Summary:
Wolfenstein: The New Order is a game that is part of the iconic Wolfenstein game franchise. The majority of the games follow Captain B.J. Blazkowicz, part of the United States Army as he fights his way against the axis powers during World War II.
Specifically Wolfenstein: The New Order was developed by MachineGames and published by Bethesda on May 19th, 2014. It is a first-person shooter that takes place during and after World War II. The game is set in a universe where the Nazi’s developed superior technology that ultimately won them World War II and now they are in full control of the world. B.J. Blazkowicz fought in one of the last battles of the War where he was injured and then spent the next 14 years in an asylum where he has no recollection of what happened and what is happening, basically in a coma.
He awakens where he learns that the Nazi’s won the war and have been terrorizing the entire world. Blazkowicz is now determined to fight his way through countless Nazi soldiers both human and mechanical to get to the one guy that he wants his revenge on, the main antagonist of the game, Deathshead. He is the German engineer that created most of the technology that won them the war.
About Wolfenstein:
There are a few different ways to play the game. Most levels you can just go guns-a-blazing shooting everything one site, however there are a few that you can do stealthy. Along those lines, there are different perk trees that players are able to progress through. There are challenges such as, kill a commander with a grenade, kills with assault rifles under cover, and stealth knife kills just to name a few. Completing each challenge gives the player new perks that are automatically applied to Blazkowicz.
Another feature this game has is the weapon wheel. At any time, the player can have access to multiple weapons. On the weapon wheel, there are single weapons and double weapons where the player can dual wield any type of weapon. Another feature is that the player has both health and armor, which can both be picked up throughout the game randomly. Health is always found but armor can both be found and dropped by enemies. There are multiple collectibles that are found throughout the levels.
Specifically, gold items, enigma codes, letters, health and armor upgrades. All of these can be found at any time during any timeline except the health and armor upgrades. That right, there are also two different timelines that the player can play through. This depends on a decision made during the first level to save eight Fergus, a Scottish companion of B.J. ‘s or Wyatt, a private in which this is his first major battle.
Depending on who the player choses, Blazkowicz will either know how to lockpick, or hotwire and will find health upgrades or armor upgrades throughout gameplay. After finishing one timeline, the player can go back and complete the game in the other timeline.
Review:
I first played this game a few years ago and then again just recently. This was my introduction to the Wolfenstein franchise as I have never played the several original games. I am a huge fan of historical war games so I was excited to try it out. I was not disappointed. I liked how it didn’t go with the typical World War II games and explored something new. The gameplay itself was solid. Movement, shooting, and interactions were all easy and I didn’t have any problems with it. The story was great. I never felt lost in it and there were always those twists that made me either drop my jaw or raise my eyebrows.
There wasn’t too much decision making which I like, but also wish there was a little bit more and a little more open world. There were some bugs for me where a certain collectable wouldn’t generate in the level and then I would go back and it would be there. That was only slightly annoying because I am a “completionist” and I like to get 100% on games and complete close to everything the game has to offer. I played this game on the Xbox One and I got every achievement but it took quite some time.
Overall, this was a very solid FPS and a great introduction for me to the Wolfenstein universe. I would highly recommend Wolfenstein: The New Order as it does not take too long to go through, but it is worth every minute spent playing.
4/5
