Microsoft Zenimax

My first experience with Bethesda was through emulation in the mid 2000s playing Home Alone on the NES. The first real experience was in 2011 with Fallout: New Vegas on PlayStation 3. Since then, I've enjoyed the Fallout series, played my share of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Though I've played my share of Id Software games since 1995, I've gotten into most of their properties this generation and their mid-90s releases. Now, Microsoft has acquired Zenimax, the parent company of Bethesda. At 7.5 billion dollars, it's a big risk they are willing to take.

This is a huge gamble with their Xbox Series systems coming out in less than two months. You can speculate all you want on what Microsoft might do. Some online think it could be for Game Pass. I could see it a little bit. To play some of the Xbox One library and have the output they have had since 2013. Comes off a bit attractive. Future titles like Elder Scrolls VI could spike interest in getting Xbox Series compared to PS5 and Switch, though Microsoft can be a little lenient in letting their releases go to competitors. Sony is going that route with some titles as well. The companies Bethesda has can make a hit any time they can.

All that aside, Microsoft could dictate what they want, but let's not jump to hasty conclusions. Bethesda will be in spotlight, but the light will get brighter. When they make games in house, they do have their share of issues. The biggest ones being frame rate issues and locking up titles as you play them. I think the criticism will be a bit bigger. Not to mention the titles. Doom Eternal just released this spring for PS4 and Xbox One. Elder Scrolls VI will come out. The question is when?  I think 2022 or 2023. Wolfenstein 3 is one that is going to come out I believe sooner than later. Could it see release on next generation hardware along with current systems? I wouldn't hold my breath, but New Order got released on PS3 and Xbox 360 along with new generation hardware in 2014.

Take it as you will. Microsoft better not be expecting high expectations. Id is one of the reasons PC got really big in the 90s. Elder Scrolls got its start on DOS. A slow burn should be anticipated. 

.Wolfenstein: The Old Blood Review

WARNING: To anyone that is reading this in Germany, this might be censored.

What was originally going to be an expansion DLC to The New Order, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood got built up as a stand alone game. It's result in May of 2015 was one that had a bit of praise. Once again with MachineGames developing, it's more of the same single player action. It's still good, but not as strong as its predecessor.

Set before The New Order, Old Blood is set in early 1946. The Allies are losing the war and Helga Von Schabbs has a folder containing the location of General Wilhelm Strasse at Castle Wolfenstein. B.J. Blazkowicz and Agent One must get it to plan an assault and stop the war from getting worse. More or less, it's their own version of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, but with their own timeline. Things don't go as planned and B.J. must survive to get the Allies a much needed victory. Obviously, it doesn't come close to what the previous game did, but not every game needs a story. Still, there is some development and a decent cast of characters that B.J. surrounds himself around.

Nothing changed in terms of gameplay. It's still that same love letter to the 90s and 2000s. Just like before, there is exploration and a number of secrets similar to Wolfenstein 3D and Doom. It also retains the one man army and objective based ideas of Goldeneye and Medal of Honor along with some new school ideas from Wolfenstein 2009 and Bioshock. There are eight levels, but very expansive and complex as you go through parts of Germany. The focus on single player is still MachineGames' bread and butter, so no multiplayer.

I didn't notice much of a change in the graphics, but it's still nice for an early release. It's more the little details and with the focus on newer hardware and no older tech (was not on PS3 and 360), you can notice finer details on the characters and areas. Just some of the outdoor areas are breathtaking and nice to get a look at. The audio is more or less the same. It's music is part orchestra and part rock depending on your scenarios.  Voice acting is top notch and the accents are very real. Doesn't seem fake. Both facets are still given a lot of care.

Like New Order, Old Blood doesn't have a huge variety of weapons, but each one has its use. It's more old school like Medal of Honor as you don't have any laser type weaponry. Dual wielding is still a part of the fun. The knife still has its use along with the grenades. Unlike most games, it has a good balance between stealth and action, and they give you an equal amount of both aspects. The focus there is bigger. As before, there perks to what you can do during the game, as well as trophy and achievement support.

Brought back is the health system where there are plenty of health pickups, regeneration, and armor. Overcharge returns, but unfortunately, there is no small upgrades. They offer one upgrade perk, but that's it. As with the series, an emphasis on treasure is present. The same can be said with concept art and letters. No enigma stuff, but there are challenges to get medals, adding to a bit of replay value. More or less, the level design has the same ideas. It's linear, but there is a bit of freedom to explore in the areas combined with having strategies for different kinds of Nazis.

