Wolfenstein: The New Order PC Game Review

*THIS VIDEO CONTAINS SPOILERS -- YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED*
THIS FOOTAGE WAS CAPTURED USING FRAPS WITH THE ULTRA GRAPHICS SETTING
Wolfenstein: The New Order is a first-person shooter video game developed by MachineGames and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was released on May 20, 2014 for the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows. The game is the first main entry in the Wolfenstein series since Wolfenstein was released in 2009.
Wolfenstein: The New Order is set in 1960's Europe, in a world where the Nazis won the Second World War. The linear story is told through William "B.J." Blazkowicz, who is tasked with launching a counter-offensive against the Nazi powers that have overtaken the world.
Wolfenstein: The New Order is single-player-only. The game follows a standard first-person shooter formula with the player taking on enemies over the course of a level. The New Order utilizes a health system in which the player's health is divided into separate sections that regenerate; if an entire section is lost, the player must use a health pack to replenish the missing health. The player also has access to a non-limited weapon inventory, dual wielding certain weapons, as well as the ability to lean around, over and under cover, and perform a combat slide. Certain weapons have special abilities such as a laser cannon which transforms into a cutting tool, and some turrets can be pulled from their stationary position and carried around. Semi-destructible environments have also been confirmed.

[@FOXYFOXYFOXYWOO]

I actually quite liked B.J's character in the game. Thought it was really clever of the writers to have him grunt and not say much to others, but give a full-on description in his head. Like he's trying to be strong in these situations but in truth it gets to him on a personal level.

[@fearthepointman3134]

agreed

[@zubinarya5564]

+Jordan Black ikr like the strong silent and intimidating badass character fits very well to its dialogue script

[@terskatti4994]

This game is sjw garbage

[@leon6777]

@@terskatti4994 3 head opinion

[@madmike2279]

@@terskatti4994 Youngblood generally is but in what way is New Order sjw to you?

[@RuezgaDaniel]

Not only did he not age and kept his muscle mass, he also kept a clean shave and the same haircut for 15 years?

[@Krispio666]

Yeah he also single handedly takes down bio-robotic armies and survives getting stabbed and tortured repeatedly. Not too suprising given the context. This game isn't quite in the same genre as ArmA.

[@Gophilio4567]

The shaving part can easily be explained by the people who were taking care of him. Also, I think he did age. I'm pretty sure his face looks A BIT different in the prologue.

[@dejanjocin4421]

Since when was wolfenstein realistic ffs

[@erixrodriguez8]

hahahahaha he has good genes

[@erixrodriguez8]

@ZMan1471 um asshole is that a spoiler, god damn it man!!!

[@mauser98kar]

That animation of you and enemy repeatedly stabbing each other is just hillarious, like some dark cartoony stuff.

[@lonelypotato520]

Disagree with you on the stealth bit, it forces you to pay attention to what's going on instead of relying on a magically third sense

[@lonelypotato520]

*magical

[@FNGLHR]

In my experience, stealth became the only practical way to play the game at one point. If you fucked up at any point you were greeted with a spawning ground of endless Nazis that would eventually kill you in seconds. If you didn't bother with stealth, you were fucked. You had to resort back to every standard CoD trick in the book, finding a chest high wall, ducking down and then hoping you'd hit something when you popped up every few seconds.

[@aquaticko]

One unmentioned reason to get this game: BJ is one hell of a handsome beefcake.

[@zxspectrumv7.026]

If he were alive today, I'd have him as my legendary friend.

[@thebinarybiscuit]

B E E F C A K E

[@peterharband326]

@@zxspectrumv7.026 True. He kicked all sorts of butt. Was sad to hear of his passing.

[@zxspectrumv7.026]

That I can agree. Nuff said.

[@MKRocker2012]

Eh, I personally like that they didn't give you an indicator in the stealth sections of how visible you are. You just have to play smart and not rely on being able to hide if someone looks right at you for a couple of seconds but still somehow manages not to give a shit in many other action games with stealth sequences. This makes it A LOT more satisfying when you get through a section of the game undetected, stabbing the shit out of Nazis along your way.

[@MKRocker2012]

RealHero True. I've actually been re-playing the game this week and I noticed that even if the enemy sees you when you're sneaking around, they'll just be like "huh" and keep going. You have to be visible to them for at least a second before they give a shit.

[@MKRocker2012]

+RealHero Well maybe not at least a second. I haven't really been able to determine how the AI works for the stealth sections. Sometimes you can be seen by them, but if you aren't moving and are a sufficient distance away, you won't be detected. But if you are moving then you are more easily visually detected. I dunno.

[@JMF611]

"And somehow retained his muscle mass" - Laughed my butt off at this. It was the same thing I thought on my playthrough.

[@renmorpheus]

The best Wolfenstein game in my opinion, alone for the fact that it's actually emotionally touching and well-written. Level design is varied too aesthetically and mechanically, and the combat's a blast whether you're taking the slow or guns blazin' route. Also, cyberhounds. And Nazis on the moon. I was very, very happy with this game and hadn't that much fun with a shooter since Modern Warfare 1. The tech needs work though.

[@nicorozner7417]

Can I mention how much I love the game's visuals? The aesthetic is wonderful to look closely at and notice all the little details. In 1946 all the enemies have SS logos on their shirt collars. The 1968 German ARs look like beefy G3s, even down to the ironsights, which makes sense since the G3 is a German gun. The varied settings are amazing, and so is the subtle world building stuff you can find in the levels. And the techno-Nazu aesthetic is just wonderful to look at, and it makes the bad guys even more fun to kill.

