The progenitor of first-person shooter protagonists has once again been called into action to fight the Third Reich. B.J. Blazkowicz, the perennial hero of the Wolfenstein series, is once again the star of Activision and Raven Software’s latest Nazi-stomping caper. An in-depth trailer and demonstration were available at E3, and I got a peek.
The Wolfenstein series has always straddled the line between realistic World War II shooters like Call of Duty and the sci-fi fun of Halo or Gears of War. The latest installment, simply titled Wolfenstein, looks to blur the line even further. The main character, B.J. Blaskowicz, is sent on a special mission to investigate a mysterious energy force known as “the veil,” which the Nazis are studying for undoubtedly nefarious purposes.
Blaskowicz uses the veil in several different ways as he blasts his way through Nazi strongholds. In the gameplay demo at E3, I got to see the veil used for things such as invisibility, walking through hidden walls and creating force fields to stop enemy bullets. In addition, there are certain points where the Nazis have set up “veil inhibitors” that stop B.J. from being able to use veil powers. You’ll have to destroy those in order to progress and get your powers back.
Aside from those sci-fi infused powers, Wolfenstein contains many of the same elements as other World War II shooters, such as pistols and rifles specific to the time period. The game clearly does not have realism as its main goal, though. Wolfenstein is still about the one-man army toppling the evil Nazi war machine.
The fantasy was elevated to ridiculous levels at times, however, and it almost ruined my suspension of disbelief. Nazi soldiers never speak German, even to each other, except for the occasional “Mein Gott!” The rest of their lines are delivered in some of the worst German accents this side of Hogan’s Heroes. But some of the ways the Nazis use the veil to create new obstacles or enemies are especially ridiculous and seemed almost out of place. I won’t spoil it here, but just be prepared for enemies you thought you’d never find in a World War II game.
Wolfenstein is set for release this August for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
I am a Los Angeles-based writer and gamer who is always looking to combine my two main passions. I believe video games have the potential to become the best storytelling medium of the 21st century, and it is the writer's responsibility to encourage this process. Oh yeah, I'm also a nerd.
