Wolfenstein The New Order: Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Right Game?

cre: Wolfenstein The New Order: Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Right Game?

IIf you know the name Wolfenstein, you know first-person shooters. You know where they really started. And more than anything, you knew the pure pleasure of killing Nazis.

No amount of World War II propaganda could have made us kill Nazis the way Wolfenstein would have. It served as the blueprint for Doom – and it has then served as the blueprint for every first-person shooter since.

So when MachineGames and Bethesda Softworks announced Wolfenstein: The New Order, after much rumour, there was a lot of fanfare. And lots of reviews. While it wasn’t specifically aimed at The New Order creator, Deus Ex and Epic Mickey – also one of the guys who competed in the other John’s ION Storm – Warren Spector found another game’s announcement first-person shooter in the vein of just shooting and killing enemies to be redundant.

It’s funny because despite the latest Wolfenstein game trying something new with its powers and open world aspect, it hasn’t exactly been trumpeted by the industry. Developed by Raven Software, it has faded into memory despite the Wolfenstein name behind it.

It was outright criticized for it, but some people were right: why not wait until the game is released before criticizing it? But then why not apply that same logic to Battlefield 4, which really didn’t bring anything new with its gameplay, or even Call of Duty: Ghosts, another sequel in the long line of Call of Duty games that have been recognized like a cash cow?

Heck, why not Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, since the predecessor was disappointing? If Wolfenstein: The New Order can be praised solely on the basis of its name, then any trailer, even that of the actual gameplay, is irrelevant to public opinion. Just as you can’t say it’s awful, you shouldn’t be so quick to say it will be good.

This logic has already bitten gamers in their collective asses with Resident Evil 6, Epic Mickey 2, and Medal of Honor: Warfighter, among other disappointing games.

The real issue isn’t what kind of game The New Order is, or even how good it looks. The problem is the times we’re in, where a brand’s look and name doesn’t guarantee a game will be fun. This is the era of first- and third-person shooters, with their repurposed running and weapon mechanics. Honestly, there’s nothing that sets games like Battlefield 4 or Killzone: Shadow Fall apart from previous iterations on lesser consoles, other than how they look.

We can look at games like The Last of Us and see very clearly that it’s not just another third-person shooter in the vein of Uncharted or Gears of War. We can watch FUSE and determine – to some extent – that it’s trying to do something new with its co-op despite its boatload of cliches.

Can we honestly do that with Wolfenstein: The New Order if and when the gameplay comes out and it turns out to be the same old run and shoot experience?

There won’t even be a multiplayer component. MachineGames will therefore have to focus on making the best campaign possible. It’s not hard – heck, look at Halo 4, which still managed to be fun despite being reminded of how Bungie handled all of those elements better – but in this set piece/spinning segment/quick event/ slow firing time, will it really happen?

Games like Bioshock Infinite are why we should cherish innovation. Because when it happens it’s really wonderful, whether it’s in the setting, the level design, the storytelling, the visual style, the storytelling or the game mechanics (Skyhook FTW) because innovation is really hard to find.

We are reduced to finely distinguishing so many similar experiences that we are stunned when something truly new and magical comes out.

Even if Wolfenstein: The New Order is not innovative and is a fun experience, will it be remembered as the game of its generation?

Will it be compared to the great shooters and replayed for years on the strengths and merits of its single player experience like a Halo or Half-Life or even Doom? Is it enough simply to be a good game bearing the Wolfenstein name, rather than to differentiate itself from the current generation of shooters?

These are not easy questions to answer, of course. But with Bethesda Softworks, MachineGames, and id Software’s id Tech 5 engine in the mix, there’s no denying that it looks attractive enough to warrant closer scrutiny over time.

---

Hi, I’m gameplaytrick.com, a website about games and helping gamers get the information they need. We always provide the most complete and earliest news as well as share tips and tricks on some games. Thank you for reading this post

source: gameplaytrick.com -

from gameplaytrick.com https://ift.tt/XQSM5sg
via gameplaytrick.com