Wolfenstein the new order enigma: Enigma code | Wolfenstein Wiki

The story of Wolfenstein: The New Order begins in 1946. The Nazis win World War II thanks to fantastic technology. The Americans make a daring attempt to break into the enemy fortress and destroy General Cherep, who provides the Wehrmacht forces with terrible machines. Captain William B.J. Blaskowitz, aka «Blasco» — a legendary warrior, a pioneer in the shooter genre, turns out to be part of the landing force. And together with him we delve into the features of the new Wolfenstein, which is oh so different from the old games of the franchise. nine0003

The Swedish studio MachineGames began creating The New Order in 2010. Since the core of the studio consists of former Starbreeze employees, it is no wonder that they did not take Wolfenstein from Raven and id Software as an example to follow, but their previous project, The Chronicles of Riddick. Therefore, Blasko’s habits are very reminiscent of the most dangerous criminal in the galaxy. He likes to work with a knife, he kills opponents with lightning speed and clearly. He prefers to work in silence, loves a silenced pistol and, especially, throwing knives. He does not run to opponents, skillfully uses shelters, hides, bypasses, attacks from the rear. nine0003

But when the Nazis surround from all sides, Blasko forgets about tactics, grabs guns in both hands, and begins to fight at full height, flooding the arenas with lead, blood and concrete fragments. He quickly changes positions, dives under bullets, throws grenades at fortifications. He handles easel weapons like a simple machine gun — broad shoulders and stone muscles contribute. He also despises pain. It’s all right if there is a first-aid kit nearby to restore health and a whole bulletproof vest.

He also improves his skills. Blasko gains new abilities through combat missions. It is necessary to kill officers quietly, to throw knives accurately, to pierce heads, to use different weapons, to shoot as if from two hands, in a sliding tackle, from behind cover. This gradually makes Blasko a little stronger, which is especially in demand at the maximum level of difficulty.

We will know these facts about the new Wolfenstein right away. We rejoice at the new approach, applaud the opportunities to go through locations in different ways, and get to know American soldiers. With them we get to General Skull and … we get a brain injury. nine0003

Comrade Blaskowitz falls out of life for a long 14 years, drooling in a psychiatric hospital, locked in a helpless body. Until one very unpleasant day he does not come to his senses.

William cannot believe that the war ended with a Nazi victory. He cannot accept that the brown plague has hit the whole world, and now there is not a single place on the planet where a person can breathe freely. People communicate in whispers, do not trust each other. Whoever does not glorify the great Fuhrer risks being sent to hard labor. Nobody dares to resist. Protesters were suppressed, hostile states were destroyed by atomic warheads. Many people surrendered to their own, surprisingly quickly adapted to the new order. nine0003

This dystopia is very reminiscent of Half-Life 2. The authors spent a hell of a lot of effort to make the new world convincing, despite the grotesqueness of what is happening, robots, mechanists and sadistic villains. From numerous newspaper clippings and overheard conversations, William learns the details of how the Nazis won the war and how people live now. He looks at the famous cities, mutilated by clumsy super concrete buildings. His hatred grows stronger, and he begins his war against the mad world, with the support of a miserable handful of people. nine0003

The plot develops quickly and keeps you in suspense until the end. Some moments are naive, not always what is happening is on friendly terms with logic. However, it is difficult to expect authenticity from a game where the Nazis use ancient artifacts to travel to the moon.

The new resistance consists of colorful types. Some people have cockroaches in their heads, butterflies flutter in another, and the third guy is completely empty there. Lobotomy is a good cure for harmful thoughts. That is why wandering around the secret base, where Blasko returns after each mission, is interesting. Gradually you learn details about the past of your comrades, you become sympathetic to them, you try to solve their minor problems and you receive new tasks from them, usually suicidal. nine0003

The game is very conventionally related to the genre of shooters. A lot of time here is devoted to solving puzzles, controlling equipment, and quiet sorties. Adding spice is that many points can be passed in different ways, and at high difficulty levels it is safer to work with a knife than to shove through with a non-stop automatic shotgun. Levels, with very rare exceptions, force direct collisions.

The second playthrough is no less interesting than the first, especially when you set out to find all the secrets. Discover secret paths and weapons, use new knowledge to deal with enemies more effectively. Defeating bosses depends on logic, and only to a small extent on reaction. You just need to guess how to destroy them, and then crank out the plan. nine0003

Attentive researchers will not go unrewarded. Ammo runs out quickly, grenades are worth their weight in gold, throwing knives are vital in case of covert passage, and all this must first be found. As a rule, Blasco goes on a mission with empty pockets and gradually replenishes his arsenal.

