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Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus Review


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1252033543_WolfensteinIIboxart.png.429c4323f525a4667fc96025bbfe7ed2.pngFollowing in the footsteps of the Doom port from late last year, publisher Bethesda Softworks brought another intense FPS to the Switch with Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. Originally released on other systems last year, The New Colossus follows veteran fighter B.J. Blazkowicz as he battles Nazis in an alternate world where Nazis won World War II and have effectively ruled the world for fifteen years, aided by futuristic technology. The game is a bloody FPS as you either stealthily eliminate Nazi soldiers or go all out, dual-wielding machine guns and tearing apart anyone in your way. Whichever play style you favor you're in for a wild ride.
 
The story picks up immediately after the events of the first game, which left off on a slight cliffhanger, so Switch-only owners might be a little lost on what is happening (Wolfenstein: The New Order was released on other consoles in 2014 but never made it to a Nintendo system). This game at least offers a quick recap of events but to truly appreciate some of the characters and their relationships with one another you ought to play the first game if you can. And this game hits the ground running, so ideally you're already up to speed on who the resistance fighters are, as well as the primary antagonist, General Engel. What follows can only be described as an action-packed thrill ride, one that takes you across the Nazi-occupied United States and even into space with one shocking event after another. What's pleasantly surprising about it all is that the game manages to maintain a sense of charm and personality throughout all the chaos. It would've been easy for the game to slip into completely ridiculous action-trope territory, but somehow The New Colossus manages to tell a viciously brutal story with supernatural elements without coming off as gauche, in particular thanks to a fun cast of characters, each one larger than life and a lot of fun to see play off of one another. It helps that there are plenty of moments of levity too, ones that clearly show a degree of self-awareness for the game's intense, over-the-top action.
 
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The New Colossus is an FPS with a mix of stealth and action gameplay. Generally you'll enter an area with a number of lackeys to eliminate as well as one or two commanders who, if they raise an alarm, will cause more soldiers to storm the area. As such you can choose to take a slow and stealthy approach to eliminate a commander without alerting anyone, or you can just charge in and go nuts. Compared to the previous Wolfenstein game the stealth gameplay seems much harder here. Enemies are far more perceptive than your average blind video game soldier—generally if you can see them at all they can and will see you—which does make the stealth approach more satisfyingly challenging, but it might be just a tad too difficult. Unlike a pure stealth game you don't have many options for sneaking, distracting guards, or eliminating them from a distance, so the stealth gameplay in The New Colossus is a bit frustrating at times.
 
Luckily, you can always fall back on the frontal assault approach, and for the most part this gameplay style feels a little easier in The New Colossus. There is no shortage of ammo, health, or armor in this game and oftentimes the full attack option, while somewhat less elegant, is far more effective. Still, the game gives you the option of how you want to play which is nice, and halfway through the game you'll get the chance to customize your play style further with a special gadget. Furthermore, the game's perks system rewards you with bonus effects which are generally tied to the way you play—i.e. if you do a lot of stealth kills you'll get perks related to sneaking—so there's even a pleasing sense of progression based on how you approach each level. Whichever path you choose you'll be rewarded with plenty of satisfying FPS action.
 
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There are a few overall issues that detract from the experience a bit, though. For one thing the level design leaves something to be desired. There are a few standout areas, generally when you're outside, exploring an almost Fallout-esque American wasteland, but too often the game feels like a corridor shooter, which is especially disappointing if you're focusing on stealth. Additionally, the game could really use a better indication of where you're taking damage from. Too often I found myself at a loss as far as where I'm getting shot from—a better on-screen indicator would help during intense fights.
 
The controls are decent enough for the most part, with enough customization options that you can find your preferred sweet spot when it comes to sensitivity. Plus The New Colossus offers motion aiming if that's your thing. Motion controls can feel a little unwieldy if you're not ready for them but for Nintendo die-hards that are well experienced with motion-controlled shooters this is a great option to have.
 
Obviously The New Colossus is not going to look as good on the Switch as it will on other systems. It just won't. But unless you held the two up side by side to compare them, you probably won't be bothered by it too much. Sure some of the textures seem a bit blurry, which is distracting when there's a sign that ought to have readable text but instead it just looks muddy, but in general the game runs quite well on the Switch, and the retro-futuristic-techno setting is really cool (even if, again, there are a few too many similar corridors). Perhaps more importantly the game runs well, even in handheld mode, so a few blurry textures or lack of detail compared to other versions shouldn't be too much of a concern. On the audio side of things the music is suitably intense for an action-packed game, though a bit forgettable as well. The voice acting is excellent though, and really brings the heroes—and especially the villains—to life.
 
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The New Colossus will last a good twelve hours or so if all you want to do is finish the story. However, there's quite a bit of side content to enjoy here as well. In addition to a variety of collectibles in each stage—including concept art which is always fun to see—there are also side quests which can be rewarding if you're trying to fill out all of your perks. Plus it might be worthwhile to replay the game focusing on a different play style, and of course there are several difficulty levels to play on, from the extra easy to the uber difficult. And as an extra treat the entire Wolfenstein 3D game is available to play within this game—just be prepared for some very old-fashioned FPS gameplay. However long you decide to play The New Colossus, killing Nazis never seems to get old.

 
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus has a few rough edges that make it hard to live up to its predecessor, but the final package is still an incredibly satisfying and bloodthirsty FPS adventure, one that manages to reward both the slow and thoughtful approach and the all-out assault style. A slight visual downgrade isn't a bad trade off for portable gameplay as well as motion control, and at its heart The New Colossus on Switch still retains the most important features, like chopping a Nazi's limb off with a hatchet. It's bloody, it's over-the-top, and it's oh so fun.
 
Rating: 8 out of 10 Bullets
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