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WOLFENSTEIN: THE NEW ORDER (XONE)
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Publisher: Bethesda Softworks.
Developer: MachineGames. Released: May 2014. Genre: FPS. Other versions: X360; PS4; PS3; PC. Posted 27th August 2024. By Shane Battams © 2024 |
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Once considered the granddaddy of first-person shooters, Wolfenstein would start to struggle in the late 2000s while the rivals it laid the groundwork for enjoyed a commercial boom. A switching of publishers, diminished commercial performance and critical apathy led to a five-year lull until 2014’s The New Order. This eighth-gen outing offered promise, featuring an alternative-history shooter amidst the backdrop of the Nazis winning the Second World War, and also marking the debut from MachineGames, which could have seen teething problems you’d expect from a first outing. Instead, B.J. Blazkowicz’s return marked one of the sleeper hits of 2014 and a rebirth for the once ailing series. Even a decade later, there’s so many remarkable traits to this one that it’s worth revisiting.
B.J. Blazkowicz is once again fighting a war against the Nazi forces, as he and a crew storm the castle of high-ranking scientist and series nemesis Deathshead. Only, things don’t quite go to plan, with the operation failing and Blazkowicz ending up in a comatose state for 14 years. Shockingly, the unthinkable happens: the Nazis win World War II. However, with B.J. awakening and beginning to gather resistance forces, their stranglehold may come to an end. For a series never known for storytelling prowess, The New Order proves narratively engaging. The alt-history setting, seeing places like London warped to Nazi states, is intriguing as it is, but a raft of memorable characters and story moments ensure it doesn’t feel superficial. William’s gruff persona gels well with a myriad of side characters: whether it’s his love interest Anya who serves as the soft Yin to his aggressive Yang, or lively Scotsman Fergus Reid. The villains are as detestable as you’d expect, with the sadistic Frau Engel proving the skin-crawling highlight.
The New Order excels in showing off malevolent, creepy villains at their most base. At times uncomfortable, it's always compelling.
Bringing Wolfenstein into the 2010s was no small feat, but MachineGames would craft a single-player campaign that feels both faithful to prior games but reinvigorated. Across a meaty 16 levels, stages are typically dense and offer multiple paths to accomplish the same goal. In the prologue mission, you can opt to either blow the door down or detonate a nearby missile shed to offer a more covert entry point. Secrets are littered about each stage too, encouraging you to trek off the beaten path and explore. It recalls the structure of older games but adds welcome modernisations such as less labyrinthine layouts and more distinctive environments. Seeing familiar locations such as a prison yard, Berlin and London warped by Nazi influence, such as propaganda posters, helps bring the alt-history concept powerfully to life. There’s also a lot of uncomfortably immersive moments, as a majority of scenes play out in-game, even if that sees Blazkowicz brutally attacked. It’s a fantastically paced, engaging campaign.
Playing The New Order feels awesome, thanks to a silky-smooth performance and air-tight combat. Guns handle beautifully, feeling responsive and snappy to fire. A light cover system adds a modern touch without feeling intrusive. Armaments are potent, with powerful assault rifles and dismembering shotguns mixing with more outlandish weaponry such as laser cannons. Stealth also plays a key role here, and although that might signal alarm bells for some, it works superbly here. Areas often begin with the player in an undetected state, and you can opt to pick off foes with brutal knife kills, pop heads with a silenced pistol or with the connoisseur’s choice, throwing knives. It feels gratifying, and nailing a clean run is immensely rewarding as you can explore freely afterwards, but it isn’t punishing. Commanders can call in for backup, which can initially feel overwhelming, but the seamless transition between stealth and combat ensures you aren’t overly punished for going gun-ho. Whether you approach things loud or quiet, this Wolfenstein is seriously fun.