[@hackerhawk3636]

This game starts to look a lot better after The New Colossus now huh

[@vodkaboy]

lmao

[@unrealdevon]

This game while modern in many ways made me go back to the 1998-2002ish. So many great things i cant quite put the right words about it, but it felt oldschool to me for more reasons than the health system.

[@nilsrodas6967]

I just finished New Order on I am Death Incarnate, damn, one of the best fps I had played in a long time, fucking loved every second (minus the catacombs, such a boring level)

[@razorloboerrol]

ggman. your reviews are pretty good. but could you please announce when the video starts, that the review contains spoilers, in addition to writing it in the description. thanks

[@Gggmanlives]

+Errol Lobo I will do this from now on buddy, thanks for the input!

[@justinl8791]

Ah, yes. The game that made interested in FPSes again. Surprising depth of character, intense combat, fresh new take on everybody's favorite(?) bad guys.

[@andrewhaxley9467]

+Justin L yeah justin i noticed that too.... was definitly actually good indeed in da series

[@augustwest5356]

whats wrong with you? the info on the video says "contains spoilers" in caps and the video starts when you press play. how hard is that? why would he need to cater to your inability to understand incredibly simple things? dumb ass

[@andrewhaxley9467]

August West dont be rude imao=_=

[@AdamX21198]

Are developers just throwing in clothed sex scenes for the hell of it now?

[@someonetgg]

It looks like some devs from Ride To Hell snuck into the studio.

[@RK-eo8gl]

Ride To Hell was so bad. I'm still waiting for a good "cruiser" bike video game myself. I don't believe one of these exists other than PS2 HD Race To The Rally.@someonetgg

[@detectivelizard9532]

I just finished this game and it has to be one of the best modern FPS games I've ever played. It has everything I could want in an FPS, great meaty combat, a great story and a not so linear design. I can't wait to play The Old Blood!

[@admech590]

deathshead is the most disturbing villain in any game i've played, even more so than vaas.....he's cold, calculating and utterly sadistic.....you always feel uncomfortable whenever he's on screen cause you know he's conducting a little brutal examination of you in his head, like, he sees everyone as his own little experiment to use to further his own scientific progress....and that utter conviction to perform such abhorrent things in the name of "creating" something is well, terrifying.

[@mperry94]

This game surprised the shit out of me. I didn't really know what to expect jumping into this, other then the fact it's an FPS. Right off the bat i fell in love with the cinematic's and the story telling over all. Not that the game needs it or anything, but it really justifies the carnage as you progress through the campaign. The other big surprise for me was just how smooth and satisfying the gun play is. Blowing off limbs, painting the walls read, popping of heads, fucking dual wielding shotguns and completely obliterating everything that stands in your path, Machine games did a fantastic job and i can not wait for The New Colossus.

[@zombiefriend]

It really pains me when I hear people bash on the cutscenes. I thought the story in this game was so great and told so well. I honestly thought the sex scenes were done nicely, and while BJ does just kind of grunt mostly, he expresses so much in his facial expressions. Yeah, maybe it's not old school, but I personally play games for the story.

[@reviewralphusa7255]

read books for story and play games for gameplay goddammit

[@DuckAlertBeats]

+IAmTheWalrus! Says the person who casts assumptions on people and gets them so far wrong it's not even funny. Is that idiotic too?

[@terskatti4994]

This game is sjw garbage

[@leon6777]

@@terskatti4994 copium should help with this condition

[@absisflying]

I'm watching out for all your reviews now, they're really good 👍

[@francesboy2]

Oh nice, you have a new intro! I love your content, very well presented and edited, it's really great to see your personal experiences with past games to give context for those of us who haven't played the classics. Great work as always.

[@TheDarkOne629]

As allways: a great review. I got absolutly no questions left. Everytime I had one, you answered it a few seconds later :D

[@Firecrow86]

Mr. Gggmanlives, I totally agree with you when you say that each of the last Wolfestein games apparently pretends that the previous one never existed. However, they are connected. In the London Nautica level, when you save Caroline Becker, she explains how she became handicapped. She tells B.J that all she remembers was that she "punched Hans Grosse in the face, and ascended into the sky". She is actually referring to that scene in Wolfenstein 2009, right before you defeat the Spider Boss with the turrets. Furthermore, the 2009 game was also connected to Return to Castle Wolfenstein. In the Hospital scene, you find an intel document which mentions the events of the 2001 game, and even mentions B.J as being the "commando which thwarted our plans for the Übersoldat Projekt in the past"...or something like that.

[@Turd_Rocket]

As for the story, the themes and stylistic choices have definitely changed game-to-game, but I found it quite endearing how MachineGames put a lot of work into at least acknowledging events from past games in the series. For one Dr. Deathshead being a consistent antagonist since Return to Castle Wolfenstein, but they also included former German schoolteacher Caroline Becker, suitably disabled from wounds she received in Wolfenstein (2009) who also refers to "that asshole Hans Grosse" that game's final boss. Caroline is also still leading the Kreisau Circle, German resistance group fighting the Nazis, B.J.'s prominent allies in Wolfenstein (2009), and B.J. reacts to Caroline warmly as one would with an old war buddy. The Old Blood also featured Agent One, the OSA agent you meet in the console bonus level of Return to Castle Wolfenstein (though a different name is given for his official alias), and just like in the former game he infiltrates Castle Wolfenstein alongside B.J. Blazkowicz and is tortured to death after capture (the events obviously differ but the key moments still occur). Additionally, in The Old Blood, when taking down supersoldiers during his escape B.J. can be heard to say "I've met your kind before, back in Deathshead's X-Labs" again referencing events from Return to Castle Wolfenstein. I took all of this to mean more than mere fan service, but MachineGames lovingly acknowledging the series as a whole, by showing fans that at least some version of those games' events still occurred in this newer stylized universe. It was touching and made me smile with appreciation.

