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Processor: AMD FX-9370/Ryzen 5 1600X or Intel Core i7-4770 Graphics: Nvidia GTX 770 4GB/AMD Radeon R9 290 4GB or better It’s all just supremely satisfying and will definitely offer a challenge at any difficulty. Dual-wielding can be done with any weapon at any time, even Grenade Launcher/Pistol if you wish, and you can’t just wade in with a Heavy Weapon (like Chaingun or Laser) and be invincible. New enemies fit in well, and the AI certainly proves a challenge – if you do just sit in a corner with a shotgun and wait for soldiers to pile in you’re more likely to get a grenade or a Super-Soldier instead. The actual combat though is straight-up perfection, which admittedly MachineGames reached in the first game but add to a little here. There’s plenty of secrets to discover, too. And I’ve been a bit harsh on variety – it is still there, whether it be riding a fire-breathing Panzerhund, taking down a giant robot on top of a flying aircraft carrier, or sneaking around radioactive ruins with your health constantly dropping.
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They perfectly go between intense firefights and quieter exploration moments, often allow for multiple approaches including stealth, and never get to a point where you’ll want to sit in a corner gunning down soldiers. Still, variety aside, the levels are fantastically designed. They’re not drab or identical, in fact MachineGames do an awesome job of making each base and level feel unique, but… they’re still metallic Nazi bases. The vast majority of levels are in stark, metallic enemy bases.
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The town of Roswell for example, one of the first areas revealed of the game, you don’t even fight in it – the Roswell level is Area 52, deep underground. Despite promises of fighting for American cities, with open areas like Roswell and New Orleans, there aren’t actually that many you fight in. Oh, they’re mostly excellently designed despite odd moments of getting lost, but it’s the variety I’m concerned about. The levels are slightly disappointing too. The fight to actually oust the Nazi regime from America won’t happen until Wolfenstein 3. I was rather disheartened to discover that the launch trailer for the game consists mostly of the game’s ending. While everything here is satisfying the actual American Revolution doesn’t actually happen until the end credits. Secondly, there is the slightest feeling that the story has been cut off.
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I’m not sure they’re always necessary either, as they’re often used to flesh out the (otherwise wonderful) cast of characters rather than move the plot along. Cutscenes are far more common than they were in The New Order, and they’re longer too. Sadly there are a couple of bad points about the story. The story goes to some truly unexpected places, literally and narratively, and I appreciate all of them, but it’s the sharp on-point dialogue that really makes the game stand out. Things get very dark indeed, but also very humorous and occasionally even wacky too, as MachineGames wisely balance the light/dark. The writing in Wolfenstein 2 is uniformly excellent.