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'Wolfenstein: Youngblood' makes me want more co-op shooters
Wolfenstein: Youngblood is definitely a spin-off, not a sequel. It helps explain why the latest game in the reinvented Wolfenstein universe feels and plays so differently. When first revealed, I was intrigued by the idea of making the blunt, gory, Nazi-hunting first-person shooter into a cooperative game. In Youngblood, you work alongside a buddy or AI assistant to unlock doors, ransack storage and cut a swathe through fictional armor-plated soldiers and robots.
How Panic Button became masters of the Switch port
The Switch is a remarkable little machine. Part handheld and part home console, the device is home to some wonderful Nintendo-made exclusives such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey. It's also home to some rock-solid ports, including Rocket League and the Nazi-slaying Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. These versions are visibly inferior to their PS4, Xbox One and PC counterparts, with murky textures and adaptive resolutions that frequently hover below 720p. Still, they are undeniably impressive, offering the same ferocious gunplay and bombastic humor whether you're playing at home or the back of a bus. The wizards behind these seemingly-impossible ports? Panic Button, a developer in Austin, Texas with less than 50 employees. It's an unusual specialty -- some companies, such as Bluepoint Games, have earned a reputation on their ability to remake and remaster classic titles such as Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Shadow of the Colossus. Few, though, are able to match Panic Button's skill at bringing so-called 'triple-A' games to effectively tablet-grade hardware.
Watch Bethesda’s E3 2019 highlights in 15 minutes
Bethesda kicked off its E3 event yesterday, and if your head is still spinning from all of the gaming updates announced this weekend, here's your chance to catch up on Bethesda's biggest news. The company debuted Orion, a software collection meant to optimize game engines for streaming on platforms like Google's Stadia or Microsoft's xCloud. The goal is to improve the game-streaming experience for folks with slower internet speeds or those who live far from data centers. Bethesda gave us a glimpse of Doom Eternal, Fallout 76 and the new Wolfenstein: Youngblood. There's also the new supernatural action adventure Ghostwire Tokyo and a new dragon quest line in Elder Scrolls: Blades. Today we learned that Doom will stream on iOS later this year. In case you missed Bethesda's E3 presentation or need a second viewing to catch all the details, we've compiled this supercut to bring you up to speed.
The new 'Wolfenstein: Youngblood' trailer is a killer good time
WIth the July 26th release date of Wolfenstein: Youngblood nearly upon us, Bethesda took the stage at its E3 keynote on Sunday to reveal additional details and gameplay of its latest installment of the Nazi-hunting franchise.
Co-op shooter 'Wolfenstein: Youngblood' arrives July 26th
Bethesda has been mostly tight-lipped about Wolfenstein: Youngblood since unveiling it at E3 last year, but it's not holding back now. The publisher has revealed that its co-op anti-Nazi shooter will debut July 26th on PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One. You play as BJ Blazkowicz's daughters Jess and Soph (either with a friend or an AI substitute) as they track down their missing dad in an alternate history Nazi-occupied Paris circa 1980. The new story trailer (below) makes clear that there's plenty of the modern series' over-the-top action, although there's also a bit of mystery involved -- it's now clear that BJ doesn't want to be found, and that he's up to something big.
Here's how 'Wolfenstein II' manages to run on Nintendo Switch
Now that Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is available on the Switch, there's a question many want answered: just how did Panic Button manage to squeeze such a visually intense game into a title you can play on the bus? You now have a clear answer. DigitalFoundry has produced a detailed examination of the many tweaks made to make the game work. The developer managed to preserve all the gameplay sequences, geometric detail and key visual effects (such as particles, volumetric lighting and motion blur) -- it's the less-than-essential features that get cut.
'Wolfenstein Cyberpilot' takes the fight to VR
Bethesda is all about that virtual reality, baby. Wolfenstein Cyberpilot is a new game heading to VR and it's due out in 2019, but it's playable at E3 this week. There are few details about actual gameplay, but it follows a resistance hacker in some way, according to a tweet from Bethesda.
Bethesda unveils co-op 'Wolfenstein: Youngblood' at E3 2018
BJ's legacy lives on in the next iteration of Bethesda's Wolfenstein franchise. Set in 1980, players fight as Jessica and Sophia Blazkowicz, the twin daughters of Anya & BJ - one a weapons expert, the other a bare-knuckle brawler. They're tasked with finding their father, who has gone missing in occupied Paris, as well as making life hell for the 4th Reich. The game is slated for release later this year alongside a VR spinoff, Wolfenstein Cyberpilot.
'Wolfenstein II' blasts its way to the Switch on June 29th
It's been a long time in coming, but the Nintendo Switch adaptation of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is (almost) here. Bethesda has announced that the Nazi-punching sequel will be available on June 29th for $60. You'll generally know what to expect, and that's likely to be a good thing. Panic Button's conversion appears to be on par with its well-received Doom port, with Switch-friendly motion controls and the kind of rich graphics detail you wouldn't expect from a portable console.
