Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus - review. Game review Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus Wolfenstein 2 the new colossus game review

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Unforgettable shooter of the old school, which in some places is not ashamed to call brilliant. It can be completed in two evenings, but we advise you to stretch the pleasure. After the credits, you will definitely want to go back and kill a fascist or two, just to stay longer in the company of Blaskowitz and his comrades.

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playground

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is the first sequel in MachineGames history. The creators of the game did not reinvent it. The new part is essentially an improved The New Order, which received new features and became more visually pleasing. We are sure that this will not seem enough to someone: in the end, the sequel no longer looks as fresh as the first part was at one time. As for us, in 2014, in our review of the original, we explicitly stated...

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3DNews

A grand continuation of the legendary series, to which it no longer makes sense to apply the standards of the old Wolfenstein - MachineGames has long jumped over these bars and now independently sets the standards for story-driven "rail" shooters. Another thing is who needs these standards today - big games without network mode or at least open world are dying. The success of The New Colossus partly determines whether they will die completely, or whether the genre will still have a new breath ...

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Wolfenstein 2 is exactly the sequel fans of the original needed. The game actively uses the achievements of The New Order, but at the same time changes some important details and offers a completely new story campaign, which is definitely not inferior to the original one, and maybe even surpasses it. It's an amazing first-person shooter that's not afraid to experiment with elements of stealth, and that gives it more variety in gameplay...

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Playpress

Wolfenstein II: New Colossus is a sequel with a capital letter. She took all the best from her predecessor and multiplied by two. This is a piece project, which has no equal in its segment of first-person shooters. Three years ago, Machinegames convinced everyone that the classics can also be served to modern gamers. Now Machinegames has proven to everyone that it is one of the key developers of story FPS.

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VGTimes

MachineGames was able to prove for the third time that a mechanic cut to a shine, in alliance with an excellent storyline filled with appropriate humor and drama, can make millions fall in love with themselves. There are no similar Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus now, they don’t do this anymore, but at the same time, this does not prevent the game from appearing in the eyes of something very cool and desirable. I would like to hope that the game will show the world that not everything is lost with story shooters and that it is very interesting for gamers to dive into the universes...

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kanobu

Despite some script issues, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is beautiful game. It is full of memorable moments, and local shootouts will delight anyone. The New Colossus is also valuable because it was made contrary to modern trends: there are no loot boxes, no multiplayer, or even an open world. Directed from A to Z action. Everything we love.

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gmbox

"Wolfenstein 2 The New Colossus is a huge, beautiful, adrenaline-filled and very high-quality ... DLC for The New Order in 2014. Self-plagiarism (I'm talking about myself now, not about Bethesda)? Yes. But what can you do, Corridor-hall structure of levels, one or two officers and two or three stealth opportunities in each hall, a sea of ​​blood and a mountain of spent cartridges: The New Colossus is cut exactly the same as The New Order. ...

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GameMAG

Despite a number of notable shortcomings, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus pleases with a skillful stylization of the story about an alternative reality, brutal shootouts, powerful guns and beautiful graphics, thanks to which the battles with digital fascists really come to life. The weak ending and the lack of memorable bosses may upset some, but at its core, The New Colossus remains one of the best first-person action games of the year.

Swedish company MachineGames quite successfully mastered the heritage and technology ID Software, releasing two commercially successful chapters to restart the series wolfenstein. The new part of the adventures of the heroic William Joseph Blaskowitz continues the events The Old Blood and The New Order, handing over to you a wheelchair user who, even in a damaged state, continues the noble cause of destroying the Nazis.

Development original story, in addition to receiving a plot hub in the ultra-modern Reich submarine "Eve's Hammer", offers a traditional for the series game process, flavored with noticeable improvements and interesting innovations. After a short prologue and a painful wheelchair mission, the authors present Billy with a replacement for his damaged legs in the form of a special Daath-Ihud armor. The further chain of events includes riding a giant robot dog, flying to Venus, visiting a devastated New Orleans, and battling the demons of the past. The scenery changes at the speed of Instagram frames, revealing references to other popular universes - from the obvious doom and Fear to dearly loved in Russia Metro 2033.