[@TacoWrath95]

The few things bothered me in this game, but it was mostly the lack of weapon variety compared to the last two games. I mean, yeah, you can dual wield almost all weapons, and the dual laser rifles you get later on are amazing, but where are my Venoms, flamethrowers, panzerschrecks, and tesla guns? Variations of laser weapons are boring the more you use them. I mean, they introduced a minigun in the first mission that uses MG-42 barrels, only to yank it away and replace it with a boring laser turret. It would have been cool to see more biotech monstrosities other than the Super Soldiers, now that I think about it... like a more refined version of the Lopers from RtCW. Imagine how much scarier those would have been instead of a few cybernetic dogs and robots. I also miss the mystical elements from the older games. And why is it that the Super Soldiers, who could take a whole box of ammo from the Venom in RtCW, can be taken down by a volley of assault rifle fire? It seems cheap, considering how threatening and tough they used to be. I remembered being scared shitless of them as a kid, as they shook the ground silently lumbering towards you, hiding behind a wall. I didn't feel nearly as much fear fighting these things here. Don't get me wrong, taking two semi automatic, double barreled shotguns and turning the nearest guard into minced meat never gets old, but anyone who has any skill in stealth won't have much trouble going through the higher difficulties. I loved the hell out of this game, but it got old quick, and doesn't hold nearly as much replay value as Return to Castle Wolfenstein or Wolfenstein 2009.

[@Zeina107]

Acutall bjs mannerisms during the game is canonical. He had massive frontal lobe damage. Which is what controls your emotions. He is emotionless throughout the game. The expression he has when cutting the nazi up with the chainsaw. Is as tho he is doing yard work and cutting up fire wood. When he randomly cuts off his barcode tattoo. He does it for no dam reason. Sees the scalpel and cuts it off because the thought came into his head. But since he had frontal lobe damage. It bypassed his reason center and did it.

[@Dorne_is_the_GOAT]

The reason why BJ maintained his muscle mass was because Anya exercised his body while BJ was in his vegetative state

[@ericireland7087]

I always laugh my ass off at the torture scene with the chainsaw. Just the expression on bjs face when he revs it up is hilarious

[@Cyberdemon1542]

Your channel deserves more views.

[@dethtrain]

hahaha when I watched the hospital scene and saw him get out his chair to fight I was perplexed too. How's he doing this all of sudden while being a near vegetable for so long??

[@dethtrain]

also never got why you couldn't just walk over things to auto pickup

[@vodkaboy]

@@dethtrain It's almost a satire of a badass. s/o all the comments praising the writing and depth of the game lore, lmao..

[@toxsik654]

I love your style of videos, it reminds me of when I was a kid watching G4 tv and all the game reviews and first looks keep at it man your fucking amazing

[@512TheWolf512]

i played this game on the day of it's release and it looked bloody gorgeous i can't see any troubles with the graphics at all, and it is pretty well optimized

[@VodCrack]

What's the point of putting spoilers in the review? Means I can't watch until I finish the game, which sort defeats one of the main purposes of making a review; to see whether or not the game is worth buying. Poor move.

[@VodCrack]

***** To your last point, I do care about the story in this game. I have played the first 4-5 hours and I think the story is very entertaining and downright surprising. If any of that early stuff was spoiled, it would have lost its impact.

[@Gggmanlives]

I don't give away any spoilers, but the footage may contain spoilers so I'm giving a heads up about it. It's just a common courtesy I'm trying to give my viewers.

[@Jakeltons]

Because this is one guy out of the thousands that have reviewed this game. Instead of posting this comment you could have looked at someone else's review instead of complaining, poor move.

[@DdayWarrior4]

The final boss fight was absolute hell for me

[@pornhubhatesme]

Its easy as shit if you hold on to a full compliment of grenade launcher ammo.and a few grenades it can be over in a little over a minute.

[@earpoizin3271]

Someone needs to make a game where you are a normal Nazi soldier they look really cool

[@BigboiiTone]

Battlefield 5

[@earpoizin3271]

@@BigboiiTone I wish wolfenstein would have an RPG

[@yanni6969]

Man 40gb+ download??? That sucks considering my monthly max usage is 250gb :(

[@Fools_Requiem]

Buy the physical copy. You'd only have to download the updates/patches.

[@teh_supar_hackr]

try finding a physical copy.

[@teh_supar_hackr]

@DanMetalHead1 That is, probably because of the lower graphics on the PS3 version, yet I could be wrong on that.

[@BosSupes]

@@teh_supar_hackr No it's cause the PS3 has Bluray

[@DarkSentinel52]

get bigger hard drive

[@danielross489]

A generally strong game, with problems that prevent it from being amazing. Some enemies have too much health and every time you get spotted you feel like you've completely fucked things up, as every enemy immediately knows where you are. What we do see of the game world is interesting, but we don't see enough of it. The story is well told and the shooting mechanics are incredibly enjoyable.

[@Dorne_is_the_GOAT]

Still the best Wolfenstein game ever made easily!

[@a.d.r.m.7730]

I remember playing the Gibraltar Bridge level on Uber and thinking, "Man, that Da'at Yichud bomb thing didn't work. They are still throwing an uber amount of firepower at me." My only complaints I have with New Order are the weird difficulty spikes that didn't make sense, as well as the weird difficulty downgrades that also didn't make sense. Chapter 3, 8, and 10 were weirdly easy on uber considering you were smack-dab in the middle of a checkpoint in Ch 3, a prison camp in Ch. 8, and a Nazi rail station in Ch. 10. Meanwhile, you completely obliterate a bridge in Ch.12 and it's aftermath is the hardest level in the frickin' game. Idk.

