Shortly after the debut of "Wolfenstein: The New World Order," video game pundits have been buzzing with excitement. However, whether this excitement will end on a positive or negative note still remains to be seen.
"Wolfenstein: The New Order" is the latest title in the Wolfenstein video game franchise. This is the most recent offering from the remade Wolfenstein first person shooter (FPS) franchise since the 2009 release of Wolfenstein. While the new title can be seen as the second salvo of the "new and improved" Wolfenstein series, the concept itself has its roots in the early days of the video game industry. The very first Wolfenstein game entitled "Castle Wolfenstein" was released back in 1981 as a 2D adventure game. Over a decade later, Wolfenstein 3D came out as a 3D FPS. The 3D reimagining was a hit and over 100,000 copies of the game were sold.
The latest member of the Wolfenstein family was developed by Bethesda Softworks and MachineGames. This time around, the game is set in Europe sometime during the 1960s in an alternate time line where Nazi Germany came out on top during World War II. Players get to experience the action through the eyes of William "B.J." Blazkowicz, a man tasked with a heavy and almost impossible burden. Blazkowicz must battle his way through hordes of Nazi enemies as he tries to launch a counteroffensive against the Nazi powers-that-be.
Story aside, the game has received generally positive reviews from many top video game review sites. Eurogamer gave the new title a somewhat lukewarm score of 6 out of 10.
"It's a decent shooter with a good few impressive moments, but it can be buggy and it doesn't offer much you can't find elsewhere, with little to tempt you back when it's over," said Eurogamer reviewer Paul Dean.
On the other hand, Polygon was particularly generous showering the game with praises and an impressive review score of 9 out of 10.
"The New Order's got all the workings of a classic shooter. But in their trip back to the well, Machine Games has brought all of its talents to bear," said Polygon's Arthur Gies. "The New Order is held together, even rocketed beyond the basic sum of its smart levels and effective mechanics, by its characters."
"Wolfenstein: The New Order" was given a 7.5 out of 10 by Destructoid and an 8.0 out of 10 by CraveOnline. Based on the generally positive reviews, the latest addition to the Wolfenstein armory of games seems like a winner and fans of the game and the genre may get a kick out of giving the new title a spin.
