Image credit: Wolfenstein: The New Order - © MachineGames / Bethesda Softworks.
Source: Epic Games Store
Summary
- Name of the game: Wolfenstein: The New Order
- Launch date: May 20, 2014
- Developer: MachineGames
- Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
- Platforms: PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC
- Genre: First Person Shooter (FPS)
- Context: Uchronia in which the Nazis won World War II and dominate the world in the 1960s.
History and narrative
To begin with, before playing I didn't really know what the game was about. I soon saw that it was a “what if” Germany had won World War II, an interesting premise of which there are even documentaries and several videos of theories of what it would have been like. Fortunately, it didn't happen.
The game is divided by chapters, although not so marked, since at the end of each one you interact with an object that asks you if you want to leave the level. We start right in the middle of a battle in 1946, with an assault on General Wilhelm Strasse's castle. Here we must make a strong decision: save one of our companions, Wyatt or Fergus. I didn't know who was who or anything, so I saved Fergus because he seemed more experienced to me, while Wyatt I saw was very scared from the beginning. Even more so with what was going to happen. In the end no matter who you pick, one dies in a brutal and very graphic way that would leave anyone traumatized. This decision changes some dialogue and part of the narrative.
After escaping, an object hits our protagonist William “B.J.” Blazkowicz and he is knocked unconscious, spending 14 years in a vegetative state. When he wakes up, the world is dominated by the Nazi regime, so his mission is to reactivate the resistance and kill Nazis. When he learns that they lost the war 14 years ago, he joins the resistance led by Caroline Becker and other characters, in addition to Anya, who will be our romantic interest, Fergus or Wyatt (depending on the initial choice) and Klaus, an ex-soldier.
The secondary characters are interesting and memorable. I liked Fergus, Caroline, Klaus, Max and of course Anya, who has a lot of charisma. They are well developed, but I feel they could have been expanded more, as some dialogues are overshadowed because the game goes fast and is short. Sometimes you'd like to learn more about each of them, but the story moves so fast that you don't get to know them all. B.J. as the main character is fine, he attracts attention, but the same thing happens to him as to the secondary characters, so I feel that none of them really stands out, they are all balanced.
I have to say that I didn't expect the game to make me laugh. There are some very funny parts that at least I found funny, like when we come back from the moon: the protagonist jumps off a bridge, swings on a rope, goes through a window and eliminates a clueless enemy who didn't even hear the landing. I don't know why, but I found that elimination more comical than a common silent casualty.
The game does end up leaving us with a doubt. I think the ending is too open and could have been better. There's room for a sequel, of course, but it's also one of those games that, if it's not a sales success, it stays there with an open ending and that's it. The villains are obnoxious, from the doctor at the beginning to the generals on the train; they all make you want to eliminate them and that's as it should be.
In summary: good campaign, funny in several scenes, charismatic characters, good action, well-made villains and a very clear purpose: to kill Nazis.
Gameplay
The combat is hybrid, you can go straight ahead with direct action or use stealth. In my case, for this kind of games I prefer direct action, stealth doesn't suit me unless I'm in a very high difficulty and I have to run away from the conflict.
There is a variety of weapons, and the best thing is that you can use dual weapons: pistols, shotguns, rifles, snipers honestly, I don't remember another game that lets you have a sniper on each arm. There's also the special weapon, the Laserkraftwerk, which is key to advancing. Beyond being a laser weapon, it also serves as a tool: it cuts through grids, opens hidden paths and reloads at stations that abound on the maps. It is a very good weapon.
One thing that didn't convince me was the health system. There is no full auto regeneration, which means that you have to look for health kits and armor. In a shooter with so many enemies I don't like this at all. I prefer automatic regeneration rather than being down to 10 health and dying at the first shot just because I couldn't find a first aid kit. On top of that there is the overcharge, The life temporarily goes up, but goes down again in seconds. Example: you have 100, you take a 20 health kit and you go up to 120, but in 5 to 10 seconds it resets to 100. If you are just shot, you feel that it was useless.