[@sm753]

Came back to watch this again after beating The New Colossus since it's been so many years since I played The New Order. Even on the same difficulty levels, TNC was a lot easier. Even against those armored and robotic enemies. Once you get the armor piercing upgrade for the assault rifle, I never even bothered switching to the explosive weapons or the laser rifle like the devs probably wanted you to. Then after you get the precision scope on it it's even faster. Dual wield, rapid fire with almost pinpoint accuracy. Armored enemies drop so fast.

[@LetsPlayKeldeo]

This is one of my favorite games I would love to see a "newer" video on the series as a whole stay awesome !

[@TheMoviePlanet]

That opening narration is pretty slick...apart from the fact that, like so many people who talk of the series, it completely ignores Spear of Destiny. Anyway, great review as usual. PS: the huge file size is due to the use of idTech 5 as game engine. What sets idTech 5 apart is that instead of having a different texture for the wall, the floor, the surface of a table, etc, the whole level is one big texture. This makes for a more immersive world and much shorter load times, but much bigger file sizes...

[@Acantophis3rd]

After re watching your review I think you went a bit too harsh with some of your criticism on the mechanics. And I really would like to know how you define oldschool. What's oldschool for you? Looking forward to the New Blood Review.

[@Gggmanlives]

***** I can tell you what isn't old school. Constant cinematics, quick time events, iron sights, slow movement speed, forced stealth, enemy spawns vs enemy placements. I could go on but I can't remember much more about the game I haven't played it since this review.

[@Acantophis3rd]

Gggmanlives Ever made a video about What's oldschool to you? Anyway, TNO got all these traits you described. It's strange that it appeals to me. I just see how well it feels as a shooter through all the modern traits it comes with. Oh and I must correct me. The DLC is called The Old Blood, not the New.

[@Gggmanlives]

***** I still enjoy TNO immensely. And I think I will with the DLC too.

[@gameragodzilla]

Gggmanlives Honestly, I didn't think the movement was that slow. I was definitely a lot more mobile in this game than most other shooters. I guess that's more due to the fact that the enemies melt rather nicely from being shot and the overcharge system lets you tank bullets more, so there's less reason to sit in one place waiting for your health to regenerate than other games. Also, since enemies react quite nicely to being shot and your hipfire is superbly accurate, if you hit them first with your guns, you can usually prevent taking too much damage, which makes cover humping even less of an issue.

[@xistencehd1691]

Gggmanlives there were literally no quick time events

[@unkownnameless2699]

Pretty sure that BJ is not actually human, more like some sort of dark Captain America super human,. Only way his story makes sense. Great god-damned game though. I loved how sick and twisted the bad guys are, and how extream the violence is, on top of production values being awesome. I can vouche for the lousy performance though, with a 989ti @ 1440p @ everything maxed, some dips into the 43's, but only during cutscenese for some reason, not main gameplay.

[@unkownnameless2699]

i should have been more clear between cut scenes that are movies vs in-game engine. it's the in-game engine cut scenes that crawl down to 43-ish fps, like when youre on the train and doing the card-test with the evil bitch. where i guess a lot of facial animation is streaming, that sort of thing.

[@pistool1]

Excellent review and nicely done video, too! I liked the game, it was fun to play and had no major flaws. Some minor flaws in my opinion were those pseudo-stealth parts, the badass AR sniper rifle, but very little ammo for it(!) and robotic/armored enemies with all too long life bars. On the other hand, I was always tempted to blow the full charge of LKW to those bastards (one hit kills via the scope) and just went back to reload the gun from the wall and do it again.

[@12yearoldjackass]

Gggmanlives, I can honestly say I really, sincrely enjoy your videos dude. All your videos are entertaining and original, even if I disagree with your points. I was thinking, could you possible (eventually) review Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30? Its a pretty unique game and it would be dope to hear your thoughts on this, "lost gem", if you will. Thanks!

[@Gggmanlives]

I bought the entire series a while back in the Steam Sale, so yeah I will definitely review them.

[@Banjo3440]

I think it can also be said that BJ's outfit was a fresh step from standard army fatigues or the simple leather jacket he wore in 2009.

[@OrionXIXI]

Having to manually grab every ammo, health, and armor pickup single-handedly soured my experience with the game, and basically meant having to mash the interact button all the time just to clean environments of pickups before moving on, or worse, during a tense battle, made even worse by the fact that the game has overcharging health, and will essentially let you waste health pickups by accidentally overcharging with one when you are just trying to grab a bunch of ammo. There's a good reason why most other shooters all the way back to the early '90s just auto picks up ammo and stuff.

[@TenjinZekken]

Ammo I could appreciate being automatically picked up, but I always hate games that auto use finite resources, in case I want it later. I shouldn't have to watch where I walk so I don't accidentally use a 50 hp heal when I'm missing 10 hp. Especially true for harder runs where, as someone who doesn't only play fps games, I need to pan out shit like armor and hp if I know harder or easier sections are upcoming.

[@KevTheGalaxybender]

man why does people scoff at sex? The sex in the game was fine. they were getting quickies and how in the hell else sex is supposed to look? especially when people are trying to kill you

[@NickJarno]

+sonicteam2k1 Well it was pretty goofy. ''You have some time?'' *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* through the entire base.

[@KevTheGalaxybender]

+NickJarno hey man when the need calls

[@NickJarno]

sonicteam2k1 Ha I guess. But that's what he meant with cringeworthy, not ''eeewl sex''.

