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Wolfenstein TNO: 2014 GotY + one of the best shooters ever *GIF WARNING*

G

Glass Rebel

Member
Yeah, TNO was pretty damn great. It had some of the best combat situations since RAGE while being a much more focused and tighter experience. It'll make its way into my end of the year Top 10 list easily and I can't wait to see Machine Games' next project.
 
S

SJS

Member
Kade said:
Hyperbole or opinions that don't line up with your own?
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What was the point of this post? The OP's opinion seems off-base in my view, so yes, in my perspective, it's hyperbole. If you have an actual criticism of what I stated, please share it instead of acting like I'm some kind of dick for responding in line with my opinion.
 
A

antitrop

Member
SJS said:
Though by themselves not an indicator of length, CODG has more SP chapters than TNO. I'd say the campaign length is roughly equal, only slightly in TNO's favor. Mind you, CODG is a game that focuses on its multiplayer, however pathetically.
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Whaaaaaaaat? Wolfenstein is at least 2x to possibly 3x longer than CoD: Ghosts. Ghosts is over in 5 hours, I got 15 out of Wolfenstein.

SJS said:
What was the point of this post? The OP's opinion seems off-base in my view, so yes, in my perspective, it's hyperbole. If you have an actual criticism of what I stated, please share it instead of acting like I'm some kind of dick for responding in line with my opinion.
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You don't even know what hyperbole means.
 
S

SwiftDeath

Member
Great write up. It's simply a fantastic FPS. I would recommend it to anyway who enjoys the genre. Best surprise of 2014 by far

SJS said:
Though by themselves not an indicator of length, CODG has more SP chapters than TNO. I'd say the campaign length is roughly equal, only slightly in TNO's favor. Mind you, CODG is a game that focuses on its multiplayer, however pathetically.
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Hmm?



14602462383_65613629c4_o.png


Note there are some COD DLCs in there because I couldn't filter it better but still
 
M

mattiewheels

And then the LORD David Bowie saith to his Son, Jonny Depp: 'Go, and spread my image amongst the cosmos. For every living thing is in anguish and only the LIGHT shall give them reprieve.'
iseI5Q3ImTq1s.gif
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Yeah, there's just something about the writing, the direction, the performances, EVERYTHING just comes together so beautifully, and you have a wonderfully told story that seems to have no business in a snooty Wolfenstein game. And its not just cinematics, there's tons of in-engine character building thats brilliantly done too. They've got some talented, talented people at Machine. Maybe the right analogy for this game is the latest Captain America movie, and what great things they were able to do with that kind of material.
 
A

Angel Abaddon

Member
Finished it earlier after grabbing it in the Steam sale, and I gotta say I really enjoyed it. While its not ground breaking, its an absolutely solid shooter and has some nice little ideas (The cover and leaning mechanic, while done in others before, is perfect here, as is dual wielding). MachineGames nailed the setting too, the little details and newspaper clippings really gave depth to the world and suck you in.
 
M

Mman235

Member
SJS said:
Though by themselves not an indicator of length, CODG has more SP chapters than TNO. I'd say the campaign length is roughly equal, only slightly in TNO's favor. Mind you, CODG is a game that focuses on its multiplayer, however pathetically.
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Going by howlongtobeat the average Ghosts (I haven't played it, but it's supposed to be on par with the earlier ones) time is 5 and a half hours, while Wolfenstein is 11 and a half (personally I'm pretty sure I came much closer to 15 hours). So that's at least twice as long.

Edit: Oh someone else has done that.
 
A

antitrop

Member
Mman235 said:
Going by howlongtobeat the average Ghosts (I haven't played it, but it's supposed to be on par with the earlier ones) time is 5 and a half hours, while Wolfenstein is 11 and a half (personally I'm pretty sure I came much closer to 15 hours). So that's at least twice as long.
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Ya, I'd say Wolfenstein is a good 11 hours if you aren't interested in the story and world they've built. But if you want to take the extra few hours to explore for secrets, find newspaper clippings, etc, it easily pushes 15.
 
H

HardRojo

Member
Wasn't really interested in this game but a couple of friends told me it was very good and not just an early current gen disappointment so I guess I'll put it in my to-purchase list.
 
N

Nibel

Member
Here is what I wrote down after finishing the game. It really is a gem.

The Heil is real - MachineGames have pulled off what Activision couldn’t: creating a fantastic entry in the Wolfenstein series that easily counts to the most impressive games 2014 has to offer.

