Game: Wolfenstein
Publisher/Developer:ID Software/Raven Software
Genre: First Person Shooter
Verdict: A decent single player campaign that fails to resonate.
Pros: Controls are solid and remind of old Wolfenstein memories
Cons: Lackluster plot makes it hard to become invested in the storyline.
While the Nazis were unarguably a naughty bunch of meanies, they were also responsible for some of the greatest vehicle and weapon design of World War 2. They wouldn’t have lasted 5 minutes without their MP44s, Panzers and of course, the wildly infamous Veil Heavy Troopers with Particle Cannons. Realism and historical accuracy may have been subverted somewhat by developers Raven Software, but don’t let this and the practically non-existent plot fool you: there’s a lot to like about Wolfenstein.
A combination of highly polished controls, challenging A.I. and a versatile selection of enemy and weapon types, result in a game that feels like a classic. The instant you start playing you will begin to notice the resurrection of several old-school gameplay conventions which have been missing from video-games for far too long, for example, when can remember the last time balcony-dwelling enemies would consistently offer themselves to gravity at the pull of the trigger?
As bad-ass Yankee: B.J. “embarrassing initials” Blazkowicz, you are burdened with the responsibility of saving not only the world, but Isenstadt; a quaint little town overrun by Nazis. You also get to deal with both garden variety demons and all kinds of Nazi Demons, all under the leadership of General Zetta. Zetta is a madman, hell bent on finishing what he starts, even when what he starts happens to be opening portals to alternate evil dimensions.
In order to triumph against the overwhelming enemy force, B.J. must ally with the local resistance cell as well as a secret society name the Golden Dawn. The Golden Dawn are a collection of scholars who dedicate their lives to studying the Black Sun dimension, an alternate world responsible for the destruction of ancient civilizations. The use of a resistance group as your primary ally as well as the disposable heroes that accompany you throughout many of the games missions, gives the game a Half-Life 2 feel at times. This is further cemented by many of the games set-pieces and inter-dimensional portals. A gigantic example of this is the Zeppelin that hovers over the town throughout the course of the entire game, looming over the player much like Half Life 2′s Citadel.
It may not be a very convincing tale of star-striped heroism, but the story progression paces the game perfectly. There are cutscenes scattered across the levels and huge boss-fights, such as the huge monstrosities known as “The Altered” (failed results of the Nazis’ early experiments with portals into the Black Sun dimension). Your greatest tool in the war against history is the Veil, which is a handy, pocket sized device developed by the Nazis as a way of harnessing the power of the Black Sun (evil) dimension and using it as a weapon for new experimental soldiers.
The great news is that you acquire one of these Veils early on in the game, speedily introducing you to the main gimmick, which allows you to initially see clues and secret paths, and later develops other abilities such as slow-motion and shields. This ends up giving you a distinct advantage against many of your foes. As a counterpoint of you possessing this device is the fact that a good portion of your enemies have a better one than you. These enemies are first introduced as bosses, then gradually become more frequent enemy types. This may be an allusion to previous games from original the Wolfenstein developer (and co-developer on this title) id Software such as Doom 2, where Cyberdemons slowly changed from an set-piece challenge to an everyday occasion.
Your weaponry starts off pretty meager, but steadily grows into a fearsome arsenal. With Kar ’98s, MP44s, Flamethrowers and later original futuristic guns such as the close-range Tesla Cannon and the devastating BFG 9000 equivalent, you get your hands on a wide variety of firearms in the closing levels. These weapons provide a versatile gameplay experience, giving you a variety of ways to explode, burn, or disintegrate your foes. This can even be extended further with the ability to upgrade any or all of your weapons (including grenades, and giving your Kar ’98 a scope/bayonet) to suit however you want to play.
I couldn’t decide between stealth and action, so I scoped, silenced and bayonet-ed my Kar ’98 as a long range weapon and upgraded my MP ’43 to be my emergency killing machine. The game provides a good amount of opportunities to sneak up on your enemies, but playing on Normal mode I found that stealth doesn’t provide much advantage over action, because most enemies take only one or two shots to kill anyway. Stabbing Nazis from behind is still a lot of fun despite this and most gamers should likely upgrade at least one of their weapons with a silencer/bayonet.
You take on missions and get to places via the town of Isenstat. The game allows you free roaming in-between missions giving you the opprotunity to take on side-missions from various friendly faction members. Side missions may seem random but there is an increasingly dangerous occurrence of enemy patrols and outposts. I always prefer the lawnmower approach, killing all in my path and racking up around 1,500 kills throughout the course of the game.
Running up the kill count in Wolfenstein is extremely satisfying. This is in part due too great death animations, great A.I., and realistic damage laid out by your weapons. Not all the A.I. in the game is so smart, however, as you will soon find many glaring glitches in the programming of some of the non-conventional enemy types. A perfect example of this is the blind stupidity of Heavy Troopers regarding silenced attacks and various creatures getting stuck in walls or on scenery. These glitches occur less frequently within the scripted missions than in the free-roaming town center. This, takes away points from the otherwise satisfying experience provided in the single-player mode (Multiplayer was not available at the time of reviewing).
A lack of personalities in the single-player campaign as well as indistinguishable villains and frequent plot-holes prevent the player from caring about the plot, or who lives and dies. Unfortunately, this ends up stripping an otherwise fantastic experience into just a video-game. The positive factors for me outweigh the negative, as the gameplay itself for the game is spot-on. It’s just a shame that it will be soon forgotten by those who play it.
I would certainly recommend buying this game if you are generally a fan of first person shooters, as this is a fine example of how an FPS should be made. If you’re put off by the sci-fi undertones or the transparent plot, then unfortunately this is only a rent. Fortunately the developers have provided you with reasons to come back to playing including: collectibles that allow you to purchase otherwise inaccessible upgrades for your weapons and 4 different difficulty settings. Wolfenstein is certainly back, but this entry will definitely not stay in your memory for long.
Popularity: unranked [?]
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