Using cranberry sketches with caricature villains like Frau Engel, MachineGames sharply take the height, mixing humor, sarcasm and serious topics into a single compote. In one scene, an ill Hitler vomits on the carpet and urinates in a bucket, in another the protagonist talks about life and death or tries to hide a secret from the woman he loves. It seems that the Swedes are ruffling the audience, mocking the current American agenda. AT The New Colossus there is also a place for a feminist monologue about useless eggs, ideas about the insignificance and guilt of white men, as well as the superiority of any minority. All positive white characters are represented in the game as disabled, mentally retarded, schizophrenics or fat people, who are first fucked and abandoned by a black man, and then publicly humiliated by a black woman.

Ordinary white citizens are happy to welcome the Nazis, who, along with representatives of the Ku Klux Klan, feel at ease in the new American order, leading the viewer to think about the equal sign between skin color and war criminals. And in the game, as a matter of fact, in keeping with the cultural agenda, there is no place for pretty, let alone sexy, female characters.

Unfortunately, the scriptwriters lack the strength and skills to reveal the heroes of the resistance, who have not been able to demonstrate the depth of character. The only one who succeeds in her caricatured psychopathic incarnation is General Engel, who accompanies you throughout the game's story, serving as a connecting character between disparate missions. Hidden in the headquarters quarters are numerous fighters against the Nazis, reminiscent of broad brush strokes in an unfinished work. The unfinished storylines with William's girlfriend from the distant past, a magic key or a family ring. Yes, and the mission that ends the story with the absence of real bosses and the subsequent prologue with a bloody but emotionally weak ending hints at serious production problems.

Apart from the empty ending, there are huge problems with the supply of mini-bosses and interesting opponents. Giant robots or fire-breathing dogs simply jump out at you from the side of the screen, destroying the emotional pathos of the appearance of another Nazi superweapon. You don't feel like you're fighting something powerful and very dangerous. It's just another target for your Ubersoldier.

Instead of unique fights and special approaches, the Swedes go down the simplest path, offering in pivotal plot points to simply stand against waves of strong enemies for the sake of a beautifully staged cutscene. At the same time, the main gameplay resembles doom with a bunch of enemies, fast hand-to-hand combat and colorful scraps of torn flesh.

), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch

Localization Text + voice acting release date October 27, 2017

Introduction

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Sometimes the evolution of the legendary game series is very interesting to watch. Take Wolfenstein - the "father" of all first-person shooters began his life as a pseudo-3D action game and eventually evolved into a Hollywood-scale blockbuster.

Frau Engel is the main antagonist of the second part and, in combination, a real devil in the flesh.

Quite another matter is her daughter, the benevolent Sigrund, who almost immediately joins the resistance fighters. Who said something about an apple and an apple tree?

What is most surprising, the best moments of The New Colossus can be observed when Blaskowitz puts away the machine gun. It becomes clear why the Roswell mission appeared in the press release, which was sent to journalists around the world, because it most fully conveys the spirit of Wolfenstein II. And in these fifteen minutes of real time, we are clearly given to understand what is happening in the world of victorious Nazism.

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Of course, the found notes also complete the picture, but, as they say, it is better to see a hundred times.
William Blaskowitz is a living legend in the gaming world. They write about his adventures in news articles, the actions of the hero are discussed by enemies, films are finally made about "Creepy Billy"!

And all these conversations are by no means groundless - William knows a lot about killing the Nazis. He can effectively (and effectively) wield a hatchet in close combat, but constantly crushing heads and chopping off limbs, as in Doom (Mick Gordon is responsible for the soundtrack, so do not be surprised by similar motives), will not work, since the value of a close encounter is minimal. Not only is health not replenished after such a kill, but as long as the hero deprives someone of important parts of the body, he can be killed. The only thing for which all this may be needed is silent killings. Stealth is present in the game (and the teachings of Sam Fisher can be actively practiced), but playing Rambo is still more fun.

The rest of the time you have to fight. What epithets can be attributed to the local action? He is good. Definitely better than in the first part, with its own interesting features (for example, now the hero can shoot from two completely different types of weapons at the same time), but ...

Fights in Wolfenstein II lose a lot, for example, to the same Doom. They are not as violent, the weapons feel worse in the hands, and the deadly arsenal of Blaskowitz is no match for the combat "toys" of the Doom Soldier. Despite this, The New Colossus will definitely take its place in your top of the best shooters, since the novelty has few competitors.

