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[RoboPlato]

In terms of story and character The Old Blood has felt very different from TNO because of how much it does even its cinematic stuff in first person. I've seen very little of BJ or his reactions in my time so far so that character has less presence overall.

I'm still in the early going, but that difference already stands out.

It's especially noticeable because the game still has prerendered cutscenes but they're horribly compressed, 30fps videos that play out in first person in the same area you were just in. Would have rather seen those in real time to keep the immedsion going.

Despite that there is some more environmental items that will illicit a fully animated and narrated reaction from BJ the

Spoiler

Yorick Skull

in chapter 3 and

Spoiler

closing Wesley's eyes

in chapter 4. Liked those a lot. Easily missable but add some character.

 

[DomsPlaying]

What are the pipe head explosions for the perk?

Came here trying to find the same thing. Been looking all over GAF and elsewhere, can't figure out how to get this done for the perk! :-(

 

[RoboPlato]

Came here trying to find the same thing. Been looking all over GAF and elsewhere, can't figure out how to get this done for the perk! :-(

There's an enemy type in chapter 6 that makes it very easy to get. You can finish it up within a couple rooms of starting that chapter.

 

[NullPointer]

Easily missable but add some character.

That's my expectation moving forward. Less character and story focus, but upgraded combat and stealth opportunities. I think a focus on action will make this more pick-up-and-play replayable than TNO as well.

Dunno how much my experience aligns with others here though as I've really enjoyed the stealth so far (lean and peek is a godsend, along with always being ready to take advantage of opportunities) and look forward to time with those challenge rooms.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

I feel like they definitely had a smaller budget and a quick turnaround in a year's time to get this out, so there's no external cutscenes like the last one, not too much NPC interactions, or anything like Ramona's Diary. Nothing that really surprises you like that Tekla scene from last time around.

Shit's good, but I aint putting it up there with Minerva's Den or The Lair of the Shadow Broker or anything. Its just more solid Wolfenstein game design for $20. Fair trade.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

Yeah the game definitely loses something in its storytelling with the decreased focus on character interactions and not being able to see BJ's reactions. That's the immediate sign that The Old Blood isn't built to be the same experience as The New Order. At the same time there are still a lot of small touches that make it more than just a high octane, condensed version of TNO, particularly as the tone starts to shift at the end of chapter 4. I also think the way the chapters flow into each other is something MachineGames should do more of if they move on to a New Order sequel.

Anyway, it's still a lot of fun.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

I also think the way the chapters flow into each other is something MachineGames should do more of if they move on to a New Order sequel.

I really like that, but I also don't like the black Tarantino chapter screens. Its like "yeah normally we'd have a cutscene here, but budgets + Half-Life 2 ya feel me...anyway stage 3 tho"

 

[gunner13]

Been wanting to play last years game, haven't pulled the trigger. Would it make more sense to play this one first, as its a prequel? Or is it like Star Wars and I need to play last years first to appreciate the new one?

 

[DocSeuss]

If you collect every piece of silver in one of the nightmare levels it unlocks something in your collection for that level. When you get every piece during the first dream it'll unlock a character model.

As to where to find secrets in the dreams, I've just been walking along walls that don't have rooms adjacent to them. A button prompt will pop up and there's always more than one per map.

Cool, thanks.

 

[RoboPlato]

Been wanting to play last years game, haven't pulled the trigger. Would it make more sense to play this one first, as its a prequel? Or is it like Star Wars and I need to play last years first to appreciate the new one?

Either order works. This isn't like most "prequel" expansions that take place as flashbacks at some important point during the main game, it's fully set in WWII. The graphics are a little better in Old Blood but that's probably the only difference you'd notice.

 

[Fallout-NL]

Gunplay feels preeeetty damn good.

 

[gunner13]

Either order works. This isn't like most "prequel" expansions that take place as flashbacks at some important point during the main game, it's fully set in WWII. The graphics are a little better in Old Blood but that's probably the only difference you'd notice.

Thanks! I'll get the prequel for the weekend. Looking forward to it.

 

[Intheflorsh]

Can you

Spoiler

save Kessler? I went to grab some armor while he was apparently fighting Nazis, when I finally got over there he was going zombie mode.

 

[DomsPlaying]

There's an enemy type in chapter 6 that makes it very easy to get. You can finish it up within a couple rooms of starting that chapter.

Good call! Interestingly enough I just got to that part tonight. Thanks for the "heads" up.

Spoiler

Spoiler tags, these are the Shamblers and you smack them in the head while in combat and you'll rack up these kills in no time! Happy hunting.

 

[RoboPlato]

Can you

Spoiler

save Kessler? I went to grab some armor while he was apparently fighting Nazis, when I finally got over there he was going zombie mode.

Yes

 

[Intheflorsh]

Yes

 

[constantstatic]

Every gun sounds like it's being filtered through a tin can for me.

Spoiler

welcome back

Same here it's really frustrating the way you can dismember the enemies yet the guns sound like cap guns.

When I fire the shotgun I want my sub to shake the room. right now It barely even fires if at all. The voices sound much better this time you can actually here bj talk to himself without blasting the audio at least.