There wasn't a huge spike in difficulty, but it had a few more cheap moments compared to New Order. Outside of the story, (which that can be forgiven) the only major complaints I have is trying to fight off a handful of enemies at once and their constant throwing of grenades. The armor still has some problems, but it's not as bad. Anyway, this is still a fun game. Old Blood may not be like The New Order, but it still has some good satisfaction in gameplay and still retaining what made the Wolfenstein games excellent.

Score: 7 out of 10

Bethesda E3 2018 Impression

I'm not really much into discussing E3, the showing for the newest video games. However, Bethesda has me a little interested in some of the titles that are coming out within the next year to two years. It's franchises that I've loved and enjoyed immensely  Let's get into it.

Personally, I don't think anybody was expecting another Doom game. Yet, there will be one. Eternal has the mentality as Doom II. It's going to be bigger. There will be more enemies, diverse levels, and a few other knick-knacks that will make this ideal for anyone looking for other first person shooters. This is should do quite well whenever this comes out.

Wolfenstein has been quite an expansion since MachineGames and Bethesda took over. Youngblood looks to continue what has been happening since The New Order. You have the opportunity to play as one or both of the twin daughters of BJ and Anya Blazkowicz. It's the first in this set of games to have a co-op mode and have you doing the same thing as usual in killing Nazis. I would hope they didn't kill Anya off, but that's a wait and see scenario. It comes out next year, so it lets others get into these set of games and vision what has happened since The New Colossus.

The last ten years has seen a rise in the Fallout series. Now comes the latest with Fallout 76, which is set to release in November according to Cnet. It's also going to be an online survival game set way before any events in the franchise. I can this being successful early on. How much this will catch on is another question in itself. More than likely, it's not going to catch up with Elder Scrolls, but it could hold interest for a while. 

Speaking of Elder Scrolls, there will be a sixth one. I'm sure little details will be given as the game goes through development. Also planned is a brand new IP in the form of Starfield. There is also a new Prey game. Overall, this has me excited a little bit and gives me something the next years when they do come out to play on PlayStation 4. 

Wolfenstein: The New Order Review

WARNING: To anyone that is reading this in Germany, this might be censored.

If you've read a few of my blogs, I am big into Id Software. Mainly through Doom and Wolfenstein. The Wolfenstein reviews are some that I have thoroughly enjoyed writing. It has had several revivals in the new millennium with the recent one beginning back in May 2014 with The New Order. To say it's a refreshing game is an understatement. This was a shot in the arm that first person shooters needed.

Let's pretend that World War II still continued. MachineGames gives audiences an alternative history. Once again, B.J. Blazkowicz  is leading a group to kill General Deathshead in 1946. Things go awry and shrapnel hits his head. This leads to a coma that lasts for 14 years. In that time, Nazis have taken over the entire world. Not even its Italian allies were supported. Determined to do whatever it takes, B.J. tries to assemble resistance members in hope of eradicating the Nazis and bring the world back to normal. Normally, Wolfenstein games are pretty weak in story, but this is developed very well. It gives you a range of characters with their strengths and weaknesses. You feel for the resistance group and it gives B.J. a personality beyond killing Nazis. Retconning his life to this is not a bad thing. It may not be the strongest story of this generation, but they do good with what they have.

Why is this game refreshing? Because it doesn't cater to the way Call of Duty and Halo are played. You got 16 levels. Each one has you completing various objectives. These are pretty lengthy. You're going to spend quite a bit of time exploring each area. It's a love letter to both old school and new school games. Obviously, it's a love for the Wolfenstein 3D and Doom. Levels with tons of exploration, secrets with valuable items. It's also a tribute to late 90s and early 2000s games like Goldeneye and Medal of Honor. Games that had you as a one man army, but doing objectives, finding tons of ammo at your disposal. New school wise, it's more in line with 2009 Wolfenstein and a bit of BioShock. Locations take you through parts of Europe and even one special level that you have to experience yourself.

There is a lack of a muiltiplayer. That isn't a bad thing. While it might hurt its value, MachineGames had one goal in mind. Deliver a single player experience that has been sorely missing following the first Modern Warfare game. To be able to have a game that is like the early Medal of Honor games, and Goldeneye along with Id's early shooters is why this gets a lot of praise.

It's a very early title for this generation's set of systems, but it looks nice. This feels optimized and developed with PS4 and Xbox One in mind. The areas and character modeling is nice. How the Nazis built parts of Europe are crafted beautifully (ironic, isn't it) and showcase what the hardware is capable of. It's audio reminds of Medal of Honor and Doom. They have parts with orchestra for certain parts, but with gun play, it's rock music that gives you a rush to go after the Nazis. Overall, they got both facets done well.

