Rediscovering Fun: First-Person Shooters

You know, the new Wolfenstein and DOOM games? They’re actually pretty good, which is why I chose to finally finish Wolfenstein: The New Order, and play through the sequels. Likewise, I couldn’t stay away from DOOM either… That BFG…

Years of the games industry pushing towards realistic, gritty shooters has come to a close, as developers like id Software and Machine Games have gone back to the roots of frenetic violence; quite literally. The genre more or less started with DOOM and Wolfenstein back in the day. Storylines weren’t exactly detailed back then; the primary draw was simple action.

Times Have Changed

It’s about to get messy

Wolfenstein: The New Order didn’t exactly blow me away when it came out. Sure, it was fun and different, but the felt pretty clunky, especially after I got my hands on DOOM. Still, I knew I wanted to finish it, so I played through the rest of the campaign to see it through, knowing that it deserved to be finished. Besides, I wanted to get to play the other games in the new series anyway, and I’m a sucker for playing games sequentially.

So after finishing off the first one, I moved onto The Old Blood, which for what it’s worth, was a decent enough shooter, even if I wasn’t invested in it at all. It felt far more in tune with the original game, being set around WWII and sporting more of the supernatural Nazis from the weird reboot in 2009. I found it hard to feel any sort of care for it, but that might’ve been because I spent the entire game with it muted as I watched Burn Notice and YouTube videos.

My true aim? Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus.

Good Things, I Hear

It’s a lonely road, but at least I’m not walking

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus didn’t seem like the kind of game for me. I didn’t care for the original, and despite feeling the drive to get my hands on the newest one after hearing so much good about the newest game, I couldn’t help but feel like it’d be a big letdown after trying The Old Blood. Boy, was I wrong. The weaknesses of The Old Blood and The New Order are gone, with the strengths of both being present. Wait, what were the strengths of The Old Blood again?

Each level passes rather quickly, with each giving you plenty of options to play with fun and interesting ways to dismember Nazis. What’s more is that each level is varied, and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus gives you plenty of reasons to revisit each district after you finish your main objectives there.

My main complaints? Somehow your group has missed a large portion of their submarine that’s full of Nazis. As in, there are more Nazis on the boat than there are good guys, yet they just kept quiet sequestered away behind a well-placed locker. Also, I’m not sure why, but Machine Games changed the way the laserkraftwerk functions, doing away with the cutting tool portion of it. It takes less time now to get through sheet metal, but it makes you feel much less like James Bond as a result.

Time for a drink?

I’m so glad that I took the time to play through The New Colossus. It has fantastic pacing, introducing awesome improvements to the gameplay throughout the entire game, and actually has a story, which is something that’s sorely lacking in the first-person shooter genre. Oddly enough, the story itself is far more solid now than it ever was in previous games. Wolfenstein II follows the exploits of B.J. Blazkowicz as he and his allies attempt to stoke the fires of revolution in The United States. Not only is the story itself solid, but the characters are wonderfully written and interesting.

Honestly, if you haven’t played any of the new Wolfenstein games yet, I’d say you just skip ahead to Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. It’s the best of the series, by far. My only advice? Be aware that the Wolfenstein games don’t pull any punches when it comes to gratuitous violence, and believe it or not, they also show sexual content too. Go figure, the games aren’t aimed towards younger audiences…

Anyways, I played through the Wolfenstein series. It was fun. You should play them too if you like first-person shooters. Also, DOOM is a thing still.

Have you played Wolfenstein II? What about the others? What’s your favorite (yes, that’s a loaded question. Obviously the latest one is the best). Are you looking forward to the next game? Because I am.

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