 

[RoboPlato]

Same here it's really frustrating the way you can dismember the enemies yet the guns sound like cap guns.

When I fire the shotgun I want my sub to shake the room. right now It barely even fires if at all. The voices sound much better this time you can actually here bj talk to himself without blasting the audio at least.

The positional and environmental audio is a lot better too. Actually able to track enemies through footsteps now. The guns just need that extra oomph.

 

[Fotos]

Just finished the game. Really enjoyed it. maybe even more than TNO. It really reminded me of Return to Castle especially the last few chapters which I loved. Blazko's lines are really great as they were in TNO. I loved TNO but this game made me even more excited for a sequel. Can't wait to see what they do next rather it be another DLC or a sequel/prequel.

 

[Teknoman]

Every gun sounds like it's being filtered through a tin can for me.

Spoiler

welcome back

Man what is with ID games / Bethesda and crappy gun noises nowadays...same crap happened in Doom 3.

 

[therealminime]

Oh man, the bit where B.J. pretends he

Spoiler

can't hear Kessler due to static

was classic. I like that the overall tone of this is lighter, mainly due to the world not being so hopeless like it was in TNO. Only a bit into chapter 5, really liking it so far.

 

[EatChildren]

"When I was a kid, we had a monster in our basement. My father said if I'd done wrong it'd creep out at night and come for me. I tried to do no wrong. But the monster came all the same."

;_;

Chapter 6 spoiler:

Spoiler

I missed that you have to chose between saving Annette or Kessler, having unknowingly chosen the former on my first playthrough. Noticed it on my second. Man, the sweeping strings kicking in as zombified Annette ever so slowly and gruellingly tries to get up off the ground is so ;_;

 

[Jazzkokehead]

Man what is with ID games / Bethesda and crappy gun noises nowadays...same crap happened in Doom 3.

Nowadays? Doom 3 was 11 years ago, bro. Besides, id had pretty much nothing to do with this game anyway.

 

[Dick Justice]

Man what is with ID games / Bethesda and crappy gun noises nowadays...same crap happened in Doom 3.

The sawn-off was a huge disappointment in that regard. Was expecting a boom, got a GTA-style pop instead.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

Chapter 6 spoiler:

Spoiler

I missed that you have to chose between saving Annette or Kessler, having unknowingly chosen the former on my first playthrough. Noticed it on my second. Man, the sweeping strings kicking in as zombified Annette ever so slowly and gruellingly tries to get up off the ground is so ;_;

Some

Spoiler

Old Yeller shit

:mjcry:

Final boss in this game is almost TOO trash on I Am Death Incarnate

 

[RoboPlato]

"When I was a kid, we had a monster in our basement. My father said if I'd done wrong it'd creep out at night and come for me. I tried to do no wrong. But the monster came all the same."

;_;

Chapter 6 spoiler:

Spoiler

I missed that you have to chose between saving Annette or Kessler, having unknowingly chosen the former on my first playthrough. Noticed it on my second. Man, the sweeping strings kicking in as zombified Annette ever so slowly and gruellingly tries to get up off the ground is so ;_;

Loved that line and that moment.

Spoiler

Saved Kessler thinking I would run into Annette later on. Wound up having to smash her with a pipe in the next room

:,(

 

[Nick_C]

Cool, thanks.

Also, if you were asking about the secret in the prologue nightmare there's a secret room (I'll spoiler tag for anyone who wants to find it on their own)

Spoiler

immediately to the right of the door in the hall before the exit. After finding that you have to check one of the walls in there to open another secret area, which leads you to an in-level elevator. Use that to go to the second floor. This new area has its own map.

 

[tesqui]

HOLY SHIT can't believe I didn't notice this my first playthrough. Fucking phenomenal easter egg haha. EDIT: Oh wait now that I think about it I think this was used also in new order.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

"When I was a kid, we had a monster in our basement. My father said if I'd done wrong it'd creep out at night and come for me. I tried to do no wrong. But the monster came all the same."

;_;

Chapter 6 spoiler:

Spoiler

I missed that you have to chose between saving Annette or Kessler, having unknowingly chosen the former on my first playthrough. Noticed it on my second. Man, the sweeping strings kicking in as zombified Annette ever so slowly and gruellingly tries to get up off the ground is so ;_;

That spoiler and BJ's lines are I was (; _ yesterday. I didn't even realize

Spoiler

there was a choice until the trophy popped.

 

[Messofanego]

"Count to Four. Inhale.
Count to Four. Exhale."

So that quote came from here in this prequel, which he repeats in The New Order during the torture.

Very cool.

 

[Teknoman]

Nowadays? Doom 3 was 11 years ago, bro. Besides, id had pretty much nothing to do with this game anyway.

Well even in RAGE, at least from what I remember, the gun sounds werent all that. Enemy design and animations were top stuff though.

 

[RoboPlato]

Just finished. Loved the final chapter.

 

[EatChildren]

MachineGames Wolfensteins have some of the best characters in the medium.

There. I said it.

 

[RoboPlato]

MachineGames Wolfensteins have some of the best characters in the medium.

There. I said it.

