Wolfenstein is old. Three generations old. The first developer was a baby boomer. It goes back to the beginning of gaming. One of the first stealth games, and then the first FPS. So what keeps the series so popular? One word: Nazis. Lots and lots of Nazis to blast away, blow up, chain-saw in half, and stab in the mouth with a kabar. Think I’m exaggerating? Check out the Wolfenstein: The New Order Gameplay Trailer.
As if there aren’t already enough reasons to hate them Nazis – for example, Auschwitz alone – the trailer delivers several more reasons to hate them even more. They’re killing patients in a hospital, they’re doing weird human experiments again, and they blow up the symbol of American power: Mount Rushmore.
It’s the 1960s in bizarro America where the Nazis have taken over. BJ is back to lead the resistance against those crazy Nazis, which of course includes our favorite crazy Nazi, General Deathshead, and a crazy middle-aged sadist named Frau Engel who reminds me of the crazy henchwoman from Austin Powers who I believe had a one-night stand with Dr. Evil.
The Nazis, in addition to being the evil haters we have come to love to hate over the past 30 years, also are technologically super-advanced. They’ve got huge robotic walking things. More fun to blow-up and mangle. This ain’t your grandpa’s Wolfenstein. More crazy, more fun, more Wolfenstein please!