Wolfenstein

The Good
Playing this game for the first time was quite a surprise, as I had mostly heard negative things about it. What I found was a pretty decent game with good replay value; a game which definitely had a few notable flaws, but also a significant number of redeeming features that helped me appreciate it. This is what I’ll cover in this section.

Wolfenstein (2009) is the sequel to the amazing Return to Castle Wolfenstein (2001), and as such has a story with a strong emphasis on the supernatural, although it also tries to wade into sci-fi territory by introducing the concept of an alternate dimension. Among the characters it introduces is Caroline Becker – an important figure in MachineGames’ Wolfenstein: The New Order (2014), which revitalized the series.

The game levels are based on a hub system – something we have seen in Raven’s Heretic/Hexen series, id’s Quake 2 and some chapters of Valve’s classic Half-Life. The hub is the town of Isenstadt (the correct German spelling would be “Eisenstadt” – literally translating as “city of iron”) – this is where you contact the various factions and characters that give you missions. Then you’re not automatically transported to your mission area, but have to find the exit to it, which means you’ll often engage in skirmishes with various randomly spawned bunches of enemies around the city streets. Somewhat safer alternate routes are present (sewers and rooftops), although they are not nearly as far-reaching as the NPC dialogue suggests, so you’ll mostly have to use the streets.

The town hub is mostly non-linear and allows for some degree of free-roaming, while the actual missions are linear and more to-the-point (since you are pursuing specific objectives). The town itself is very well designed, creates a convincing sense of location and has a large number of secrets (I’ll get to that in a minute). The missions take place in various locations in and around the city, offering a variety of environments, such as a farm, archeological digs, a factory, ruined city streets, a really creepy hospital, etc. Some missions are optional, meaning you can pursue them only if you want some extra cash in your pockets. Sound ambience is perfectly implemented; music only plays in select spots to accentuate the situation.

Secrets have a significant presence in the game, mostly in the non-linear town hub, but there’s a fair number of them in the missions as well. They are quite useful, and thus the game encourages players to explore and hunt for secrets. Some of them may contain ammo, most of them – collectibles. Collectibles include gold (used to purchase ammo or weapon upgrades), intel items (unlock certain upgrades and provide background lore, for those that like this sort of thing) and Tomes of Power, which look suspiciously similar to Heretic’s artifacts of the same name (unlock certain amulet upgrades).

Since I mentioned the amulet – it’s an artifact that you acquire early in the game and upgrade with several supernatural powers: slow time, shielding and berserk power. Hmmm, didn’t we see something similar in Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil? Anyway, the amulet is part of the Veil gameplay mechanic, which is an eerie alternate reality. Entering it has a few benefits, such as seeing in the dark, moving faster and the ability to enter places that are otherwise inaccessible in the physical world.

I’ve heard people compare Wolfenstein to Call of Duty, yet Wolf definitely strays away from this formula by allowing you to carry 8 weapons (not just two at a time). There are a few pretty unique gadgets, such a particle beam gun, a Tesla gun and a flamethrower. Weapon upgrades are a major theme in the game – they are quite useful and worth getting. They don’t just make a weapon more powerful, they can even alter its purpose – the weak and ordinary MP40 submachine gun becomes a surgical-precision tool for stealthy elimination of specific targets when fully upgraded, the bland Kar98 rifle becomes a lethal sniper with all upgrades, etc. There isn’t enough gold to buy all upgrades in the game, so you will have to choose and prioritize.

A word about enemies – unlike CoD where you just shoot the same enemy soldier again and again, Wolf offers a large variety of enemies with different behaviors, appearances and special features. Some will charge you, others will shoot you from cover, a few will bombard you from afar. You will definitely have to adapt your tactics.

The Bad
While I like to focus on the game’s redeeming features, I can clearly see why many people disliked it. At this point I suppose everyone knows about the Call of Duty influences on Wolfenstein’s gameplay, most notably the regenerating health (there are no medkits or anything of the sort in the game) and the infamous “you’re hurt, take cover” message that we, oldschool gamers, hate to see in a game. Also, you can only sprint for a while before getting “tired” and having to catch your breath.