Take the oppressive and menacing atmosphere from Return To Castle Wolfenstein, the badassness of Duke Nukem 3D and some of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds, and The New Order is probably what you’d end up with. The thing that struck out to me at first and probably one of the things that this game does incredibly well is the presentation of the Nazis: these are not just the usual enemy stereotypes that we’ve encountered in dozens of generic WW2 action games, but more like Nazis 2.0 - MachineGames have pulled of to make them even worse.

They are ruling the world with iron and blood, and the stellar art design reflects all of it: enemies ranging from the intimidating soldiers to flesh-meets-steel monsters with names that make you shiver; countless concrete towers holding the red swastika flags like chest plates in front of them; fully-realized propaganda posters behind every corner; weaponry so incredibly insane and creative that you could imagine the real Nazis experimenting with it if history would have turned out the wrong way; The New Order has it all. Power, Dominance, Hopelessness - it’s not difficult to understand what MachineGames is trying to achieve, and they succeed with ease. Games always try to convince us with their world design, but The New Order takes it to a whole new level. The Nazi megalomania can be seen, heard and felt at every second while playing it. It’s scary how tangible it feels.

The best design is still worthless without the right technical foundation, and while id Tech 5 is known for its pop-in issues and overall low-res-textures (which I’ve all encountered), the result is still pretty nice. Even though the depth of field shading is a tad way too much sometimes and even though the color correction is over-to-top in certain levels, there are moments where you’l just stand and look at the screen in awe: the engine is by far not the most effective and capable technology, but boy it sure does has its moments. There are parts in this game that look like interactive top-notch concept arts (the resistance hideout or the asylum come to mind) and really help to create the feeling that the artists at MachineGames tried to capture. Running, jumping and sliding Blazkowicz through all these levels has been a blast.

Speaking of Blazkowicz: what a fantastic character! Never did a protagonist in a first-person-shooter game feel so „right“ since Riddick from Butcher Bay - which is funny since MachineGames consists of ex-Starbreeze people who worked on that game. Going the silent-protagonist-route is always the safe way to let players identify with their game character, but I must say that I vastly prefer a well-written and superb voiced character by a country mile. Blazkowicz seems very Aldo Raine-esque in his first moments, damning the Nazis in almost every dialogue, but he has a lot more depth than what is usually offered in the genre - or, any genre. We see him angry, we see him sad, we see him in love, we see him thinking about his father and his past, we see him hurt, we see him happy, we see him singing - there are so many great moments with him and this whole package is what the modern FPS games should strive for; the cherry on top of a already amazingly stellar character cast that is unseen in the genre.

The game has its fair share of issues: technical hiccups due the id Tech 5 engine, enemy A.I. being dumb (which I personally find fitting since most of them haven’t fought in the war or don’t have anything to fight against since they pretty much rule everything), abrupt ending to cutscenes or level changes - but I can overlook most of these since being able to dual wield every weapon (!) and the fantastic id’ish gunplay make up for all of it.

And id’ish is the right keyword: The New Order feels a lot like the old-school id Software shooters; much more so than RAGE ever did. This game doesn’t compromise: merciless violence is present non-stop from disgusting cutscenes to shooting off limbs; the levels get crazier and crazier and even crazier; the weapons range from realistic to lunatic - these are all elements that made RTCW a timeless classic and they can be found in TNO again, but at the same time they feel fresh and different. It’s ironic how a game that has constant military imagery going on plays so much differently and better than every other first-person shooter on the market that try similar settings yet fail to create any atmosphere and often lose themselves in a pool of questionable patriotism and war glorification. I would go even so far and say that Wolfenstein TNO is probably the best first-person shooters in the past 5-8 years, and while it won’t be living that long since it has no multiplayer, the campaign will always be something that people should measure future FPS games with.

MachineGames now sits on the blood stained throne of over-the-top shooters that id Software held warm for a good chunk of time. Recommended!
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S

SJS

Member
antitrop said:
Whaaaaaaaat? Wolfenstein is at least 2x to possibly 3x longer than CoD: Ghosts. Ghosts is over in 5 hours, I got 15 out of Wolfenstein.
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A lot can factor into this, such as playstyle, interest in collectibles, and difficulty setting. Your experience can vary, but you're glossing over the more general point that while CODG also has a campaign, it has sustainted replay value in its multiplayer experience while TNO doesn't have much to compel you to replay the game. Even if what you said was true, it wouldn't prove that much.



