The video game Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus by MachineGames

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Important: This game was released by the USK from the age of 18. Since it is not possible for me to verify the identity or the age of the visitor of this site or reader of this article, the responsibility for the appropriate use of the Internet and thus also its offer lies with the respective educational sector of the minor. I hereby expressly draw your attention to the fact.

Created by the same developer, the real breeding mother of modern video games has long since lagged behind its big brother DOOM and has finally disappeared into oblivion. But after both series have returned today and the reinterpretation Wolfenstein: The New Order appeared on May 20, 2014, soon stimulating a debate in Germany about anti-constitutional symbols in entertainment media and especially video games and video games as art, the prequel to the first-mentioned game Wolfenstein: The Old Blood soon appeared and on October 27, 2017 the official successor Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. This game takes place in a steampunk inspired universe of the near future and is based on the concept of a science fiction dystopia. The Xbox One version, which was optimized for the Xbox One X, was played.

Story // Action

As in previous games, the player slips into the role of B.J. Blazkowicz, a world war soldier who wakes up from a coma in the first part after the end of the war and the victory of the Germans to join the resistance. After his adventures in Wolfenstein: The New Order, the rebels find themselves in their headquarters, a former Nazi submarine, planning the revolution to rid not only the United States, but even the world of the Nazi regime. It should be clear that the regime (as the Nazis are called in the German version, cut and played, liberated from symbols) has something against it, and that it becomes all the more difficult the more and further the opponent is militarily developed, should be clear. The plot takes a clear place in this game and is told through dialogues and elaborate cutscenes. In addition, the player can find a variety of clues to the world and action in the levels. Generally, the story can be emphasized in a very positive way. Although I found the story of the previous part a bit better and more satisfyingly elaborated, and quality or at least Hollywood level, both stories do not reach. But they can still entertain or travel with us. The plot has a red thread and not only conveys a good feeling of what is happening in the world, no, it also suggests a consistent world.

Characters // Figures

In many very well-known, not very serious magazines the characters are praised as excellent besides the plot. Apart from the fact that I would not describe the action as excellent, but rather as quite good, I can only partly agree with the editors on this point. Yes, the characters are quite well worked out and quite diverse from their characters. They have only limited real influence on the story and only a few of them. But at least they convey a feeling of being in the middle of it instead of just being there. They have some depth of character, but often appear to be a bit artificial. The hero himself, on the other hand, appears very much as a human being and he is also a piece of his own, comprehensible in his intentions and actions, but it is precisely the difference between what is said and his actions that stands out. Because B.J. Blazkowicz was hit hard by his life, which is why he revives it in the form of reviewers and a pretty nice level and tries to process it. He weeps for fallen souls, but is called “Terror-Billy” by the Nazis and kills dozens of family fathers in every level without hesitation (and almost forced on the player by the level design). These family fathers appear in the form of various forms of soldiers, mags and giant Einsendogs, but offer a little too little variation, inspiration or variety overall.

Gameplay // Play Feeling

The gameplay is, by and large, what you’d expect. It is an ego-shooter, with gradual life regeneration and a health system supplemented by shields and life points, but still reminds more of Call of Duty than DOOM. In the end it is a military shooter, but offers some special features. In the course of the game the player receives abilities that loosen up the fight and B.J. also receives new weapons again and again. Due to the science fiction setting a lot more would have been expected. The gameplay mechanics are quite fluid and offer more variation through features like the improved Akimbo option, where the player can now carry two weapons independently of each other … the overall package is not disappointing, but much more uninspired than what was done for example with the new DOOM. Especially in contrast to Wolfenstein: The New Order, I have to emphasize a really great improvement regarding the gameplay: You don’t have to plow every item off the ground anymore, you get it when you run over it. Although the system is not yet as trustworthy, an improvement can be seen in any case.

Level design // Environmental design

Whereas DOOM’s gameplay design stands out much more positively, Wolfenstein has the edge when it comes to varying the level environments. In addition to submarine environments, air fortresses, Mars, a space station, the US American hinterland and Nazi showcase cities, the game has a lot more to offer. Also, the structure of the levels is thoroughly thought through and exploring them is a lot of fun. Unfortunately there is not much to see besides some secrets. Nevertheless, the surroundings have been designed with great attention to detail. Also the setting can be captured well and offers nice vivid insights into an alternative reality, which you can’t imagine without some imagination (and which almost would have become reality, at least in parts).

Appearance // Humor

Several times I have missed this topic and now I finally come to it. The game has humor! Besides the already very borderline experience, which the game world conveys, the whole game doesn’t take itself very seriously. The very in-house production of very ironic pieces of music by “alternative German stars” alone accentuates the claim of the developers. Hiding further and more far-reaching references in the levels and listening to the stupid conversations of the Nazi family fathers is almost delightful. Besides such parts the game also has more profound passages, which are underlined by the really good musical background. In general, the game can be best characterized with the first mentioned characterization.

Technology // Quality

Looks good and plays well. Wolfenstein isn’t a game that will set new standards in terms of low hardware hunger, but at least I couldn’t see any blatant technical flaws. On the Xbox One X, the game plays really well and also runs very fluently on the whole. It doesn’t look great, but it looks pretty good and can score especially with the vividly implemented setting in an appealing form. In the whole game period it came simply to a crash and the Xbox became quite hot. I would like to emphasize the positive effects and animations, which give the actions more credibility or bombast.

Idea // Conclusion

Wolfenstein II: The New Collosus has become a really good game. Although it offers something too little of its own to stand out from its predecessors, it forms a consequent continuation of what was offered to us in the first two games mentioned above. For the next parts it would only be advisable to introduce new mechanics and extend the setting (as the last parts of the Wolfeinstein series before The New Order did) to make better use of it.

Note:

All information provided is without guarantee and of a subjective nature. They reflect my opinion about the product at the present time (21.02.19). I do not guarantee completeness or correctness of the information (even if I try to fulfill these requirements). The correct/responsible handling of the given information lies entirely in the responsibility of the reader. Claims for damages or similar claims are excluded.

I was neither paid nor tempted to test this product or to evaluate it in any way. The costs for financing the product were covered by myself.