Playing The New Order feels awesome, thanks to a silky-smooth performance and air-tight combat. Guns handle beautifully, feeling responsive and snappy to fire. A light cover system adds a modern touch without feeling intrusive. Armaments are potent, with powerful assault rifles and dismembering shotguns mixing with more outlandish weaponry such as laser cannons. Stealth also plays a key role here, and although that might signal alarm bells for some, it works superbly here. Areas often begin with the player in an undetected state, and you can opt to pick off foes with brutal knife kills, pop heads with a silenced pistol or with the connoisseur’s choice, throwing knives. It feels gratifying, and nailing a clean run is immensely rewarding as you can explore freely afterwards, but it isn’t punishing. Commanders can call in for backup, which can initially feel overwhelming, but the seamless transition between stealth and combat ensures you aren’t overly punished for going gun-ho. Whether you approach things loud or quiet, this Wolfenstein is seriously fun.
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That’s not to say everything in The New Order is a home run. The perks system sounds good in concept, with four categories of tasks which reward boons. Performing five silent takedowns, for example, rewards the ability to throw knives. Unfortunately, it’s very easy to max-out these fast as restarting a checkpoint doesn’t reset progress, and the system feels superficial as a result. While the difficulty balance is mostly fine, seeing a tough yet fair set of encounters, some moments feel cheaper such as the tedious final boss. In contrast, a few stages see you return to base and help the resistance with a few fetch quests. While it’s cool to uncover hidden story moments and collectables, the fetching does grow wearisome by the third time or so. There’s also the key choice made during the prologue, which branches into two timelines. It sounds like this could make quite an impact, but ultimately, the story and missions play out almost identically either way. Sure, it rewards a few unique paths and cut-scenes change slightly, but it’s typically only minor aesthetic differences.
That being said, the game boasts a generous lifespan, especially considering it’s single-player only. The campaign takes a good 12 hours to beat, with further longevity depending on your thoroughness for collectables. Difficulty also plays a factor, as the higher settings recall the tougher days of older shooters and require skill to beat. There are also a few bonus modes, unlocked by finding Engima codes, that genuinely shake up how you play and feel more worthwhile than the timeline changes.
That being said, the game boasts a generous lifespan, especially considering it’s single-player only. The campaign takes a good 12 hours to beat, with further longevity depending on your thoroughness for collectables. Difficulty also plays a factor, as the higher settings recall the tougher days of older shooters and require skill to beat. There are also a few bonus modes, unlocked by finding Engima codes, that genuinely shake up how you play and feel more worthwhile than the timeline changes.
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Wolfenstein’s eighth-gen debut is weird to analyse, as it’s simultaneously impressive and dated. The main positive is the aforementioned performance, a blistering 60fps that never dips even during intense encounters. This means it handles as well as even the best Call of Duty, but the actual visuals themselves can vary wildly. A lot of levels are impressively detailed, boast good lighting and cool little touches such as destructible environments evident when shooting. But texture work can be quite lacklustre, especially at close inspection, and pop-in issues rear their head occasionally. It’s not a terrible looking game, but it seems some of the last-gen work lingered here. The audio fares much better, with quality voicework that deftly balances sombre moments with genuinely comedic moments, potent gunfire and explosions (particularly when robots detonate) and quality music from Mick Gordon, mixing cues from 60s music, chomping metal guitar riffs and quieter emotional tracks.
It wasn’t easy to gauge how well Wolfenstein would jump into the 2010s, but considering The New Order has spawned multiple sequels since, it can only be seen as a success. MachineGames’ debut remains a great game, managing the difficult task of making a faithful yet fresh entry. A fascinating alt-history story, memorable characters and razor-sharp combat blend together very well, and while some issues detract from these highs at points, it’s mostly a hell of a lot of fun. First-person shooter aficionados should find a ton to like here, and even those who don’t know their Wolfenstein from their World at War will enjoy this outing.
It wasn’t easy to gauge how well Wolfenstein would jump into the 2010s, but considering The New Order has spawned multiple sequels since, it can only be seen as a success. MachineGames’ debut remains a great game, managing the difficult task of making a faithful yet fresh entry. A fascinating alt-history story, memorable characters and razor-sharp combat blend together very well, and while some issues detract from these highs at points, it’s mostly a hell of a lot of fun. First-person shooter aficionados should find a ton to like here, and even those who don’t know their Wolfenstein from their World at War will enjoy this outing.
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VERDICT
"Wolfenstein: The New Order boasts a fascinating alternative-history story, memorable characters and razor-sharp combat, making MachineGames’ debut a great success." OVERALL: 8/10 |
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