Wolfenstein continues the heroic adventures of hero B.J. Blazkowicz, a Nazi killing machine who takes joy from slaughtering Hitler's army. Similar to previous games in the franchise, he's out the stop the Nazis from harnessing supernatural powers, except in this case, developer Raven Software blended the mindless first-person shooting with an open world environment. Instead of playing missions in succession, you wander around a hub world meeting locals, finding hidden items and uncovering new pieces to the story. Since we expected to just blow through evildoers without having to follow an on-screen compass to a hideout, we were shocked.
The firefights, thankfully, make up for the unnecessary backtracking, as players explore the countryside, villages and creepy temples murdering Nazis and other worldly beings with World War II and sci-fi themed weapons. In addition, the ability to enter the Veil (a paranormal dimension that adds a green tint to the visuals), allows gamers to uncover secrets (hidden ladders, for example), slow down time, activate a protective shield and bust through enemy defenses; although you'll need to periodically recharge this power. None of that significantly enhances play (the green hue ruins an otherwise good looking video game), but it does help you destroy the tougher bad guys.
If anything, single player provides several hours of run and gun action. Multiplayer, on the other hand, fails to impress; this is especially disappointing, since most of the achievement points/trophies are multiplayer specific. Although it features three unique classes- Medic, Soldier, Engineer- with unlocked abilities (including Veil powers), the boring modes - Team Deathmatch, Objective and Stopwatch - didn't keep us entertained long. On top of that, the game suffers from bothersome lag, and actually jumping into a match takes some patience. If anything, multiplayer feels tacked on.
Ultimately, Wolfenstein is a decent shooter full of explosions, machine guns and plenty of drama. Just don't expect it to wow you.
Chris Buffa is GameDaily's senior editor. He enjoys easy achievement points, first person shooters and starting trouble.
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