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- Developer: Machine Games
- Publisher: Bethesda
- Genre: Shooter
- Release Date: 27/10/2017
- Platforms: Xbox One, PS4
- Reviewed on: Xbox One & Xbox One X in HD
- Game Supplied by: Xbox
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The year is 1961, and the Nazis have taken control of America as their stranglehold on the world continues, you take the role of BJ Blazkowicz who is a member of the resistance fighting the Nazi scourge to bring liberty to the american people by starting the second revolution.
The latest Wolfenstein game looks absolutely stunning with great use of lighting during various times of the day providing a dark, moody style. The attention to detail in the levels varies from war torn cities from some iconic American locations such as New Orleans to Roswell, even to the moons of Venus, yes you do get the chance to get to go to space. Wolfenstein is very graphic with close kills with the hatchet causing bloods to gush out all over the place to the point that the blood remains on your hands showing the carnage you have just done.
As Wolfenstein is a single player experience it’s all about the story and your character profiling, and it doesn’t disappoint with a good mix of character personas which entwine and play of each other creating a fantastic crew that grows as you continue to play through the game. Even on completion of the game there is replay value with secondary missions where you can hunt down rogue Nazi commanders or hijack some Nazi mech which prolong the games playability. Also the various difficulty levels can provide more of a challenge as the standard “please don’t hurt me” difficulty was still challenging.
Even though Wolfenstein has its controversial moments with some very racist overtones which keeps in line with the Nazi persona, it does have some hilarious cut-scenes, SPOILERS ahead…, such as an old and decrepit Hitler taking a piss in a bucket in the middle of a room while trying to have a conversation with other characters on screen to drinking moonshine with a preacher and passing out after one drink, even the first mission has you in a wheelchair gunning down Nazi’s sets out the tone of what to expect throughout the game.
Your movement is fast and frantic which is great for running to cover while under heavy fire, this changes when carrying power weapons as you can’t run when you are holding these types of weapons, this restricts your movement and leaves you vulnerable to take damage.
The in game audio provides an immersive experience not just from the weapons fire, but the ambient sound of the environments such as fans spinning or heavy footsteps of mechanised soldiers which are very distinctive than your standard Nazi grunt. The voice acting is first class provides each character with their own unique personality whether it’s the tough exterior of Grace Walker who is a former member of the Black Revolutionary front to the acid tripping nerd of Probst Wyatt
Your arsenal throughout the game is very impressive from pistols, assault rifles to grenade launchers, but you can also acquire power weapons that can do a lot of damage these can range from the Hammergewehr which is a type of gatling gun to the Ubergewehr which takes a while to power up but when you fire shoots a ball of energy that expands and consumes enemies in the vicinity is great for taking out large numbers of enemies.
Throughout the game you can acquire upgrades for your weapons to increase aspects like magazine capacity or change grenades from fragmentation to electrical, but their are plenty of collectables on your journey to collect which some are easy enough to find to more difficult collectables such as the records and the gold bars. Even though these act as a small diversion there isn’t much else to this activity.
You can also acquire gear throughout the game which will allow you to break through weak walls or mow down weaker enemies, to the constrictor harness which allows you to crawl through tight spaces to access new areas and kill unexpected enemies as they walk by.
You also have perks that can be leveled up by completing certain criteria such as getting headshots, killing enemies with power weapons to name a couple.
The Vault unlocks the SAS Machine, this is part of the deluxe version of the game, which introduces new levels and challenges.
Combat Simulator – This allows you to replay the missions that were in the main story but kills accumulate a points score with multiple kills giving you a combo bonus, these levels can be played with 6 difficulty levels which require more points to gain your badger of honour for completing.
Freedom Chronicles – these are new missions centered around 3 characters, as this is the first episode in the series of 4 with a backstory for each character which will continue to evolve through each new episode.
I did play this on the Xbox one X and it looked a lot sharper with enhanced features that i never noticed before such as the heat haze coming of your weapon as you fire it.
SUMMARY
Wolfenstein 2 may shock people with its content and humour but it’s meant to, the game is wonderfully presented with lovely looking graphics which are enhanced by the Xbox One X.
Even though the game is lacking any coop or multiplayer, the single player experience is very fulfilling with plenty side missions to distract you from the main game. There is also the added bonus of the inclusion of the original Wolfenstein 3D included throughout the game.
