Bethesda

There are few things in this world as unsettling as walking down the street in a Nazi-fied American town. Though the version of that world only exists in Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, it's a harrowing bit of revisionist history that puts you on edge the moment BJ steps out into Roswell's main street in 1961. Nazis and Third Reich imagery is plastered all over, with plenty of white people in the streets celebrating a parade. Making things even more alien were the posters of "Terror-Billy" plastered over every open space that wasn't already filled with fascist propaganda or decoration. In Wolfenstein II, you may be stepping into the shoes of a resistance hero, but in the Nazi-occupied United States, BJ Blazkowicz is public enemy number one.

For a franchise built on the back of Mecha-Hitler, what Machine Games did with the Wolfenstein franchise in 2014 was exceptional — and that was before modern-day America had a Nazi problem. Three years doesn't seem like a long enough time for the cultural climate to have shifted as much as it has between 2014 and 2017, but Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is releasing in a very strange time. There's more than a bit of catharsis in continuing BJ Blazkowicz's quest to rid the world of Nazis, but it would be meaningless without Machine Games' excellent gameplay and witty, frightening story holding it all together.

After finishing Wolfenstein: The New Order back in 2014 I put down the controller and thought to myself, “That was great, but when’s Doom’s turn?” The answer it turns out was “almost exactly two years later” as a new Doom has been unleashed from the team at id Software. Previous attempts to bring the classic shooter to the 3D space were not great, so I went into this new game with a slight sense of dread. Thankfully those previous games can’t hold a flashlight to this new Doom, as this is the return to glory that the franchise deserved.

War never changes, but the console and gaming landscape has dramatically over the last seven years. In the time since Fallout 3's release, open-world games have evolved quite a bit thanks to that game's success. New platforms have also emerged, giving developers the resources to make larger, more detailed worlds for players to explore, while adding in the additional graphical benefits new hardware provides. While the rest of the world was moving on at an incredible pace, Bethesda was taking its time with Fallout 4. A proper fourth entry in the series needed to be bigger and better than before, but the wait was excruciating for fans. Though the franchise hasn't come quite as far in the last seven years as we'd hoped, but Fallout 4 is still an impressive piece of work that's not to be missed.

Morality is a gray matter, a deep entity, and a thing that doesn't stop at the surface. It's also a subject that video games have played with constantly. Whether it was the evil Dragonlord presenting the hero with a choice to join his side at the end of Dragon Warrior in 1986 or Geralt choosing to sacrifice or save a dear friend in the more recent Witcher 3, video games have been attempting to capture the complexity of moral dilemma as a flexible mechanic for decades. The degree to which a game will go to accomplish that widely varies, but even the highest caliber releases supposedly punctuated by a choice-driven environment face a problem. Have games made choices truly matter? Can games capture the full effect of emotional baggage without sacrificing what makes a game fun? I’m not so sure they have yet.

Bethesda has released its fourth educational cartoon featuring Vault Boy, teaching you how important Charisma is out in the wasteland while playing Fallout 4.

Bethesda released its third educational video starring Vault Boy teaching you how to survive in the wasteland. Be ready to bulk up for Endurance in Fallout 4.

Say hello to River, who will be starring in Fallout 4 as your trusty, canine companion, Dogmeat. Now, shake hands, roll over, and fetch that Nuka Cola.

Bethesda has released another educational video starring Vault Boy. This time, we learn why Perception is so important in the wastelands of Fallout 4.

Prepare to get your post-nuclear apocalyptic swole on as Fallout 4 is running a new series about what it takes to be S.P.E.C.I.A.L.