You don't even know what hyperbole means.
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When someone says that a game is "GOTY" and I disagree, it is entirely fair for me to believe that his statement isn't to be literally interpreted and call him out on that.

But is that really relevant to what I'm discussing? I could care less, honestly.
 
M

matty2Dfraud

Banned
I kind of have a backlog so I was hoping it would eventually be discounted on Games for Gold. If not maybe I'll pick it up when I get through Guacamelee and Watch Dogs (ugh I'm having a hard time finishing this one).
 
A

Alebelly

Member
Grief.exe said:
Bethesda is a toxic publisher to tie yourself to.

Nice way to get started and get some initial revenue, but they need to be very careful how they proceed with that group.
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Toxic isn't a fair assessment, though I think if you're a developer considering working with Bethesda, you better have your shit nice and tidy or you may get your clock cleaned.
 
D

Deleted member 30609

Unconfirmed Member
Alebelly said:
Toxic isn't a fair assessment, though I think if you're a developer considering working with Bethesda, you better have your shit nice and tidy or you may get your clock cleaned.
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Jens has nothing but good things to say about MG's relationship with Bethesda, as opposed to other big publishers.
 
A

antitrop

Member
Discotheque said:
i didn't expect the main character to have such glorious beautiful monologues. it veered a bit into cheesy territory sometimes but still he was a far cry from the dudebro i was expecting.
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Cheesy is okay, though, as long as it's done well and fits with the tone. Inglorious Basterds was a clear inspiration, like the scene where Brad Pitt is saying "Bonjourno".
 
K

Kade

Member
Bethesda's output post Skyrim has been pretty good. They put that Skyrim money into a QA department. They're getting better but no one publishes/develops the types of games they do.
 
A

Alebelly

Member
Rez said:
Jens has nothing but good things to say about MG's relationship with Bethesda, as opposed to other big publishers.
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I think a lot of it comes from earlier publishing efforts where games fell well short of the mark. More recently, there was the New Vegas bonus pay incident and the Prey fall out. But Dishonored and now Wolfenstein gives an outward appearance of a publisher that has grown and learned.
 
F

Fracas

#fuckonami
I'll give it another shot later, but I played a bit over half and didn't care for it at all. The gunplay was great but that's all I felt it had going for it.
 
D

DarkChronic

Member
Fracas said:
I'll give it another shot later, but I played a bit over half and didn't care for it at all. The gunplay was great but that's all I felt it had going for it.
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Same boat. Picked it up during the Steam sale from all the hype, and not liking it much at all. Feels like another WW2 shooter. I'm pretty bored with it. Don't see myself beating it.
 
A

Alebelly

Member
DaleinCalgary said:
This is how I like to see my games reviewed, by the people. I'll trust you guys and pick it up tonight and see how I like it.
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Its not a perfect game by any means. I struggled through it at parts, I almost passed an early judgement on the game and stopped playing. But, by the time I had finished it, I was kind of in awe. So I sat down and played it again. Great game.
 
F

FACE

Banned
Interesting OP, aside from the blatantly wrong thread title(Divinity is 2014's GOTY). I'll give it a shot next time it's on sale.
 
V

VisceralBowl

Member
antitrop said:
It primarily appeals to gamers that like lengthy singleplayer shooter campaigns with excellent gunplay, compelling characters, and extremely well-directed cutscenes.

Absurdly stellar soundtrack, too.
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That soundtrack...
Was pretty sweet.

The entire game's presentation was spectacular and it all fit together really well. I really would like to have more media come out that is set in the universe. A survival mode would be another good thing.
 
W

Wesker28

Member
Wow, Messofanego, your thread is amazing!
I totally agree with you. So far, this game is my 2014 GOTY. But my only complaint here is the storytelling. It feels shallow and extremely boring. Other than that, this is an excellent game: the graphics looks awesome, the gunplay is perfect and the level design is really excellent.
 
AHA-Lambda

AHA-Lambda

Member
you're god damn right, I was so surprised how much I enjoyed it. Best FPS I've played in years, made me realise in hindsight just how bad FPS have been of late.
 
G

-griffy-

Banned
mattiewheels said:
Maybe the right analogy for this game is the latest Captain America movie, and what great things they were able to do with that kind of material.
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That's actually a perfect comparison. It's part of an established franchise, and genre, where certain expectations are already in place, but somehow it reaches beyond those expectations and elevates the material to become much better than it has any business being.

I picked it up in the Steam summer sale just cause, and I've been totally, surprisingly engrossed in it.
 
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