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Wolfenstein: The New Order Launches
Back in 1992, Wolfenstein 3D helped kick off the fledgling FPS genre. Today, the saga continues with Wolfenstein: the New Order. It's set in an alternate-history world where the Nazis won WW2, with hero B.J. Blazkowicz setting out to join resistance fighters. Unusually for a modern FPS, the game has no multiplayer element — it's single-player only. Early reviews for the game are generally positive. Polygon's says, "First, stealth is a valid option for extended portions of the game, with silent melee takedowns and a brutally effective suppressed pistol. There's also a form of progression in Wolfenstein: The New Order's perk system. Performing certain actions in combat unlocks new abilities and upgrades over time, which can make a significant difference in the way you can tackle firefights. You can also find weapon upgrades that further escalate the raw, over-the-top violence on display. This combination of old ideas and new hooks seems mismatched, but I was taken aback by how well it all worked together."
Eurogamer had some criticism: "Less impressive are the plot and the characters, which often feel like they exist only to amplify the opportunities for violence and sensationalism. ... I wouldn't say it's offensive, but Wolfenstein: The New Order isn't a very tactful game, even though it's often trying to be. ... This is a game that does everything it needs to to earn an 18 certificate but rarely manages to achieve a sense of either gravity or maturity." The game is out for the PS3/4, Xbox 360/One, and Windows. It's build on the id Tech 5 engine, and that's causing some graphics issues on the PC, much like RAGE did when it launched in 2011. The game's massive size (~50GB) is causing problems for PS4 owners as well.
Eurogamer had some criticism: "Less impressive are the plot and the characters, which often feel like they exist only to amplify the opportunities for violence and sensationalism. ... I wouldn't say it's offensive, but Wolfenstein: The New Order isn't a very tactful game, even though it's often trying to be. ... This is a game that does everything it needs to to earn an 18 certificate but rarely manages to achieve a sense of either gravity or maturity." The game is out for the PS3/4, Xbox 360/One, and Windows. It's build on the id Tech 5 engine, and that's causing some graphics issues on the PC, much like RAGE did when it launched in 2011. The game's massive size (~50GB) is causing problems for PS4 owners as well.
An Id tech game without carmack?
Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
Eurogamer's criticism seems legit, but begs the question, what constitutes a "mature" plot for a FPS? An 18 certificate doesn't imply a promise of maturity, does it?
Cloudiot: A person who does not see offsite storage as a way to lose control over access to his or her own data.
Did they choose Titanfall's method of "copy protection" ? That is to say, a massive amount of uncompressed sound assets??? Jeeze, that just seems terribly inefficient.
Not having a multiplayer element makes it MORE interesting to those that don't play online much (there is still a few of us)...
I managed to get Left For Dead 2 on Steam the day it was available for free.... the first new game I had played in a few years (I am rather beyond the typical game-buying demographic, most likely).
Due to a dated PC I tend to prefer playing single-player, but it has a few glaring problems when used that way. It is obvious that they intended it to be played by four people cooperating, and many situations involve coordination that bots can't or will not do. You almost need to resort to using cheat codes to get through many stages, as the bots are often more hindrance than help. And while there is a "last man on earth" variation to play, it doesn't present you with the usual assortment of enemies to fight.
I haven't played the game yet but I find it funny that there is the criticism of the story and characters. I know these things are expected of modern games but, given the heritage of this game, I would never expect a good story but i would expect some fun shooter action. Wolfenstein comes from a time when, "Story in a game is like a story in a porn movie. It's expected to be there, but it's not that important."
I may be an old fart.
The first FPS is Wolfenstein, around 1981 on the Apple II.
It was very good at that time.
How times have changed, and how they haven't.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... from http://www.dorkly.com/post/632...
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
I watched the trailer. It looks like it's designed for 13 year old boys who wouldn't know a believable premise or nuance if it struck them in the head. It seems to be edited by the same Hollywood effects people that do action movies. I sense that this cacophony of fast moving images is supposed to quickly overload your brain and make you feel like what you're watching is more exciting than it is, but reality is it's just a crutch to fall back on when there's little to scrutinize beyond the special effects.
Beyond that, it appears to be the same old regurgitated storyline (stolen from Rambo and used on practically every FPS since 1992): It's you versus an army of cliched enemies (i.e. aliens, robots, robots created by aliens, nazis or some other 'evil' country that the US fought in the 20th century). The voice acting is full of nondescript caricature-like accents. The up-close textures look like they're from some generic game circa 2005, but other effects/shadows mask it fairly well.
Maybe there are some unique elements to the gameplay, but I'm having trouble getting excited about it. Hasn't this run-and-gun FPS genre been played out enough already? I mean, even Carmack went to go do something more useful with his time...
Considering all the hours I got out of Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory for YEARS... for completely FREE... That's no big deal to me.
But, honestly, I don't care about multiplayer Wolfenstein, my copy of The New Order comes in tomorrow and I hope they really focused on a great single player experience because not many FPS games do nowadays.
Scorta futuere amo!
"Back in 1981, Castle Wolfenstein by Muse software kicked off the Wolfenstein saga" -- There I fixed your error..
Unusually for a modern FPS, the game has no multiplayer element... included with the initial purchase.
Oh, sorry; did you think you were getting that part for free? We'll release that for separate purchase soon. Welcome to 2014.
It forces them to focus on better single player experience when they are not including multiplayer at all.
Second, why is it available for old Sony and Microsoft consoles but not for Wii U, Macs or Linux?
The PS3 and XB360 are bigger and more lucrative platforms.
Personally I'm just annoyed that as far as I can tell there are no swastikas or historically accurate insignia's in this game. For me, every time I see that emblem they've opted to use instead it will destroy my immersion. After all, I'm meant to be fighting Nazis.
Umm...that would actually suggest that the GPU support is terrible, if it would be "insane" to use other chips than Nvidia.