Wolfenstein (Xbox 360)
The first Wolfenstein game appeared in 1981, I have to be honest I don't remember it.
I do remember some great games in between and particularly I remember Wolfenstein 3D in about 1992 - an excellent shooter at the time, that had gripping action, top graphics and fast-paced gameplay throughout.
All of this melted into a pot of science-fiction, supernatural and Nazi enemies.
The funny thing is that 15 years later the game has all of these key ingredients still in the mix albeit it completely redesigned and refashioned for the modern market.
The basics are the same and it is good to see an old franchise still holding its own and competing with the many quality first-person shooters around at the moment.
It has to be said it is a very very dark game as you battle the Nazi's and their occult activities, the enemies are plentiful, fearsome and constantly challenging.
The gameplay is excellent, it plays to begin with almost in a Medal Of Honour style, the guns are excellent, the gore even better and the depth of the plot is a joy.
On the subject of gore it really is expertly crafted, blood splatters throughout and there are some very macabre touches like when you shoot someone in the throat they gurgle and drop to their knees in a really strange manner.
You have plenty of options in terms of the game itself and can branch of from the main missions to take on extra tasks, this alleviates the linear restrictions that some of these style games can have.
A wide variety of weaponry and powers and indeed upgrades make this a quite complex and rewarding shooter in many ways - powers like 'The Mire' are particularly useful - this allows you to slow down time around you in periods of great danger and take down the enemy in style.
The game is very stylised and arty; it looks fantastic albeit in a grimy dark and disturbing manner. Think Bioshock meets Medal Of Honour.
The good thing about the game is that the more the enemies come at you - the bigger the weapons get.
Overall this is a quality game, a first-rate shooter with excellent graphics, style, ethos and gameplay. It fully deserves its 18 rating - it is totally horrid in places but it is also totally playable and fully deserves to be around for a lot longer, it has evolved well within the gaming industry and its many changes over the years - multiplayer is excellent too!
Not one for our younger readers!
Authors
Steve Wollaston - Sunday Mercury games reviewer Steve has been writing about video games for donkey's years. In fact he is probably far too old for it now which is why you will see a lot of reviews been done by kids... He has been nominated three times for Regional Games Journalist Of The Year at the Games Media Awards, but never wins. His major love is sports games and rates Sensible World of Soccer circa 90's as the greatest game ever made - closely followed by Championship Manager 2. Skyrim has currently taken over his life.
