Wolfenstein 3D (PC) Review

For many guys my age, this is where it all began. With these titles, they had their first taste of the new and exciting world of first person shooters, and we fell in love with it! Still that was over 30 years ago now (the first Wolfenstein game came out in the year of 1992) and the genre of similar games inspired here would grow and expand what they could do exponentially since. Hell even this team blew the tech side of this out of the water the very next year! Which begs the question to many today: Why go back and play such an old game? Well if you are like me, the memory of a truly legendary franchise alone is worth revisiting, but for anyone else is it worth it? Enthusiastically I have to say "YES! It ABSOLUTELY IS!" but... maybe with some tweaks.

What are those tweaks you ask? Well in the past 3 decades we have seen even the very key combinations we use to play games change dramatically from these ancient times. And to that end with iD having long ago released the code for these games as open source, gamers have taken the time to build new versions of the engine you can use to give the old games some quality of life updates without changing the core game. I put a link to the one I used in the system requirements below, but you are welcome to use any that suit you better.

And finally this is a dual review because if you buy this game today, you get both Wolfenstein 3D and Spear of Destiny as a bundle, complete with a menu to select which one to launch at startup. They are no longer separate. The links below will take you directly to the one you want to read.

• Wolfenstein 3D
• Spear of Destiny

Ghostwire: Tokyo (PC) Review

This is a game that has a bit more of a tumultuous history with me. When it came out, it had my curiosity, but there wasn't a lot coming out about it. Add to that playing on a PC that looked dangerously close to the minimum spec at the time while sitting on my massive backlog, and I held off... deciding I dodged a bullet with a shady dev when they added Denuvo to the game a year after it came out.. 

I didn't give it any more thought after that until this Christmas came along. As per usual, all the major game stores had their Christmas sales, including Epic. And while I honestly have yet to want to spend cash on this store, I've hung around for the freebies Epic is always giving out... and this sale always comes with them going fast and furious. Christmas Eve, they gave away this game. Without dropping a dime, I grabbed it.

Now as I finish playing, I believe I would have been happy with it had I bought earlier... and seeing them remove the DRM again so soon only makes such joy playing it that much sweeter.

Ghostwire: Tokyo - Prelude (PC) Review

When over the Christmas holiday Epic Games gave away Ghostwire: Tokyo, I decided to pick this up as well since it takes place before the main event and is a free title. I already understood it was a visual novel, but I was hoping for a lot more then I got here. I pray this doesn't reflect on the main game beyond the setting.

Wolfenstien II: The New Colossus

This has been a few years coming. Originally when this one was coming out, I played the demo on my previous gaming rig, partly to confirm it would run well enough to play... and it wowed me to the point of buying it on the spot. But sadly, I had not reached a point of realizing if Im getting a game like that, I should just play and not let the dice decide what was next. I shouldn't have waited so long, as even now this one was an amazing ride. Step on inside.

Dishonored (PC) Review

When this game came out, everyone simply loved it, no matter what they played it on. For me, however, I honestly got the impression from the trailers that it was trying to be “Dark Half-Life” or something, and while I was interested in playing it, I knew it wasn’t a game I had to play right away. As a result it wound up something I picked up in a sale and then landed in the dark void known as the “steam backlog.” (And every PC gamer who reads this is now nodding their heads knowing EXACTLY what I mean.) Fast forward to now and I found myself expecting to be playing nothing but the newest titles in my “must play” list. However, that was not to be due to delays and in one case, the demo of a game being so underwhelming it dropped away. So, with some time to visit that void, I pulled this title out of it… and, I should not have ignored it for so long.

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (PC) Review

Last year, I returned to this series, eager to enough to see what was next that I actually bought a physical of Wolfenstein: The New order at launch. I had a great time with the game, but the ending just left so much wanting. And while I would have liked an expansion to come out to explain that rather sour last note, instead, the inevitable expansion turned out to be a prequel. Knowing this, I still found myself wanting the new part of what I still hold as a very favored franchis, but I did not feel the same rush to pick it up I did the last time.

Then Quakecon rolled around and with it, a sale I could not resist and a next "must play this now" sitting in my virtual shelf. And as I walk away, I find myself a bit more annoyed with how this one started, but a lot more satisfied with how it ended. Please, step inside.

Wolfenstein: The New Order (PC) Review

Wow, this franchise and I go way back. I remember playing it in high school on my 486 I had just gotten my hands on prior to becoming a freshman. It held a special place for me, as I honestly preferred it’s pure and simple flat layout to the levels offered by the shareware version of Doom (I didn’t get that full masterpiece till much later) or the still good but not as good Doom II.

As a result, I have taken the time to get and play each game of the franchise, though this is the first one I actually planned to get my hands on and started playing the week it launched. And now, I put it down, I am both pleased, and rather annoyed at the same time. The game for the most part was very good, if not a masterpiece, but that ending has left a bitter taste in my mouth. Please, come inside and we will talk.