Now Playing: Wolfenstein, Shadow Complex
Although Activision doesn’t want you to know this but Wolfenstein is out on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. I am playing Wolfenstein and enjoying it despite the deafening silence from the Activision publicity department. The same people who want you to buy five different versions of Guitar Hero each year, a Call of Duty each year and dozens of previous id games, including Return to Castle Wolfenstein; don’t really care if you buy this game or not.
Even games that publishers know are crap get more marketing than Wolfenstein has had. Is it really that bad? No. It’s more to do with id being bought out by Zenimax, owners of Bethesda along with rights to any Wolfenstein sequels. Competition for Modern Warfare 2 may have some bearing but as the Quantum of Solace game was released almost simultaneously with CoD: WaW in 2008, it’s safe to assume Activision weren’t interested in spending money on advertising a game that only benefits Zenimax in the long run. It’s a pretty douchey thing to do and even EA is not going to dump Rage simple because they won’t be able to publish Rage 2.
So, Wolfenstein is a first person shooter set during WWII. But rather than the realistic and gritty approach of Call of Duty, Wolfenstein is set in a more fantastical WWII where Nazi’s are in possession of occult and supernatural weaponry. It’s almost like the spy adventures alluded to in the most recent Indiana Jones movie. Single player has proven to be fun but Multiplayer is like stepping back in time. Back to when Cher was young.
It’s a fun enough diversion but god it looks like an Xbox 1 game. A laggy Xbox 1 game. Go back to single player and the graphics are good to very good. It’s quite polished for the most part, apart from lacklustre voice work.
Also on the ‘box has been Shadow Complex, from Epic and Chair. A side-scrolling 2D Metroid/Castlevania style game. Yes, people have been peeing in their pants with anticipation of this, but I had mainly ascribed this to being grumpy fuckers who can’t play any game made after the year 2000 without complaining how things aren’t as good as they used to be. I’ve only had a quick squizzy but it’s a game that I can see many people (the explorer types) getting a huge kick out of. It’s 1200 points but it is worth it.
Trials HD is as good as it was in the Focus Test.