The game contains many references to classic id Software games and pop culture. If you pay attention to the details, you can find a lot to smile about, whether it’s The Beatles bowing to the Nazis or Fallout paraphernalia next to Super Mario-style pillows. nine0003

The New Order has one serious drawback, the name of which is the id Tech 5 graphics engine. Because of it, there are no open spaces in the game at all. Locations are squeezed into the framework of narrow corridors and high walls, there are no bright panoramas, it is impossible to look behind the fence of the totalitarian regime, only echoes are heard through the bars of the bars. Objects, including characters, seem to be made of plastic. Rough shadows, not at all volumetric light and strange water also do not add points. The engine’s inability to deliver a convincing nature has left BJ running through super concrete castles, military bases, factories and prisons from start to finish. These shortcomings are only drawn out by the work of artists who painted aggressive weapons and spectacular armor for fascist soldiers. nine0003

Diagnosis

First of all, this game should be recommended to fans of the “old” Starbreeze, the backbone of which formed the MachineGames studio after leaving.

The new Wolfenstein is anything but a spinal, mindless shooter in the vein of id Software. This is a drama about the fight against the totalitarian regime. This is a fast-paced action game with skillfully planned levels, different ways of passing and many secrets. And it’s also a fascinating story with cute characters and a thoroughly developed universe. nine0003

This is an unexpectedly deep project, conducive to the repeated passage of a long, fifteen-hour campaign. If The Darkness, The Chronicles of Riddick, and Half-Life 2 are among your favorite games, then The New Order is sure to please.

Pro:

• Powerful storyline with compelling, colorful characters
• A detailed universe where the Nazis won the Second World War
• Long, varied campaign
• Flexible game mechanics, different ways to complete levels
• The development system forces you to use different weapons and try different styles of passing
• Excellent implementation of firearms and bladed weapons
• Huge number of secrets, including

secret difficulty modes

• Many reasons to replay the

campaign

Contra:

• Due to the limitations of the id Tech 5 engine, the game is squeezed into narrow corridors of superconcrete

Wolfenstein: history of development and degradation

Many people mistakenly consider Doom to be the first ever first-person shooter. There’s a nuance: it was the first truly three-dimensional shooter, but in general the first computer shooter with a camera from the eyes was Wolfenstein 3D, which was released in 1992, a year earlier than Doom. So yes — Wolfenstein, despite the fact that then it was eclipsed by competitors, is the father of games in the FPS genre, or, in our language, FPS. But despite being eclipsed, he was able to survive rather than die like Quake or Duke Nukem. This series had good times and not so good, there was development, and there was degradation. This is what will be discussed now. nine0003

Wolfenstein 3D. 1992

So, the beginning of the story. Despite the presence of the term 3D in the title of the game, in fact, almost everything here was flat, and to create a three-dimensional effect, enemies and other objects simply constantly turned to face the hero. However, the developer, represented by the little-known then id Software, was able to introduce a lot of innovations into the game, which is why it was received quite cheerfully, calling it terribly realistic and very bloody. So that she did not become a definite hit, but she left her mark on history. nine0003

With a budget of $26,000 that would be impossible these days, Wolfenstein 3D was able to offer 6 chapters of 10 levels, in which the brave American commando Blaskowitz fights against strongly alternative Nazis, with the first episode being free, while the rest were already offered to be paid for. After that, several additions were released, but the project did not go further, and its fans had to wait for a whole 9 years to continue.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein. 2001

The reboot of the franchise was entrusted to Gray Matter Interactive, the now defunct studio best known for such hits as Quake II: The Reckoning and Kingpin: Life of Crime. Did the game work? Quite!

First of all, it must be said that Activision had already taken over the brand by that time, so there was money for development. Did the developers get a hit? It turned out to be a very good, strong, interesting and unusual shooter, besides having some kind of history. GTA 3 and Max Payne were released that year, so the gaming public had something to distract themselves with. Nevertheless, the game received marks in the region of 85 points, which in general characterizes it perfectly. nine0003

On the stage was the same Blaskowitz, who went to the same Wolfenstein castle from the classic part in order to deal with the death of a previously sent special agent, and, in fact, to punish all those responsible. This shooter, unlike Doom and Quake, had a difference in the plot: the authors did their best to play the role-playing component, and in general they succeeded: Wolfenstein has clearly returned to the big game.

Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. 2003

Two years later, a sequel is released, for which another studio was responsible — Splash Damage, which helped make Doom 3, and is also fully responsible for the online shooter Dirty Bomb and porting classic parts of Halo to PC. nine0003

The Enemy Territory was also noticeably noted, but did not become an absolute hit. Battlefield 1942 and the first Call of Duty came out that year. In addition, this shooter was more like an extension of the previous part than a full-fledged sequel. In any case, there was no breakthrough in the schedule, although there were some changes. First of all, the new Wolfenstein was marked by an exit from the dark corridors to the open space, where the lion’s share of the battles took place. Well, the most important thing was that instead of a single player campaign, the developers revealed a network shooter, and besides, it was also free. The gameplay was based on classes, and representatives of the German Axis countries and the Allied forces fought among themselves. It turned out well, but the fans were not expecting this at all. What they were waiting for, they were able to provide only after 6 years. nine0003

wolfenstein. 2009

And reboot again. Due to the missed years, they decided to name the new part briefly, loudly and clearly. Reception known in the gaming industry: Doom and God of War were also reset in a similar way, refusing to invent new names.