The controls are precise and fluid, but the weapon switching is a disaster. In the middle of combat, running out of bullets and having to open the wheel is very uncomfortable, slow and inaccurate. Several times I lost life and armor for that reason. The interface is clear and easy to understand, it is appreciated that the game does not bore you with long tutorials or complicated menus.
The learning curve is accessible, it is a shooter at the end, but in normal and hard there are peaks that require trial and error. The bosses aren't memorable, more of a puzzle than a real challenge. The final boss honestly deserved a more painful death for everything he did and he didn't.
The scenarios are linear, but there are alternative routes and collectibles (enigma codes, documents, secrets). I actually passed on that, so my game was very linear. However, there are missions that impressed me a lot. Escaping from a concentration camp with a beastly machine, infiltrating a base on the moon with low gravity physics, using a mini-submarine to enter bases are very good ideas that take it out of the typical WWII shooter. The gameplay is the best part of the game, it entertains you enough to want to advance until you finish it.
Graphics and visual design
The graphic quality is solid, it complies with modeling, textures and animations. Nothing spectacular. The artistic style is realistic with retro-futuristic touches, which is interesting: a world in the 60's with better technology than today. Sometimes it looks like a classic scenario of that time and in other parts it seems to be taken from Star Wars.
The scenery design is good, the enemies are decent, but not surprisingly innovative. The machines are not very attractive.
Sound and music
The soundtrack is intense and fits the action, but it's very generic. Nothing memorable or head-blowing. It does just enough. The sound effects work in combat and ambience, but still, the minimum.
The voices, both in English and Spanish, are fine. The problem is that the game does not give so much space to the actors to stand out. Another detail: the sound is sometimes low and it is difficult to hear the dialogues well.
Difficulty and accessibility
It has several difficulty modes. The lowest one is funny because B.J. appears with a baby bib, a comical detail that indirectly tells you “rookie”. But even on normal, the game is already complicated: the enemies drop your life very quickly and attack from all sides. On maximum difficulty it's pure torture, only for masochists.
In accessibility, it is very limited with standard text size, with no special modes for disabilities.
Additional content
The campaign lasts about 10 hours, although it can be reduced to 6 or 7 depending on the difficulty. It's very linear, with a bit of exploration and collectibles that, to be honest, are best followed with a guide if you want to complete them.
The replayability is low. The only thing that motivates replayability is the choice between Fergus and Wyatt. There are no mini-games or DLCs
Technical Aspects
For 2014, runs very well on consoles and PC. Fast loading times, stable resolution. Minor bugs such as moving corpses or enemies appearing suddenly, but nothing serious or that forces you to restart. It is a modest game, but well worked and with good performance.
Value for money
Its original price was around $60 USD. Which in my opinion is crazy to pay that much for this game, neither in launch nor in updates justifies such a high price. The story and gameplay are fine, but the sparse content makes it simply a game to win and enjoy the campaign, that's it, there's nothing else to do. It is also a very short campaign, I have played it thanks to a shared account, but if it seems a game more thought since it came out to be sold in offers, which I highly recommend you to buy this game only on offer where I would not pay more than 20 dollars, any lower offer is worth it.
Trophies / Achievements
- Platinum obtained: No.
- Percentage of trophies obtained: 34%
- Estimated time: 20-25 hours
- Platinum difficulty: 6 out of 10. It is moderately difficult, the most complicated thing is to win the game on maximum difficulty which is a challenge because even on normal there are complicated parts. It is recommended to play 2 games, one to get all the collectibles and improve our character, the other cleaning trophies with the maximum difficulty.
Conclusion
Wolfenstein: The New Order is a shooter with soul and its own style, which bets on an intense and well narrated campaign, it focuses a lot on providing a pleasant experience for its players and it achieves it very well. Although it does not innovate graphically, nor in sound or content, its gameplay and atmosphere make it a memorable experience for fans of the genre and casual alternative stories. If you like shooters with good gameplay, a well-written story, direct, play something different from the typical popular games this is a title that I recommend.
My final rating for Wolfenstein: The New order is:
3.8 / 5.0
