About.com Rating

I’ve been a Wolfenstein fan since B.J. Blazkowicz’ first outing. In fact, Wolfenstein 3D is no doubt one of the games that engendered my lifelong love of the shooter. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise when I say that Wolfenstein: The New Order was one of my most-anticipated games of 2014. A true next-gen outing to topple the Nazi regime made me ridiculously excited, and now that I’ve had my chance to play through the first PlayStation 4 journey through the world of Wolfenstein, I’m back to tell the tale.


And unfortunately, I’m a little bit disappointed.

I’m not turned off by the narrative, fortunately. Blazkowicz finds himself once again dispatched to try and crumble what the Nazis have built in an alternate version of the 1960s. They’ve built their own empire and rule with an iron fist. We just can’t have that, so the game finds us dispatching every single Nazi in sight to try and make things right again. That’s not the issue. The way the narrative is presented, the shooting mechanics, and other areas are what concern me.

The beginning of the game does little or nothing to hook you, forcing you to come in on the losing end of a dogfight where you run errands, cut cargo to make the plane lighter, and eventually crash land into the water where you must defeat some of the Nazi mechanical monstrosities out to kill you. It sounds like an adrenaline rush, but the level design is pieced together in such a frustrating manner that you don’t feel any of it. You struggle to escape from the plane’s wreckage, then throw yourself into a pit of Nazis.

You exterminate them. Lather, rinse, and repeat. Where’s the flavor and attitude I saw in the trailers? The great-looking character models? The intrigue?

As it turns out, it’s not until later in the game that you’re even treated to any of these ideals, and only in a muted fashion. Characters have strange, dead eyes, and it’s awkward to strike up conversations with them, which turn into strange little cut scenes rather than having them talk to each other in-game. Shooting feels bizarre and floaty, without any real “oomph” to enemies once you’ve got them in your sights and have pulled the trigger. You could just as well be shooting air, which, at the risk of sounding like a psychopath, isn’t exactly satisfying in a game like this.

What’s more, uninspired level design, a lack of any real “choice” between stealth and murderous paths as the trailers and early gameplay footage led you to believe, and corridor after corridor of boring set pieces combine to create a slog rather than a thrilling tour-de-force. B.J.’s the same plucky hero with a history I would have loved to have heard more for, but cut scenes smooshed between boring shootouts aren’t exactly the best way to endear players.

And it’s frustrating, because it’s not that The New Order is inherently a bad game. It has its moments, and its gore level is deliciously off the charts, which I was clamoring for from the very beginning. It’s just that it’s nothing at all like what the stylish and incredibly cool trailers suggested, or what anyone’s looking for out of a modern shooter. It just barely has the look, but it needs the swagger and playability as well. Unfortunately, it doesn’t deliver in all aspects, so while it’s a decent weekend play, I’m going to need something a little meatier as far as the next round of Wolfenstein goes.