Rumor: first episode of 'Wolfenstein: The New Order' Waypoint 101 going gold this week, release might slip to Q2 October 2017.
Has BJ tried talking to the Nazis?
Do you think this was the game that started the remaking of ID games?
I finished the game in preparation for 101, so thanks for the extra time for another run!
Something that struck me is the split between BJās internal monologue and the voices on your radio. Compared to so many games that just badger you with instructions (looking at your āPreyā), The New Order steps back a bit, and BJ even talks to himself at times. I think itās great, but is it weird heās doing mindfulness routines while stomping Nazis?
Those inner monologues and little reveries did so much to make BJ a character rather than just an avatar for the player. It helped set up the distinction between his interior life, which was revealed to be that of someone with a sensitivity to his and othersā life experiences, and the BJ he presented to everyone else who was a chain-of-command soldier whose only satisfaction in life was killing Nazis.
But then you sort of figured thatās the type of game TNO was going to be when you found out that Jens Matthies was in charge of the project and it was being made by Starbreeze alum with a large contingent of diaspora that had worked on The Darkness. You know itās a weird world when you can sincerely say that the dialogue and performances in a Wolfenstein game are among the best youāve witnessed in the medium.
Incidentally, can we give a medal to the team that animated BJās eyes
What do you all think of the character J (if you chose the right person in the beginning to see J)? Also, have you all gotten to the big reveal about him yet?
I often found that this game gave me tonal whiplash, transitioning from action to calm with almost reckless abandon. Perhaps, I tried too much stealth or perhaps itās because I played it immediately after the rigidly consistent DOOM.
Anyway, an actual question!
How do you feel the game would change, if at all, if the villains werenāt Nazis? If the enemy was more nuanced? While playing the game, I felt that the utterly cartoonishly evil forces that BJ faced were tired tropes and stereotypes that drained my enjoyment of the game. It just feels like the game is in an awkward middle ground, between Band of Brothers and Doom and doesnāt quite bridge the gap.
How fucking good is Starbreeze-cum-Machinegames? Riddick, The Darkness, Wolfenstein. For like a decade they have being doing things in first-person storytelling with a budget that nobody else has, or has even tried to copy.
My question is Iām curious what Wolfenstein baggage you were bringing to the game when you first played it and how that coloured your perception of it. This is my first time playing it, and I feel like part of the appeal, based on what other people were saying before I jumped in, is that itās so unexpected - a game with this bro-sy, story-light lineage and this pulpy story getting real about PTSD and survivorās remorse and hope in hopeless situations. Iām curious what angle you approached it from first, and how thatās changed if this is a subsequent playthrough for all/any of you?
Iām coming at it a little differently, because Return to Castle Wolfenstein was (along with Halo) the game me and my dad used to play together. I clocked it then he started and we played his first playthrough together, me helping with the bosses when it got too demanding. Itās a really crucial part of my video game history and honestly, a pretty crucial touchstone in my relationship with my dad, and so I donāt see R2CW as the light, corny Medal of Honor-ish experience it is. Thatās kind of why I like New Order so much - so far (and Iām past Chapter 6 on my first playthrough), while it doesnāt measure up to that experience and it wonāt be taking that kind of place in my life, Iām not sad or fussed that it wonāt. It doesnāt feel like it needs to match the sentimental value I get from its predecessor. Itās the game I need it to be right now, a shooter that reflects my anxiety about the world while also being hopeful and encouraging, and that means something. Maybe Iāll be able to play it with my dad over Christmas.
One other thing: do yāall feel bulky playing this too? With the huge, dual-wielded weapons, the slow running, the way crouching doesnāt feel that close to the ground and the clumsy-ass weapon switching, itās weird to play a game thatās actually conscious of its burly protag. Kinda used to playing brick shithouses who have the dexterity and speed of Jet Li.
EDIT: Just realised this is the forum equivalent of the rambling old man at the Q&A with two questions and an anecdote, i am so sorry
Hereās a question: How great is Carolineās āI learned to flyā moment at the end of Chapter 6? That one cutscene really shows off how well The New Order manages its tone. You have BJ and Caroline talking openly about how the war changed and hurt them. You have the ridiculousness of flying crazy helicopters through a Nazi super-city. And you have that uplifting positive attitude, somehow played perfectly straight in the middle of it all.
Mick Gordonās score really shines there, too!
I really wanted to enjoy this game, hearing everyone talk about how wonderful it is, but playing through a video game level set in a concentration camp was really unpleasant and tone-deaf. That level even includes a robotic walking oven and all but shows it burning a women the nazis have worked to death. Where do we draw the line between revenge fantasy and trampling on histories of brutality?
I will absolutely bring this question up.
When I got to the ancient secret Jewish conspiracy I stopped playing the game for a solid ten minutes and went HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM the entire time because I honestly couldnāt decide if that was giving credence to Nazi/antisemitic conspiracy theories or what.
Now that Iām thinking about it again I am definitely doing a serious AustinWalker Hashtag MMMMMMM noise.
DOOM had been in production for a long-ass time before New Order came out, though. They started it in like 2007/2008, and then even after that version was scrapped, they started over in 2013.
This isnt a question but you need to talk about how good the coffee physics are. Thereās no reason for them to be that good!
Not exactly sure how to phrase this, but hopefully I get the gist of it across.
At what point do you become uncomfortable with nazi fetishization, especially the notion that they were seemingly this close to total world domination? I get that theyāre a tempting enemy because theyāre āsafeā and youāre probably not going to get a lot of raised eyebrows over sticking a hatchet into a naziās spinal cord, but Iām growing increasingly tired and uncomfortable with their portrayal as these seemingly unstoppable foes with the power to literally conquer the globe.
Iāve never managed to nail down exactly what role I feel the entertainment media plays in peopleās enduring opinions or shaping history, but I do sometimes wonder if making the nazis out to be this mythical, all powerful force has any part in their enduring popularity. In the world of Wolfenstein they are organized, efficient, technologically superior, hell they even get to the moon. They are also horrifyingly evil, but you can not argue against their unbelievable competency.
I guess the short version of the question is what impact, if any, do you think that the constant recycling of nazis as very capable villains has had on their general perception over time? Would we be where we are today without decades of propping up the third reich as this seemingly invincible force that were a few missteps away from total global domination when the real history of the matter is far muddier?
Yeah the fact that in order to make it possible for the Nazis to conquer the world they have to use stolen secret Jewish magic has always tremendously bothered me.
edit to add: but I suppose thatās one of the key things about this kind of crazy alt-history. If your story requires Nazi Germany to conquer the world, you have to change so many things as to almost make the world unrecognizable. Nazi Germany fundamentally had lost the war by 1941, it was just going to take a lot of killing to make them realize it. Dismantling a handful of small states in Eastern Europe piecemeal and taking out France, a state that was deeply fractured and on the edge of collapse, is one thing. But taking on the British Empire was always out of their reach. Taking out the USSR, a state with 6 times the population, was always out of their reach. Taking on the British Empire and the USSR with the United States providing logistical support was suicide, but national suicide in 20th century total warfare is a slow process.
