Words: Mav

Pix: Courtesy Activision

It’s a long time since Wolfenstein graced the desktop; 8 years since the release of Return To Castle Wolfenstein. Nonetheless, just hearing about the arrival of a new Wolf game is pleasantly exciting, like hearing that an old friend is in town. It’s the feeling we had when Duke Nukem Forever was announced but without being followed by crushing disappointment.

While id software have gone with the short and pithy moniker of ‘Wolfenstein’, this is in fact a sequel to Return To… and thus the sixth single player PC instalment of the franchise. As such, you’re still playing as American agent ‘BJ’ Blazkowicz (amusing nickname winner 3rd year in a row) and old enemies take the opportunity to appear. Those who remember the old games will be pleased to hear that Wolf-6 has much of the feel and atmosphere of the old games and has updated the premise without compromising it.
Many would have liked to see a super-graphical Wolfenstein with a creeping survival horror feel; instead we have a modest performer visually (id Tech 4 engine) with a bit of a clunky, old fashioned feel to it. The game feels a little behind the times- however, this gives it a subtle link to the old school Wolf games, a texture that would be really hard to create on purpose but seems to have naturally evolved out of the creative direction of this instalment.

This feel is a beautiful thing and the not relying on graphical madness means a smoother gaming experience. Now, don’t think that Wolfenstein is lacking in prettiness just because it doesn’t have a trillion shadows and actual visible nostril hairs on every German. Quite the opposite occurs when you activate the game’s new dynamic- entering the Veil- which plunges the screen into a torn world of turquoise energy, complete with drifting alien creatures, black ash rising from the ground and swirly vortexes swirling, vortex-style. This Veil is comparable to the Gloom in Night Watch; a wobbly alternate space where you can move fast and use magical powers. The Nazis are busy exploiting this strange technology which is related to the occult German mythology of the Black Sun, keeping up the series’ tradition of the Third Reich poking their fingers into the occult and wiggling them around in the hope that some Allies will die. This ties in nicely with genuine historical accounts of the Thule Society’s paranormal investigation of the Black Sun and other mythology.

So, we have a dynamic which has roots in real WW2 mystery, Wolfenstein legacy and advanced game mechanics. The graphics of the Veil and its impact on combat give Wolf-6 a fresh appeal and a modern edge without changing the core of the game too much. Other elements that provide this are team NPC combats, sandbox town areas with hidden gold and upgrades and some all-new Veil weaponry such as a particle cannon. The powers accessible to plucky, poorly named BJ are Veil (lets you enter the Veil, go faster and see people through walls), Mire (essentially slow motion), Shield (bullets rebound off a blue force field) and Empower, which makes your guns more powerful and lets you shoot through walls and cover. These powers each have their tactical uses in combat and give the game a little more than just the usual WW2 duck and die repeatedly motif. The powers that be have also gone with the regenerating health system instead of percentile with health packs system.

The more mundane game play aspects have their benefits and faults. On the plus side, you can return enemy grenades, which is very satisfying if you’re brave and fast enough. Also you have some basic but enjoyable stealth tactics at your disposal. On the negative side the Nazi soldiers rush to their deaths, shouting out to let you know when they’re leaving cover, and tend to get confused by their own AI. As a quick aside, a nod should be made to good voice acting and sound effects- not top quality, but again this lends some familiarity to the older games. There are some issues with realism that most first person shooters suffer from, like damage amounts- I was amused to interrupt an occult ceremony by throwing a huge metal hammer into the head of the high priest, only to have it bounce off his head with a comedic ‘thunk’ noise, not killing him but making him very cross. There is also a lack of ragdoll deaths in favour of the old school pre-animated deaths- this is fine, except occasionally too theatrical, with soldiers staggering doggedly towards railings for the express purpose of tossing themselves over the edge.

Of course, soldiers are the least of your problems. Say hello to power armoured heavy weapon soldiers, gimp men who run at you like dogs, strange surgeon-looking Veil magic users and jetpack rocketeers. Sneaky Nazi cyborg ninjas stalk you, invisible without Veil sight- you know the type, gas mask wearing guys in a permanent crouch, similar to those in Oni or Fear. They say things like “Bwahaha, you can’t kill what you can’t see!” which always turns out to be wrong. BJ (it’s really hard to take a freedom fighter seriously when he’s shouting out “BJ, come quickly!”) first encounters these cheeky chaps in a creepy hospital and it’s one of many atmospheric and classy settings, including an epic castle and textbook Indiana Jones dig site.

BJ gets a lot of help from the resistance in the town of Isenstadt. The Kreisau Circle is a group of rebel fighters that you often fight alongside (or try to, they tend instead to keep shouting out you to move faster when you’re several paces ahead of them), then there are the Golden Dawn who clue you in on all mystical nonsense and the Black Market smugglers who BJ can visit to upgrade weapons and Veil powers. There is supposedly not enough gold in the game to buy all the upgrades, so some caution must be made in making selections. The upgrades vary from minor ones like bigger ammo clips, to dynamic ones like silent options and melee attachments. As you explore Isenstadt and other areas, more gold and upgrade related items can be found with a little searching, which often involves holding a button over a desk or draw which is strikingly reminiscent of No-One Lives Forever.

What we have at the end of all this is what feels like a modern update of a classic; not a totally new package, which may disappoint people who have invested in uber-puters, but a game that feels like re-visiting an icon of gaming history. Wolfenstein is a simple game at heart with a fascinating dynamic bolted on top that allows the player to get as old or new school as they like, making it accessible to gamers across the spectrum. Everyone likes fighting Nazis, the universal badguys of history and everyone likes bayoneting gimps. Fun, dramatic and charged with action, Wolfenstein surprises as often as it pleases.

4 Z's out of 5

- Nazis

- Ninjas

- BJ

- Pulp brilliance