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This is a world defined by a very different turn of events from World War II, one where the Nazis defeated the United States and dropped an atomic bomb on New York among other things. You’ll take on the role of the iconic William "B.J." Blazkowicz, who begins the game wheelchair-bound after a grueling ordeal having narrowly avoided death at the end of the previous game. Through the course of the game you’ll fight Nazis on the seas, in the Fallout-esque wreckage of New York, at a stronghold base in Roswell… and things just continue to get crazier in terms of action from there. In between the missions with their slaughter and often outrageous scenarios there are genuine attempts at character development though, with Blazkowicz feeling like a dead man walking who’ll be unable to help raise the twins being carried by his partner and multiple characters around him all dealing with this world in their own unique ways. It can certainly be a bit much in places but its efforts like these that escalate the game for me to a higher level than the average shooter. The action throughout is downright gnarly, and some of the weapons you’ll be able to wield (and even upgrade) may seem excessive but they’ll be necessary considering the threats you’ll face. While you’ll spend quite a bit of time taking out more generic rank-and-file soldiers there are also armored and seriously enhanced foes to contend with as well. What feels great is that since, in general, ammunition and opportunities are pretty abundant you have quite a bit of latitude to work through things with your own sense of flair. Hatchets are fun to throw for stealth kills but it’s even more fun to get up-close and personal with one, an effective method even against well-armored foes in a pinch (their legs can be quite vulnerable). Standard machine guns work well and if you’re feeling daring dual-wielding them for small stretches can be a lot of fun. Heavier guns are, for the most part, only able to be used temporarily but are a ton of fun while you have them… just keep in mind they’ll slow you down quite a bit. Overall, the combat is dynamic, visceral, and supremely satisfying. You may have noticed that, to this point, performance hasn’t been touched on. In general, that’s because on the whole the folks at Panic Button again deserve credit for optimizing the game engine to make it look and play far better on the humble Switch than anyone would have likely imagined. While they’d been successful with DOOM and Skyrim already there were concerns that a slightly more modern title would have more visible concessions but on the whole it looks great, the performance hitches are minimal, and even the controls are well-implemented considering I’m not usually a fan of FPS games using a controller. That said, handheld mode isn’t nearly as optimized and though playable it doesn’t hold a candle to play in docked mode, especially if you have a Pro Controller. Depending on your playing habits this may be a deal breaker, which stinks, but truly this is a game experience deserving of a big screen even if playing it portably is a nice novelty. Kudos to Bethesda and the folks at Panic Button for, yet again, bringing a true AAA mainstream title onto the Switch with less compromises than I could ever have imagined. Gone are the days of Nintendo systems needing to settle for dumbed down or half-assed ports, Wolfenstein II screams quality and is an outstanding technical accomplishment. While that, in itself, would already be a great selling point it’s then the quality of the story (insane as it is), its characters, and its varied action set pieces that further set Wolfenstein II apart from its own peers. I absolutely cannot wait to see what Bethesda has in store for Switch owners next!
Justin Nation, Score:Nindie Choice! [9.0]