Wolfenstein: The New Order (Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Xbox One)

[Hells Sniper]

Wolfenstein: The New Order Hells Sniper - The New Order Moderator Table of Contents: 1. Story 2. Gameplay/Mechanics 3. Characters 4. Final Thoughts Story: Wolfenstein has been a series for quite some time, and although I never played the original or the reboot from 2009, I have always been interested in the series. I mean, who else doesn't love blowing up Nazi's? However, this story takes a surprising turn in the old fashioned Nazi-killing. The question of "What if the Nazi's won World War II?" has been thrown around quite some time and is one of the biggest "What if's" in World history. This game takes that to a whole new level, where Nazi Germany not only won WWII but now controls almost the entire globe (after dropping their atomic bomb on NYC in 1946). By 1960, the Nazi's control the globe with a setting that has been seen many times before. The New Order really shines in its plot and presentation, taking a cool and alternate look at history. It shows the Nazi's attempt at removing the impure from society and this continues as you venture throughout the story; looking at a modernized and hauntingly beautiful Berlin to an inside glimpse of a Nazi forced labor camp. Looking at the Nazis as what they truly are is something this game did perfectly. While the Nazi's didn't create huge robots, or mechanized attack dogs, it's not too far-fetched to believe they wouldn't. These are the people who performed immoral experiments on living humans, created weapons under the name of Wunderwaffe, and obsessed over racial purity. It's not too far-fetched to believe that if they weren't shut down in 1945, they would have gone on to experimenting with human brains in mechanized robots. The New Order may play this out unrealistically, but it seems to understand what the Nazi's could have been capable of. The environment around you is entirely immersive as you go through the story, too. However, the immersion of this environment can be quickly taken away when you have to press a button to pick up ammo, weapons, or a health pack. Something as simple as that popping up on your screen can take away from the experience. Simply walking over it would have done the job just fine. This is one of the reasons that makes Wolfenstein feel old. Gameplay/Mechanics: Although The New Order takes a different turn on an alternate history of the Nazi regime, it does little to differentiate itself from the general first person shooter. The normal array of weapons are at your disposal - a knife, a pistol, an assault rifle, a sniper rifle, etc - there is also a glimpse of advanced Nazi weaponry with laser rifles. The game play is fun, but a bit derivative, even the option of dual-wielding is in question. In a large shootout, you never really want to "spray and pray." The New Order does offer a stealth approach making it a bit dynamic in the way you can approach things. By being able to use your knife takedown, and throwing knives if you have enough, you are able to silently move through an area and kill the Officer (so they won't be able to call in reinforcements). However, the AI here fails to do their job as Nazis. Even with their Nazi friends dead in front of them, they will not react or even take into consideration that their officer is dead, making the stealth approach one that is much more easier than spraying and praying. Otherwise, The New Order plays and runs very well (especially on the next-gen), although there are some moments of texture pop-ins and poor audio mixing that tunes out some of the voice acting (which is very well done in itself). The New Order also implements a skill progression system, where dozens of skills are unlocked underneath four individual headers. You unlock these kills by completing in-game tasks (such as headshots, grenade kills, and kills from cover). It's a unique system that adds more depth to the game. Characters: Many major characters play a role in the game, so without giving too much away I'll include the basics. The player is Captain William "B.J." Blazkowicz, a US special forces captain determined to destroy the Nazi regime. However, this character has a few holes, one major one that includes the escape from a psychiatric asylum you were held in for 14 years and apparently, you didn't lose one ounce of muscle mass. The game does include many well-written and lovable characters from the loud-mouthed Fergus Reid to the quiet nurse Anya Oliwa. The New Order shows spectacular writing and voice acting which makes the game enjoyable. Final Thoughts: The New Order released on the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, catering to the old generation and next generation of gamers. By no surprise, the old generation is a noticeably rougher than the next generation, and they include some texture issues. However, other than that, the games on both generations play nearly identical. Wolfenstein The New Order combines all the great things of the original first person shooter while including a dynamic and relatable group of characters. The developer also took a nice approach on the sometimes dramatic alternate Nazi history. The New Order is around a 10- to 12-hour story, which is more than enough time to make you stop and look around at the atrocities of the Nazi regime. With very well done cut scenes, the game showcases a new look at alternate history. And with a crucial early game choice, playing through it twice is definitely an option. However, the unchanged first person shooter technique can get a bit tedious. VERDICT: 7.5/10 The New Order's emphasis on story, rather than game play, makes it a worthwhile shooter to try out, however the absence of multiplayer makes the game's replay-ability low (even with two different timelines).

[Naked Crook]

A 7.5 seems to be a pretty fair score. If I could say one thing - the fact that the games makes you press a button to pick up items does make sense. I can see that as having some utility in the sense that you may want to skip picking up a health kit in favor of saving it for later. I can understand why they chose to implement that system in a game like this. Overall though, a solid review. Tough but fair.