'Wolfenstein' a serviceable shooter

• By JOSHUA WASCOM
• Special to 2theadvocate.com
• Published: Aug 26, 2009

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When a bunch of occult-obsessed Nazis set out to raise an army of supernatural super-soldiers, there’s only one man to call -- B.J. Blascowicz. Blascowicz, a one-man army and possessor of the single-greatest made-up Polish surname of all time, is forced to save the Allied cause yet again.

This is the latest “Wolfenstein.” It isn’t great, but it doesn’t really aspire to greatness. It just shows up with a determined look, the same gameplay as every other World War II first-person shooter and a handful of new features. None of these features are smashing successes, but none are outright failures, either.

The basic gameplay will be instantly familiar to anyone who has come within 5 feet of a console shooter in the last three years. You shoot people in the head with a variety of weapons. When you are shot in return, ducking behind a wall -- or one of the many rocket-proof wooden crates that litter the city of Isenstadt -- gives you the precious seconds you need to fully recover from your gunshot wounds. “Wolfenstein” borrows heavily from some of “Call of Duty” better innovations, which is probably a good idea.

This game does have a few characteristics that distinguish it from its peers, but none of them are entirely new or particularly well-executed. There are collectibles scattered about each level that unlock upgrades to your weapons and a centralized, persistent town area through which you travel between missions. The collectibles give you a reason to proceed a little slower. They also reward exploration.

The central hub, however, is unnecessary. At its best, it recedes in the background, and at its worst, it becomes a repetitive obstacle course.

The game’s last nonstandard component, though, is undoubtedly its best feature. As you conduct your campaign against the Nazis’ paranormal troops, you acquire a few mystical powers of your own. The three abilities -- slowing time, a shielding wall of force and a weapon-enhancing red glow -- aren’t individually unique or impressive, but combat in this game gets a lot more interesting as you combine these three powers in different ways. When these powers are combined with some extremely powerful weapons and a few huge fights, it can make for some islands of extreme fun in a sea of blandness.

While really good moments aren’t that common in “Wolfenstein,” really bad ones aren’t either. With the exception of two somewhat frustrating boss fights toward the end of the game and a few poorly placed checkpoints, the game always moves at an acceptable pace.

“Wolfenstein’s” multiplayer shows the most influence from the “Call of Duty” series. The XP-based ranking and item-unlocking system is carried over in its entirety. The multiplayer here isn’t bad and is again spiced-up by the different types of magical abilities. Ultimately, though, like the single-player experience, it isn’t really deep or unique enough to be easily recommended.

If you particularly like first-person shooters in their current incarnation, “Wolfenstein” is competent enough to be worth playing. On the other hand, if you’ve had your fill of shooting wave after wave of Nazis, you won’t be missing anything if you sit this one out.