Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus
Want a single-player game focused on over-the-top, campy combat against alternate-history Nazis? If so, the Wolfenstein games are pretty much your thing. A surprising amount of heart behind them is just a bonus.
The New Colossus seemed to me a little more difficult than its predecessor, and running about in the open can often lead to a reloading screen. The basics of the story are pretty predictable/cliche. Our protagonist is saved at the last moment from the end of the first game (which did seem more like an ending than a cliffhanger, but okay), and awakens from another recuperative time lapse to get back in the fight.
Mechanically, it's fairly solid and fine - good quality, but nothing truly remarkable. Things change up slightly along the way, and you get access to "contraptions" that allow special movement: squeeze through small ducts, smash through weak walls, or ascend to high ledges. The level design doesn't really distinguish these much, though - most of the time they come up, you reach a roadblock and whichever of the three you chose will allow you to get around it. It's a little disappointing and makes me compare back to the original Deus Ex, which still sets a high bar for offering multiple ways through a level in ways that felt meaningful.
As mentioned, the basics of the story are cliche. What sets it apart are the details. Many of the characters are exaggerated, but they are at least reasonably memorable. In the quiet moments of missions, BJ often has little introspective reflections as a man who knows he's pushing himself too much and may not have time left, but he wants to do all he can for his love and his children on the way. These things build up the "heart" of these newer Wolfenstein games, and make them resonate much more than they otherwise would.
So, for me at least, it was a worthwhile romp for a dozen hours or so.
The New Colossus seemed to me a little more difficult than its predecessor, and running about in the open can often lead to a reloading screen. The basics of the story are pretty predictable/cliche. Our protagonist is saved at the last moment from the end of the first game (which did seem more like an ending than a cliffhanger, but okay), and awakens from another recuperative time lapse to get back in the fight.
Mechanically, it's fairly solid and fine - good quality, but nothing truly remarkable. Things change up slightly along the way, and you get access to "contraptions" that allow special movement: squeeze through small ducts, smash through weak walls, or ascend to high ledges. The level design doesn't really distinguish these much, though - most of the time they come up, you reach a roadblock and whichever of the three you chose will allow you to get around it. It's a little disappointing and makes me compare back to the original Deus Ex, which still sets a high bar for offering multiple ways through a level in ways that felt meaningful.
As mentioned, the basics of the story are cliche. What sets it apart are the details. Many of the characters are exaggerated, but they are at least reasonably memorable. In the quiet moments of missions, BJ often has little introspective reflections as a man who knows he's pushing himself too much and may not have time left, but he wants to do all he can for his love and his children on the way. These things build up the "heart" of these newer Wolfenstein games, and make them resonate much more than they otherwise would.
So, for me at least, it was a worthwhile romp for a dozen hours or so.
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