Above all, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus took a very hard stance on the truth of killing the Nazis. Never falter, never asking whether violent resistance is the wrong way to fight oppression - and the game is stronger for it. The tongue-in-cheek series attitudes provide a good respite from the Reich's horror and frustration throwing themselves against a very powerful war machine. And despite some of the heavy hand moments that seemed like a misstep in his message, the satisfactory Nazi assassination stirred up a totally insane storyline in a way that only Wolfenstein could achieve.
New Colossus took right after the events of the New Order, and not surprisingly, our hero Blazkowicz in bad condition. After an explosion during the bout with Deathshead, the inside of BJ falls out, and the Kreisau Circle crew do their best to reunite it. General Engel tracked him five months later, and when his troops stormed the stolen U-boat (Eva's Hammer, your base of operations), Blazkowicz woke up to shoot more Nazis.
This first mission set the tone for the rest of The New Colossus. Tied to a wheelchair, his organs fail, Blazkowicz feels strangely vulnerable. You shoot with one hand and slowly wheel yourself through Eva's Hammer corridor with another. Chances are impossible. But overcoming it is satisfactory in a way that only kills all the Nazis who can not match. Even after Da'at Yichud's armor from the New Order restored Blazkowicz's mobility, his breath panting revealed a man who ran out of fuel - and time.
On top of that, this game is generally difficult. You may often die. Beating a giant fire-breathing robot dog does not seem worth it at first, but with the right combination of weapons, run, take cover, and look for health and ammunition while on the run. Part of the struggle is to find a fighting style that suits you and stick with it, whether it's a firearm approach or more tactical. Some punitive fights or autosave harms can be frustrating, but most levels end just before frustration can turn into anger.
Most missions are split into several rooms with one or two commanders capable of calling for reinforcements. You can choose to just shoot a path through waves of enemies, or you can try to secretly unleash a commander before speaking in other parts of the room. Everything increases quickly when a heavy enemy appears, because it is difficult to remove it secretly. Enemies and multiple paths through a certain area mean you will be rewarded with a thrilling battle regardless of how you decide to cope.
You will also be given more power. Successfully executed a certain stealth theft, for example, opening a perk that increases the speed of your movement while squatting. And using upgrades that you sometimes find lying around, say, putting a silencer on your gun will further improve your stealth capabilities. But you provide the flexibility to decide which missions will not work and change tactics. As a result, every meeting is very tense, because you never know when you will need to slow it down or order it to safety because the bullet passes.
The future technology of the Nazi regime is very encouraging to take part and the extraordinary look of their cruel conquest from all over the world. High-powered laser guns are interesting to use, but those armored machines that drop them are reminders of human experiment during and after the war. Anything is possible at Wolfenstein, and it is a direct result of the tremendous human suffering.
Most of the neighborhoods in The New Colossus show off the truth of the brutal industry in the Reich, like the twisted remains of New York City. But there are also appearances to be maintained, and the Roswell level in particular provides the rest of the image. You arrive at Roswell during a parade, and the beautiful and sunny streets are filled with Nazi officers and Klansmen in their full regalia. Polite dressed citizens speak in German as they celebrate - or pretend to celebrate - a Nazi takeover, a propaganda book and posters in view. Terrible and threatening to see the roads occupied, but not destroyed, cities operate under Nazi rule, as well as to see and hear people deliberately ignoring the cruelty around them.
In addition to being a much needed respite from the battle, cutscenes beautifully directed stories and takes advantage of the fantastic cast of players. The Roswell parade section, for example, concludes with the Inglorious Basterds -seque interaction with a commander who is at once funny and irritating, a careful balance that attacks The New Colossus. Some of the gameplay-to-cutscene-to-gameplay transitions are a bit jarring, but it's easy to be swept back in combat or stories soon.
The cutscenes are beautifully directed stories and take advantage of the fantastic cast of players.
Correct Cutscenes and empty chats at Eva's Hammer reveal intimate details about even minor characters. Everyone on U Boats has their own stories of oppression and marginalization, from Black Panthers to the daughter of anti-Nazi General Engel, Sigrun. But they are just people; some are depressed, some are angry, some are aroused, and almost all will have their own conversations on U Boats that you can listen to whenever you want. You can watch everyone avoid Sigrun at lunch (perhaps so should) and listen as the New York resistance fighters discuss nuclear tragedy. Even when the story is completely out of the rails - in a really surprising way - there's still room to explore their individual dynamics. It's a small thing, but it makes you invest in the crew and their goals.
There are times when The New Colossus goes beyond limits for pain, and as a result it claims the theme is overtly rather than letting them stand on their own. Showing American patriotism, like a special monologue on freedom and freedom, feels misguided after a flashback that shows racism rampant in childhood childhood BJ. The idea that America had problems before the Nazis appeared there, and that was very strong, but it was obscured by seemingly contradictory ideas.
And while the argument about the purpose of war and inspirational speech about struggling against obstacles is unlikely to show the breadth and depth of the resistance movement, for the most part these are things that you can understand only from playing normally. Of course you have to keep fighting against the Nazis, even when it seems pointless; after all, overcome the mission of their unstoppable power after the mission is satisfactory enough by itself to keep you going.
New Colossus never let you forget who and why you are fighting. Nazi brutality is fully shown, from irradiated Manhattan remnants and irradiation to each member of the resistance, all of which carry mental scars if not physical ones. You are never given a chance between cutscenes, missions, and even downtime on U-boats to forget the Reich cruelty. Wolfenstein's tense gameplay lifts this even further by giving you the power to completely resist - and get out of every battle ready for another fight.
Nice review @nyaklah I played this game until the bombed out NY mission. I was having fun, but put it down to play something else. Your review has me itching to play it again.
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