities—that game was released a year ago.
Verdict
Strong groundwork laid by the previous versions of the Wolfenstein series will help this game survive!
From the June 2015 issue of FHM India.
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