02. Wolfenstein: Mediocre No More

The Wolfenstein franchise has had its ups and downs through the years. When we think of Wolfenstein we think of war and shooting Nazis. We don’t remember what each game’s story was about. We just knew there were Nazis, and it was time to shoot. Did you remember the story of Wolfenstein 3D? Or Return the Castle Wolfenstein? Yeah you probably knew that you were shooting Nazis (I’m guessing the swastikas gave it away and probably the German talk). Wolfenstein 3D was a hit and is praised for popularizing the first-person shooter genre. In the early 2000’s the rights to the franchise then went to Activision and the company published; Return to Castle Wolfenstein (2001), Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (2003) and Wolfenstein (2009). The reception to these games were mostly average to good. Averaging a 7-8 out of 10 in its reviews from news sites like G4, GameSpot, IGN, GameTrailers and GamesRadar. These might sound like good scores from sites, but these companies that review games aren’t the be all and end all of the games reception and popularity. Just think of Wolfenstein as a video game series in your head (I’ll give you a moment…). Now if I say that Wolfenstein is one of the best video game series of all time, I’ll bet that there aren’t many people who would agree.

After a couple of Wolfenstein games, Wolfenstein has been a series that had just been around for a long time, with a great game like Wolfenstein 3D and mediocre ones like the early 2000s games. Wolfenstein hasn’t been relevant and popular to a large audience as it was since the Wolfenstein 3D days. That is, until Bethesda and MachineGames released Wolfenstein: The New Order.

MachineGames focused on a single-player only Wolfenstein game. In an interview with Newshub in 2013, Andreas Ojerfors (Senior gameplay designer) stated that “if we could take every bit of energy and sweat the studio has and pour all that into the single-player campaign, it gives us the resources to make something very, very cool, compared to if we would also have to divert some of our resources to making multiplayer.” In previous games William “B.J.” Blazkowicz (the main character) was, as Pete Hines from Bethesda Softworks put it, “just the guy that you play”. MachineGames were interested in exploring his story, which is what they later invested in. The story was mesmerizing and mattered in The New Order, it focused on an alternate history which the Nazis won World War II, and it also focused on William “B.J.” Blazkowicz’s story and experiences through the years fighting the Nazis. Colin Moriarty formerly of IGN, considered the narrative and characters one of the best features, stating that it’s where the game really shines.

Wolfenstein: The New Order received multiple nominations and awards from gaming publications. The game won Game of the Year from Classic Game Room, and received multiple nominations from the Golden Joystick Awards, Good Game, IGN Australia, and a ton more. Awards were close by when you mentioned Wolfenstein: The New Order. The game also sold well and a year later a standalone expansion set before the events of The New Order released called Wolfenstein: The Old Blood. With rumblings of a new Wolfenstein game by MachineGames releasing in the coming years, there’s no doubt that Wolfenstein is back on top and mediocre no more.

References

Bramwell T. 2001, Return the Castle Wolfenstein, Eurogamer, viewed 23 February 2017, <http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_rtcw>.

Goldfarb A. 2013, The Potential of Wolfenstein: The New Order, IGN, viewed 24 February 2017, <http://au.ign.com/articles/2013/06/25/the-potential-of-wolfenstein-the-new-order>.

Moriarty C. 2014, Wolfenstein: The New Order Review, IGN, viewed 24 February 2017, <http://au.ign.com/articles/2014/05/20/wolfenstein-the-new-order-review>.

Newshub 2013, Wolfenstein: The New Order QuakeCon interview with Andreas Ojerfors, viewed 24 February 2017, <http://www.newshub.co.nz/entertainment/wolfenstein-the-new-order-quakecon-interview-with-andreas-ojerfors-2013081612>.