The dialogue writing and voice acting are shockingly good for everyone, even minor characters. They all feel like they have a history and a place. It's rare that I can tell if voice acting is good if it's not in english but even the German characters have an expressiveness to their lines that I've seen in few games.

 

[Spoo]

MachineGames Wolfensteins have some of the best characters in the medium.

There. I said it.

I don't know if it's that they're amazing, but look at just how much machinegames does with just... one or two cutscenes? One or two lines? It's an incredible density of character evolution, and it's absolutely brilliant.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

MachineGames Wolfensteins have some of the best characters in the medium.

There. I said it.

Considering that we're talking about a military based FPS, Wolfenstein has more soul in like twenty minutes than most games have in their entirety.

 

[30yearsofhurt]

I'll bite. W:tNO was my GOTY for 2014.
I can only show my support for the humanisation of BJB.

Is there a 999 mode?

 

[Experien]

TNO was my GotY last year but this is just missing something. Two problems I think come to my mind:

1. I "forced" myself to play the 3D levels which were a real bummer and kind of dragged me down. Sometimes the 2D elements even made me feel sickish. There was no benefit but those Trophies. Next time I play it, I'll avoid them.

2. It is directionless? The Resistance base in TNO definitely told a story and really brought me into the story. This one didn't do much for me and almost made me think I was aimless wandering. I completely forgot why I was leaving the castle and had to remind myself.

 

[Messofanego]

Love this dog children's book.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

Starbreeze/Machinegames have a real flair for dialog and a knack of getting strong performances out of really pulpy material.

Even their German is really good; the rhythms of Helga's delivery, the inflections for emphasis on certain words. Her motivations are spelled in economical, flavorful bits of dialog that doesn't deflate the tension. They got a great grasp on characterzation that they marry to their typically strong game design to create an interactive narrative that still delivers those genre thrills you want out of "Prison Escape Movie...IN SPACE" and "Comic book gangsters...WITH DEMONIC POWERS"

 

[RoboPlato]

Weird. Challenge room 9 didn't unlock for me even though I completed the game. The one after it did though.

 

[BaraSailey]

Picked both this and The New Order up because of that Amazon promo. Pretty excited to play both come this weekend

Is there a recommended order that I should play these in? I know The Old Blood is a prequel and standalone, but do you guys feel it would be a better experience after playing TNO first?

 

[Net_Wrecker]

They have terrific voice acting direction which is just as important as the script. I can't say I've heard a single weak performance in any of their games as Starbreeze or MachineGames, even the minor characters. Every performance sounds very calculated, edited to the core of what that particular conversation or monologue is supposed to be. There's no fat. People were praising Naughty Dog for getting a lot of character out of The Last of Us' strong performances without overwriting, but the folks at MachineGames have been doing that for a while.

 

[FrsDvl]

Weird. Challenge room 9 didn't unlock for me even though I completed the game. The one after it did though.

Same for me, i wonder if it has to do with the nightmare levels, that you may have to clear all of those to get one?

 

[DOWN]

I caved and bought this without my PS+ discount but I now can't decide if I should pause my GTA V replay for this... I'll probably cave again.

 

[dedhead54]

The boss/miniboss at the end of chapter 4 is driving me fucking insane.

Spoiler

I can get his chest armor and arm armors off but then I cannot kill him. He easily brings me down to 30 or less health and there are no good spots to hit without getting lit up with bullets. What am I supposed to be doing here? Going for his arms? Going for his chest? Because I've tried about 15 fuckin' times and I can't figure out how to beat him.

 

[RoboPlato]

Same for me, i wonder if it has to do with the nightmare levels, that you may have to clear all of those to get one?

That could be. I've only done a few of them.

 

[RoboPlato]

The boss/miniboss at the end of chapter 4 is driving me fucking insane.

Spoiler

I can get his chest armor and arm armors off but then I cannot kill him. He easily brings me down to 30 or less health and there are no good spots to hit without getting lit up with bullets. What am I supposed to be doing here? Going for his arms? Going for his chest? Because I've tried about 15 fuckin' times and I can't figure out how to beat him.

Spoiler

Run around the room picking up all of the health and armor. You can overcharge to 400/180 or so and just go crazy on him.

EDIT: Double post, please forgive me

 

[Alucrid]

The boss/miniboss at the end of chapter 4 is driving me fucking insane.

Spoiler

I can get his chest armor and arm armors off but then I cannot kill him. He easily brings me down to 30 or less health and there are no good spots to hit without getting lit up with bullets. What am I supposed to be doing here? Going for his arms? Going for his chest? Because I've tried about 15 fuckin' times and I can't figure out how to beat him.

Spoiler

shoot him in the chest

 

[dedhead54]

Spoiler

Run around the room picking up all of the health and armor. You can overcharge to 400/180 or so and just go crazy on him.

EDIT: Double post, please forgive me

Spoiler

So about that. I grabbed it all before the boss fight expecting that the boss was coming, but instead it was just that wave of regular old nazis. Now there's almost nothing left in the room except that fucker in the cellar throws a shitty 20 point health pack when I get low. Running to get it usually takes away at least 20 health anyways.

I did finally get it just now, though. Dual wielding assault rifles was the answer.