Review: Wolfenstein
The Wolfenstein series has always been enjoyable and entertaining. Thankfully so, as Wolfenstein 3D was one of the first and best FPS ever made. The video game industry has advanced a great deal since those days and this franchise has kept up with the times. The latest product in the line is called Wolfenstein. It is the sequel to Return to Castle Wolfenstein (released in 2001).
As B.J. Blazkowicz, a veteran opponent to the Nazi occult program, you battle your way to saving the fictional city of Isenstadt from becoming the first target for the Nazi’s new super weapon. To complete your ultimate mission you must cooperate and support the German resistance groups in the city, the Kreisau Circle and the Golden Dawn. That’s the gist of the plot. Actually, that summary is probably the equivalent in length to the entire script. The game did feature cool occult themes and sci-fi elements and who could deny the joy from fighting super Nazi’s like this guy:
Maybe he read Chariots of the Gods too many times?
Unfortunately the story was shallow and one dimensional, not to mention predictable (though I just mentioned it). Go ahead and imagine what you think will happen in this game and your first guess would probably be right. The game was loosely based on history; the Nazi’s were actually obsessed with the occult, the Golden Dawn did exist as did the Kreisau Circle (the men behind the Valkyrie assassination attempt). Yet I found the story should have done so much more to capture my imagination and heighten the atmosphere. I suppose as an action game it did not have the warrant to give more detail (which an RPG could have, or like Doom 3 did) but I found myself wanting to know more about the Wolfenstein universe and gaining very little. It is a really interesting subject and they would do well to offer more substance in the story. Still, the plot of this game was too thin. Luckily, there is more to the game than the story.
"Hey Hanz, did you read Otto Rahn's new book?"
In Wolfenstein lore, there is another dimension layered over ours. In this other dimension exists the Black Sun, the power source for the Nazis super weapons. But the Nazis are not the only ones to exploit the power of the Black Sun dimension as the game provides you with a nifty new tool of war: the Thule Medallion. This is the game’s new feature to the series. Acquiring the medallion at the beginning of the game, you collect more crystals which enable different powers (for a total of four). The Veil Sight allows you to see hidden passageways and makes you move faster. The Shield power does exactly as it sounds. The Empower crystal enhances each weapon’s combat strength and the Mire ability is Wolfenstein’s version of bullet-time. My favourite was the Shearing Crystal upgrade to the Mire ability. Whenever I activated the bullet-time, it burned any nearby enemy into a charcoal statue. Very cool effect. It was especially useful against those lightning fast blade wielding Nazis. The powers were integral to completing certain missions and enhanced combat when activated. Against some foes, using the medallion was the only way to defeat the Nazi supermen. The medallion’s powers are nothing unique, however, and they were only worth using when you upgraded them, if that. I felt it was only handy when the game forced you to use it otherwise I just shot my way through every level.
The game played well with an easy to use control layout that allowed me to battle through the missions with ease. The graphics were cool and the sound effects were excellent. My attention was kept in this game largely because of its graphics and sound. The villains looked great and many props in the environments were destructible. I think the sound effects of this game have to be its best feature. Using the MP40 never sounded better than in Wolfenstein. It became my favourite weapon just because I wanted to hear it shoot all the time. The flamethrower was also a delicious joy to use on the Nazis, hearing them burn and sizzle, and the grenade explosions were great too. The orchestra heightened and lessened depending on the intensity of the action and overall it was fairly adequate.
Wolfenstein included the usual WWII weapons and as in earlier instances of the franchise this one had a few super weapons. These few were the product of twisted occult-obsessed Nazi scientists. The coolest one would have to be the particle cannon which burst enemies into shreds with one hit. The game allowed you to upgrade your weapons using the Black Market. Upgrades included giving more ammo to a weapon, upgrading the attack rate, or even attaching a scope. It was a nice feature since it gave you the option of beefing up your favourite weapon adding a little bit of complexity to what could have been a run of the mill arsenal. The Black Market was also the place you went to upgrade your Thule Medallion powers. All of this was at the cost of collectibles: gold and tomes (which I never found).
One immediate fault in the game is the checkpoint system. It did not function the way it was supposed to. Sometimes when you go to load the game from the most recent checkpoint it loaded an older save instead. More than once when I returned to the game it loaded the wrong checkpoint forcing me to replay some of the missions. The first time it happened I had to replay the Farm mission because the game loaded me just before I left the city. The second time it loaded me two missions before where I actually was. I figured out that the real checkpoints existed just not in the right order. So to circumvent the problem I deleted every single save except the most recent one, that way there would be no other checkpoint for the system to get confused with. If I did not figure out my own way to fix it I probably would have stopped playing the game. How many times would I have to repeat missions I already beat before I lost my patience? This was an overlooked glitch that should have been corrected before launch. While others reported frame rate drops and a few other glitches, I did not notice anything else. Except one time the game failed to continue during a boss battle. Without giving away too much, in one fight you have to destroy four egg sacks while a giant ant attacks you. The ant returns to the glowing fountain while you battle its minions and then comes back after they are dead. One time, she just never returned. I waited for ten minutes then had to reload it. Very bizarre. Chalk it up to occult activity maybe?
Overall, I would have to say that Wolfenstein was a fun game if only to play through once. I would not pay full price for it, but I liked it enough to keep playing after the first five minutes. It was fast, full of battle, and sounded great, but the story should have been more complex and the game should not have contained such a drastic fault. It offered side missions and hidden collectibles on top of the main objectives, but none of it made a difference to the quality of the game. I enjoyed playing Wolfenstein and am glad the franchise is still producing titles but after I beat it the first time I’ll probably never pick it up again. Maybe the next one will be an exceptional heir to Wolfenstein 3D’s legacy? This one was not the most memorable horse in their stable.
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