Wolfenstein: The New Order Review for PlayStation 3

Wolfenstein is about the past. It hangs from every wall. It drips like blood, from every chilling word. And with every bullet that fires—and that's a lot of bullets, by the way—you can hear it. It's the past. Wolfenstein has always been about the past. And it's actually fitting, because...it plays like the past, too. When it comes to shooters, Wolfenstein is one of the oldest dogs on the block. In fact...it was there before there even was a block. And now, more than 20 years after Wolfenstein 3D created the genre, the old dog's back. And its bite's never been sharper. And sure, it hasn't learned many new tricks. Old dogs aren't very good at that. But when the dog's 10 feet tall, and made of iron...it doesn't need to be. Welcome back to Castle Wolfenstein, arguably the place where shooters were born. And you can tell, because...around these parts, shooters have a slightly different definition. I mean, you still have cutscenes to watch, and decisions to make, and people to stab in the neck. But it's the pace—that's what feels different. That's when you notice how old this dog is. Where many of today's shooters get bogged down by their own sense of importance, Wolfenstein is keenly aware of what it is. And it never tries to be anything more, than a ridiculous, over-the-top, white-knuckle thrill ride that rarely lets up. And when it does, it's only because the chainsaw is stalling. The New Order is classic Wolfenstein. Old-school Wolfenstein. But the real brilliance of this game...is how it places that classic gameplay into a modern context. So it's got the cinematic story, the big set pieces, the unlockable perks...but beneath all these contemporary touches, this is an old-school shooter. It's fast, it's simple... it's brutal. It's like...it's been packaged with that modern, Call of Duty wrapping paper... Only you open it, and there's a guy named BJ standing there. And he's dual-wielding assault rifles. Speaking of which, BJ's back. Only you've never seen him like this. I mean, back in his shareware days, he was just a face at the bottom of the screen. And now? He's actually an interesting character. When you take control of him, it's World War II, and he's fighting the Germans. Until things go wrong. Horribly wrong. Minutes later, it's 14 years later. Now, he's confined to a wheelchair. Fighting an entirely different fight. And obviously, this is the shiniest part of the game's fancy, modern wrapping paper. The presentation and the story. See, in this world...the Nazis won. They took over London, they dropped a nuke on Manhattan...the Third Reich is now the Global Reich. And this eerie alternate reality is a fascinating place for a video game. I mean, it's engrossing just to be there...and it toes this really unsettling line between history and fantasy. It takes the realities of actual Nazi horrors...to a fictional next step. And as a result...in a creepy way, it's kind of believable. So if Nazi scientists did that...they could've done this. It uses history as the basis for its fantasy. And that makes the story even more captivating, and unique. So that's the modern context, right? Those are the modern touches. But once the bullets are flying, The New Order is classic Wolfenstein, through and through. And what I mean when I say that is...if you think of modern game design, today's shooters really want to be the theme park, you know? They're big, there's lots of stuff to do and you really create your own experience. Wolfenstein, on the other hand...is happy to just be the roller coaster. It's a linear ride, but the action is perfectly orchestrated, and never lets up. The New Order has this classic approach to level design, where it's almost like a funnel. There's only one way to go, but it's always leading to something. In other words, you move at the game's pace. That's such a refreshing contrast to today's gaming trends. And as you'd expect, the tools of the trade start off pretty simple. Pistols, machine guns, shotguns...or maybe two pistols, and two machine guns, and two shotguns. But in terms of the gameplay, it's just solid. The New Order plays how you want shooters to play. And I like how the game balances the old-school feel with those modern touches, too. Like, the skill progression. The game automatically improves your skills, based on how you play the game. So if you play stealthy? Kill unsuspecting Nazis? Your stealth skills will improve, and you'll be even better at stealth. Or, you know, you could just evaporate people with heavy explosives. I mean, it is Wolfenstein. And to me, that's what defines this game. That it is Wolfenstein. And modernized, but not in a way that makes it not Wolfenstein. You know? It's been updated in all the right ways, giving an entirely new sense of relevance...to a game that was there at the beginning. I mean, that's a pretty impressive accomplishment. To say nothing of that fact that...it's also insanely fun. Now, I will say...if you can get this for the current generation of consoles, do it. This game was clearly designed for those. On the PS3? It's really watered down, technically. In fact, this thing's kind of ugly at times. The textures, especially. Just terrible. I even had some audio problems, too. Which is a bummer, because it looks and sounds amazing on the PS4. But...it is still the same game. So don't be dissuaded, by any means. You know, it's not just Wolfenstein. It's the people who play Wolfenstein. It's gamers. We're about the past, too. And because of that, it can be hard for a game with such strong ties to the past...to define itself in the present. But that's what this one does, and it does it perfectly. It's been more than two decades now since Wolfenstein 3D, and yet here we are. One of 2014's best shooters...is a Wolfenstein game. Now that's old-school. It's Wolfenstein: The New Order, for the PlayStation 3.