8.5-9/10

Having never played a Wolfenstein game before, all I was really expecting was a straightforward (perhaps even on-rails) Nazi shooter that paid a halfway decent homage to its predecessors as well as an alternate history shooter that, ideally, played better than the disappointing Homefront and Homefront: The Revolution. While that Nazi-killing core element is certainly there, I was not prepared for the level of effort that went into making this game much more than that. There is something here for both story-minded players like myself as well as those that just want to switch their brains off and blow some baddies to smithereens.

• I didn't know the score was Mick Gordon going in, but it didn't take long to realize it. Everything from the combat to the somber scenes was elevated by track after excellent track.
  
• You actually gave a hoot about the characters. I enjoyed BJ's monotonous monologues in a world with little hope. Wilhelm "Deathshead" Strasse was a superbly terrifying villain. Fergus felt like the backbone of the entire game. And then you had little moments or overheard conversations that really added to the bleak atmosphere of it all.
  
• Above-average combat. Dual-wielding, weapons that have heft to them, pretty good stealth mechanics, etc. I don't think anything really bogged me down here, which is all you can really ask for in a game about it being open season on the Wehrmacht.

• Most of the game, I was wondering how Nazi Germany got such a leg up on the Allies and assumed the reasoning would have stayed mostly grounded save for some quicker-than-usual scientific discoveries that I could brush off. However, once we actually learned the reason for the sudden advancements, the story fell a bit flat. It's like the writers gave themselves a magical hat in which they could pull out anything they wanted to, which is great for them and not as great for the players, in my opinion.
  
• There was one point in the game where you moved to a very different location and were given a completely different weapon, but both the weapon and the enemies just felt like the same enemies as before with some cosmetic changes. It was at this point that I felt myself getting a bit bored, but it luckily did not last that long.

8.5-9/10 Having never played a Wolfenstein game before, all I was really expecting was a straightforward (perhaps even on-rails) Nazi shooter that paid a halfway decent homage to its predecessors as well as an alternate history shooter that, ideally, played better than the disappointing [i]Homefront[/i] and [i]Homefront: The Revolution[/i]. While that Nazi-killing core element is certainly there, I was not prepared for the level of effort that went into making this game much more than that. There is something here for both story-minded players like myself as well as those that just want to switch their brains off and blow some baddies to smithereens. [h1]Pros:[/h1] [list] [*]I didn't know the score was Mick Gordon going in, but it didn't take long to realize it. Everything from the combat to the somber scenes was elevated by track after excellent track. [*]You actually gave a hoot about the characters. I enjoyed BJ's monotonous monologues in a world with little hope. Wilhelm "Deathshead" Strasse was a superbly terrifying villain. Fergus felt like the backbone of the entire game. And then you had little moments or overheard conversations that really added to the bleak atmosphere of it all. [*]Above-average combat. Dual-wielding, weapons that have heft to them, pretty good stealth mechanics, etc. I don't think anything really bogged me down here, which is all you can really ask for in a game about it being open season on the Wehrmacht. [/list] [h1]Cons:[/h1] [list] [*]Most of the game, I was wondering [i]how[/i] Nazi Germany got such a leg up on the Allies and assumed the reasoning would have stayed mostly grounded save for some quicker-than-usual scientific discoveries that I could brush off. However, once we actually learned the reason for the sudden advancements, the story fell a bit flat. It's like the writers gave themselves a magical hat in which they could pull out anything they wanted to, which is great for them and not as great for the players, in my opinion. [*]There was one point in the game where you moved to a very different location and were given a completely different weapon, but both the weapon and the enemies just felt like the same enemies as before with some cosmetic changes. It was at this point that I felt myself getting a bit bored, but it luckily did not last that long. [/list]