[Review] – Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus – Nintendo Switch

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus
Nintendo Switch

Reviewed by Brett

Publisher – Bethesda Softworks
Developer – MachineGames, Panic Button
Music – Martin Stig Andersen, Mick Gordon
Category – First Person, Action, Adventure, Shooter
Release Date – June 29, 2018

We in the killin Nazi business and cousin, business is a boomin

This review for Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus comes from the perspective of someone that never got the chance to play Wolfenstein: The New Order and I am here to say that after a quick recap in the beginning of the game you can and will 100% still understand and enjoy Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus without having played the first. If you have played it on other systems or own others and plan on playing docked however, you may want to go that route. Even though Panic Button did another fantastic job porting Wolfenstein 2 to switch, it does take a graphical hit. So if your a die hard fan or just want to kill some Nazis on the go this is the version for you but if you own a ps4 or xbone you may want to pick it up there for the full graphical power.

Story

Wolfenstein 2 continues the story of BJ Blazkowicz and follows him and a ragtag group across America, rising a rebellion and taking on the Nazis on home soil.Your assassination of Nazi General Deathshead in the new order was a short-lived victory. Despite the setback, the Nazis maintain their stranglehold on the world. You are BJ Blazkowicz, aka “Terror-Billy,” member of the Resistance, scourge of the Nazi empire, and humanity’s last hope for liberty. Only you have the guts, guns, and gumption to return stateside, kill every Nazi in sight, and spark the second American Revolution.

With out spoiling anything, the story is equally filled with the terror that accompanies a Nazi occupied America and the love, friendship and heartbreak that surrounds a close knit group of determined survivors who constantly face death and danger. There were multiple occasions where i audibly gasped by what i was seeing and for me that’s saying something.

Gameplay

When starting the game, you get the option of getting to choose who you saved during the first game, with each choice offering mostly narrative differences and different characters on the Evas Hammer, along with a unique and powerful weapon in each campaign. A small but welcome addition for replay value.

The pacing of Wolfenstein 2 seems to be designed for the Switch. Most missions are quick enough that they work well with the portable nature of using the Switch on the go. Missions are segmented by your time on the Evas Hammer, a nuclear submarine your teams calls home and uses as a tactical base. Here you will interact with all your companions, decipher enigma codes, practice at the shooting range, take on small side quests and activate your next mission.

Each mission is straightforward. Usually involving getting an item or taking out Nazi commanders. You shoot your way through swarms of Nazi’s from one end of the level to the other using a variety of upgradable weaponry. You can also target Nazi officers to find enigma codes which are used to decipher and locate Nazi commanders and the subsequent side missions. These can be accessed on the Evas Hammer at the command center. There are lots to find and complete and it certainly adds a lot of post game content to sink your teeth into. Add onto that numerous collectibles in each level and there is a whole heap of Nazi killing fun to have.

Depending on the difficulty you select, missions can be very fast and easy or long and challenging. I tried a mix of both and depending on what your looking for you will certainly find it as easy or challenging as you desire with the hardest difficulty offering permadeath with one life to complete the game.

Presentation

Wolfenstein 2 was largely unchanged from the other console releases but it does take a fairly large graphical hit to make it work on the switch. You can quite clearly see low resolution and blurry textures and in some instances entire backdrops are taken out to make certain environments run more smoothly. The good news is for me it still ran incredibly smooth and even more so just because it took some altering to get it onto the switch does not mean it doesn’t still look great and to even be playing something like Wolferstein 2 on a portable system is nothing short of incredible and Panic Button should be commended for pulling it off.

Even with its shortcomings environments are detailed and full of corners to explore and there are some truly spectacular set pieces to behold. The audio was a big stand out for me. With the amazing dream team of Martin Stig Andersen and Mick Gordon doing the score for Wolfenstein 2 you can be assured that the soundtrack is nothing short of epic. The eclectic contrast of heavy metal, dark brooding ambient tracks and cinematic scores provide non stop mood and adrenaline filled ambiance throughout the entire experience.

Verdict

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is an incredible cinematic adventure through the terrible alternate history events of WWII. With an intense and heart wrenching campaign, an absolutly astounding score, difficulty levels for all skill levels, engaging side missions and a ton of collectibles, Wolfenstein 2 is a action adventure game that should not be missed. Even though it had to be slightly scaled down for switch its great to play on the go or at home and is another fantastic title to have on our favorite console.