![[IMG]](http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/8009/wolfenstein200902050554ul8.jpg)
NYCC 09: Wolfenstein Preview
Those crazy, supernatural Nazis are at it again.
February 5, 2009 - At first glance, it seemed easy to confuse this first-person shooter with a World War II Call of Duty. There were Nazi banners hanging from the ceiling, the enemies were running around in those same old drab uniforms, and the train yard this MP40 battle was taking place in looked pretty pedestrian. Then, an NPC detonated a bomb on one of the Nazi railcars, a blue light filled the station, and everything not nailed down -- bodies, plants, you name it -- started to slowly levitate to the ceiling.
Yup, Wolfenstein is back.
Tonight, Activision and developer Raven Studios -- id Software still owns the Wolfenstein license but is letting Raven take it for a spin -- let IGN have another look at the same demo Jason Ocampo saw back in July but were prepared to give a bit more detail. Wolfenstein is storming the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC "when it's done" and bringing with it all sorts of eerie powers, evil Nazis, and familiar plot points; a sequel to Return to Castle Wolfenstein, you pick up as Office of Secret Actions agent BJ Blazkowicz and get to killing some Nazis.
![[IMG]](http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/951/951803/wolfenstein-20090205055930109-000.jpg)
Vaporized.
Blazkowicz is undercover on a Nazi ship when he slips on an admiral's jacket and finds a strange amulet in the pocket. In a moment of fear -- which wasn't shown tonight -- Blazkowicz wields the true power of the medallion; a power known as the Veil. Now, the Veil is another dimension that's existing on top of our own and can't be seen by the likes of you and me. When Blazkowicz activates the Veil -- the amulet is in the lower left corner of the screen and has a meter showing how much juice the dimensional wormhole has -- the screen turns to a creepy shade of blue, things start floating around, and little creatures can be seen by our hero. Of course, these effects aren't all purely eye candy; with the medallion activated, Blazkowicz can slow down time and scream around the stage waxing bad guys who are now brightly colored.
There's going to be lots of enemies to see because when Blazkowicz brings the amulet back to HQ, researchers are able to track the stones inside the piece to Isenstadt, which just so happens to be a Nazi stronghold. Blazkowicz shows up and hooks up with a group of resistance fighters known as the Kreisau Circle. These men are holdouts in Isenstadt and quickly team up with Blazkowicz to kill as many enemies as possible and take out a super-weapon that's supposed to be in the area.
This is where I initially walked in on the game. Don't get me wrong, it was great to see the pleasant kickback of an old-school machine gun going off in Blazkowicz's hands, a turret on a sandbag used to cover an NPC placing explosives, and a Nazi slam into a train car and decorate the structure with blood when shot in the head, but until the boys blew the train and unleashed the Nazi's attempt at harnessing the Veil, it was looking like we were headed for well-worn territory.
![[IMG]](http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/951/951803/wolfenstein-20090205055951999-000.jpg)
He's adorable.
See, the Nazis are after the Black Sun, a power source they want to use to make weapons that will make the Allies poop themselves. To get to the Black Sun, they're experimenting with the Veil. This is why they had a dimensional key and why they're packing nifty new weapons such as a particle cannon that vaporizes anything it connects with -- yes, you can use it once you defeat the Super-Soldier carrying it, and yes, it's awesome. When you're running through the Nazi stomping grounds, be on the lookout for Black Sun symbols on walls. These are signs that if you kick on the Veil, you'll be able to make your way through a shortcut. During the demo I was watching, Blazkowicz caught a glimpse of one of these icons, turned on the amulet, and had an opening appear that he used to pick off a few witless bad guys.
Other than the new supernatural stuff, all of your favorite first-person parts seemed to be here. Blazkowicz can run, shoot with his weapon's iron sights, and hold on to every weapon he's ever picked up. Upgrading your weapons is actually a pretty big part of this game, and the developers say that they didn't want you feeling like you had invested all of this time into a gun just to have to drop it from something new. These weapons -- which you'll be able to upgrade using the gold, intel and other treasure you find -- will be customizable to the way you want to play. So, if you want to snipe all day long, you'll be buying scores and suppressors. If you just want to run and gun, max out the clip size and such.
God only knows when this game will be released, but it won't be soon enough for the dedicated Wolfenstein fans out there. Stick with IGN to see how it comes out.
...And some new screens:
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