As for the levels, they can often be completed in several different ways. However, all the advantages of local level design are reduced to nothing "thanks" to boring locations. Basically, you will have to wade through the crowds of Nazis through the gray corridors. There are exceptions (remember the same level in Roswell), but they are so few that after the passage of Wolfenstein II, only solid soulless metal corridors pop up in the memories, with which the game is “full of”.

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Improvements are scattered at the levels, with the help of which it is possible and necessary to improve the weapons found.

The New Colossus still pleases with a non-standard pumping system. It is simple, like everything ingenious - if, for example, you want to increase the total ammunition, it is enough to shoot with two hands. You do not need to earn any points, you just need to perform certain simple actions, while the character himself will develop.

But what matters is the complexity. For gamers pampered by auto-regeneration of health and other achievements of modern games, the passage of Wolfenstein II, even on medium difficulty, will be a difficult task.

It cannot be said that the AI ​​is super smart, basically the opponents take it en masse and do it very skillfully: if you do not use cover and thoughtlessly run forward at breakneck speed, then the hero simply will not have a chance to escape.

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The super-soldiers in the sequel have become more mobile and got jetpacks. The jetpack, by the way, is also their weak point: if you sneak up on an armored bull from behind and shoot a clip in the back, it will explode and at the same time take with it to the Nazi Valhalla all the others who had the imprudence to be next to him at that moment.

With the visual component of Wolfenstein II, everything is fine. You should not expect a qualitatively new breakthrough from the graphics, but the "New Colossus" looks like it should be for a shooter in 2017 - as modern and incredibly cinematic as possible.

The optimization didn't disappoint either. Despite the rather high "recommended" system requirements(Intel Core i7-4770, 16 GB of RAM and a GeForce GTX 1060 or higher graphics card), The New Colossus can actually run at "very high" settings, even if your configuration is two to three times weaker than the specified one. Of course, in this case, you will have to put up with rare subsidence up to 45-50 frames per second, but all these are mere trifles that do not affect the gameplay in any way.

From a purely technical point of view, the game works great. Unless, of course, we do not count such small bugs, as in the screenshot above.

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The environment is destructible, but not always and not everywhere.

Bulletstorm Full Clip Edition: review Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition is the return of two important names. The first is Bulletstorm itself, an entertaining shooter saturated with spectacular moments and killer jokes, but not gaining the fame it deserves. The second is Duke Nyukem, the star of the nineties, whose career ended loudly when it should have shined with new colors. Was time able to defeat them, or was it rebuffed?

Wolfenstein The Old Blood: review Wolfenstein 3D, released back in 1992, marked the beginning of such a popular genre as a first-person shooter. After there were the famous Return to Castle Wolfenstein (2001), not the most successful Wolfenstein (2009) and the more or less successful Wolfenstein: The New Order (2014). But MachineGames decided not to stop there and released a prequel add-on less than a year later.

BioShock Infinite - Burial at Sea: review Same-type shootouts and a twisted plot with implicit messages - this is what BioShock Infinite, one of the most overrated games in the history of the industry, will remember. But time put everything in its place: the descendant of the “smart” shooter quickly disappeared from the news feed, forum discussions subsided, and the development studio eventually broke up. But that is not all. What can be added to such a game?

Conclusion

No matter how good Wolfenstein II is, it is important to understand that this gaming colossus does not bring anything radically new to the genre. Therefore, if you have already clicked the “Add to Cart” button, but have not yet made a purchase, think carefully about the question: “Why am I actually buying the game?”.

If for the sake of a hurricane action, then weigh your decision and remember how much you liked shooting in The New Order, because since that time the developers have not reached a qualitatively new level. Perhaps you are more interested in the plot and are attracted to an alternative history? It's already warmer, it's good here. Maybe you liked the story told by the original and want to see its continuation? Bingo!

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Yes, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is a story-driven game first and foremost and everything else second. The storytelling is great, the action is good, and it all adds up to a great game. We are waiting for the third part, in which the robo-Hitler is simply obliged to appear, since there are all the prerequisites for such a turn of events.

Verdict: a worthy (but not revolutionary) sequel to The New Order and just good game. It’s interesting to follow the plot twists, and it’s fun to shoot - more from the continuation was not required.