[@KevTheGalaxybender]

+NickJarno ya I know. It just didn't bother me at all. My wife even enjoyed it lol. In fact she kept watching it because she's a perv

[@NickJarno]

sonicteam2k1 You're a lucky guy ;)

[@kayeplaguedoc9054]

This was indeed a damn good game. I rather liked the writing, particularly with the villains - in fact Deathshead never really did much for me in RtCW/Wolfenstein '09 but goddamn was he terrifying in this one from the moment he first showed his ugly mug peering through that little window, plus it was more consistent with the setup they gave him in RtCW to have him be a mad scientist/practically Josef Mengele-esque human experimenter which they just sort of dropped from his character in the 2009 game where he was just Captain Nazi McDouchebag.

[@saibgassanov3378]

Are we to expect serious sam series review?

[@Gggmanlives]

Yes, eventually. :)

[@spycrah]

I bet if they added multiplayer, the game would be 550gb big (not really, joke)

[@AHeroAlmost]

The bridge part of this game took me so many attempts I was actually embarrassed. ..

[@DarkSentinel52]

this game pissed me many times because how "unbalanced" it is

[@LouisMinett]

Please let us know in future if there's gonna be any hanky panky in your videos dude! LMFAO xD

[@lgjhmovies]

awesome new intro :D

[@judsongaiden9878]

The assault rifle looks like it was based on the SIG SG550 which is one of the most well-rounded rifles in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games. The underslung rocket launcher's kinda silly, though. It's mounted way too far forward and such a thing would add a heck of a lot of unnecessary forward weight. I wouldn't mind one bit if they'd made it single-shot and had it function more like the PIAT (Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank) while mounting underslung like the RAW (Rifleman's Assault Weapon). Had they gone with a grenade launcher, they could have made it 20mm, 25mm, or 30mm with a repeating action that would probably use a straight-pull bolt-action mechanism (which could be made ambidextrous, but being German and Nazi, would most likely be right-handed). It could have a variety of different magazines, fixed or detachable, and would still make mechanical sense. Also, being straight-pull bolt-action means you'd only be able to fire one shot out of each of them while gunzerking. So maybe it could be semi-auto. 0:23 That is a very German-looking chainsaw. Overbuilt to the max. Also, why is BJ, who's right-handed, holding a right-handed chainsaw left-handed? 2:49 Tuck in those laces, maggots! Actually, I don't know if they did that back then. 5:18 Why'd they based that pistol on the Luger P08 instead of the Walther P38? The Luger was already obsolete long before it was replaced by the Walther. 6:06 Why is that modular rocket launcher mounted so far forward?! I just don't understand it! Okay, here's an alternative idea. Take that rifle and make it side-fed like the FG-42, but keep the overall aesthetics so it still basically resembles an SG550. Then you can the modular launcher mount on the underside and its receiver can go all the way back against the host rifle's trigger guard. The launcher's receiver would then be right under the host rifle's receiver. This would make the entire weapon system more balanced. And it would even matter what sort of magazine the launcher element uses. Speaking of which, to make it more realistic, maybe give it a three-shot revolving cylinder. Why only three? To reduce size and weight. It could break open sideways for loading. Another alternative would be to have a double-barrel or triple-barrel muzzle-loading grenade launcher that uses Russian-style caseless grenades. 7:44 Like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and M.E.T.R.O.

[@MetroidFREAK21]

That prologue part did have me stumped for about 5 minutes because I thought I could crawl the plane opening, but kept dying and dying. Only guessing I had to slide though it is the reason I got passed it... Great game though

[@lancergt1000]

6:10 What made both Blood and Shadow Warrior (orginal, not reboot) much harder than Duke 3D or ID games is that they throw dozens of hit-scan enemies with barely any cover.

[@bigpoppapump430]

Great review picked this up before yesterday and can't seem to put it down, one of the best fps I've ever played in saying that I haven't played all that many compared to the reviewer as ive always been a more platformer or third person shooter/adventure guy, but the fantastic story, gameplay, open interesting spaces, not so dumbed down with hand holding or qtes every two minutes and all that bullshit & just fucken fun, pretty fresh for a modern shooter to actually let you play the game and give you freedom, great shooter imo reminds me of older shooters from years back

[@matman000000]

This was the most enjoyable FPS I've played in years. The weapons are very powerful and can literally tear enemies to shreds, which gives them a feeling of a certain weight, but it's not at the cost of the speed of the combat. It isn't the return of old-school shooters that some people probably expected, but it's a great combination of the old and the new, that seems on the one hand as a breath of a fresh air, on the other hand as a return to the early 2000s, when "linear FPS" wasn't an offense and a synonym for on-rail shooter. My only bigger complaint is the story and BJ's narration. While most characters are pretty interesting and I enjoyed just walking around the base learning about their lives, the story itself doesn't make much sense (what's the point of killing Deathshead if the Nazis had already won?) and BJ's dead serious inner monologues about the terrors of war seem completely out of place in a game where you fight Nazi robots on the Moon. But other than that it's a great, solid shooter with the goriest shootouts since Soldier of Fortune.

[@MrLoggfreak]

just fyi: the game is almost 50GB due to megatextures, which basically means that instead of repeating textures like every other game does(excluding rage, which has the same large size/game engine) almost every texture in the game is unique, which is the most important feature of the id-tech5 engine, and it's also the reason for texture popping(not every piece of texture fits into the VRAM, unlike in most other games)

[@Fools_Requiem]

One thing you failed to mention that I feel is important is that you have to hit 'E' for every fucking item if you want to pick it up. And considering how littered the levels were with shit to pick up, it got annoying quick. I spent more time staring at the ground than actually shooting people. Reminded me way to much of Bioshock's need to force to you search everything for extra ammo, cash, etc.

