Welcome to our CHEATfactor Game Review of . We review the game and then factor in how the available cheats affect the overall game experience. For better or worse, our reviews will help you decide whether or not to use cheats when playing the game.

Last year's Wolfenstein: The New Order was easily one of the year's biggest surprises. Machine Game's commitment to honoring the past of the shooter genre combined with their drive to create a brand new identity for one of gaming's oldest genres made it like nothing we've played before. The same can't be said for the game's stand alone expansion, The Old Blood, but then again, it didn't really need to. The Old Blood continues to do what The New Order did so well, deliver a fun and engaging (not to mention violent) shooter experience that bucks the current trends of the genre. In short, if you enjoyed The New Order, you'll love The Old Blood just the same.

The Old Blood acts as a prequel to the original game so don't worry if you missed playing it last year (though you should, like really, you should). The franchise protagonist BJ Blazkowicz is sent on a mission to recover confidential documents that lead to the location of General Deathshead, otherwise known as the bad guy in last year's game. It's an interesting addition to the main lore that was established previously as well as takes players back to the famed Castle Wolfenstein that set as the location for previous games. Much like the previous game, Machine Games has done a great job honoring the franchise's past while still focusing on it's future.

The Old Blood plays remarkably like The New Order and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Machine Game's take on the Wolfenstein franchise still feels a lot more like a shooter out of the late 90s than a modern shooter. Health barely regenerates and you'll be collecting armor and helmets to recoup yourself (try not to think about how many helmets BJ must be carrying around when at full health while playing the game). Despite all of that though the shooting is still remarkably fun and there's a surprising amount of depth to be found. Much like it's predecessor, you can choose between a more stealth approach to going through the game's multi-section levels or you can just go all out guns blazing. No game has made me feel more like a badass than Wolfenstein; there's just something about dual wielding assault riffles while taking on a giant nazi robot.

That being said, it's a bit hard to feel like a badass when I'm constantly getting captured and having to fight my way out. It was an issue in the first game and it continues here in The Old Blood - BJ just can't stop from being captured. Is it fun to fight your way out? Yes, but it's a plot device that's used more than it's fair amount and it's made all the more annoying when you're constantly being stripped of your weapons and gear as a result. The game is split into two chapters and neither gave me the satisfying feeling I had when I completed The New Order around this time last year.

I was also majorly disappointed in just how quickly The Old Blood abandoned what made the series' return so great in the first place. Though there are a good numbers of puzzles that slow down the action but always keep the tension up but there are very few moments that highlight the game's remarkable attention to driving character development. You'll run into a few new characters throughout the eight or so hour experience but they fail in comparison to the group of supporting characters from The New Order.  The worst part of it all though is in how the game ditches the smart enemy AI for brainless zombie hordes in the game's later half.

Throughout it all though Machine Games has managed to keep their sense of humor as The Old Blood is chocked full of nods to other franchise's and gamer culture. Early in the game for instance there's a piece of armor you can pick up that looks an awful lot like the most well-known helmet in Skyrim. The Nightmare sections that brought gamers back to the original pixel style make their return as well but this time in bigger numbers. What's best about these in-jokes is that they never feel in your face and they're just an added touch for those who want to seek them out to do so.

When The Old Blood sticks to what made the reboot of the franchise so much fun to begin with, it's great fun, but for some reason it tries to forget about everything we liked about The New Order and the results are mixed at best. If you liked the last game, you'll likely find much to like here, but as fun as it is, The Old Blood fails to reach the levels of it's big brother.