New Order's set of weapons is not huge in variety, but it gets the job done. What really helps is each one has good use and you have to rely on them, with MachineGames making sure that each one is not forgotten. You can dual wield guns. The knife aspect going back to 3D is still here. Grenades can still be carried. Some of them have certain upgrades like rockets and silencers. The idea is not always to run and gun your way through an area. Taking the stealth approach is more rewarding than most other games. There is perks that can be unlocked if you perform certain kill tasks and add to your trophies/achievements.

The health system is a combo of regenerating and a health bar. Once again, the love letter to 3D and Doom are there. You have armor pickups as well as health. Even dog food is a pickup. You can overcharge your health, but it will drop to whatever the maximum you can have. There are upgrades to both, increasing by 10 each time. Treasure is still a trademark to the series, so there are plenty of gold to find. Quite a bit more is added to the mix like enigma code pieces, letters, and concept art of levels, all of which can be accessed at any time in the main menu. It adds to the phenomenal level design. To be fair, it is linear, but it still gives you the freedom at times to take a look before heading on to the next area. You have to figure out how to deal with Nazis, since each kind is not the same.

For the difficulty, it's pretty good. They give you different difficulty modes, and the combat against the Nazis is mostly fair. There are some cheap moments at points during the game. My biggest complaint is the armor. At times, you can get hit with little damage from gunfire or too much. It's hard to explain, but I feel at times it is useless, especially when trying to hold off certain enemies on your own. Some levels do have certain parts that are questionable, but not anything to where you give up very quickly. But overall, Wolfenstein: The New Order is a great game that needs to be played. Worthy of the praise it has had the last four years.

Score: 8 out of 10

Switch Ports: Bethesda and Rockstar

Since 1996, Nintendo has struggled with getting third party games on their systems. Even for as big as the Wii was, it wasn't big on getting some of the bigger titles that made it to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The question on the Switch is still in the air. It has done decently since its debut in March, but the concern will be if there are games beyond the Big N that can make it to the portable/home console hybrid.

In the midst of this, Bethesda announced plans for a few of their latest titles to make it to the Switch. Doom, one of the bigger hits last year, is expected to come out late this year. Continuing into 2018, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus will be one of the new titles that will release in year 2 for the system. I think this is very important since these are titles, while not as big as other games, that can be high quality and give people a reason to feel confident in their new system. Bethesda is pretty confident. They are putting their eggs into Nintendo's basket. The last time these two series made it to any of their systems was 2002 with Doom II on the Game Boy Advance and since 1995 with Doom on the Super Nintendo.

To keep this in mind, Bethesda has developed games for Nintendo systems going back to the NES days, but it's such a small number (only two games for NES, nothing after that until the DS) and not much was seen in the last ten years in terms of support. With these two franchises and an Elder Scrolls port on the way, it could pave the way for other companies following suit and make it more than just a first party box. It could also give the company another avenue for profit considering how much they have grown since the first Elder Scrolls game on DOS in early 1994. Could something like Fallout 4 make it to the Switch? Who knows. The possibilities are there.

Shifting gears, Rockstar is one of those companies that early on gave Nintendo support with some games on the Nintendo 64, GameCube, and Game Boy line. However, they have mostly gravitated to Sony and Microsoft systems for their big titles. There have been a few surprises like Manhunt 2 making it to the Wii, but overall, they haven't warmed up to the Big N. I doubt this will be a confident changer to bring stuff like GTA V, but it is support. Coming out in November will be their crime thriller, L.A. Noire. The 2011 game that had a lengthy development time (started in 2004) is also going to come out on PS4, and Xbox One at the same time. It is the first big title, even though a port, for a Nintendo home console since 2008 with a port of Bully, and since 09 with GTA: Chinatown Wars on the DS.

I think this speaks a lot to Rockstar looking at how well the Switch has done. Typically, they are more of going towards the PlayStation and Xbox brands. It's very evident with Red Dead, GTA, The Warriors. They've been with these two since the original PlayStation and Xbox systems. They are not going to take a huge risk, but it's still in the air on whether this will convince Rockstar will continue with support for the Switch. It is going to be a little more expensive, but not much. Forty dollars is what it will be digitally, but getting a cartridge will be 50. There hasn't been a cartridge based system since the 64 and before this, all Nintendo handhelds have been cart based. With a new developer handling the port since Team Bondi shut down in the fall of 2011, it will be very intriguing to see where this lands in terms of critical and commercial success.

Nintendo has certainly got companies coming to them. Getting games from big and small developers and publishers so far in 2017 has gotten them off to a decent start. Combined with some of the big name titles like Mario Odyssey coming out this fall, it could be the year that they recover from the dreadful era of the Wii U. They can't let their foot off the gas. If they can continue to be aggressive and fully advertise and market the Switch and games for it, it will give the world a reason to like the Big N as a home console manufacturer.