The first 'Wolfenstein II' add-on pack is available now
Killing Nazis and protesting are two of the most American things you can do. And if you need another avenue for (virtually) doing the former, that's where the first expansion for Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus comes in. "The Adventures of Gunslinger Joe" changes up the base game's formula with a new protagonist who, thanks to his football skills, can run through walls and Nazis alike. Sounds good? There are two more packs incoming, and you can pick them up as part of the $25 season pass.
First full ‘Wolfenstein II’ DLC arrives on December 14th
Fans of MachineGames' wonderful Nazi-killing shooter Wolfenstein: The New Colossus were probably wondering what the title screen's countdown would reveal. Last week, we found out: A delightful trio of hour-long mini-missions featuring characters from the game's upcoming DLC. Today, the studio released a roadmap revealing the release dates for the game's new content, and the first will launch on December 14th.
'Wolfenstein II' is definitely not 'Doom'
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is experiencing a serious case of opportune timing. It's a game all about shooting Nazis, but that's not new for the franchise -- what's new, this time around, is the social climate in the US. Nazis are in the news and marching with tiki torches on the streets. Members of the Ku Klux Klan are donning their cloaks in broad daylight. The president has invited white nationalists into the White House. Wolfenstein II's goose-stepping villains and its themes of a complacent, Nazi-ruled America are shockingly relevant in 2017. But how does the game actually play? Wolfenstein is, at its heart, an action-heavy first-person shooter packed with all manner of ridiculous weapons and abilities. Shooting is its main focus -- and, in the following discussion, it's also ours.
The real villain in ‘Wolfenstein II’ is a complicit America
Wolfenstein: The New Colossus improves on everything you liked in the franchise's soft reboot, 2014's Wolfenstein: The New Order. The action, set pieces, characters and writing are all sharper this time around. So is the thoughtful terror in the alternate universe's setting. After striking a blow in Europe against the global Nazi regime in the first game, The New Colossus brings protagonist BJ Blazkowicz and his anti-Nazi crew back to the US — where they find many Americans have gleefully accepted Nazi rule.
New 'Wolfenstein' trailer is a reminder to always fight fascism
Nazis are the perfect video game enemy because they have zero redeeming qualities. It's something the Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus development team at Machine Games knows and the marketing department at publisher Bethesda Softworks is keen to capitalize on, especially given the current political climate. Watching the latest trailer, it's hard to not feel like it's a direct response to Donald Trump's "violence on both sides" statements regarding Klansmen, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and their counter-protesters from Charlottesville last month.
‘Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus’ heads to Nintendo Switch next year
First-person shooter fans won't just have to settle for playing last year's hit Doom on their Switch. During today's Nintendo Direct, the company revealed that its flagship console is getting the upcoming Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, though Switch players will have to wait until 2018, long after it launches on other systems next month.
'Wolfenstein II' DLC adds three new Nazi-punching characters
You'll be playing as more than just the broken-schmeckled B.J. Blazkowicz in Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. That's because the game's three expansions will feature a different protagonist fighting for America by punching and murdering the Nazis standing in their way.
'Wolfenstein 2' and 'Evil Within 2' will support 4K on Xbox One X
You'd be forgiven for thinking that most of the games getting 4K support on Xbox One X will come from either Microsoft itself or Ubisoft, but there will definitely be some high-profile releases in the mix beyond what's been mentioned so far. The official Xbox website has let slip that Bethesda's Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus and The Evil Within 2 are both slated to run in 4K with high dynamic range visuals. It's not certain that this is picture-perfect 4K, since some One X titles use upscaling and other tricks to reach the higher resolution, but you should still notice a difference over 1080p.
'Wolfenstein II' starts with a wheelchair, Nazis and a machine gun
A little over four months away from launch, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus already feels finished. The game takes place almost immediately after the events of 2014's Wolfenstein: The New Order, with protagonist B.J. Blazkowicz waking up from a coma aboard a German U-boat, confined to a wheelchair, his legs lame. The Nazis have long since won the war, and in 1961 they're taking their goal of world domination even further. They're afraid of the game's one-man-army hero, too. And really, after 35 years of Wolfenstein, shouldn't they be?
The ‘Quake Champions’ beta opens to everyone on PC today
Bethesda just announced that its reboot of the original eSport, Quake Champions has entered public beta today. That means anyone with a PC capable enough to run the fast-paced shooter should be able to jump in and start playing right this instant. What's more, there's a tie-in to the just announced Wolfenstein sequel, The New Colossus: Protagonist B.J. Blazkowicz will be a playable character. Oh, and he'll be able to dual-wield weapons. There will be a tournament at this year's QuakeCon with a $1 million prize pool.
‘Wolfenstein’ returns with ‘The New Colossus’ on October 27th
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus was hardly a secret. The much-anticipated sequel to The New Order and The Old Blood was teased at the start of Bethesda's E3 press conference last year, and all but confirmed by BJ Blazkowicz voice actor Brian Bloom last October. Still, it's nice to see the game finally announced. Bethesda unveiled the new entry as part of its 2017 E3 showcase, which follows Blazkowiz and his ongoing mission to defeat the Nazis in an alternate history timeline. It's brash, violent and everything else you would expect from a modern Wolfenstein game.