[@crativ3]

I've noticed the AI does have a sort of "indicator" to your presence... They will say things to themselves like "what the...", "huh?" and more. And they are actually very forgiving in when they see you, you have a second or so to hide before they initiate their "player has been spotted" state.

[@Fools_Requiem]

I've had moments in the game where I don't have a chance to hunker back down in cover before someone sounds the alarm.

[@crativ3]

Victim of Lag Yeah, I've had moments like that too. But, in many of the "do it your way" parts in levels, they are kinda forgiving. One in particular, when you are tasked with stealing a train, the scenario as you approach the area; the enemy has no idea you were coming, so you can sneak around and be all stealthy like. I was several times "spotted", with the AI basically turning his head my way, but still I could hide away from his patrol route.

[@christophercollins3632]

The enemy AI was mostly good, with a few sections that had some of the best in any game. In these sections, enemies would stay hidden for a long time and you have to be metodical about moving from cover. Flankng was constant. And silence. No one yelling silly boasts or otherwise giving away their presence.

[@zesty2023]

Love your reviews man, honestly. But I have to ask, what good is a review if people who haven't played the game yet shouldn't watch it? At that point it's more of a .. 'what I thought of it how about you?' kinda video. I'm gonna watch this anyway just because I respect your opinions on other games I love.. but I sure with I didn't have to hover my finger over the stop button hoping I don't hear a game ruining spoiler. I'm just curious if these are game-ruining spoilers or spoilers that anyone who's watched all the trailers would know.

[@Gggmanlives]

Not game ruining spoilers. I don't give away plot points, but I use footage that shows content from later in the game.

[@rozza1903]

that area at 6:32 is the worst area because it took me so long to realise that those huge guys are weak to the welding railgun thing

[@gamecubeking]

I actually don't mind BJ. But, I think i've come to realize that my tolerance is a lot higher than other people's. I felt sympathy for him since... well, he's in one of the worst fucking situations possible. But he doesn't angst about it and begrudgingly go along, he's okay with having to wear the big man pants and getting shit done right.

[@fearthepointman3134]

I bought the watered down 360 version and still have an absolute good time playing this!. Bj is more likeable in this one, the way he carries his personal problems humbly beneath his tough exterior was amicable so they nailed bj in this one but even better was the sheer brutality of the gunfights! also I really liked the blowtorch cutter, everytime I had to cut through vents or boxes it made me feel more immersed, then again I really enjoyed using the torch in alien isolation so maybe it reminded me of that hehe, all in all, great review!

[@gameragodzilla]

Funny enough, the best comparison I can really make about Wolfenstein The New Order is Shadow Warrior 2013. Neither of them are 100% old school, but they do have a lot of old school elements and, as a result, were incredibly fun to play as a result. I certainly felt WTNO was one of the best shooting games I've played in a while. I also would like to add that the overcharge system really helped with the hordes of Nazis problem. Overcharged health cannot be stored, so they're just there to soak up bullets. In tougher fights, I generally overcharge to over 200 health or something and I can stand outside and soak up bullets even from turrets and rocket launchers while dual wielding shotguns like a badass. As a result, I went through the section you were talking about with a lot less difficulty (though I still would agree that it was the most difficult part of the game).

[@fireflyry]

As per usual great review with that sprinkle of Gggman wit I so enjoy. Also cheap as fucking chips on PSN atm. Diving in, sure to enjoy. Thanks Ggg.

[@They_are_Arthur]

That part when BJ skinned himself to get the prison number off of his skin made me almost throw up.

[@jgunner280]

I disagree with you on a couple of points, but this is a good review. I can relate though about those rage parts. The bridge bit, and then that hallway around the middle of the last level were rage inducing. I had some problems in that part before you secure a train to.

[@Gggmanlives]

The bridge level was fucking horrible. Totally unbalanced.

[@Ld_277]

Gggmanlives The bridge utterly pissed me off. As does the fight you show in 6:31. Christ, fuck that level. I had to have replayed it at least 20 times on Uber.

[@cmckittrick91]

Good review. I thought it was all alright game. I like that you have to press interact to pick up health in case you want to save it for later instead of overcharging your health just for it to go down again.

[@aedanclarke]

I REALLY have to agree with the whole "this game is depressing as hell" thing. More than anything else about the game, what sticks out is how it's almost always depressing. I'm about to drop some spoilers to anyone else reading this, so skip this if you don't want the story spoiled. From one of the two guys dying in the beginning, to the Kreisau Circle safehouse raid, to the guy that blew himself up in the car, to BJ dying (presumably, but I wouldn't be surprised if they pulled, "WELL, WE DROPPED THIS INCREDIBLY VAGUE HINT that he MIGHT have survived being blown the fuck up!" which would just be insulting)... it's just tiring. There was a period of time of around several months where I just didn't play the game because, as someone who suffers from clinical depression, I didn't want the game 'helping' me any. Don't get me wrong, the game is great, despite its poor optimization and HOLY CRAP, WHY ARE THEY SO BIG weapon models. With that said, Wolfenstein as a series has always been... well, not 'upbeat' per se, but it's gameplay has been quick and fun and the game never did anything to go, "NO. THIS IS UPSETTING AND YOU SHOULD BE UPSET, TOO." So the general tone of the series, and especially the 2009 game, was something that was almost like an '80s action movie playing out in a WWII setting. As a result, I can replay (and frequently do) the other Wolfenstein games without a problem. With The New Order... I don't think I'll ever touch it again. I don't regret my time with it, but it's too depressing (and the story is told at the expense of player control most of the time, which would be frustrating the second time through) for me to want to experience it (or the upcoming expansion) again.

