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Following "Return to Castle Wolfenstein," this WWII sequel takes players on a special mission into the heart of the Third Reich.
Publisher: Activision
Price: $59.99
Game systems: XBox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Rating: *****
My readers will be disappointed to know that my 360 has bestowed upon me the unholy Red Ring of Death. But since “Wolfenstein” was the last game I ever played on it, I feel inclined to review it and honor the past two and a half years. So here it is: “Wolfenstein” takes place about three months after the events of “Return to Castle Wolfenstein,” beginning with a different-looking BJ Blaskowicz on board the Tirpitz (an iconic German war ship). He gets cornered in the cutscene, and as this happens, a mysterious amulet in his jacket begins to glow blue. As the Nazis open fire, a brilliant wall of cyan light comes forth and stops their bullets cold. An aftershock disintegrates BJ’s antagonizers into dust, allowing him room to escape in a seaplane.
As for the story, there’s nothing unexpected. Nazis, monsters, Nazi monsters, Nazis wearing Power Armor from “Fallout” — they all make their appearances. The gameplay is where “Wolfenstein” shines. There’s a superbly balanced, well-thought-out, “Call of Duty”-style control scheme, fantastic design and an all-you-can-kill Nazi buffet.
Plus, that weird little medallion has some pretty sweet powers; it’s a hunk of rock with four crystals in it that each process an energy source called “The Black Sun.” Push down on the D-pad any time and you’ll set foot into a wonderfully bent, green-tinted realm known as “The Veil.” You get a choice between bullet time, a shield and a power that lets you shoot through other Veil shields. The Nazis, as you may know, are dastardly clever little gremlins. They, too, have discovered the secrets of the Veil and have several tiers of special soldiers who are pretty mean.
During the almost-week that I did have “Wolfenstein,” I came to the conclusion that BJ Blaskowicz must feel pretty out of place in the manic sea of Jerries and Jacques; he’s basically the only American in the series. But he also happens to be the only one who’s hacking a bloody swath through a flesh-and-swastika jungle to single-handedly make sure the Nazis don’t win WWII.
I like to think of him as the original Inglourious Basterd.
“Wolfenstein” has become my favorite new game, since there’s so much I love there. But also because it’s a great game, not a sloppy, thrown-together cash-in sequel. They even weaved in a pretty decent free-roaming aspect, and with it “Fallout”-esque random encounter-type situations (every time you run into enemies, it’s different).
“Wolfenstein” is in every sense a great game, as well as a great sequel, logical expansion and stress reliever. Welcome to the new Reich.
Matt Noyes is a TulsaPeople editorial intern. Have a video game you’d like him to review? E-mail contactus@tulsapeople.com.
