Shootin', Killin', Stranglin' Nazis
As someone who doesn't really play many FPS games aside from Halo, I can safely say that this was indeed a very pleasant surprise, and I don't think I've had this much fun with a game this year. I am someone who has never really played any of the previous Wolfenstein games, I didn't really know what to expect. Others mainly said that it was a very fun game, at least, in terms of gameplay, and when I saw small clip of the new order I kind of assumed that it was over the top mindless action. Well, I can say that one of my assumptions were accurate, the other, not so much.
So as you've probably heard, the gameplay is an absolute blast. The cover system, the mechanics and basically how the levels are designs kind of urge you to hug the controller and move around at all times. The guns are for the most part diverse, and when you've seen all of them you'll have the ability to upgrade them and utilize them at their full potential. Speaking of which, the game is really rewarding, believe or not. Sure it starts out easy but once you advance the enemies keep getting harder, and you'll have to complete specific tasks to actually upgrade yourself to keep up with your foes. That's right, you don't really gather points or anything like that, you'll have to follow specific instructions and actually act in order to better yourself, which not only forces you to better understand the game, but also makes you more powerful. B.J, the main character, is a walking and talking tank. You basically go around scavenging as much ammunition as you possibly can, while picking up different weapons, armor pieces and collectibles along the way. That being said, B.J is not invincible, in fact the game presents a very good difficulty curve and as you play, you'll have to manage your health and ammo along the way. There are certain weapons that don't do much damage against tougher enemies, so you'll have to act quickly and occasionally direct them into different areas in order to get what you need and beat them. This makes the flow of the battle dictated by you for the most part, because as I said, the levels are designed in a way to give you the advantage you need to win, but you'll have to use that advantage pretty well in order to finish the mission. However, while you DO get the chance to direct the fights, a lot of the times you'll have a very close (cinematic) relationship with the game. And that's not a bad thing, because this only means that the game itself knows that you, the player, are along for the ride, and during the game you are put in B.J shoes. I know this seems like a minor point but not many games can really connect you with the main protagonist as well as Wolfenstein does.
Moreover, the stealth is integrated pretty darn well. As mentioned above, the enemies aren't exactly a cakewalk, and at times they can be pretty overwhelming, so the game gives you a pretty good reason for not going in guns blazing. In fact, you are given a chance to remain in the dark as long as you take out the commanders who usually set the alarms off. However, what I was kind of upset by was the fact that the AI is a bit dumber than it should be; it isn't a huge glaring problem, and you can still get noticed, but when a guard walks by a dead body and he doesn't seem to be bothered, it is just a bit to much if you ask me. Also, while I enjoyed the single player I was a bit disappointed by the fact that the game didn't have at least a horde mode. Don't get me wrong, the new Order presents good reasons for you to reply it or beat it again (multiple side missions and collectables), but killing endless waves on Nazis would have been great.
Furthermore, the gameplay isn't the only star of the show, in fact really liked the story because it knew what it was and it knew what story to tell. B.J may seem like a gun slinging Oaf but he has far more depth to him than one may think. For one thing, despite the fact the he kills Nazi's he's actually a pretty good and kind man who just wants to settle down. But as some of the secondary characters point it out to him, B.J was born to kill nazi's, and he's damn good at it. However, aside from his love story and badassery, B.J has plenty of good moments. I am very happy that the writers included all of these side missions to further explore Williams characters as a whole. And what i didn't expect was the game to explore the concepts of fate and free will on such a grand scale. Look I understand that a game about killing Nazi's there has to be a point to all of it but they didn't really point the main concepts out nor did they spoon feed them to you. There's a huge cast of characters and most of them contribute to this notion in their own unique ways and as a whole it ends up creating something amazing. I understand that no one will give this game this much thought but I honestly thought that the clash between destiny and free will was a huge concept throughout the game, you just had to pay a bit of attention. Moving on, the Nazi portrayal was absolutely brutal...and In the good way, I mean, a lot of the things the do was despicable, and the game doesn't give you any reason to be ashamed of killing them in one of the most brutal ways possible. Speaking of which, the visuals were absolutely great! Especially the character designs. The cast is diverse and colorful so it only makes sense to give them all unique gimmicks, and it really works. In fact, a big part of the fun was that you get this Inglorious basterds vibe from the tone and atmosphere.
In conclusion, Wolfenstein the new order was a very cool and fun game. It has a great cast of characters, a cool story, and fantastic gameplay. It's truly one of the best games I've played this year, and while it may lack multiplayer or a horde mode, it definitely makes up for it with the single player campaign.
