Wolfenstein II The New Colossus Xbox One Review

Posted on: 2017-10-31

Our rating:

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is a text book example of how game developers should do a sequel. With an emotional story, brutal gameplay with the violence and challenge and beautiful visuals, this is easily one of the best games of 2017.


Wolfenstein is a name that stems all the way back to 1981 when the first game was released on Apple II computers. They were not shooters, but instead it was the first example of a stealth game, it was ground breaking for the time as people had not seen anything like it. In the early 90’s id Software wanted to make their own interpretation of the series, which lay the foundation of the genre we know as the first person shooter. Wolfenstein had three successful games the first, Spear of Destiny and Return to Castle Wolfenstein; however after the mixed reception of the 2009 release simply named Wolfenstein the series went dormant until 2014 which surprised everyone.

 

Wolfenstein: The New Order when it came out in 2014 was a total surprise as I was not expecting much, but I was hooked due to the brutal and satisfying gunplay and the immersive story which made you care for each character. Here we are three years later with Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus which has improved on every aspect they introduced in The New Order when it comes to gameplay, visuals and acting with the characters.

 

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus takes place in an alternate 1960’s where Nazi Germany had achieved victory in the Second World War and then proceed to take over the world. You play as William J. Blazkowicz who finds himself in critical condition after he killed the crazy lunatic known as General Deathshead after he exploded a grenade with Blazkowicz caught in the explosion. He is rescued by his fellow comrades where he is then in a coma for five months, where we see a bit more of his backstory as a child in flashbacks. We find out that Blazkowicz had a rough upbringing with an abusive and bigoted father who constantly beat Blazkowicz’s mother. This is a strong, emotional and shocking introduction to the game as we get to see William at his most vulnerable; the domestic abuse subject matter is tackled well, with the excellent performances from the voice actors. This game goes into some really dark subject matters and is rather liberal with racial and discriminatory slurs, but it is in context as it hops between 1919 and 1961, but be warned with the dialect used in this game. 

 

Gameplay is a mix of old school shooting games and modern shooting games, so there is no regenerating health as you have to pick up health packs and armour to protect you. You can carry a vast array of fire arms which you can duel weld any of them, which is really satisfying to run down a corridor with a pair of automatic shotguns and tear enemies apart. Movement speed is quick and standing still is not an option as you’ll be killed within minutes, so your best bet of achieving victory is to keep moving and shooting until there is nothing left alive.

Wolfenstein 2 Review Bristolian Gamer

There are upgrades in the form of perks and weapon kits, perks are physical attributes for William where he can gain new skills with duel welding etc. How you gain these perks are unique as instead having skill points you pour into a specific skill tree, you instead just play the way you like and your skills will evolve organically. For example if you like to sneak around a lot your stealth skill will level up where you can gain more damage for sneak attacks. Or if you like to take a louder approach you’ll gain perks that will aid you in combat, I like this system because this is a game that truly lets you play your way, as I don’t feel the game judging me when I go loud as some games that have the “play it your way” moniker, but generally mean you get the most out of the game only using stealth.

Wolfenstein 2 Review Bristolian Gamer

The presentation is a huge step up from The New Order as they are no longer hindered by the Xbox 360 and PS3, plus they are utilising a brand new engine in the form of id Tech 6. Character models have been given a bump in quality with excellent facial animations, coupled with the exquisite feedback when you shoot enemies. This is a very violent and gory game, so you will see blood flying everywhere and body parts separating from enemy soldiers, it is viscerally satisfying when you nail a headshot and it pops like a watermelon. 

Wolfenstein 2 Review Bristolian Gamer

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is a text book example of how game developers should do a sequel. With an emotional story, brutal gameplay with the violence and challenge and beautiful visuals, this is easily one of the best games of 2017 and is a must have.


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Article by:

Sam Coles - a.k.a. The Bristolian Gamer

Sam has lived in Bristol all his life. A keen cyclist he speeds around the city but video games are his bread and butter. Whether the old Nes and Snes games or the XBox One and Playstation releases he loves them all. Sam runs his own gaming blog called Bristolian Gamer where he had been reviewing indie games, doing retro reviews and venting his anger at the industry when it does wrong since 2010. Sam joined the 365Bristol team in December 2014.