I don't know what really gave me the idea, but I was under the impression that this new Wolfenstein game is going to be somehow a remake of the classic game, or at least the story will follow the events there. Yes, I know what you're gonna say, I had no evidence whatsoever to support my thoughts, it was just a pre-conception I had in my weird mind... You have to admit though, a remake would have been awesome.
The game is indeed a sequel, but it continues the story from the "new age" Return to Castle Wolfenstein. But other than the classic shooter aspect and some endgame tie-ins for the sake of the fans, the two games are nothing alike really.
The player still takes the role of special agent B.J. Blazkowicz, a well trained secret service infiltrator, versed in both weapons combat and the paranormal.
After single-handedly taking care of the Übesoldat program that was gonna lead the Third Reich to victory over the Allies, B.J. has to face a new challenge, this time fighting alongside the resistance of the small (not to mention fictional) town of Isenstadt against yet another project to use the Black Sun dimension to create yet another weapon.
After arriving just in the nick of time via train, you are guided by a resistance member to a secret hideout, just before a German patrol arrives.
Nazi patrols are everywhere on the streets, and you'll find out soon enough that Isenstadt is an actual "living, breathing" city, in the sense that you can explore and venture pretty much everywhere without having a particular mission.
Of course, you are not left to wander through various areas of the game if you don't like that gameplay style, and you get your own quest log just like in a MMO game. Usually you will have somewhere around three missions at once, one for each of the factions found in the game: the Black Market smugglers, the Resistance - Kreisau Circle, or the Golden Dawn - a group sworn to protect the ancient secrets of the Black Sun dimension.
This time, B.J. doesn't have only his weapons and brains to survive in this hostile environment, but also a mystical artifact that gets upgraded as you progress throughout the game, granting him superhuman powers.
Using it, you can enter the Veil and see things through the other dimension. This vision mode aids your perception and improves enemy targeting, as well as offering light in dark areas and highlighting secret places and objects. Like any artifact power, the veil can be upgraded to grant enemy sighting through walls, detection of stealth enemies, etc.
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The second power you will gain is to slow time, upgradeable to time stop and an area of effect damage around you when triggered. Needless to say this can come in handy when trying to assault barricaded points like machine gun nests or entrances guarded by turrets or tanks.
You also possess a shield that will temporarily guard you from damage, upgradeable to reflect projectiles back.
Finally, a rage/berserk power up is available, allowing your bullets to pass through shields and even walls.
Veil powers aren't the only upgradeable thing in the game, because you can also upgrade your Tesla Gun, Particle Canon, Flamethrower, Rocket Launcher, MP 40, MP 43, Sniper or that fancy_BFG_looking_weapon_I_can't_remember_the_name. This is pretty much your whole weapons' arsenal, which combined with Veil powers offer an interesting gameplay experience to say the least.
You are probably asking at this point how you buy upgrades, and it's a valid question. Contrary to popular custom, you don't get upgrade points just by advancing through your missions, and you aren't rewarded for kills or completing bonus objectives. You need to find precious objects or stacks of cash instead, spread out throughout the mission.
This may prove a daunting experience for the classic shooter gamer, because every level has to be thoroughly searched, every room investigated several times, in both normal mode and Veil view mode, to reveal any secrets it might offer.
Upgrade cash will not be your only problem, because you also need to gather Nazi intelligence reports to unlock several important weapons upgrades; and various Tomes of Power for Veil power upgrades respectively.
The city includes some of these collectibles and between missions you could go have a look around. It would all be easier if Nazi patrols wouldn't show up/respawn on every street corner with random patterns and a random weapons and sentry placement. It's odd when one minute you are overwhelmed by enemy forces and die in 3 seconds after turning a corner, and after a quickload you'll only find a couple of weak guards there.
Sadly, the respawn model applies to mission as well, even if on fewer occasions. Not once I was killed from behind after I successfully cleared out that room and turned my back on it.
The holy ID Software principle about FPS games seems to work here as well, and Raven did a fine job in implementing it: tons of weak enemies to kill, instead of just a few, big, mean and hard to kill guys. And despite that, the AI knows to take cover and walk round you pretty well. It also combines soldiers with paranormal acolytes that shield the troops, mutant experimental cyborg soldiers, stealth assassins, flame throwers, and many more, to create a unique gaming experience, forcing you to think your way out of some very dangerous situations by combining Veil powers and weapons fire.
Interestingly enough, an element that adds to replayability and customization is the fact that you don't have enough money to upgrade everything till the end of the game. In fact, it's barely enough for half if you are very careful in picking cash and intel from everywhere. So pick upgrades wisely, and remember you can sell an upgrade for half the price in case of utmost need.
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Conclusion
Once again agent Blazkowicz saves the world from a threat of huge, paranormal proportions. He should star in Ghost Busters or something. It proves that he was the man who single-handedly turned the World War II tide in favor of the Allies and as we will probably find out in a future episode, will win the war for them. Seriously though, the new Wolfenstein that they couldn't find an appropriate name for is a pretty decent game, a nice shooter, that has many fun elements and it grows on you. Only downside is that it hasn't much to do with the ol' Wolf 3D game, so some old school gamers may end up a little disappointed.
Gameplay: 83
I really wanted to give this game a go on the PC as well, to see how it feels like. And even if I'm the biggest PC fan on the planet, and a strong promoter of the mouse-keyboard control scheme for shooters, somehow this game seems fit for a game controller. Its unique combination of weapons, weapon upgrades and slight auto aim give shooting a fun feel, and help you spread that love all around.
Graphics: 79
Apparently it uses a modified version of the Doom 3 engine, or how you gamers know it better: ID Tech 4. Or was it the other way around? Thing is most effects, animations, monsters etc. look good, but nothing is sensational. I thought this may be a limitation of the Xbox 360 console. But as it turns out, the PC version looks relatively the same, with improved anti aliasing and texture filtering a bit maybe. So a fair mark here, with an extra special mention for some monster design.
Sound: 76
I actually did hear some weapon sounds that were so real-life like and helped your game immersion and voice acting was convincing too. There was nothing about music that stood out, but I noticed it was there...
Multiplayer: 77
Endrant Studios is actually the multiplayer developer for Wolfenstein, and the game differs a bit from the singleplayer experience. Team Deathmatch, objective capture and defending as well as timed missions are available to play as one of the three classes: Engineer, Medic and Soldier, each with specific skills. It's clear players will want to try both the multiplayer and singleplayer experience once they bought this game of course, but if I were to choose I'd probably say single is a wee bit more enjoying.