Rating: 8.5 ("Excellent").

Ruslan Gubaidullin

• Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus - performance testing
  Summary testing of eleven video cards and nine processors in three resolutions and two modes of operation in the game on the id Tech 6 engine.


• at the conference site.

Whoever comes to Blaskowitz with a weapon will die from it. Most likely, it will be very painful and cruel.

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The first part of a modern dilogy about the adventures of Blaskowitz, Wolfenstein: The New Order, was a game at the crossroads of ideas. In every possible way.

It featured classic shooter gameplay with health packs and armor. There were fashionable elements of stealth, some kind of freedom of action and a system of perks. And in the intervals between shooting - peaceful moments of the exposition, communication with numerous characters and mise-en-scene. A little bit of everything, a little bit, so that everyone finds something for themselves and does not leave offended.

Gameplay updated Wolfenstein was very good, but so many different concepts were mixed in the plot that it was not clear what the game wanted to be. For a serious military drama, The New Order joked too often (and sometimes inappropriately), for a tragicomedy, on the contrary, it was too frowning

Trailer for the release of the game.

The New Order was an experiment. The New Colossus is the fruit of this experiment. An exemplary sequel that finally found artistic integrity. He, unlike his predecessor, is not lost in his own ideas and knows exactly what he wants to say.

War is absurd. Welcome to the party.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

If someone a couple of years ago said that the best part of the new Wolfenstein will be a plot, we would laugh out loud. Drop it. Plot? In a bloody thrash action game without brakes that doesn't know the word "no"? The New Order, of course, tried to execute this program, but rolled it back only to "satisfactory".

And something amazing happened with The New Colossus. After a couple of hours, we realized that we were exterminating dozens of fascists only in order to see where Blaskowitz and Co. will still be difficult. There was a feeling that it was the shooting that interfered with the plot, and not vice versa - as is usually the case. The previous game was also remembered for a couple of extremely effective scenes, but The New Colossus consists entirely of them.

The New Colossus can best be described as a hybrid of Indiana Jones and Elusive Avengers directed by Tarantino. The plot here is a reckless adventure that becomes even more interesting when on the screen not bloodshed occurs. The main thing is not to take everything to heart.

The fact is that, having set clear limits for themselves, screenwriters every minute go beyond these very limits. The game skillfully fools around, juggling themes, mood and tone of the story like a crazy clown. It can be a seriously violent drama, and a comedy, and a dumb action movie at the same time. The characters discuss everything with equal success: from political and social problems to a clogged toilet. Like Return to Castle Wolfenstein, The New Colossus is one big ode to pulp fiction; the game rolls all conceivable and unthinkable cultural stereotypes into a hefty snowball. And from the cliches on the theme of the Second World War, he sculpts two more and makes a snowman out of them.

We liked the production of The New Colossus so much that we won't even spoil it. At all. There is only one nitpick: the story ends abruptly, offensively. You will just begin to anticipate a real revolution in America, as the credits will already roll. From the player's point of view, the story has barely entered the final stage, but no, no excitement! Please wait for the third part or DLC.

The crackle of machine guns

The combat has not changed much, but received several interesting innovations. The most important thing is the ability to hold different guns in both hands. This is not at all as useful as it might seem, but it allows you to feel like a real death machine. Rifle in one hand, automatic shotgun in the other. Just like in the movies: you fire at the Nazis from a distance, and you treat the suicides, who come closer, with a shot. Enemies still react vividly to every hit, so shooting with two hands gives a special pleasure.

At some point, BJ will gain special abilities in the form of secret German gadgets. You can learn to squeeze through narrow cracks, break through fragile walls with a run, or grow a couple of stilts to climb roofs. You can only choose a couple of gadgets at a time, and each of them is useful in its own way - there is even some room for experimentation. Separately, we note that the abilities do not distract from the action: they are not tied to specific buttons and are activated imperceptibly. So there is more variety in battles, and the mechanics remain unloaded.

Challenge the player is also good. Even on ordinary complexity BJ dies in seconds. Just one mistake will instantly send you to the checkpoint, but that's the point. The game gives you all the tools to spectacularly kill the Nazis right and left, but the toughness still needs to be earned.

