In 1943, World War II was at it's height and the Nazi Regime in Germany are in control of Eastern Europe. During this time, the Nazis were digging up archeological sites in search of paranormal artifacts. They believed that if they possessed paranormal artifacts, they can use them as weapons against the Allied forces and rule the world. Enter American special agent William "B.J." Blazkowitz. Basically he's the thorn in the Nazi's side, and is sent out to destroy the forces of the Third Reich from using the power of Black Sun energy for world domination.
Wolfenstein takes place in the German city of Isenstadt which serves as the game's main hub. Here you'll get your missions to complete from two main factions: the Kreisau Circle and the Golden Dawn as well as side missions from random NPCs scattered around the city. Each of these missions will take you to random locations within Isenstadt where you'll complete objectives, as well as collect intel and gold, to get you one step closer to completing your overall mission. There are also missions which take you outside the city to take on the Nazis as well. Now don't think that just because your wandering around the city that your safe from attack, because the Nazis are well aware of your arrival and our out to destroy you so expect plenty of combat between missions. Of course you can also avoid confrontation by running underground in the sewers, but believe you an me when I say it's better to take them head on.
Now if your going to wipe out the SS soldiers of the Third Reich your going to need one heck of an arsenal. Good thing you have machine guns like the MP40 and MP43, the KAR98 bolt action rifle, the Panzerschreck rocket laucher, and the Flammenwerfer flame thrower. That's not all, you'll also get some high-tech weaponry with the Tesla Cannon and the Particle Cannon whch can vaporize your enemies. All of these weapons are completely upgradable via the Black Market locations hidden in the city. You can use the money acquired by collecting gold and completing missions to make your weapons more powerful and efficient.
Weapons are great, but what if you also had the power of the supernatural in the palm of your hand? Now B.J. can use Veil Powers that allow him a variety of other powerful options. These powers include the ability to find hidden passageways, enable a shield to block bullets, slow down time, empower bullets, and so much more. These Veil Powers completely change the gameplay since you can find many ways out of tight situations, but they don't last forever. Once you activate the Veil Powers there is a meter that deteriorates over time so you must find a Veil pool to recharge them. Now just like how the Black Market upgrades your weapons, you can also upgrade your Veil Powers to allow them to last longer.
Now Wolfenstein wouldn't be complete without some sort of multiplayer mode. The multiplayer madness has plenty of action spread across a variety of maps for up to 12 players. There are only three modes to play in including your typical Team Deathmatch. You also have modes like Objective which has one team trying to complete an objective while the other team prevents it. Finally there is Stopwatch Mode where each team attacks and defends points on the map.
Wolfenstein's multiplayer also includes classes of characters each with their own abilities. There's the typical soldier who can carry heavy weapons and satchel charges. There's the Engineer who are the workhorses of each match. They can drop extra ammo, plant explosives, and construct objects. Finally there is the Medic who takes care of keeping your team healthy, but their also well efficient in weaponry. Each of these characters can use any weapon as well as Veil Powers. You'll also be able to upgrade them by earning money by making kills and completing objectives. Now if you want to succeed in multiplayer, the key is to work as a team and make sure people are playing in the different classes. This is another one of those games where using your headsets are key.
There are some issues that make Wolfenstein less than perfect. One thing is that the main city feels claustrophobic at times with narrow corridors in the city streets. You would think that if your in a big city then things would be more wide open. The missions that take place outside the city are wide open so you would think consistency would be needed here. Also the multiplayer is very laggy. Considering the fact that most of the game's achievements are multiplayer based you would think that Activision and Raven Software would make this perfect with lots of testing before release. This is unexcusable when you look at better multiplayer games like Halo and Call of Duty.
Wolfenstein brings back alot of memories since the original release in 1992. It just goes to show that kicking Nazi ass never gets old. In terms of the single-player game it's the best version of Wolfenstein ever. The multiplayer aspect however is a disappointment with all the lag. Hopefully they'll patch it because this mode shows promise although the amount of gameplay modes are rather limited. If your a fan of the Wolfenstein series then getting this game is a must otherwise you might want to rent it.
7/10