So, the new Wolfenstein came out, and what was waiting for him? The most powerful competition awaited him: 2009 turned out to be dense in shooters. Left for Dead 2, Borderlands, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Resident Evil 5 and others were released this year. In general, it was not easy, and the game stumbled. Although, of course, the failure happened not because the competition was high, but because the project itself turned out to be problematic. What can I say, if the usual scores in the region of 85, this time they barely pulled out by 72-74 points. Why did it happen? Because the project, apparently, had to be released ahead of schedule. The game had very blurry graphics, a lot of bugs, stupid enemies and frivolous, too arcade shootouts. It is noteworthy that then the developer studio, and it was Raven Software, did only Call of Duty for ten years, which turned out to be completely nothing. nine0003

Wolfenstein: The New Order. 2014

And another big break. The past failure has forced the new publisher, which is Bethesda, to think about the mistakes of the previous owner, and expand the budget to make it look like a really big shooter. The idea was a success: a new developer, represented by the Swedish MachineGames, released not a masterpiece, but quite a good game, where the same Blaskowitz flies to meet his fate at the Skull Castle. There were also competitors that year: Far Cry 4, Destiny, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Titanfall, and others, but the New Order managed to make the game memorable. Vicious enemies and cool weapons were best noted, if not for a short campaign of 5 hours, it would be very good. However, Bethesda and MachineGames were able to achieve an important thing: they invented a new style for this franchise, adding more futurism and something like dieselpunk to it, removing the mystical filling from the game. It was the New Order that became the game that Wolfenstein danced away from for the next years. This was an undeniable development, but at the same time it was already necessary to argue that in more than 20 years this brand has never managed to achieve a truly resounding success. nine0003

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood. 2015

What came out a year later was already more like degradation. What happened was a banal expansion of the previous part, in which both the graphics and the gameplay remained the same, but the duration of the campaign was almost halved: if the New Order took an average of 5 hours, then three were enough to master the Old Blood. But on the other hand, only a year has passed — what did you want to get during this time? This is not Call of Duty, which different studios are working on: here is the same MachineGames and the same plot, only with minor changes. Therefore, immediately distinguish New Order from Old Blood, if you see a piece of gameplay, even for ardent fans, and not everyone will succeed. That is why the new part was met without much enthusiasm. The press rated the game moderately, giving almost the same ratings as the previous part, lowering the points for repetition a little. In general, if it was not a happy degradation, then parasitism on a successful technology, from which they tried to squeeze everything they could before it became obsolete. nine0003

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. 2017

Bethesda realized that this was no longer possible, and gave the developers a couple of years to create a new part, leaving the former studio at the helm, which did not disgrace: The New Colossus received high marks, at the Return to Castle Wolfenstein level, which, of course, spoke volumes. And indeed, there was something to praise for: the graphon thoroughly pulled himself up. Wolfenstein has never been so beautiful. At the same time, adrenaline and juicy battles were preserved. There is also a plot and memorable characters, and vicious enemies. In general, the game turned out to be very, very solid, no matter how you look at it. The younger generation, who did not find the classics, will remember Wolfenstein this way. The game got, however, for inciting hatred and glorifying the cult of Nazism, which, by the way, was actually not in sight here, but this scandal, perhaps, only increased the degree of interest in the project. nine0003

In a word, it turned out very well. Bethesda has shown that it can fix its mistakes while maintaining the trust of MachineGames, which has become just the godfather of this brand, bringing it back to the modern gaming world. Everything indicated that the franchise was waiting for a great future and a powerful continuation, and no one could have imagined then how everything would eventually turn out.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood. 2019

It turned into a weird girly shooter that was the worst part of the entire series in its entire almost 30-year history. What was it? We hope to someday hear a story from Bethesda, because instead of a tough and somewhere even rude boy action movie, it turned out to be an ode to feminism. And it would be fine if it was only in him, but no: the game’s combat mechanics broke down: the shooting stopped catching, becoming tasteless. It is noteworthy that Raven Software was involved in the development — the same one that released the second-lowest quality Wolfenstein 2009, which before the release of Youngblood was the worst part, and it seemed that it would not get worse, especially since the New Colossus turned out to be excellent. However, Bethesda did. As we already know, the company was in a financial crisis, and they couldn’t afford to make expensive and high-quality games, so we decided to try to pump money out of the respected public with the help of this teenage craft about two daughters of Blaskowitz, who went together against stupid and helpless Nazis . It turned out very badly, and on the same Steam, where many Wolfenstein fans live, Youngblood received a failing 46% of positive reviews, followed by very low sales, which became fatal for Bethesda. We can say that the game of savings played a bad joke with the publisher, and he had to sell himself to Microsoft, and just recently Todd Howard said that people would buy everything in general, no matter what they released. Fortunately, there were not so many gamers as promiscuous and omnivorous as Mr. Hey-Buy imagined. nine0003

Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot. 2019

But before everything slammed shut, another VR offshoot came out: a simple shooter for an hour and a half from the same tandem represented by Arkane Studios and Machine Games.