Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus Review – Every Barrier Broken

There’s something that is simply gratifying about shooting, killing and dismembering Nazi’s. It could be because of Call of Duty’s Nazi Zombies, then again it could have come from Raven Software’s earlier version of Wolfenstein as their heads became pumpkin’s waiting to be popped. Whatever it was leading up to Bethesda and MachineGames newest installment, Wolfenstein II is quite impressive from beginning to end in ways unexpected.

Jumping into Wolfenstein II is much more than what may have been expected and the flashbacks BJ see is pretty intense to say the least. The story picks up right where The New Order left off with Death Head attempting to kill you while sacrificing his own life. As you lie there nearly dead you have vision of your mother and father from the year 1911 where racism was a big deal. And for Blazkowicz, it’s bigger than ever after being found fooling around with a black girl (disturbingly expressed in-game). Like Mafia III, I respect the realism in terms to portraying what took place during the respected year and time.

In Wolfenstein II, five months later, you start off in a wheelchair; rolling around and kicking ass, wasting no bullets until he’s forced to come out and face the new leader of the Nazi’s General Engel. Just when it appears to be all over, her daughter Sigrun betrays her mother and German soldiers to help the resistance and Blazkowicz

Gameplay is a gruesome as they come and as detailed as possible. Just when you’d imagine things weren’t going to happen, the unexpected does. Oh my Melee! Takedowns are genuinely more intriguing than using guns. Tearing the Nazi’s limb from limb has a bit of satisfaction to it, especially watching their legs get cut from under them just before being decapitated.

The weapon selection is pretty nice allowing you to utilize anything from a pistol or an MG to some extremely, well-crafted Nazi experiments to blow up or incinerate your enemies. And that’s only the beginning as when facing Mech Soldiers and such, Blazkowicz is also able to dual wield various weapons. The only downside to this however is reloading and changing your weapon loadout. They both have a bit of a process to them that will likely leave you KIA due to not having a way to change loadouts while pausing.

Scavenging for health, weapon and ammo is quite the benefactor during your quest. There were plenty of bullets and weapons to pick up and well as health kits, especially when killing the Nazi’s, removing their armor and guns. After a while even gabbing a half-eaten donut for health, as unsanitary as it is, was critical to surviving. Some food items however were misinterpreted as ammo and awarding me bullets. At that moment, bullets were what I needed so ultimately, there’s not much of an argument there.

The enemies become extremely challenging over time as you take on many types of Nazi super soldiers with incredible abilities against a broken man with everything to lose and mentally checked out. The true twist is mid-campaign as you see and are presented with one of the most shocking moments in gaming history. And it’s what is most appreciated from MachineGames, not being afraid of taking risks.

The further you progress, the more Wolfenstein reveals; it’s Brilliant. I don’t think another game has delivered this amount of intensity, and closing out 2017 there won’t be. Even considering Star Wars, Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed, this story is as out of the box as Metro Last Light. It’s the sleeper that’s awakened and demands your attention.

The plot twists are what drives this 15-20 hour campaign. From the humor to the awkward Nazi America working alongside the Ku Klux Klan, even the most serious scenes are beyond realistic, impressively written and equally portrayed by the voice cast.

General Engel’s role in Wolfenstein can only be described in one word, PERFECT. Her character delivers the most sadistic, psychotic and somehow mild-humor in the campaign; absolutely superb in the level of expectation required from the antagonist.  And the rest of cast equally carries that same rich and authentic persona to their respective roles.