There is one caveat to the amazing graphics in this game. Each level uses mega textures, so the entire level is textured at once. Nothing repeats. Which seems like a good thing, until you get up real close to objects. And then you get a nice dose of graininess. But with all the gunfire that’s going on around you, who the hell has time to be staring at walls and tin cans? If you’re not shooting in this game, you’re most likely dying.
The audio in this game is beautiful. I generally play games with my Turtle Beach headphones on, and they do a fantastic job of delivering audio. However, a high-end 5.1 system would be a real plus for this game. I noticed no crackling and no distortion. When I reached the top of the beach and was standing at the feet of a huge robot, all I could hear was metal on metal highlighted by the scream of electricity as it spurted from the machine’s “mouth”. And those dogs… There are these armored dogs that seem to run out of nowhere and attempt to eat your face. Their barks nearly gave me a heart attack every time.
Between the visuals and the audio, this game is a work of art. However, that’s where my fascination with this game ended. I still enjoyed it immensely, but not as much as I wanted to, if that makes in sense. It’s more of an old-school shooter, and not much more than that. The dialogue switches from funny to serious too often for me. I can never tell if they’re aiming for a Duke Nukem feel or Call of Duty. And in all honestly, that’s all this feels like. One big COD campaign. The missions range from mildly exciting to mundane with the occasional entertaining dialogue from Blazkowicz or one of his buddies over the radio.
The thing is, this game has focused on shooting and not much else. The weapons are cool, it’s fun to dual wield semi-auto shotguns or laser rifles, and I know that’s more than enough for a lot of gamers out there. They could have done a lot more with plot and story, and that’s my opinion. However, character development in this game is enough to keep me enthralled, and the more I discovered the more I wanted to keep playing. Such as the stealthing ability. I managed to stealth through an entire area without being seen once, taking out everything from robot dogs to commanders without raising one single alarm. Stealth is fun. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Now that I’ve got my issues with this game out of the way, I want to point out the things I really enjoyed about this game. I love alternate history, and having a 1960’s world that is overrun with mechanical Nazis is enough to keep me playing any game. The storyline is over the top, almost to the point of making me wonder if it was written by Dan Akroyd, and that’s something I enjoy. Much like the Fallout series, I love it when games take an era that is dead and gone and creates an alternate present with it. It’s good business, and it sells.
