I’ve completed another game from the backlog, and this time it was Wolfenstein: The New Order. I picked it up after playing DOOM and deciding that another old school shooter reboot would probably be pretty fun. It turns out I rather enjoy blowing through these story-based FPS titles. Not that there was any question before, but I’m just reaffirming. There’s nothing like being able to complete a game in a few short sessions as well. But that comes down the the value proposition. In the case of Wolfenstein, it was well worth the sale price. I didn’t pay much, I enjoyed my time with the game, and now it’s been uninstalled from my system. Seems like an optimum gaming experience to me.

So what did I think of this title? It seems that I was mistaken when I thought that Id Software had developed this game, which was the primary reason I had bought it. DOOM was fantastic, and was developed by Id, and because they did create the original, it wasn’t a stretch to think that The New Order was their baby as well. Turns out that wasn’t the case, they were only published by the same publisher — Bethesda. To say that the games are dissimilar wouldn’t be the truth, but I think that Machine Games took things in directions that Id might not have. This isn’t to say that Wolfenstein is bad by any means, but it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be more of the return-to-roots run and gun action game that DOOM turned out to be, and though it has that element, there are more cinematics, more story bits and other elements that have been present in more modern day shooters. I suppose we can chalk that up to they having released two years apart, and game design choices changing dramatically in that time. Our clamoring for things from the past has dredged up some garbage (in the form of reboots, and that can be said for more than just video games), but has also brought about a reflection on what design choices were good way back when, and it turns out that some are still quite viable today. That old school feel that DOOM brought to the table was fantastic; in Wolfenstein there was a feeling of being caught between two worlds. Modern convenience, mechanics, and nuances seem more prevalent in Wolfenstein, whereas they felt completely stripped out of DOOM, and that is exactly why I enjoyed DOOM more than Wolfenstein.

Are you following? I may have lost some of you in this ramble. Basically, Wolfenstein on its own is a great game. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a story driven campaign focused first person shooter. I just wouldn’t recommend playing DOOM first. If you played The New Order back in 2014 when it released, you probably loved it more than I did, and I would probably feel the same but DOOM simply colored my lenses, and I cannot rate this game higher as a result. Overall it wasn’t too difficult, it had smooth mechanics, it had great set pieces, and it’s story was pretty well done despite getting pretty damn far fetched near the end. 7/10.

As tradition dictates, I will now spam a shitload of screenshots to commemorate the removal of another game from the backlog: