Old Blood, New Tricks

When Wolfenstein: The New Order rocked up last year, expectations were understandably low. The gruff B.J. Blazkowicz had already had his day in the sunshine, laid out to pasture next to Mecha-Hitler and chums. As we now know, that most definitely was not the case. The ultimate Nazi killer was back, and in finer form than ever. Not only had MachineGames crafted an impeccably solid shooter, it was somehow a Wolfenstein with heart. You were still crushing skulls beneath your jackboots, and killing soldiers by the bucketload, but beneath the surface beat a surprisingly affecting tale of love, loss, and Nazis.

So when Bethesda announced there was more to come, I was understandably chuffed. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood is a bite-sized standalone expansion set before the events of last year’s shooter. It’s 1946 and General Deathshead reigns supreme. The Nazi empire has all-but conquered the globe. General Deathshead is none of your concern in The Old Blood, however. Instead, you’ll be preoccupied by one Helga von Schabbs, an imposing Nazi archaeologist with a taste for power.

Split into two portions clearly envisioned as straight up DLC originally, The Old Order makes a beeline for the series’ kitsch roots from the off. Part One is Rudi Jäger and the Den of Wolves, involving storming Wolfenstein itself, and Part Two, The Dark Secrets of Helga Von Schabbs, is about some strange goings on beneath the city of Wulfburg. Yep, Wolfenstein, Wolves, and Wulfburg.

In Part One you take a trip to the iconic castle Wolfenstein, nestled high in the mountains, and is an impregnable fortress, accessible only by cable cars.  B.J.’s after details concerning the whereabouts of von Schabbs, but stumbles into the titular Rudi Jäger along the way. He’s a brutish officer, joined by a vicious canine companion. He also saves a fortune on Pedigree Chum by sending awkward prisoners the hound’s way.

 

Bar an awkward opening sequence, this opening chapoter is textbook Wolfenstein. MachineGames’ experience with the Chronicles of Riddick shows, as it’s once more got first-person stealth down to a tee. You’ll be donning disguises, taking down officers capable of calling reinforcements, and sneaking up on unsuspecting foes with your nifty pipe. The transition from stealth to combat is extremely smooth; both are usually viable solutions. Stealth is the quicker option, but unlike other titles, when push comes to shove you’ve got an entire armoury hidden in your sleeves - a point cheekily nodded to during the second half.

But back to that awkward opening sequence, and after a brief bit of exposition B.J. finds himself trapped in an cell, a familiar occurrence. After simply climbing his way out, you’re forced into the deep end a little with an extended stealth sequence and no firepower to fall back on whatsoever. Until the game systems are learned this can mean quite a few irritating deaths in a row early on, not the sort of welcome you want while easing yourself in. Give it 30 minutes and this becomes a non-issue though, and soon you’ll be dual-wielding shotguns with the best of them.

The overall flow of Rudi Jäger and the Den of Wolves is fantastic, with a hyper-kinetic vision of infiltration, prison escape, mass shootout and a boss battle squeezed into its three-hour length. At times it really feels like it’s harking right back to Return to Castle Wolfenstein, particularly during the cable car sequence. There’s not much new added to the formula here, rather a refresh of what we’d seen before, but it’s no doubt exactly the type of thing Wolfenstein fans are hankering after.

One thing returning players will latch onto is the new pipe weapon. It feels a little crowbarred in at times, but this is a versatile tool used for climbing walls, opening hatches, grabbing onto the ladders, and of course melee combat. On your travels you’ll notice specific climbable walls with a crack in it, so it’s not like you can scale the environments willy nilly, but it’s an involving touch none the less. The pipe’s greatest strength however is in its stealth kills. Unscrewing it into two parts for dual-wielding, you can perform some absolute brutal takedowns. One of the best has to be when B.J. places the hollow tube-like pipe over the neck of an enemy, before slamming on the end with the other half like a hammer, with blood flowing out of the tube like a fountain. Have yourselves a big fat tick, MachineGames.

The second half takes us to the village of Wulfsburg, uncovering the dark secrets beneath it. Without spoiling the story too much, the hunt for Helga von Schapps takes a big turn for the occult, and it’s not long until the sky is raining zombies. Literally. Luckily, the new sawn-off shotgun can make swift work on them, and it’s power is truly terrific. Zombies being brainless zombies though, this half felt easier than the half preceding it, and it’s also let down by an insufferable boss battle to cap things off. Up until that moment it’s a great jolly, with plenty of giant metallic Super-soldaten to contend with - great for testing out those shotguns.

This half’s all about Helga von Schapps though. MachineGames has proven itself a bit of a dab hand when it comes to creating terrifying female antagonists, but Helga unfortunately veers a little too strongly into Irene Engel territory for its own good. Frau Engel was a standout character from The New Order, but it can feel at times as if she’s been dusted off and reused, compounded by a scene where you serve her wine, almost note for note matching The New Order’s train journey. MachineGames is clearly nodding to its past success here, but in this instance it feels like it’s resting on its laurels.

What you’re getting here is exactly what returning players will expect, a 6-hour or so prequel to Wolfenstein: The New Order, with exactly the same flow, tomfoolery, and smile-inducing shootouts you’ve come to expect. What is missing is that aforementioned heart. During its brief length there’s never enough time to feel attached to any characters, and MachineGames has clearly focused on a more gameplay-oriented approach. To that end it can feel like a hollow experience, and The Old Blood is certainly far more throwaway than its fleshed-out forefather. If you haven’t played Wolfenstein: The New Order yet then I don’t hesitate in recommended you check that out first, before moving on to The Old Blood if you’re still craving more Nazi-baiting gung-ho action.