Wolfenstein 2009

The Nazi-killing pioneer of the FPS genre made a short comeback in 2009 with the self-titled Wolfenstein 2009. This game might not be the most celebrated or successful installment in the franchise, however, it managed to leave an impact during its time.

Wolfenstein follows the main character of William “B.J.” Blazkowicz on a mission to stop the occult Nazis from accessing otherworldly dimensions of mystical powers. The game takes place in the fictional town of Isenstadt during World War II, and it features a wild cast of characters that will accompany you. The villains are also memorable, although their plans are still cliché in classic Wolfenstein fashion.

Setting

The events of Wolfenstein take place in Isenstadt, a town affected by World War II. The Nazi’s set martial law in order to further their plans to excavate Nachtsonne crystals from the environment. These crystals are essential to accessing the Black Sun dimension. As the events of the game progress, you’ll witness the environments become more mystical and supernatural.

For example, Nazi military patrols might begin to appear as supernatural creatures. There are several memorable locations you’ll visit in Wolfenstein such as the sewers, a tavern, a paranormal base, a castle and even a large zeppelin.

Story

In the introductory sequence, we witness BJ Blazkowicz stealing a medallion from a German Battleship called Tirpitz. He is captured and unknowingly unleashes the power of the stolen medallion to kill his captors, then he manages to hijack a plane from Tirpitz before escaping to the OSA headquarters. He is told by OSA members that the medallion is powered by a special crystal called Nachtsonne which is only found in Isenstadt, a city largely affected by the war.

The main events of the game take place in Isenstadt where Blazkowicz learns more about the medallion. Here he learns about the true name of the medallion, the Thule medallion. Eventually, he discovers the plans of a Nazi General named Viktor Zetta. Blazkowicz also meets up with the agents of the Kreisau Circle, a German resistance organization dedicated to stopping the Nazi.

Characters

In Isenstadt, BJ meets Stefan and Anton Krieg, two brothers with the craftsmanship to upgrade your weapons and abilities. He also meets Caroline Becker, the leader of the Kreisau Circle and a former school teacher. She is always accompanied by her lieutenant, Erik Engel.

The main villain game during the earlier parts of the game is Viktor Zetta. However, you’ll eventually encounter Willhelm “Deathshead” Strasse, a returning villain from the 2001 game Return to Castle Wolfenstein.

Gameplay

Wolfenstein doesn’t really reinvent the wheel. The only new unique aspects of the gameplay involve the Veil, a dimension between Earth and the Black Sun. In the Veil, BJ is faster, stronger and can jump higher. Beyond that, the Veil abilities can be upgraded and improved. Gameplay in the Veil is reminiscent of the Dishonored series.

Pros

• Interesting story
• Fun characters
• Great humor

Cons

• Cliché villains
• One dimensional gameplay

Yes, I Know, I should've listened to the review. But honestly, a Raven/id Software game continuing the granddaddy series of the FPS genre? How bad could it be? Bad.

Right from the start I'd a feeling I wasn't going to like Wolfenstein, and that feeling never went away. I don't know if it's the hideously ill-placed checkpoints or the invulnerability BJ Blazkowicz has to common soldiers that set me off. In the first few hours of the game on Hard I died more from stupid design than at the hands of the Nazis.

For good points I can say that the Veil, the shroud of green superpowers that gets pulled over the world, is nicely implemented. And despite being either extremely aggravated or not challenged at all for most of my time in the game, I still vaguely got some pleasure out of playing the game (not to over-egg my enthusiasm).

However, now that I've finished it I can't honestly think of a single reason to go back other than the fact that I paid money for it and can't return it. I certainly won't be playing it for the multiplayer anyway. Not only is it a cheaply cobbled together mess, it also insists that you use an Xbox pad.

I'll stick with every other much-better game that I'm currently playing right now thanks.

Not A Lot has changed over the years. B.J. Blazkowicz is off nobbling Nazis who're obsessed with harnessing the supernatural, and gamers are still being given the same old schtick 17 years after Wolfenstein 3D transformed first-person shooters.

Of course there's nothing wrong with the corny story, terrible accents and occult trappings when they're such a huge part of Wolfenstein's enduring charm. The major problem with this latest reboot is we've seen it all before and done better, most notably in 2001's Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Yes, a game from eight years ago. This year's Wolfenstein tries to introduce a few new ideas, but they're executed so halfheartedly it's almost painful.

A Right Misfire

Take the supposed open-world feature: being able to sneak around a German town dodging Nazis and collecting main missions and side missions from various Resistance fighters while operating on the black market to upgrade your arsenal. While it sounds good, this just amounts to wandering around a maze of boring and largely deserted streets, occasionally stumbling across a handful of dozy enemies before getting linear missions from bland characters and buying weapon upgrades that you don't really need. This illusion of freedom really starts to grate after a few boring trips back and forth to your safe house.

The supernatural element plays a more prominent role than ever before, to the extent where you can now wield some powers yourself using a MacGuffin called the Thule Medallion and its Veil powers. Again, what should have been a great excuse for developer Raven to really go wild with some crazy supernatural stuff ends up as bullet-time, a shield and a damage buff. Cheers chaps. Now you can upgrade them so B.J. can move in realtime while everything else is slowed down, or make the shield disintegrate enemies, but it's hard not to feel very disappointed at what might have been.

The Veil is another dimension, which sounds exciting and mysterious, but actually turns out to be a greeny blue filter that uncovers hidden doors and shows enemies taking cover in darkness. One step up from heat-seeking goggles then. The Veil also highlights enemies' weak spots, which comes in handy during the surprisingly decent boss battles against iibersoldiers and the like.

Despite the game doing its best to be underwhelming, there's still a lot of fun to be had with it Killing Nazis is undeniably entertaining - as it is always - and now there are even more ways to do the goose-steppers in. The game helpfully keeps a tally of how many you've dismembered, burned, electrocuted and dissolved, although we got a real kick just out of watching them clutch their throats and gargle while blood gushed out The Veil powers may not be up to much, but there are touches such as when gravity gets messed up and you get to shoot hapless Nazis spinning in the air.

Tacky Mp

The single-player campaign lasts about seven hours, but if you're looking for multiplayer to add replay value then you'll be left frustrated. While there are a healthy number of players to be found admirably plugging away at it, 2009's Wolfensteiris looks and plays worse than Return to Castle Wolfenstein. There are only three game types and three classes, and it's laggy and feels so slow to boot You can tell it's been cobbled together by a different development team because it feels tacked on.

Where once the Wolfenstein name guaranteed excitement and originality, now the best it can give is undemanding fun. There's nothing wrong with that but the usual spark and flair has deserted this game and it's seriously lagging behind rival first-person shooters such as Call of Duty: World at War.

If you're a newcomer to the series you'll wonder what all the fuss is about when you've heard gamers bang on about Wolfenstein being a classic, while long-time fans will be pretty appalled by this effort?