Voice acting leaves much to be desired. Like its predecessor, RtCW, Wolfenstein has the Nazis speak in English with a crude German accent. I heard many mispronounced German words – now, I am not really fluent in the language, I have only studied German for a few years in high school, but I did notice the mispronunciations and it was annoying. Most of the NPC’s are quite forgettable, except for the several villains and Caroline Becker.

Linear missions means you will often run into invisible walls, “conveniently” placed cave-ins, inextinguishable flames, invincible doors, or the so-called “insurmountable waist-height fence”, all of which can be annoying and sometimes just look so sloppy. The town hub is not fully available to you from the beginning; many parts are sealed off until you accept and/or complete a certain mission. As mentioned in the previous section – NPC’s will make you believe the sewers and rooftops are viable alternate routes to traverse the town, yet they are pretty limited in scope and thus only useful for shorter trips. The random nature of enemy spawns around town means you can either go around deserted streets or be subjected to a grueling endurance run along your entire trip.

Another gripe of mine is that ammo for certain weapon types appears so rarely that you’ll have to rely primarily on Black Market purchases to refill – something I consider unnecessary. Wouldn’t have been so hard to just put some of the rare ammo types in secrets, alongside those gold bars.

The Bottom Line
Wolfenstein (2009) is a product of its time – Call of Duty was in its prime back then and it inevitably affected everything in the genre one way or another.

However, it is also a product of Raven – the people who gave us awesome classics like Heretic, Hexen, Soldier of Fortune, Jedi Outcast and a few others. A name I always associate with great single player experiences and quality design.

If you are able to swallow the CoD-like gameplay elements and several other flaws this game has, you would surely have fun with it. I specifically recommend it to fans of id Software and Raven, also to Wolfenstein fans in general.

The Good
I've been with the Wolfenstein series my whole life. The original Castle Wolfenstein and its stellar sequel rocked my world back in the good ol' days when floppies were still floppy. When the now infamous Wolfenstein 3D made its debut, it and the Commander Keen series cemented id Software into my brain as gods. That hasn't changed, I've gobbled up everything ID has spewed out. I'm still devoted, and can't wait for RAGE and I was the first to pick up a copy of Wolfenstein 6 (I refuse to just call it "Wolfenstein") from my local game store.

The game follows a squashed, somewhat Serious Sam-ish looking B.J. Blazkowicz (Seriously, why is his head squashed, 20 years younger, and have black hair? If this game is so close to RCTW, why isn't his hair blond like it normally is?) after stealing a magical doohickey from a Nazi doohickey on water and he goes to a Nazi town filled with Nazi doohickeys and blah blah blah YOU KILL A BUNCH OF NAZIS WITH THE DOOHICKEY TO GET MORE DOOHICKEYS. Does the story in a Wolfenstein game really matter?

The game world is, in a way, a callback to Raven Softwares Hexen series that used a 'hub,' but Raven has definitely improved the Hub system. Basically, what that means is you are confined to a map and move around different squares on that map and then unlock levels as you progress. Raven makes other calls back to Hexen including the Ravens Nest, a bar that appeared in Hexen, and the Tomes of Power, items which originally appeared in Hexen as well. It's nice to see that Raven remembers their roots. The game world is detailed and fun to explore, as there are several secrets to discover which unlock power ups and weapons, as well as give you money which you actually need this time for more than just score value.

The single player campaign is yet another call back to the old days, while most shooters these days make a short single player with little focus, Wolf 6 actually cares about making an impression with its single player campaign and lasts you awhile, taking you through several levels and lots of missions. I was pleasantly surprised with the games length. There are also several boss fights which will turn your ass into gravy, but that's just how I like them. They are also all clever and well thought out, providing something unique to the challenge and occasionally freshening up the gameplay.

Upgrading weapons is worth your time, and sometimes can drastically change a weapon, almost enough to make them completely new or different weapons. The Mp44 can be converted into a repeat fire sniper rifle, the Mp40 can be converted into a stealth tool, and so on. The weapons for the most part are standard fare for World War II games, but they all sound good and are fun to shoot. As with any good Wolfenstein game, you will soon get more exotic weapons to work with, such as the Tesla cannon from the last Wolf game and the downright awesome... uhm, gun with a really long German name I can't pronounce with a '22' at the end. I just call it the flesh pounder, since it literally blasts your enemies skins right off their hides. While ammo for these guns are rare, they are really cool and fun to use.