The problem is that combat is desperately lacking in ingenuity. Yes, shooting is still fun. Weapons sound and feel right, there are gore, jibs and an arsenal of guns, but... The game is stepping on the old rake. The AI ​​of the opponents is indescribably stupid, although the Wehrmacht soldiers seem to be supposed to be excellent students of combat training. Fights often follow the same scenarios and only occasionally throw surprises. The level design is frankly boring: if you saw one secret base of the Nazis, then you saw everything.

There are some very annoying shortcomings. For example, the game terribly lacks a competent damage indicator. Blaskowitz can be fired at from at least three sides, but you still won’t understand where the fire is coming from: the hero simply does not react to hits. Until it's too late, of course.

Well, it’s a little frustrating what the game offers to do after the end of the story. If you want to find all the gadgets and collectibles (and at the same time beat the game to 100%), you can hunt Nazi officers. Choose a location on one of the levels - and go ahead, clean everything from the Nazis. That's interesting if you're into the game's combat system, but without the story behind it, it doesn't really shine as brightly.

On the other hand, no one said that you can get everything at once. Moreover, the rest of The New Colossus is a complete joy.

“Frau Engel, are you looking for me? On the contrary, lady. I am looking for you, ”says an American cripple in a wheelchair on a crowded street. His body is covered with bruises, from the clothes on him - shorts and a bathrobe.

"You are a disgrace to our race!" - Frau Engel says to the plump assistant who recently ate a pie. This notorious sadist will still have time to give out a lot of things: she will produce the show "The Execution of a Terrorist", and arrange an oral fetishism session, and give the most memorable in American world interview. But for now, she just cuts off two. A man - a hand, a girl - a head. .

Horror, drama, action, comedy?

Already at the very beginning, The New Colossus reveals all the features that distinguish the series from ordinary shooters. We understand that we have ten hours of furious anti-Nazi action ahead of us, seasoned with the heroism of the protagonist brought to the point of absurdity, unusual gameplay approaches and a very serious drama, inscribed in the context of postmodern self-irony.

The latter is when the events in the work are experienced quite seriously by their participants, but according to some formal signs, access to which only the viewer, and not the character, has, everything unfolding on the screen turns into a farce.

In this humor lies the whole concept of Wolfenstein since The . In The New Colossus, the authors completely lost their brakes, and they decided to combine the incompatible: to establish a fascist regime in the United States. We saw something ideologically similar in: . But the creators from MachineGames think much more conceptually than their colleagues from Deep Silver: The New Colossus is an author's creation, despite all its mass character.

You guess what the guy shines, right?

MAIN ACTOR OF THE YEAR

The plot of the sequel is built around the activities of an underground organization that opposes the regime. Blaskowitz gradually acquires a group of sympathizers - a fat turncoat, a black woman in the role of an office manager, a guy with ... However, the last comrade is optional: at the very beginning we will be forced to make a choice that will not affect some plot scenes and gameplay opportunities.

The characters consistently conduct their liberation activities and fight for a just cause. But MachineGames demonstrates the pathological belief in the existence of this "just cause" - the revolutionaries are unanimously recognized by American society as terrorists, they blow up nuclear bombs and kill millions of innocent people, although the player looks at everything from one position. With the one with which Blaskowitz and company are uncontested heroes.

Such conceptual play is everywhere - in characters, dialogues, music, location design. It creates the strongest emotional polyphony. We are imbued with what is happening, we become participants in the events - revolutionaries who hate fascism. But at the same time we are spectators laughing at it all.

Pleasure is an axe. And the fascist is near

As a postmodern story, the new Wolfenstein is brilliant. As a shooter, she's great. Like stealth - a little weaker. But, after all, the question is completely different! What kind of prostheses will Blaskowitz get instead of a stroller - that's the only thing that worries the first mission.

You could just let the hero crawl - he could do it. But it's boring. The agent acquires energy armor - scales resembling clothes. The latter grants incredible skills: now Blaskowitz can walk and break some sections of the floor under him. That is half robot. Well, in the US conquered by the Germans with a sadistic woman at the head, a cyborg burdened with existential problems becomes the savior of mankind.

Pros: conceptual plot and characters; cheerful, bright, "old-school" fashionable shooter mechanics; put together video scenes of the game could qualify for an Oscar.

Cons: not noticed.