That's just it though - if the game has been molded in such a fashion that the best experience now comes through co-op play, then the initial drive of delivering an experience to a single player is gone. The dynamic changes drastically when you play a game alone vs. with a partner, including how you absorb a given narrative.

I'm not of the mind that the game still can't be enjoyed in the way they've presented it, I'm just having a hard time believing that MG couldn't be bothered with a multiplayer aspect if this is essentially the avenue they went down anyway.

This new trend of "co-op centered" action games bothers me, I gotta admit. Because I'm not a teen anymore. Even if I owned a steam account, I have family and responsabilities and I sometimes I find it hard to have time for myself, least of all coordinating with guys my age. I can only do things at my own pace now, and that includes videogames.
And the same seems to apply for the vast majority of folks I know.

This brings me very bad memories of the years between 2005-2010, when there was a "draught" of good single-player RPGs, whereas MMORPGs (all looking similar to one another) seemed to explode everywhere, like mushrooms :(

New Order was great, New Col was okay, Young Bloods is just dull to me. The level design is getting worse and worse

Actually, I would say it's an accessibility issue. Consider, for example:
* Some players don't have large blocks of time to play, and need to be able to save in order to have any chance of seeing the later part of the game.
* A player may start playing, then suddenly need to go to the bathoom. In this case, the inability to pause is a major issue.
* Perhaps dinner has finished cooking, and it's time to eat; after dinner, wouldn't the player want to get back to their game?
* Sometimes something unexpected comes up, and the player needs to be somewhere else *right now*. In this case, the inability to pause or save can be a serious issue.
* Some players may have conditions, whether physical or mental, that make playing certain games for long periods of time. Maybe the player's eyes get tired, or the game happens to trigger the player (who then needs to take a break to recoiver).

So, pausing and saving is, indeed, an accessibility issue. (I can tolerate no saving for very short games (though even something like Binding of Isaac is too long to not have any way of saving), but that's about it.)

most games are just too damn long these days.

Games these days are usually "too long" because of poor design (including moneygouging design, including making singleplayer empty compared to multiplayer). One shouldn't truly tire of quality games. Actually, this site proves that to a degree...many people buy and re-play classic games that they originally played elsewhere, often physical releases from over a decade or two ago. Along similar lines, my favorite game is a singleplayer RPG which has had hundreds of hours worth of playtime for me and yet there are various mods available which add even more content. But with a poorly designed game, length is seen negatively because it enhances the visibility of poor design. I think the poor design is the root of the problem, as a shorter gamelength would still not clear it up.

There are some games that are long enough to need save points, but are clearly not too long. One example would be the original SaGa, which is meant to be beatable in about 8 hours casually. 8 hours is really short by JRPG standards (even if you only consider 8-bt JRPGs), but is still too long for one playing session, and of course, one might run into a situation where battery runs low or the player's plane just landed (or is ready to board).

(SaGa 1 *does* let you save anywhere, but in doing so, it has the reverse problem; it's possible to save in a situation you can't get out of, and there's only one save slot.)

I have to admit - up until now the new Wolfenstein games (even the 2009 version) are a lot of fun, and can't even be compared this broken game. Everything except the graphics is a work of a totally lazy dev/publisher.

I really liked the summary Upper Echelon Gamers had to say about these two so-called "strong", but infantile lead female "children" in this horrendous mess: Absolutely Terrible - Wolfenstein: Youngblood - The Review

When you hear these two (supposedly) 18 year old sisters, you can't stop wonder if they somehow got mentally retarded and got stuck when they were around 9-10-11, and had uneducated parents with terrible genes that sweared every other words... (a hint at the other thread :D )

I have a co-worker who has a 21 year old son that is still stuck at age 8-9 mentally due to a cocktail of (legal) drugs and massive epileptic surges, and he is absolutely annoying. It's cute and funny when they really are at that age (and they usually grow out of it), but definitely not when they're that old.

I just can't fathom what Bethesda really thought when they made this game, and what the journalists at IGN and other thought when they reviewed this crap... they were probably on drugs themselves.

I also think the cinematic look it great, when it's properly implemented and fits right in, and it actually does in the new series.

Btw: I'm sure you've seen it, but in any case, have you looked at FakeFactory's HL2 cinematic 2013 mod? I have to say it looks pretty good and I think FakeFactory has done a superb job. I personally couldn’t care less about the cry-babies; the modder did make it to learn more about graphic design among others in his spare time, and it's up to everyone to choose what they like.

I hate to admit it but I agree - the removal of the save/pause is an accessibility issue. If I really must take a pee I'd find it really extremely annoying if I couldn't pause the game, especially when I'm almost finished with a mission. (And it's also one of the biggest factor to why I usually don't do mm or go to movie theatres).

↑ Now you KNOW why I am NO LONGER A LEFTIST! ↑

When you hear these two (supposedly) 18 year old sisters, you can't stop wonder if they somehow got mentally retarded and got stuck when they were around 9-10-11, and had uneducated parents with terrible genes that sweared every other words...

dude you cant talk; you always sound teh most mental lee simple person ever.in fact I'd go as far as saying i think you'll probably physical lee hurt some1 in teh future

You need to explain that one - what exactly has " you not being a leftist" to do with anything I wrote?

Am I to understand that because devs do what they do they are left, and you was a "lefty", but now you have converted because you don't like what certain "lefty" devs do?

Or do you have a sister that acts exactly like that?

:P

Yes.

It’s the Marxist agenda: Demoralise men into effeminate betas raised by single mothers while turning women into counterfeit men.

What this ultimately does is disenfranchise the one demographic capable of defying a totalitarian, authoritative rule while simultaneously convincing the weaker, More easily controlled demographic that they’re to fulfil the role of men.

The systemic disenfranchisement of one group while fooling the other into over-confidence will ultimately destroy the western world. Meanwhile, Islam and China are just sitting back and watching the west continue to prime itself for destruction.

That is WHY I am no longer leftist that and about 40 leftists online attacked me over my views about Mark Latham asking "Is that boy gay?" A perfectly simple question the answer should have been "probably" but Oh no the Media in Australia which kowtows to the left started a sh!tShow which cost Mark Latham his job and everything I also got a severe twitter lashing for it! from a "Mari R" that gutless feminist couldn't even show her face just started this real psycho abuse up when I told her it was a simple question then her Boyfriend started on me saying I "Put it on her" I don't really understand WTF he was talking about but that got me KICKED off twitter.

Probably they thought that Blazkowicz sisters are the accurate representation of their target audience. You know, strong women, who are outraged by the situation in their country and see nazis everywhere...

I think this was very much a throwaway side project. It has the same guns and gameplay as New Colossus, and Arkane's B-team did the levels, and the co-op stuff was all they really added. I would guess the bulk of Machine Games is working on the real sequel.