The story aspects to this game can be as hard hitting as a nightmare. Seriously...if I dreamed some of the stuff this story shows...I would wake up in a cold sweat. Not so much the violence...but the sheer brutality against the helpless; the cruelty and the perversity of actions against those the Nazi deem as 'Lesser Creatures'. Near the beginning you are forced to make a decision. You have to choose which one of two of your comrades gets radical eye and brain surgery in front of you (without pain killers). It's not like either of them is a jerk. Both characters are pretty awesome in their own way.
**spoilers - Fergus, brave Scott that he is, puts your mind at ease. However, selecting Fergus only gets you a shitty armor buff where the armor you pick up is worth more points (Whoopee). It's not as good (IMHO) as the health buff (200 health eventually). If you select Wyatt, and, if you happen to have any empathy, it sticks with you in a very bad way. It sticks badly with Fergus too...when you run into him later...he'll help you...but he does kind of hate you.
Which Timeline is better; Fergus or Wyatt? Fergus. The voice acting is better and you get a health buff. Don't get me wrong...the armor perk is nice...but, in the later levels, 100 armor isn't hard to get anyway...so would you rather drop into combat with that AND 200 health or 100 health? Med packs aren't usually plentiful so overcharging isn't really a smart options that I have found. Best keep those med packs intact for when your health drops. If you want to see the Jimi Hendrix Easter egg... then choose the Wyatt timeline.
It seems more compassionate to save Wyatt...but more logical to save Fergus. It seems like a cool progression that the one person who is different at the Rebel Base later on reflects that choice to the ultimate degree. Either J (essentially Jimmy Hendrix) to represent the compassionate choice or Tekla who is obsessed with math, logic and calculations to represent the logical choice.
Side rant:
[[[I swear it must suck to be German and be born into a world of shame. "Welcome to the world - here is your first diaper - here is your first name - and here is the legacy of being the descendant of racial purist, genocidal psychopaths." Germany today is known for its' compassion and generosity. What happened to create Nazi party isn't just a 'Germany' lesson. It's an 'Everyone' lesson.]]]
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This is the 'Dark Knight' version of Wolfenstein. It's like a bad dream with cool shoot outs... but, like a dream, doesn't make so much sense in all too many ways:
1. Why are the Nazi's wearing full battle armor, running around with battle robots and gun emplacements when they haven't fought anyone in 12 years!?
Seriously. There are like 6 resistance members in the whole world. The Nazi's rule the world. What kind of Deus ex Machina is going to reverse that chain of events!?
2. Why does killing one scientist save the world?
Okay. So you kill a scientist that was instrumental in the Nazi taking over the world 12 years ago. HOW THE FUCK IS THAT GOING TO HELP NOW!?
3. Speeding to the Resistance HQ, Klaus Kreutz with BJ in the car crashes through the railing of an overpass to land on 2 Nazi soldiers below.
Though this might seem like a cool thing to do...HOW DID HE EVEN KNOW THAT THEY WERE THERE!!??? He was travelling at speed crashing through an overpass railing. Even if he happen to have had Xray vision...wouldn't it have been better to have...say...just gotten out of the car and shot them FROM the overpass? Maybe Klaus was just a bad driver who just happen to have landed on a couple of Nazi. In this world, it seems, you can't go to the bathroom without pissing one in the face.
4. From the "Stupid Hollywood Bullshit" category. One of your comrades stumbles upon an armor that can destroy the toughest opponents in the blink of an eye...but you don't get it because...uh..."Finders keepers". You convince them to give it to your crippled friend.
You are facing certain death from a couple of the toughest bots in the game while you are on the floor in front of them. In a flash of light your pal has them both trashed. She's in her fancy new armor. Did I also happen to mention that the armor flies!? You're 2 levels down on the food chain and then some at that point. Game over. Go back to base and practice making babies with Anya. Caroline, in the fancy Da'at Yuchat (or whatever) Flying armor of death wins. Nope...nope...Caroline is busy knitting...or whatever...and the armor is hers...you can't have it. So go smash your face against Nazi oppression some more. >Forehead slap< "Idiots". Was this directed by Joel Schumacher!?
5. Stealth mission to start. You are at a checkpoint with Nazi patrols. You pull up in a car and get out of the trunk. Anya's uncle shoots the guard in the face with a shotgun. The other guards don't seem to hear this. If you happen to be within 20 feet of him, he will yell at you with a thick Polish accent so loud that his voice will reverberate off of the walls of the compound to "kill every Nazi in the area so that they can move forward!".
Oddly enough, None of the Nazi heard him.
