Operating under the classic assumption that 9th time’s the charm (Hey, it worked for Jason Goes to Hell right?) publisher Bethesda Softworks and developer MachineGames have decided once again to head back to the old supernatural Nazi well with Wolfenstein: The New Order. Directly from the horse’s press release:
“Wolfenstein has been widely credited for helping establish and popularize the first-person shooter genre, and Wolfenstein: The New Order is a reimagining of this franchise – offering players a gripping and dramatic experience.“
Reimagining or not, the game does seem to be treading a fair amount of familiar ground. While the franchise has done a bit of genre-hopping during its long and storied history, including a brief dalliance in RPG and team-based shooter territory, New Order puts you back in the Ratzi-stompin’ boots of William “B.J.” Blazkowicz, the only Allied soldier tough enough, brave enough, mean enough to have the nickname BJ. The big twist this time around is that rather than taking it to the Nazis were they live (literally in a few cases) during WWII, Blazkowicz now finds himself in Europe during the 60’s, forced with leading a counter-assault against Nazi forces already on the brink of complete world domination.
Which, if the trailer below is to be believed, basically means you’ll be fighting Nazi mechs (you know, like they had in the 60’s). Goofy, oddball weapons and tech has been a big part of the Wolfenstein appeal in the past, so hopefully the new setting will give MachineGames a chance to spread their robo-wings in interesting directions. The fact that the studio is made up largely of ex-Starbreeze guys (the team behind the under-appreciated Darkness and Chronicles of Riddick), means the potential is there for an interesting revitalization of a storied FPS franchise. Keep an eye out for Wolfenstein: New Order sometime in Q4 2013 for PS3, 360, PC and those mythical “next generation” consoles.
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