The Nazis are fun to shoot, unlike some, the novelty of shooting Nazis hasn't gone away for me, although this might be because the only WWII shooters (I have played a few WW2 RTSes, like Company of Heroes) outside of the Wolfenstein series that I have played are Day of Defeat Source and Call of Duty 1/2. No Medal of Honor or other such games to spoil it for me. They are also fun to shoot because the gore is silly, over the top, and cool. If you are feeling bloodthirsty, Wolf 6 is for you.

While I know some may not like it, this is one of the rare games where respawning enemies works and makes sense. It works because you will roam the streets of the town a lot, both to get to your mission and to search for secrets, and having the respawning enemies means you will always put up a fight so the action keeps going. The reason I say it is justified as well is the fact that in real life, the Nazis often called in reinforcements and there were always patrols, and they "respawn" in patrols so it actually makes sense here.

Deathshead is a great villain.

Also, the Castle level rocks.

The despoiled are cool too.

Exploring the town and levels for secrets is rewarding and the hub world means that there are more areas that are usually locked off like games in this and makes the town feel a bit more realistic.

FLAMETHROWER! :B

The Bad
Speaking of Call of Duty, Wolf 6 is a little too close to those games in certain aspects. The hud is downright stolen from Call of Duty 2, from the regenerating health to the "You are hurt! Get to cover" screen, and even the tossing the grenade back thing and the compass, which is just moved from the bottom of the screen to the top. This is disappointing because I do not like regenerating health much (In fact, Call of Duty 2 and 4 are the only FPS games with regenerating health I do like.) as it makes the game a little easier than it should be, and the other elements are practically unchanged so sometimes you might be thinking you are just playing Call of Duty 2 with more gore and science fiction elements.

The graphics aren't anything special. They do their job OK, but the engine is showing its age and the game doesn't make use of the excellent lighting system, making it seem even more dated than previous games that used the engine. The Nazi character models look good enough, and the environments are detailed but a weird glare effect makes them look strange and unrealistic. There are some good special effects like gore and explosions, but otherwise the game looks underwhelming and animations are poor.

While the sound of guns are great, the voice acting is subpar, and with the Nazi's it is ridiculous. It was satisfying in Wolfensten 3D to shoot a Nazi and hear him shout "MEIN LEIBEN!" (Although there is an occasion in Wolf 6 that they do shout that and make me clap like a stupid little kid in glee) and kinda scary when you would be alone and then hear someone shout "Shutzstaffel!" before filling you with lead. The Nazi's sound downright dumb and silly speaking English, and their accents sound more like bad Arnold Schwarzenneger impersonators than they do real Germans. Although for the sake of exposition I understand them speaking English on occasion, but for the most part, their voices should be more varied and in German so they sound more authentic.

The games plot gets in the way sometimes. As I said before, do you really care about the plot in a Wolfenstein game? Whenever the story feels you HAVE to watch a cutscene or stand around and listen to exposition, you yawn and want to fall asleep. It's all boring and all it amounts to is "YOU HAVE A MAGIC DOOHICKEY AND GUNS, KILL THINGS!" but that makes it all the more painful to hear people explaining what the magic doohickey is, why you have guns, and making it seem that the act of killing Nazis is more than killing Nazis. The only time I actually woke up during these cutscenes was when there was something cool on screen like a Nazi becoming despoiled or whenever Deathshead would come on, because Deathshead kicks ass. He's easily one of the coolest and creepiest SS guys since that dude from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The gameplay, while fun, can get repetitive at times and at others, a little too easy. The new "Veil" thing sounds decent on paper, but the execution is sloppy and makes the game even easier. It has bullet time, a shield, crack cocaine, and X-ray goggles with green stuff splashed on them. While the X-ray goggles help you see secrets and are useful at times, and it IS kinda cool to look at the Nazis in this mode since they are all decrepit and creepy lookin', the X-ray goggles make areas easier to navigate and make you faster. Bullet time is the same old stuff you're used to and actually makes the game less fun, the only time I ever activate it is after I got the upgrade that makes it so if you activate it around a group of Nazis, they are flash fossilized. THAT was cool. Crack cocaine just makes you run around extra fast and bullets chew up everything without much effort. The shield works as advertised, but just makes the game less challenging which is no fun. The only time its fun to use these powers for anything other than finding secrets is during boss battles, otherwise it makes the game too easy and isn't as cool as it should've been.