6. It almost looked like a Monty Python skit. You turn the corner and find the resistance crowding in a corridor. You're half gutted and drugged. They say "OMG are you okay?" Then they say "Hey! it's the elevator... lets go!" and they all run off leaving you there on the floor...including your "True Love". You 'Get Better' a second later and are helping people out of the elevator soon after that. Seriously!?
I know it's a game...bullet holes close up and expunge bits of shrapnel. Organs regenerate...etc...but when the writing gets involved?
7. 5 seconds to get away from a dying old man with a grenade should be 4 seconds more than you need.
Explanation? Nah...spoilers.
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The game itself plays very well. The writing for the dialogue was quite excellent. There is a wonderful Easter Egg of an old 1992esque Wolfenstein level. That was quite tasty. There was also a resistance member; a black guitar player who played his guitar reverse. He was only referred to as 'J'. You guessed it. Alternate reality Jimi Hendrix.
The game features an achievement section that rewards with perks. This provides extra challenges within the game itself. You don't get some innocuous reward that doesn't really mean anything... you get in-game benefits (larger mag, extra ammo cap, speed boost, etc). You can also find weapon upgrades, permanent health and armor boosts (given the timeline), Enigma codes to unlock special features. In the beginning, it almost seems like 'Too much'. If you are like me, manually searching for all this stuff isn't really the game I like playing. Look it up on Youtube.
There is one snag in the execution of this game: The key most games use to crouch is actually the 'Select fire' option on your primary weapon. This can get you into trouble. Often there is so many options, it gets mind boggling. There is a 2 weapon mode; where you can equip 2 of the same weapon at once. There is a select fire button on your primary weapon AND a select fire option for the secondary. All 3 of those buttons are right next to each other. Press the wrong button and you are in a world of confusion...and the action happens fast. '6' is the shotgun...and '5' is the sniper. '3' is the Handgun...and 1 and 2 are the knife and grenade 'at the ready' buttons. Though I'm perplexed to understand why you would have either since there is a button that says 'Take this out and use it' for BOTH! So I am constantly pressing 2 for a pistol and looking at a grenade "Yup...that's a grenade". I press 3 for an assault rifle and find myself holding a pistol. Finally getting it straight that 4 is the assault rifle, I choose the next weapon up for close range devastation, which would be the shotgun... so pressing 5...I get...THE SNIPER RIFLE!? '6' apparently is the shotgun. Fortunately, however, the game does remember your configuration for a particular slot. IE. if you had double pistols with silencers, if you went to another weapon and came back, you would still have that same configuration.
Basically the keys are kind of confusing...it does provide you with some cool options that other games don't. Peeking around cover is back. You could look over cover, beside cover, hell... you can even look below cover. Sprint sliding is a bit of a trick. You can't, however, look to the side and strafe sideways even with a hat and cane...so BJ will never star in any musical...but hey... sacrifices for the common good, right?
It was a pretty dark and grizzly game. I know many adults who would be too sensitive for the cut- scenes. It makes 'Clockwork Orange' look like a Brittany Spears video. Physically, it's a great game. The key configuration is a little warped but PC users can modify that. It doesn't have the same feel as old Wolfenstein...and I miss the SS leather fetish brigade. However, this really wasn't the kind of game that they should have been in. It's too...heavy...for that.
That said, I expect we will see the return of Frau Engel in DLC. Possibly with the aid of her 6 daughters...and who knows? Maybe they'll be wearing some fancy outfits. I doubt it though. Frau Engel has us all good and spooked. ID isn't going to let that go without playing it for all its' worth.
Of Honorable mention:
The soundtrack is excellent. Melissa Hollick singing 'I Believe' at the end will get you a little misty unless you don't have a soul. I can't help you there. The general ambient music reflects well to the background.
'Fergus' is a laugh in a can. This guy is smart, noble, charismatic, daring and calm under pressure I think all games should have one guy who tells the main protagonist to 'fuck off'...you know... to keep them grounded xD...and, in this game, that's Fergus.
Adding bonus modes changes the game experience enough to add replay value (though it would be good to have an 'Achievement' for accomplishing each).
You get a sense of who Blazkowicz is. He is actually a pretty sweet guy provided you aren't a Nazi. Well done!
Use of 'Map's and alternate routes helps me from feeling like a mouse in a tube and maximizes the variation in strategies.
There are times when it is better to be stealthy and assassinate...than to go in with guns blazing. This variation adds to a more well rounded experience.
Summary:
Wolfenstein: The New Order - is a solid shooter. I played the hell out of it. It doesn't have the replay value of most sandbox games...but it was well crafted with good characterization. 8.8/10 (damn good)
