Wolfenstein Review [360]

The latest instalment in the Wolfenstein series has a lot to live up to. Its grandfather - Wolfenstein 3D - is largely credited with popularising the first person shooter genre and its more recent predecessor – Return to Castle Wolfenstein -  played an important role in the development of the online shooter, especially once the free Enemy Territory expansion was released. So you’ve got to credit Raven with some stones for titling its game Wolfenstein, implying that it’s the definitive game in the series. Unfortunately, it’s far from that but while many will argue that the game feels dated in comparison to its recent FPS counterparts, there’s still something distinctly “Wolfenstein” at the heart of the game.

Once again, the game is set in WW2. Except this is a World War Two in which the Nazis’ obsession with experimental science and the occult has led them to experiment with a mysterious limbo dimension known as the Veil in order to harness what they refer to as Black Sun power. As US super spy BJ Blazkowicz, you’re tasked with getting to the bottom of the Nazis dastardly plans by helping out the local resistance in the town of Isenstadt.  It’s all typically silly Wolfenstein fare, although it lacks the sense of humour present in the previous Wolfenstein games. It’s generally pretty po-faced, full of one-dimensional, unlikeable characters and there’s not much to persuade you to sit through the cutscenes. However, the Wolfenstein story was never Booker Prize material and action was always the main draw. Luckily, there’s plenty of action to be found in Wolfenstein.

Undoubtedly, the strongest aspect of the game is the solid combat at the heart of Wolfenstein. Unhindered by top-end visuals – although the character models are decent, the environments feel a little flat and uninspiring – Wolfenstein plays very nicely indeed. Movement and aiming feels quick and suitably responsive (the iron sight aiming could do with being slightly quicker, but it’s perfectly playable) while the guns pack a satisfyingly powerful punch. Coupled with the considerable amount of gore in the game, gunplay in Wolfenstein is definitely fun. Indeed, while the series has always had its fair share of blood and guts, Wolfenstein is definitely the goriest so far and it’s clear the developer’s experience of developing the comically violent Soldier of Fortune series has come in handy. Get behind an MG42 for the first time, open up on the enemy and you’ll find yourself “ewwww”ing and laughing in equal measure as heads pop, blood spurts and limbs fly. By the time you’ve upgraded your weapons you’ll be emptying Nazis of their blood in no time at all. And you’ll want to upgrade your weapons.

See, the upgrade system in Wolfenstein is actually pretty good. All of your standard weapons (MP40, MP43, Kar98) can be upgraded to the point where just a single bullet can put an enemy down. You can increase stopping power, ammo capacity and accuracy for all of your basic weapons as well as adding silencers and, in some cases, optical sights. By the end of the game, we’d become very attached to our silenced MP40 with drum magazine and recoil suppressor, to the point where we didn’t bother with the big special weapons unless forced to by a boss battle. Although you’ll get your hands on some of the Nazis’ experimental technology, it all feels a little uninspired. Whether it's the particle cannon or the Tesla gun, the special weapons all feel a little too similar and involve firing a bright light at the enemy, who will subsequently disintegrate/disappear. This is especially disappointing given that early on in the game, BJ finds himself in the middle of an anti-gravity gunfight and we found ourselves hoping for some Half Life 2 style physics wonderment, which never materialised. While the special weapons are undoubtedly powerful, they’re just a little unimaginative. The same problem applies to the Veil powers in the game.