Wolfenstein
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If you played Wolfenstein 3d, either back when it was originally released or recently on the PSN, you may have been excited for the new entry in the series arriving on the PS3; I know I was. The new Wolfenstein has fun gunplay but many issues keep it from being an easy recommendation.
The core game play is a lot like Call of duty 4. You hold L1 to fine-aim and pop enemies with the R1 button. Enemies jump out from behind cover, throw grenades and try to flank you. The guns feel powerful and you’re able to haul every weapon you own around with you on the battlefield, something modern games have mostly done away with. There are a good variety of weapons, from the standard MP40 and Kar to more exotic weapons like a laser beam weapon, and you can upgrade many aspects of each gun by finding intel to unlock the upgrades and spending gold at a black market shop to actually apply them.
Soon after beginning the game, you’ll obtain a special crystal that allows you to shift into the veil, another dimension that you’ll utilize to help you fight enemies and solve puzzles. While in the veil, you move faster and you have a few special powers like the ability to slow down time (these powers are upgradeable just like the weapons).
An open world setting to explore comes as a surprise. There is a town that acts as your hub and you go off to the different areas of the game from there.
So far so good, right? I’m afraid that’s about all the good you’ll find in Wolfenstein. While gunfights can be fun, every other aspect of the game lacks polish. The graphics look good from afar, but get close to anything and the game reveals itself as a muddy mess. The textures are low resolution to the point where the game almost looks more at home on the original Xbox. The character models are severely lacking in the polygon department as well. The UI matches the graphics. The menus and loading screens look unfinished. Loading screens are static and boring and feature screenshots that make the game look absolutely horrid. The cut scenes have a similar effect. Usually a game’s cut scenes manage to look better than the in game graphics but that’s not the case in Wolfenstein.
The missions are standard fare; go place a bomb here, go rescue random guy A there and so forth. This would be fine if the levels were exciting and well designed, but they aren’t. You’ll be making your way through uninspired corridors with little in the way of action when you aren’t engaging enemies. It doesn’t help matters that the veil boils down to a green filter that allows you to see a few doors that are normally just rocks marked with a symbol. There was a lot of potential for the veil to be a cool addition, but it falls flat.
It seems that Id software didn’t give Wolfenstein a chance. They could have made a few changes and spent some time polishing the game, but it seems they decided against any sort of ambition and shoveled this one out the door. The whole game feels like a quick cash-in just taking advantage of the Wolfenstein name. This is definitely a game that you’ll most likely only play once. And with the tacked on multiplayer, there’s not much to hold your interest.
Wolfenstein is not a terrible game, it’s just generic. It’s disappointing to see the things Id got right - the upgrade system and core shooting mechanics - mired by an otherwise messy game that seems rushed. The game is worth a rental, but it’s hard to recommend spending 60 dollars on it when there are shooters like Call of Duty 4 that came out 2 years ago and accomplished much more than Wolfenstein does. If you’re a shooter nut or you’re curious to see what Id did with Wolfenstein, by all means enjoy the rental, but don’t be expecting a classic.
The core game play is a lot like Call of duty 4. You hold L1 to fine-aim and pop enemies with the R1 button. Enemies jump out from behind cover, throw grenades and try to flank you. The guns feel powerful and you’re able to haul every weapon you own around with you on the battlefield, something modern games have mostly done away with. There are a good variety of weapons, from the standard MP40 and Kar to more exotic weapons like a laser beam weapon, and you can upgrade many aspects of each gun by finding intel to unlock the upgrades and spending gold at a black market shop to actually apply them.
Soon after beginning the game, you’ll obtain a special crystal that allows you to shift into the veil, another dimension that you’ll utilize to help you fight enemies and solve puzzles. While in the veil, you move faster and you have a few special powers like the ability to slow down time (these powers are upgradeable just like the weapons).
An open world setting to explore comes as a surprise. There is a town that acts as your hub and you go off to the different areas of the game from there.
So far so good, right? I’m afraid that’s about all the good you’ll find in Wolfenstein. While gunfights can be fun, every other aspect of the game lacks polish. The graphics look good from afar, but get close to anything and the game reveals itself as a muddy mess. The textures are low resolution to the point where the game almost looks more at home on the original Xbox. The character models are severely lacking in the polygon department as well. The UI matches the graphics. The menus and loading screens look unfinished. Loading screens are static and boring and feature screenshots that make the game look absolutely horrid. The cut scenes have a similar effect. Usually a game’s cut scenes manage to look better than the in game graphics but that’s not the case in Wolfenstein.
The missions are standard fare; go place a bomb here, go rescue random guy A there and so forth. This would be fine if the levels were exciting and well designed, but they aren’t. You’ll be making your way through uninspired corridors with little in the way of action when you aren’t engaging enemies. It doesn’t help matters that the veil boils down to a green filter that allows you to see a few doors that are normally just rocks marked with a symbol. There was a lot of potential for the veil to be a cool addition, but it falls flat.
It seems that Id software didn’t give Wolfenstein a chance. They could have made a few changes and spent some time polishing the game, but it seems they decided against any sort of ambition and shoveled this one out the door. The whole game feels like a quick cash-in just taking advantage of the Wolfenstein name. This is definitely a game that you’ll most likely only play once. And with the tacked on multiplayer, there’s not much to hold your interest.
Wolfenstein is not a terrible game, it’s just generic. It’s disappointing to see the things Id got right - the upgrade system and core shooting mechanics - mired by an otherwise messy game that seems rushed. The game is worth a rental, but it’s hard to recommend spending 60 dollars on it when there are shooters like Call of Duty 4 that came out 2 years ago and accomplished much more than Wolfenstein does. If you’re a shooter nut or you’re curious to see what Id did with Wolfenstein, by all means enjoy the rental, but don’t be expecting a classic.
