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 Wolfenstein
(Playstation 3)
Returning to the classic franchise,
id and Raven Software take players back to the legendary Castle
Wolfenstein. Players once again take on the role of BJ Blazkowicz as he
wages war against the Nazis. As usual, the Nazis are up to no good and are
conducting occult experiments that can unleash unbelievable power and its
up to him to stop them. However, BJ has found a powerful amulet that
allows him to open 'the veil.' In this mode, he can use these abilities
against the Nazis, and this is Wolfenstein's main draw. It helps to
separate the game from other FPS titles on the market but also makes
things a little bit gimmicky. So does this unbalance the game or is it a
innovative twist that will keep you playing? We take a look and find out. |
As the latest chapter in the long-running
Wolfenstien series begins, special ops agent BJ Blazkowicz finds himself
cornered on a Nazi steam ship, surrounded by enemy guards, and headed for
what seems like almost certain death. However, he unleashes a special
weapon, a magical disc that allows him to create a special shield around
himself to block their fire and then unleashes a force wave that instantly
kills the opposing Nazis. This sets the game up almost immediately as
something quite different than its predecessors. While the opening is
cool, it will be some time before the player themselves can use these
special powers. Once BJ returns to headquarters, he gains intelligence
that shows that the Nazis themselves are after the same powers uncovered
by his amulet, which would give them an incredible amount of power and
make the allies' battle against them much more difficult. As he begins his
urgent mission, he has to travel to a Nazi occupied town, find the local
resistance and stop them from taking control of these powers before it's
too late.
Once you set foot inside the war-torn
German city, you'll find that it's been placed under military lockdown
which makes movement in open spaces quite difficult. The game's cinematic
feel is evident throughout in elaborate set-pieces and extended cut-scenes
that help to immerse you in the action. Wolfenstein's plot is fairly good
and helps to keep things going at a fast pace throughout. While the story
unfolds in a somewhat linear fashion, you have the choice of which
missions to pursue thanks to the game's open-ended structure. However,
there are several variables that help to point you in the right direction.
The single player mode offers a few levels of difficulty, and these range
from relatively simple to very difficult. Enemy AI is the primary
difference between these modes. During the easier stages, the Nazis are
pretty much sitting ducks while on the harder levels, they're more
aggressive and will use cover to frustrate your attempts to defeat them.
Wolfenstein's gameplay is a fairly straightforward mix of elements that
create a mix that's primarily action with some relatively puzzles thrown
in. Wolfenstien's basic play
mechanics should be fairly simple for most players to understand and the
game unfolds in a fairly straightforward fashion. Most weapons can be
accessed from the main menu and you can select from a variety of sniper
rifles, shot-guns and pistols. In addition, there's grenades that you can
throw that explode from a distance. Not surprisingly, given the game's
setting and developer, Wolfenstein's HUD and interface closely resemble
Call of Duty. There's a compass at the top of the screen which shows you
the direction where your next objective lies, which helps to simplify
mapping. A fairly standard regenerative damage system lets you
automatically restore health when you're hit by getting to cover and
staying there for a few moments. This makes the game fairly easy to play
and at this point, there isn't much new ground being covered. However,
once you gain access to the Veil, things change dramatically. This is an
entirely different mode of play that you can call up at any time provided
you have enough energy in reserve. At its most basic, this acts as a kind
of night vision mode which allows you to see in the dark, helping you to
locate hidden enemies much easier. All of these are fairly standard
features seen in the stealth modes of many recent FPS titles.
 However,
there are more advanced techniques, such as slowing down time and creating
force fields around your character that allow you to hit targets much
easier with much lower risk. The Veil mode also allows you to find and
locate hidden passages in some of the levels where you wouldn't otherwise
be able to pass. In addition, when you're in the veil mode, you'll see
eco-monsters floating around through the levels. Shooting these monsters
causes them to explode and usually kill any nearby Nazi soldiers. There
are other abilities as well and switching between these two modes makes
otherwise impossible puzzles easier to pass through. This gives the
gameplay a somewhat simple approach, though the Veil creates some
interesting approaches that makes your missions more interesting. Wolfenstein's
single player mode is relatively decent, despite being short, and offers
some good, action-pulp set pieces reminiscent of Indiana Jones movies,
with some cool supernatural twists. This is all relatively well designed
and thought-out. However, there are some fairly significant problems in
multiplayer that make the experience feel much less polished than it
should. There are several traditional modes of play including team
deathmatch, and co-op play. You can easily select which mode you want to
play from the menu, build teams and clans and check your progress on the
leaderboards. However, the problems are immediately apparent once you log
in. Instead of using the same engine as the main game, Wolfestein re-uses
the last-gen engine from Return to Wolfenstein in its online mode. This
makes the online game appear much less polished than the main game. Adding
insult, the gameplay in this mode, at the current stage is extremely
choppy and suffers from significant lag and drop-out. It's hugely
disappointing considering how much of the Wolfenstein and id legacy is
tied to online modes, and feels like a cheap cop-out that's literally been
pasted on, from the previous generation no less, to the main game. This
undermines the package's value considerably and detracts from the
otherwise sterling production values.
It's multiplayer mode is definitely one
of the biggest disappointments about Wolfenstein and this is a real shame
because there are some really enjoyable elements in the solo game that
make it an interesting ride. While it's graphics engine isn't
state-of-the-art, the game still delivers some exciting action sequences
in a relatively accessible format that should be familiar to COD fans. The
somewhat open-ended structure and interesting storyline make for a decent
experience overall. However, the hugely disappointing online mode is
definitely a huge drawback to the game, it feels like it's been pasted on
at the last minute, and it's bug-ridden execution doesn't make you feel
any better about it. Despite the fact that Wolfenstein's solo campaign is
enjoyable in its own right, most FPS fans will probably be disappointed by
its online component. This is why we can't recommend the game in its
current state. Despite some cool ideas its solo campaign, the poor online
mode doesn't justify paying full retail for it and we'd recommend waiting
for Wolfenstein drops in price before purchase.
- Michael Palisano
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