[@gameragodzilla]

Aedan Clarke I will say I noticed that too. In fact, it's actually quite a heavy contrast to Wolfenstein 2009. Sure, Wolfenstein 2009 started off rather depressing to, what with the boarded up houses, patrolling Nazi troops, and various NPCs telling you all the terrible shit that the Nazis did. While there is a resistance, their morale is low and most people just hope the Nazis get what they want and move on. Sure, due to budgetary and technical limitations as well as a general lesser focus on story, it's not as hard hitting or visceral as WTNO, but it was still there. However, unlike WTNO, as you progressed through the story of Wolf '09, you start to restore hope in the town and convince them to rise up. You become a rallying cry for the resistance and while more powerful troops start patrolling the streets as the game continues, the townspeople are also more willing to fight. Hell, I remember one instance where a Nazi was threatening a civilian and I save him, only to come back to the same area later to see a civilian getting the balls to pull a gun out of a Nazi's hands and shoot him dead. It's small but it shows just how much you've affected the town since you've arrived. It's that sense of hope and awesomeness that you really didn't get with WTNO. That being said, considering how well WTNO did both critically and commercially, I'm sure we'll be getting a sequel soon and get BJ the happy ending he deserves.

[@aedanclarke]

***** Even at the beginning of '09, though, while the mood was bleak, I wouldn't call it 'depressing', per se. WTNO most certainly was DEPRESSING. It wasn't just, "Shit, the people are oppressed. Give them hope!" as much as it was, "Shit the people are oppressed. I mean, I guess you gotta try to help as much as you can, right? These poor people..." which just took a toll. It's all done for the benefit of the story, rather than to the benefit of the player's enjoyment of the gameplay itself, which is a fair decision to make, since it can be argued that it makes the gameplay more intense and tiring, as it was meant to, but it can also be argued that making the player feel like, "Well, what the fuck. Everyone's just going to die anyway, so what's the point?" reduces the enjoyment that the previous games had wherein you just ran around, slaughtering Krauts with a mad grin on your face not too dissimilar to BJ's in Wolf3D when he picks up the chaingun. As for BJ's story wrapping up, oh... I'm sure it'll wrap up, but it won't be a happy end. OR if it is, it'll be very much of the bittersweet variety. Starbreeze never really did the whole 'happy' thing, as The Darkness and the two Chronicles of Riddick games indicate. As MachineGames is made up of ex-Starbreeze devs, I'm not surprised to see that the whole, "FUCK, THIS IS DEPRESSING," trend extended here. I just question if bringing the Wolfenstein series into plain "God, this game makes me wanna blow my fucking brains out" territory is a smart move in the long run, and I highly doubt it will ever return to its original tone now, which saddens me. I'd rather have TNO/TOB be an interesting, one-time kind of thing wherein people can look at it and go, "Damn, that was a wonderfully executed experimental game in the series," before heading back to what the series was. I get the feeling I'm in the minority here, though.

[@gameragodzilla]

Aedan Clarke I know Starbreeze aren't exactly known for cheery games, however, WTNO was still somewhat of a departure for them. Both The Chronicles of Riddick and The Darkness were about anti-heroes, whereas WTNO, in their words, was more about a straight up hero. All I really care about is that the Nazis are eventually defeated. Even if the ending is bittersweet and BJ dies, well at least the world is saved.

[@aedanclarke]

***** But I'd say TNO ended in just the right way. The villains defeated, Deathshead super ultra mega dead-ified, the Nazis left with no leader, with catastrophic damage having been done that they wouldn't truly be able to fix, especially since any potential leader also got killed. The game doesn't say, "OH, YAY! YOU SAVED THE DAY!

[@interlinkedMedia]

If only games were 45gb installs these days.

[@jafizzle95]

This game had to have been one of the most surprising games I've ever played. I tried playing it once a couple years ago and got maybe 2 hours into it and got kinda bored (I get bored easily and give up games often). Then one time I was messing around trying to learn Linux (stick with me) and managed to get this game working on it. So I was playing just kinda going through the stuff I already played but kind of amused that I was gaming on Linux (Arch if you're curious - I was very proud of getting Arch up and running on my own) and the first kinda wild plot thing happened so I was like "yeah this is kinda cool) and then the game kept doing that to me and kept blowing my mind. "What the actual fuck, I'm literally on the moon right now?!). Ended up being in my top 5 favorite games, along with New Colossus. I'm playing through Youngblood now and have been really disappointed in the toned down story and way fewer cutscenes (Yes, I really loved the cutscenes in the other games) and fewer memorable characters with not much depth. The gameplay is pretty fun through so I've stuck through it with the hope of seeing BJ at least at some point near the end.

[@zanychelly]

It's 45 gig because of the MegaTexture, a really dumb tech that ID developed for ID Tech 5, and as was announced is not a feature on ID Tech 6 ( Doom )

[@zanychelly]

Avoozl It is not bethesda fault, it is John Caramck's fault. he was the lead on the ID tech 5. Bethesda still uses their tech on their games, like that on Fallout 4, it an ugraded version of Creation Engine of Skyrim. It doen't look good as Witcher 3 and the RedEngine, but it is a powerhouse for modders

[@zanychelly]

Rage was development before bethesda took the control, and thanks Bethesda for buring DOOM IV and starting a new one. Beth was smart wnough to let ID5 go, and start a new one from the scratch. Without that shit of megatexture that doens't work well on pc with power and performs even worse on the new/current gen consoles

[@zanychelly]

+Avoozl Doom 2016 is there to confirm that the mega texture , bandwidth and and memory usage were bad in IdTechV. Doom engine runs way better, can't wait for a New Wolfenstein running on that engine.

