Short Preview: Wolfenstein Returns this Year!

Wolfenstein is a very old title that not many gamers out there will have heard of. Wolfenstein took players into the time of World War 2, except it had a twisted enjoyment for the dark and supernatural. It was a unique WW2 game, but one that quickly faded into the dark and was eventually left forgotten.
However, it’s not the actual game that holds so many joyful memories, but rather the multiplayer spin-off of it. I’m sure if I spoke about Wolfensteins Enemy Territory, many long-time gamers will fondly remember how awesome that game was and still is. To put it simply: Enemy Territory was one of the greatest online, class based, first person shooters ever made. ET was initally supposed to be an expansion to the old Return to Castle Wolfenstein, but the single player component of it was never completed, which led the developers to release it as a free download. This only added to the game’s strengths, as it was already so good. It was free addictive fun.

Now, quite a while back, Wolfenstein made its debut, announcing its return for the next-gen consoles. The developers have big plans to revive the series and bring back the elements we enjoyed in the past. To begin, players will take on the role of BJ Blaskowicz, a heroic war soldier fighting against the Nazis in good old World War 2. It was said that this game is ‘more than just world war 2′ and it’s easy to believe this judging by Wolfenstein’s history, as well as their plans for this game. Going back, the protagonist, BJ, somehow gets access to a mysterious artifact called the ‘Veil’ which allows him to step in and out of another reality. When entering this other world, he gains access to all sorts of special abilities and powers. Some of the more basic abilties gained include him being able to see enemies in the dark and a speed boost. One of the powers that was revealed is one called Mire. This allows BJ to slow down time around him, allowing him dodge incoming fire or gain an attack advantage.
In this game, it was said that players will come across treasure, gold and money which can be used to purchase weapon upgrades as well as improve powers. Taking this into account, one can assume that there will be a variety of different weapons and powers to gain throughout the game.

The developers have said that they want to give players a good deal of choice, and the upgradable weapons and powers portray this, but they also want the choice to be involved in the game play. For example, in a level, if the player finds himself wanting to avoid a firefight, he may have the option to maybe travel across the rooftops or resort to using the underground sewers in order to get past this.
Since we’re talking about Wolfenstein here, we know there’s going to be tons of involvement with dark science, cults and the paranormal, which basically means this game is a huge step outside of reality. One of the revealed weapons clearly shows some of the supernatural ideas and science depicted in the game. The weapon is called the Particle Cannon, which harnesses and uses the power of the Veil, in order to completely vapourise enemies and destroy everything in its path. You can expect to see a lot more of these types of weapons in Wolfenstein and it’s only one of the things that’s already starting to make it sound so good.

Wolfensteins graphics look pretty decent at this point. There’s not a great deal to go on and the game is still in early development, but one aspect of the visuals is definitely worth a mention. That being the transition between the standard and Veil realities. Players will see the world engulfed in a green filter, transforming nearly every object into something different, eerie and more terrifying. It almost looks as though you’re staring at a surreal, ghostly world and it does well to capture the dark theme that this game is aiming for. It simply looks awesome in every way.

As far as the multiplayer goes, the developers are fully aware of the standard of Enemy Territory. That said, it’s extremely exciting to hear that the multiplayer will make its return, and will still be a large feature of the game. It was emphasised that everything that was great about Enemy Territory’s multiplayer will make its return in Wolfenstein and, with the addition of the Veil powers, the multiplayer is bound to be another excellent experience.

Wolfenstein will be available on PC, PS3 and Xbox360 and, as far as a release date goes, it’s “when it’s done“. Rumoured release dates, however, seem to be around Q3 of 2009, but this isn’t confirmed yet, so don’t bank on it. For now, all we can do is wait and see how this one plays out, possibly adding it to the list of 2009′s must-haves.

[Credit to eurogamer for the screenshots]