Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus hands-on: Masterful mix of brutality and humor

in #gaming7 years ago

B.J. Blazkowicz is a tough cookie. He proved this again last week while I was invited to play a preview version of Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus at the Bethesda Softworks Benelux offices.

This hands-on preview contains spoilers for the first mission ‘The Reunion’ and midgame mission ‘Roswell’.

If you remember the ending of The New Order, you won’t be surprised that at the beginning of The New Colossus our hero once again wakes up from a coma. He doesn’t have much time to catch his breath however, because Frau Engel has found your stolen submarine and will slaughter the rest of your Kreisau Rebels to get to you.

This dire situation gets even worse when you find out that Terror Billy, the Nazi’s ‘pet name’ for Blazkowicz, can’t even walk and is bound to a wheelchair. This is a surprising opening for a shooter that’s known for its fast action. By slightly restricting your freedom of movement, you immediately get a sense of the danger you’re in. You need to get the hell out of there. Now.

Because you’re severely weakened at the start of the game, it’s not very smart to dive head first into each firefight. The submarine is a labyrinth full of boobytraps that can be used against your foes. This doesn’t mean that the game suddenly became a stealth-game or a tactical shooter, but the slow pace of the opening mission serves as a good warm-up for the brutal action later in the game. And according to standard Wolfenstein tradition those boobytraps ain’t just your everyday mine our bomb, but microwaves that turn victims into a pulpy mess. This is the first sign that the unique mix between seriousness and over-the-top comedy, that came to define the series, is still intact in this sequel.

This becomes even more clear at the end of the first mission. A juicy cutscene shows how Blazkowicz surrenders himself to Frau Engel in the hope of saving the rest of his crew. The real star of this scene however, is her Engel’s daughter Sigrun. This tender soul clearly doesn’t fit in her too tight Nazi outfit and the constant humiliations by her mother have taken a severe toll on her self-esteem. When she gets the parental order to take of a rebel’s head with an axe, the situation quickly becomes very tense and funny at the same time.

ROW_Wolfenstein_II_Panzerhund_1496826975.png

This tension between razor sharp and foolish can be felt even more in the second mission of the Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus demo. Dressed up as a firefighter Blazkowicz needs to deliver a portable nuke to the city of Roswell and blow up an underground Nazi base. In the first part of the mission you walk around in the streets, hoping to find your informant in a local diner. In the streets you come across hilarious conversations between KKK members and a German soldier who is trying to teach them some basic German. Or a Herr Commandant that absolutely loves strawberry milkshakes. Luckily for us he gets shot in the head just as he is about to expose us. Once you’re in the clear, your paranoid saviour Super Spesh shows you a secret passage to the catacombs of Area 52. And this is where the game really gets rocking.

Just as in the previous game you can dual wield weapons. In Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus however you can freely combine different types of weapons. Take for example the deadly combo of a pistol in your left hand and a rocket launcher in your right. Or my favorite: a machinegun and a shotgun at the same time. Bullets for the long range targets and buckshot for however dares to come close. You control both weapons with the left and right triggers or mousebuttons. You’ll never again have to waste valuable time switching weapons in the heat of battle. More traditional players who like the extra accuracy of aiming down sights can still use one weapon at a time.

And being able to aim and shoot properly is an absolute must in this game. During the ‘Roswell’ mission you infiltrate a train station, hijack a train, take over a base and barely escape a nuclear explosion. All the while you are hunted by genetically modified soldiers, flying AI, Nazi’s in robotsuits and even a huge Mech. You do have the option to silently take down officers so they can’t call in reinforcements, but that stealthy approach can quickly go sideways and lead to even more bloodshed.

All in all it looks like Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is on the right track to gracefully combine the brutality of intense firefights with smart humour and slapstick. Add some unforgettable characters in the mix and it’s clear that the developer MachineGames knows exactly what made the previous games a success, and is aiming to turn it up a big notch.


Disclaimer: this post is a direct translation from the Dutch Wolfenstein 2 preview I wrote for Eurogamer Benelux. The videos included in the article are also recorded by me for the Eurogamer Benelux YouTube channel. I’m not a native English speaker, so linguistic suggestions and corrections are greatly appreciated!


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Good game. ☺

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Good review. I really liked the first one and tempted by the 2nd

Can't wait to get this game, this article just whet my appetite.

I have a good feeling that if you enjoyed the first two games, you will definitely like The New Colossus.

Of course, it's always best not get TOO excited and wait to see how the final product turns out.

OMG GONNA TOTALLY BUY THIS!

HolySmoke!

Congratulations on the upVotes my Friend..
I'm not up to speed on modern gaming...
i just stopped by to see what you were up to...
Truly Happy to see you got some kind of recognition for your Excellent Writing Skills

Thanks brother!

Wow a great preview! Thank you for that @gamesjoyce !
I have replayed Wolfenstein: The New Order recently and was again amazed by the creativity of the creators to build this oppressive, dark, violent Post-War world with such details!
In my head I was thinking - yeah, yeah this could have totally might have happened( minus the jest, the robot dogs and big robots :P ) .
At the same time they gave our fellow B.J. Blazkowicz such an emotional depth, compared to being the 16bit guy with the big guns :P
Now you have rekindled my impatience to play this next chapter,but there is still so much time left!
And now I am sad :(

Not to spoil anymore details then I already did in the article, but the emotional depth of the characters definitely seems to take center stage again in The New Colossus, without being corny or melodramatic.

At the end of the first mission for example, after killing dozens of Nazi's in the most brutal ways possible, there's a nice heartfelt reunion between some of the main characters (hence the name of the missions 'The Reunion'). On paper that combination between ultra violence and 'real' emotions shouldn't, but it really does.

I really enjoy your insights of the theme and depth of games!
In my view they are naturally progressing and are closing in to the interactive story-telling medium that they inspire to be.
I will be sure to follow your future posts!

Great post.

I loved new order and old blood, I probably wont get around to playing this new game so its good to get a taste of it.

thanks!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Long time ago I played the Wolfenstein Enemy Territory. It was great game, but definitely different than new part :D But I want to try new one of course, because of sentiment :)

Man, I played hours and hours of Enemy Territory in my teens. Great game.

Just saw this game today. It looks crazy good. Does the Strawberry Milkshake scene remind you of this scene in Inglorious Basterds?

Didn't make that connection at the time, but looking back on it it's pretty clear that the milkshake scene in the game is inspired by that movie scene. They definitely share the same tension.

Nice preview. You've got a new follower! Check out the post I made on the upcoming Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
https://steemit.com/news/@bartb/preview-uncharted-the-lost-legacy-12-minutes-of-girl-on-girl-action

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Will check out your preview!

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