If DOOM and Titanfall 2 were signs of the first-person shooter genre's revitalization last year, then 2014's Wolfenstein: The New Order was the forerunner of this unexpected movement. With an impossibly ridiculous yet serious story that rivals the Metal Gear Solid series' tone and impeccable gunplay that combines the old and new school, it remains one of this author's favorite first-person shooters, which made Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus' official reveal with a lengthy trailer all the more exciting during Bethesda's E3 2017 conference. Since we found out we're traveling to the USA to annihilate more Nazis, small details have come to the front of the battlefield revealing Machinegames' direction with the sequel and what players can expect.
While a new trailer below has some additional gameplay footage discussing the character and motives behind B.J., more interesting details can be gleaned from a short interview that Creative Director Jens Matthies and Executive Producer Jerk Gustafsson had during PlayStation Live. With a new engine in tow, Machinegames designed to rebuild the first-person experience by reconsidering every facet of the gunplay and perspective.
"We're doing a complete overhaul of the player [with] all new weapons, Gustafsson said. "We're adding a lot more upgrades, a lot more abilities, a lot more perks, and everything like that. So, in terms of how much freedom you'll have as a player in terms of how you move or perform combat, it's also a big step up."
Players will be able to duel-wield any combination of weapons now, so you can stay stealthy with a silenced pistol in one hand with a shotgun ready to go in the other. Various contraptions will act as extensions of B.J. similar to the Nazi mech that he uses to kill hoards of zombies in The Old Blood. However, they will be more diverse with "stilts" that you can use to make giant leaps, allowing the developers to play with more verticality. There will be contraptions for stealth and "mayhem" as well, but how those will function is unknown. Machinegames is also aiming to tell a more intimate, story-driven game this time, which they make clear by desiring to call A New Colossus an "action-adventure" title instead of a shooter alone. With over a hundred characters and 40 days of performance capture put into the exclusively single-player title, it's easy to see that the team means it. You can check out the full interview below.
Matthies also casually confirmed that the studio will produce a third and presumably final game in its "trilogy" if its plans come to fruition, so we're wishing the best to Machinegames that The New Colossus will earn good reception and strong sales upon its release on Oct. 27 so we can see B.J.'s unbreakable will to kill Nazis come full circle. Are you ready to travel to the Land of the Free and liberate the American people from the Nazi's grip? Go akimbo in the comments section to tell us your reactions to Machinegame's latest.
Comments 8
The New Order and The Old Blood were way better then I expected - I really enjoyed both. In fact, New Order was my first platinum trophy.
I am most definitely down with this game. One of my E3 highlights.
I really don't think TF2 or Doom were part of the revival of the FPS genre and certainly TF2 was not very 'popular' in an overcrowded market. TF2 didn't exactly bring 'originality' to the genre although you could argue they did with the first game on Xbox/PC
Wolfenstein: The New Order was a good game but again didn't really bring anything fundamentally 'new' to the genre. It was helped by a solid 60fps, good mechanics and most importantly, a good story. What set it apart from others was the mix of some 'old school' staples - like having to pick up health/armour/ammo and the two 'pathways' through the game.
Without giving away spoilers, you have to make a decision which rewards with a certain ability. That ability meant you could take 'slightly' different routes through the game. That combined with the option to play 'Stealthily' or go loud - even a combination of both - like take out certain individuals quietly and then blast everyone into bits made the game a lot of fun - visually it was great too.
Overall the first was quite refreshing, not only because of the old school mechanics that were not the norm, but also the alternative routes and some RPG elements which were unusual in a FPS campaign. It was well crafted too.
As a result of that, I am really looking forward to the sequel. I wish Doom had adopted this approach for its 2016 game - but then I do prefer more 'story' myself so more of a good thing is always appreciated...
Excellent news, best FPS story on the PS4 and great fun. Well deserving of a follow up or two. Or three if you count Old Blood.
There was something very specific about the way Wolfensteins narrative was handled that I absolutely adored, much more so than games like Uncharted and The Last of Us. Maybe it was a fluke but I hope not.
The first one reminded me so much of the resistance series. Can't wait to play that one.
@Rudy_Manchego I agree completely.
I was expecting an OK shooter. I was just looking for a decent single player shooter so I picked it up on sale. Wow what a great game it was. This will be a day one for me, if only to support great single player shooter experiences
@Elodin Good point about the single player point - it was great having a grown up FPS that didn't have a tacked on 'campaign' alongside its MP. It was just a meaty shooter with a very distinct look and feel.
New Order was a fantastic shooter and proved you don't need multiplayer to have fun in a shooter.
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