The AI is antiquated, while it works in groups well enough, it does stupid things and feels relatively weak.

The multiplayer is truly terrible. While the groundwork is decent, and based on the superb multiplayer component from Return to Castle Wolfenstein and its spin off, Enemy Territory which is one of the best online games ever. However, its spoiled by several annoyances, such as the fact that only 12 players can play (Seriously, 12? Quake let you play with 16 and it came out in 1996!) and EXTREME lag. The maps aren't too plentiful or fun either, and its a shame considering how amazing the last games multiplayer was. All Raven had to do is copy and paste the multiplayer from RTCW, allow 32 players, and stuff in a few cool maps. They did that with Quake 4 and while it showed a lack of creativity, it was still a great update of Quake III. The changes Raven made here are disappointing, if you are going to change something, make it better, not worse.

The castle level ends :(

The Bottom Line
All in all, Wolfenstein 6 should please fans like me who like a side order of gore and science fiction with their world war II shooters. The biggest problems lie in the fact that the game is too easy, and relies a little too heavily on antiquated tech. The game IS fun, and the amount of fun you'll have shooting things is cathartic and entertaining but at times the gameplay feels too familiar to anyone who has played Call of Duty 2/4, and while those games are great, they aren't what I think of when someone says "Wolfenstein." The multiplayer sadly isn't anything to speak of, but the single player campaign is lengthy and fun. It doesn't reach the potential of its predecessors, but its still a fun game worth a look for fans.

The Good
This review will focus only on the merits of the Xbox 360 console version of the game. I didn't play any multiplayer only because no one was playing. For historic interest see: http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/castle-wolfenstein-series by year.

I usually don't play my FPS games on a console, but I couldn't refuse a complete copy of Wolfenstein for $7 on x360 at the local video game shack. I was late to the party with the PC release (perhaps an annoying DRM routine) and missed the Steam version (no longer for sale). I started this game one night and found the experience compelling enough that I went on to finish it 100%. The reviews from the so-called professional game sites are a mixed lot and I would advise you avoid them all. Go in with a fresh perspective like I did and see the reviews after.

Let me get right to it. The story was fun to watch in the cutscenes and hear play out in dialog in-game. The characters were interesting with some homage here and there. The sound design was nice - especially the weapons. The graphics are sexy with some nice post processing effects. Load times were really fast and frame rates were high, even in intense firefights.

The veil powers with you medallion are fun and make later foes meat when combined with empower. Pro tip: Buy all the scopes and magazine capacity upgrades as soon as you can. Buy all the empower upgrades also. With scopes and empower, scribes, assassins, jetpack bombers, and tanks are no problem.

They also give you collectibles in the way of extra gold, intel, and tomes. Gold gives you bonus mission currency to spend for your weapon upgrades. Intel are some nice art work or story elements that add a bit of narrative texture. And Tomes, which look like Tomes Of Power from Heretic. Each collectible offers a bonus to your game if you collect them all. Don't worry about missing any of the collectibles though, at any point in the game you can go back and revisit any previous section of the game and keep looking for the ones you missed. Even retaining you upgraded inventory!

The Bad
Some cheesy dialog is delivered poorly in a couple places. The AI is reactive most of the time, using cover well and coordinating - although I did see a few instances of a small group tripping around too close to one another and getting stuck in animation loops. The physics system and objects thrown around are cool and cast nice shadows, but can become a problem in an explosive exchange around opening and closing doors. Boss and sub-boss fights are fun and tie later story elements together, but the last one is really over the top and ends suddenly.

The Bottom Line
At the end of the day it was fun blowing the Nazi forces up and into pieces. Being in BJ's boots felt like a high production sci-fi/action B-movie. There were some subtle side references to the older games too. If you're not too critical of your entertainment, I think Wolfenstein is worth playing.

Get Psyched!