Review: Wolfenstein

It was more of a surprise find, I actually forgot the release date and picked it up in my Saturday shopping spree (or, rather, window shopping spree). The german version is, as usual for WW2 shooters, censored in the way that the Nazis are called Wolves (yes, it’s silly), all swastikas make way for Wolfenstein logos (yes, it’s silly) and there’s probably also somewhat less blood and violence (yes, you know what I think about it). After installing the 1DVD game (which includes a “lite server”) in addition to the game itself, I ran it for a quick test drive. 

First of all, I have to say that I am rather disappointed at the graphics. They are, in my opinion, closer in quality to RTCW than to, let’s say COD: WaW. Fire and  smoke effects look boring and textures are not as high resolution as I’d like it. In some places, the game looks really crappy. For instance, mounted MG42s look like square sticks with textures on them. Not the way to go in 2009 where we have normmal maps and all kinds of crazy shaders.

Gameplay in the first couple minutes gives you the usual routine: Run here, jump there, climb ladder, crouch and hey, you just got an interactive tutorial! After that, you’re quickly thrown into the storyline that involves good old B.J. Blazkowicz helping the German resistance uncovering a sinister Nazi plot about occultism and secret weaponry. Err... wait... That sounds strangely familiar.

After the first level, you’re shown the mission hub. Basically, a city serves as a meeting and trading point as well as the center for all missions. This was probably done to give the gameplay a more nonlinear character and it succeeds in that. I felt like I actually had a choice which place to go next and the “black market” was always an option to buy upgrades and ammo (see below). However, come to think about it, this seems like an attempt to ride the sandbox game train when shooters like COD and RTCW just aren’t that. They are linear and they’re good at being that.

The weapons upgrades supposedly bring some tactics, which I seriously doubt. The upgrades don’t give you a massive edge in gameplay and it’s too much of a hassle to find a trader to sell you some crap while you can just shoot Germans and have it drop for free. Nice thought, though. You have to find gold bars and treasures in the levels to pay for upgrades - the concept that was already in Wolf3D continues here (100% treasure, 100% secrets and so on). I have yet to discover the gameplay meaning of the “secret plans”  you can collect in every level - maybe they’re just story vehicles, maybe they’re just exploring incentives. Beats me.

What really gives you an edge over the Krauts is the weird “Thule Disk” you unearth two or three levels into the game. With it you can see into another dimension, find secrets there and also interact with that other environment. It reminds me strongly of a daily quest in World of Warcraft where you’d get phase-shifted and you would have to collect items otherwise invisible, while killing ghosts that aren’t present in the real world.

Using the disk, you can also slow time (and with it, all opponents) and supposedly other neat things that I haven’t unlocked yet. Of course, there is only a limited amount of energy, but luckily, whatever extra-dimensional being created the disks also created energy wells that spring out of every corner in the Wolfenstein world. The slowing effect is nicely done and its gameplay mechanics are very reminiscent of Max Payne’s bullet time.

Is anyone seeing a pattern? I am - there’s rarely one idea in the game (as far as I played yet) that hasn’t been done before. No doubt I’ll finish it (and if it is just to update this review), but if you are in desperate need of originality in the WW2 shooter area, steer clear of Wolfenstein. It’s not what you are looking for.

See some pictures in my Wolfenstein Gallery