Wolfenstein

Engine Room: Raven’s new Wolfenstein delivers occult Nazi butt-kicking action like never before. Seamus Byrne looks behind The Veil.

What is Wolfenstein? As the original face of a genre that launched a thousand ships to follow, there is a widely held understanding of what this franchise stands for. Nazis. Crazy experiments. Occult dealings. More Nazis.

Taking a glance at new screenshots from the latest update to the Wolfenstein series, you could easily get the feeling Raven is taking the franchise deeper into the occult experimentation realm, with a lot of undead looking faces and glowing greens in dark tunnels. And we know how much glowing green light screams evil occult experimentation, right?

For the purists, there's no need to fear. Peter Sokal, Community Manager at id software assured us that Wolfenstein was not becoming more about scares around corners than shooter action.

"Wolfenstein has always been about fast-paced combat mixed with the dark occult and supernatural, so while there is often something nasty around the next corner, players will have the proper firepower to blow it to hell."

"A great example of this is a level called 'Hospital' where players first meet the Assassin. He's a real nasty bastard that can sneak up on you, cut you down, and even taunt you. Unfortunately for him, this is also the same level where players are given the Tesla Cannon! Seeing the lightning shock, cook and fry the Assassin and his buddies is a really rewarding experience for the player."

Talk of Telsa Cannons certainly gets us giggling with glee, and it seems there's many more new toys thanks to a fresh team throwing some big new ideas around and seeing what fits.

"One of the great things about the Wolfenstein universe is that it isn't grounded in history or realism," says Sokal. "So the key to the process was to focus on the pillars of the franchise: occult, supernatural Nazi experimentation and fluid, fast paced first person combat. With every idea we came up with, we would look at these key factors and ask ourselves how we could make it the right fit for the franchise."

"Players can expect to wield some very unique and satisfying toys this time around, such as the Tesla Cannon I mentioned, as well as the Particle Cannon. The Tesla Cannon is absolutely devastating in terms of area-of-effect damage and the Particle Cannon, which uses a concentrated stream of Veil energy, disintegrates enemies on contact. When your enemies hear that gun power up, they freak out!"

"Another tool that players will be able to use creatively is the Veil Barrel. We've got your standard red, explosive barrels in Wolfenstein but we also have these barrels that contain veil energy. The player can restore his veil energy from these, or he can pick them up and throw them at enemies. When the barrel explodes it will essentially remove gravity from the proximity and cause objects and enemies to float uncontrollably. So, if you're pinned by some enemies using cover, chuck a veil barrel at them and have a good laugh."

Maybe we need to take a step back a second. Veil? What's all this Veil talk? Well it's one of these big new ideas that adds a whole new layer, literally a parallel dimension, to the Wolfenstein universe. Sokal fills us in on where this all fits into the game's story.

"In Wolfenstein, the Nazis have come across an energy source known as the Black Sun, which they plan to tap into so they can strengthen their army and win the war. The problem is that to get to the Black Sun, they need to enter a dimension known as the Veil, which rests on top of our reality and serves as a bridge from the real-world to the Black Sun."

We've heard about some of its influence on weapons and environment, but Sokal also points out some other ways it impacts on gameplay - say hello to some new powers our intrepid hero can wield!

"In the game, BJ Blazkowicz - our hero - comes across an amulet that gives him access to the Veil and its powers, which have all been designed to enhance the combat experience," says Sokal. "The player will have access to four Veil powers throughout the course of the campaign, which include Sight, Mire, Shield and Empower. On a base level these powers have utility in combat, and when upgraded can create some significant changes in the experience."

Sight will let you see through walls and structures, and Empower lets you shoot through them too. Put these two bad boys together and you'll be getting kills that would otherwise have opponents screaming 'hax!' Mire lets you show down time, or even freeze enemies in time once it's fully upgraded.

Raven and id are staying Mum on multiplayer details at time of writing, but they did say that fans of the RTCW MP will not be disappointed. They also confirmed the Veil and all those delicious powers will also be featured. So if you are a disgusting cheat you'll now be able to hide your 'sploits by saying "No way! I was just using my Veil powers!"

Do I get to kill Hitler?
We know that everybody loves the chance to kill a virtual Hitler, so let's get it out of the way right here. No, he doesn't make an appearance this time around. id tells us you can shoot up paintings of the Fuhrer all you like, but for this story it doesn't make sense for him to pop up in the game. Next time, Adolf, next time...