[@MrFabritzzio]

The only complaint is those "go fetch this item" bits, an those were you push a button after a cinematic just to have another cinematic inmediatly, what was the point of that? Other than that the difficulty , story and gameplay were awesome

[@revdaddy6934]

I played this game on my Xbox 360 back in the day and had zero issues except for the gameplay to cutscene situation and vice versa. The games also extremely hard even on the 2nd easiest difficulty

[@dilwalecricket]

Supposedly the sequel will be released next year. This was one of the better next gen titles and I was glad it focused on single player instead of throwing in a after thought mp The story I thought was around 12-15 hours but I agree with your pros and cons If they can just clean up some of the small things like not having to press a button to pick up everything and maybe a regenerating health isn't a bad idea

[@Romandogbird666]

back when a 45gb game was considered pretty high... now a lot of new AAA games are like 120gb+ each.

[@immy4104]

"the games ridiculous file size" *Laughs in 2023*

[@Phantron]

Wow, I'me SERIOUSLY wondering how this game could really have uncensored violence in the german version. Some years ago, just around a quarter of the violence meter of this game would have meant censorship or ban for a game. GoldenEye 64 was banned because of the kinda brutal deaths from enemies if you drove over them with a tank! And this game will have uncensored gore, just wow.

[@RyebredroxRPD]

I really liked the game. But screw the bridge level.

[@PaviaPoulsen]

I did enjoy the game overall, but what bothered me the most was definitely the manual pick-up system, since it ruins the game's pacing by miles. The moment of satisfaction after being the victor of a difficult combat sequence, and wanting to proceed to the next area and spray lead all across the place is really hindered when you have to spend a minute or two scavenging the now deserted wasteland of a mess you have created, for ammo, armor, and health. If only there was an option to select auto, or manual pick-up, it would've helped the game a lot. Also, the melee combat sequences when you get up close to your enemy, while having throwing knives in your inventory... it's absolute garbage.

[@solidsnake1678]

Great review Did Bethesda send you a copy early ?

[@Gggmanlives]

No, I just played it nonstop like a crazy person until I finished.

[@Dorne_is_the_GOAT]

Fuck Bugthesda. Wolfenstein the new order is better than anything they've ever made! Long live machinegames!

[@stanleysmith7551]

Love how Bethesda rewamped these old classics, Wolfenstein (new order, old blood), Doom, Prey... what's next a new Duke Nukem? 😏

[@samsonitefanatic4372]

I disagree on what you said about B.J.'s character. It was very well fleshed out, especially compared to the old Wolfenstein games, with the way he tries so hard to be tough in the battle flield but it gets to him on a personal level.

[@theodore-jef5664]

I just got myself into playing Wolfenstine and Doom and while yes the game mechanics do seem to be more outdated compared to Call of Duty or Battlefield, I think that just adds to the charm to some of these more old school kind of games. Are they challenging and sometimes down right frustrating when you have to go back and retry the same sequence over and over again Hell yeah they are but when you do finally beat them that just makes it all the more satisfying to play. Games like Wolfenstine The New Order/The Old Blood, Doom 3, Thief, and Alien Isolation are all more less based off of the old school versions of the FPS genre and more, and more of people are starting to gravitate towards them breaking away from the stereo typical shooter games of the modern age.

[@kidrookz1]

BJ here reminds me of Stiglitz from Inglorious Basterds

[@jobelthirty1294]

I used to defend manually picking a bunch of shit up, but then I remembered that RTCW almost never makes you pick something up manually. Why did they regress in that aspect?

[@JoshuaCooperDerpyMcDerpy]

Gosh subscription so well earned. Outstanding job

[@Doomsdayman]

My problem with the campaign is the Fire Trooper. They can kill you on Uber with 1 shot and they take so many hits. Especially when you fight in narrow hallways.

[@Vascopatan]

Nice new intro! Sadly,the review has too many spoilers for my taste.

[@gamejames5839]

best fps in the last 10 years. Solid shoting mechanics, gore, you dont have to aim down the sights, the maps allow some freedom, secrets, lots of ideas and varied gameplay. long enough. i dont know what people wanted out of this

[@lancergt1000]

I can't help but notice that you use iron sights wayyy too much, maybe you should try playing this without using iron sights next time and see what happens to the game (Also the laser cutter can be used to silently cut metal for cover)

[@facing_w0rlds]

I was worried that they'd go overboard with the scripted sequences, sucks how they seem so frequent. Also the file size is due to the textures what with the whole 'megatexture' thing they got going on.

[@Ld_277]

Yeah look how mega these textures look: cloud-3.steampowered.com/ugc/3264294271590315393/F0099EE255298C48D7D5C4E8CDB4432C4C3DAA00/

[@MrAmine503]

for someone who likes to review old school games, you should know that you shouldn't be always taken by the hand. so sliding under that robot is not hard to figure out. games should be like this!

[@freakyDJ901]

I highly recommend this game! It was a really fun old school-ish shooter and great fun!

[@Twbwyattear]

You should do a 2nd play through of this. I just got it in a bundle with old blood a few days ago. I beat it in about 9 hours and thought it was ok, but my second play through im really enjoying it and able to appreciate the game more. Also the sex scenes were an odd and unwelcome surprise lol

[@JMAR_GAMES]

So I usually play games on my brother’s PS4. I was playing this one and then he asked if I could get off and agreed to when I finished the mission. I did finish the mission and I was waiting for the next cutscene to end so it would auto save at the beginning of the next level and I could start it up again. As it turns out, that was the second sex scene. I don’t know if he saw it and was pretending to look at his phone or if he was actually oblivious to it. Either way, I almost got in trouble.

[@beageler]

These skewed morals would be hilarious if they weren't so disturbing. Playing this brutal and depressing af game is alright, but awkward sex is not?