Gunfire and explosion are impactful, ambient sounds match exactly where players are, and the voice acting is literally perfect. The nuked-out New York City level contains miles of grey and brown textures in an uninteresting landscape that makes it hard to differentiate enemies from the background. However, certain design choices were less impressive. Wolfenstein II is technically stunning, with high quality materials, detailed textures, and excellent cinematic effects, all presented in dynamic HD resolution. The game’s artists twisted the familiar into something obscene and revolting, if not hilarious. Seeing the streets of New Mexico draped in swastikas and red and black banners while Nazis march down the street is a surreal experience. The game’s locale design, however, takes the idea and rolls with it. The premise, much like the last game, is downright absurd. Recovering from an injury sustained at the end of the last game, series protagonist William Joseph “BJ” Blazkowicz must make his way back to America and free it from Nazi control. It is 1961 and the Nazis have an iron grip on the world after winning WWII with the aid of stolen Jewish technology.

Wolfenstein II starts off where the original left off. But how did this follow up to one of the best first-person shooters in decades turn out? Naturally, when the sequel was announced at this year’s E3 event, hopes were extremely high. Although graphically out-shone by its contemporaries, developer Machine Games proved that old dogs can still learn new tricks. Wolfenstein: The New Order was the biggest gaming surprise of 2014.

Wolfenstein 2 levels