REVIEW: 'Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus' Is a Fun but Disappointingly Short Nazi Slaughterfest
Wolfenstein
The follow-up to developer MachineGames’ masterful 2014 Wolfenstein franchise reboot is as beautiful and brutal as the first but feels noticeably thinner.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is the direct sequel to MachineGames’ blockbuster reboot of the franchise that birthed the first-person shooter genre. It is  in essence  that very same game from three years ago. A few bells and whistles have been added to the blood-soaked fray  but Colossus feels more like an expansion to  Wolfenstein : The New Order than a fully realized sequel.
Once again  we step into the weathered combat boots of one William J. Blazkowicz  a meaty slice of World War II-era Americana wrapped in alternate-history supersoldier technology and laden down with ludicrous lead dispensers of every stripe.  Wolfenstein  is arguably responsible for the existence of the first-person shooter genre  and  it  wears  its  legacy well. The modern incarnation trades mazes and keys for stealth and RPG elements  with varying levels of success. Still  the essential Nazi butcher shop experience is intact: acquire weapons  creatively discharge those weapons into the servants of the monstrous Führer  lather  rinse  repeat.
On the gameplay front  things are much simpler. Gunplay is tight  focused  and as satisfying as any shooter on the market. If there is one thing Wolfenstein knows  it’s how to make a spectacle of its slaughter. Upgradeable weapons and leveling perks mean that Blazkowicz is both actively and passively tuned to your gameplay style  with consistent and satisfying results. It may not be as utterly glorious as 2016’s DOOM revival  but it’s certainly close.
Still  at the end of the day  Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is fun while it lasts. That’s a target all too many games in the current “games as a service” (to the publisher  courtesy of your wallet) climate have managed to miss. What is there is enjoyable  hampered only by its brevity. I think  given another year or so to expand on the game’s epic premise  we would have had another genre-defining title on our hands. As it stands  it’s merely “pretty good.”
The follow-up to developer MachineGames’ masterful 2014 Wolfenstein franchise reboot is as beautiful and brutal as the first but feels noticeably thinner.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is the direct sequel to MachineGames’ blockbuster reboot of the franchise that birthed the first-person shooter genre. It is  in essence  that very same game from three years ago. A few bells and whistles have been added to the blood-soaked fray  but Colossus feels more like an expansion to  Wolfenstein : The New Order than a fully realized sequel.
Once again  we step into the weathered combat boots of one William J. Blazkowicz  a meaty slice of World War II-era Americana wrapped in alternate-history supersoldier technology and laden down with ludicrous lead dispensers of every stripe.  [TGT]is arguably responsible for the existence of the first-person shooter genre  and  [TGT]  wears  [TGT]  legacy well. The modern incarnation trades mazes and keys for stealth and RPG elements  with varying levels of success. Still  the essential Nazi butcher shop experience is intact: acquire weapons  creatively discharge those weapons into the servants of the monstrous Führer  lather  rinse  repeat.
On the gameplay front  things are much simpler. Gunplay is tight  focused  and as satisfying as any shooter on the market. If there is one thing [TGT] knows  it’s how to make a spectacle of [TGT] slaughter. Upgradeable weapons and leveling perks mean that Blazkowicz is both actively and passively tuned to your gameplay style  with consistent and satisfying results. It may not be as utterly glorious as 2016’s DOOM revival  but it’s certainly close.
Still  at the end of the day  Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is fun while it lasts. That’s a target all too many games in the current “games as a service” (to the publisher  courtesy of your wallet) climate have managed to miss. What is there is enjoyable  hampered only by its brevity. I think  given another year or so to expand on the game’s epic premise  we would have had another genre-defining title on our hands. As it stands  it’s merely “pretty good.”