Wolfenstein: The Old Blood

Because the New Order wasn't crazy enough!

A prequel to The New Order, this uses most of the same mechanics from that game and just builds on it - adding a few "new" weapons and more Nazi enemies. I'd actually say the story here is slightly better since it is less piecemeal than the other one, combined with the game starting at Castle Wolfenstein itself which is a big plus!

Huge explosions are another big plus!

I also quite like that there are more Wolfenstein 3D levels included in secret areas, and that stealth is still rewarding in the areas that allow it. There is an early "mandatory" stealth part that might annoy some people but it isn't very long and I still recommend playing at the highest difficulty again for any who have ever played a shooter. You will be very in for a slightly punishing ride if you aren't decent with head shots towards the end game though.

Also the added climbing "ability" never fit quite right for me. Still, I give it 4.5 "plugged in enemies" out of 5 and is easily recommended for FPS players.

Wolfenstein: The New Order

Where the allies lost the war!

Blazkowicz is back in this sharp and fun first person shooter which seems him fighting the (quite literal) Nazi war machine(s).

Nazis have an interesting take on armored infantry.

The graphics and game play are great, as are the wide array of arsenal and I quite liked the optional stealth approaches in some missions. The cut scenes also jump straight to the action without wasting any time which is cool, though conveniently avoids answering some plot hole questions in the very wacky, and quite adult story.

As a shooter, the levels are expectedly linear and you could probably finish it in a weekend if you put your mind to it and the AI relies more on HP than smarts (Nazi's aren't as smart as the foes in FEAR for example), but my biggest complaint is not being able to skip the opening credits - which is small fry in the scope of things.

I give it 4.5 robodogs out of 5 and highly recommend this to FPS fans, and also recommend you play on the hardest difficulty straight up, as it really isn't that bad if you know to aim for the head / weakspots.

Star Trail: Pain in the A--

[Part of the Darklands of Arkania Story.]

After dealing with a few more orc patrols the team finally made it back into the besieged city via the secret tunnel. Agdan returned to his order and Zubon and Paeroka were reunited with the rest of the group. While in town the party also donates their spare items and food to the council hall which they are richly rewarded for. Asking around, they also find out that Ingramosh, the dwarf they need to deliver the Salamander Stone to was here once - a guest of the gay elf they slew before. Oops.

Figuring they'll just have to wing it now, the party leaves Lowangen again and are almost immediately set upon by two groups of competing adventurer parties - one after another! While the team is victorious they are pretty badly beaten up after that second round and that's when an army of mages appears before them.

"Hand over the stone or die."

With no hope of winning against that many spell casters in their current condition, Paeroka gingerly gives them the stone. The wizards laugh as they then ride off to the West - and the party pursues them after resting up a little. The head start is too great though, and with combats against random orc patrols slowing them down further they lose the trail.  Fortunately a random shepherd on the road manages to point them in the right direction.

Jesus saves the day again!

It's a long walk and Wolfy's shoes wear out, making her take damage during the journey. Not that it matters though for they eventually run into ANOTHER orc army!

Surprise!

There are no options here. The orcs beat up the team, strip them naked (including magical items this time) and basically make them their play things for a few days while forcing them to march higher into the mountains. Eventually they are thrown into a dark cell where they suffer more orcish abuse for around a week before finally mustering enough rage to take down the orc bringing them what passes as food. And so begins escape from castle Orcenstein!

NBI Talkback #3: What made you a Gamer?

I'm pretty sure I can attribute this to my brothers, who got me playing table top D&D (and memorizing the monster manual in case I run into any monsters in real) from a young age. They also encouraged me to watch them play through games like Shadowgate and Castle Wolfenstein. By the time I got a Nintendo family computer I think I already fit right into the "gamer" category. Battle City was one of my favorites, since it offered cooperative play.

Of course I also enjoyed making up games, just as most kids do I imagine. Games on paper, games in real life, games on the bus to school, during recess and lunch and definitely afterwards, etc. I imagine it helped that my best friend at the time was as crazy about games as I was. He was more successful with that background than I though.

Eventually I was introduced to Ultima Online and that started the whole MMO addiction for me. More recently I've rekindled my table top gaming love with board games, which isn't good because they can become way more expensive than the digital variety! Yeah, it's a strange sort of progression, but that's just how I am. Strange. :P