When it
comes to shooters, I have played a lot, and obviously enjoyed every one of
them, even though not all were as awesome as they should. Right now, I can't
think any other than Killzone to spot as my favorite, I mean, the saga. And
being more specific, number two is for me, the best.
But,
there is that one game which exemplifies perfection -for me- in a FPS: Serious
Sam, The First Encounter. As the name dictates, I encountered enourmes amounts
of adrenaline for the very first time more than a decade ago. When I was 6 or
7, Atari showed me real fear for being chased by a ghost. Nintendo made me put
attention to playability and not graphics. But the PC introduced me to a world
of possibilities with Sam. A unique character, with tons of ammo, gigantic
weapons, really cool sunglasses and fiery beasts ready to be annihilated, by
me. So, I needed this sensation, and guess which one game recreated all of
this? Yep, Wolfenstein. Why? Read.
DIE
MONSTER DIE
Well,
not a real monsters, but robots instead. Oh, and nazis. Yeah, they are the bad
guys, the ones ruling the world after winning World War II, and making this
planet to obey them. And we all know this is not good for anybody. So, wearing
the B.J. Blazckowicz shoes, we cannot allow this to happen anymore. We have to
go back from insanity -and a mental institution- and retake the original power
we used to have when fighting for USA. Thanks to universe forces, some really
attractive nurse, and a pair of old foes, we start the campaign of our lives:
bring order and peace to the world. And kill a lot of freakin' nazis!!!
I don't
really remember when I lost my mind in the game. Maybe in the second bullet, or
perhaps in the third. All I can remember is being not nice since the beginning,
because they gave me guns, and that's what you can call "a bad idea".
I was a man with a purpose, and I perfectly understand that I was there to kill
everything in my way, which one? Didn't know and didn't matter.
There
wasn't a single moment when adrenaline wasn't rushing through my veins, nor
wasn't excited as hell, because that was what nazis saw coming: hell. As in
"eat this half ton of ammo!!!", or "your forehead needs a big
fat hole!!!" Violence in every way, and as expected, blood. Tarantino is
such a pretty baby when it comes to spill blood, because Wolfenstein showed who
the real bad boy is.
The
world witnessed how crazy I can be, how insane I can go, and how loud I can
scream "die monster nazi die!!!" -no Misfits song relation-. Well,
yeah it was. But it is indeed a great song. Let's go back to my Wolfenstein
article, shall we?
Is it
really necessary talk about graphics? I think not, but since I bring it to the
table, I have to say they are great. Not reaching titanic levels but showing
off what a PlayStation 4 is able to perform. Decent explosions, fire, good
mechanics and great sounds complement a good level design, significant
difficulty and great scenarios. These last ones, followed by a successful
weather, set the ambient to put up a fight, an epic one. I mean, everything
surrounding me, invited to yell: Hey you! Yeah you scumbag! Call your nazis
friends, with your nazis colonels and your nazis dogs and start to fire at me
ASAP!!!
Maybe
Wolfenstein lacks of one or two millions of guns more, but allows to carry them
in both hands, and knifes too, so, no time for shields or protection but behind
walls, boxes or neither of them. Because the best way to play this game, is
running and shooting. Just run and shoot. Don't stop. Well, just sometimes for
picking up the ammo resulting from killing somebody.
This is
my favorite part from Wolfenstein: machines. They are robots, or robodogs. Its
real name is Panzerhund and they kick ass big time, just not mine. Their
awesomeness lies in the size, speed, violent way to attack and kill. They
doesn't appear all the time, but enough to never miss them. Let’s no confuse
them with those dogs with an exo squelleton, whom tend to attack face to face.
This is awesome because we can stab the dog right in the neck and kill him,
spilling blood all over the floor. Violent? Yes. Double awesome? Hell yeah!
When I
finished Serious Sam: First Encounter, I felt excited, relaxed, but also sad.
Despite the amount of times I could replay the game, I’ve never felt the same
way in the second run of any title. With that game it was different. That’s why
Sam is my favorite shooter ever, in the existence of games. The adrenaline rush
was the coolest sensation I experimented in my early years of gaming. Well,
Wolfenstein: The New Order resembles and makes me remember those days. Maybe
not in the same quantity and quality, but almost reached the bar, which is
super high.
I’m not
done with this game yet, because of the alternatives it gives you, so I’ll
still play it till I drop. Seriously, Wolfenstein is my new era Sam.
