Wolfenstein is not without its flaws, but its combination of Nazis and the occult never grows old.

Nazis, Nazis, Nazis. Long before Indiana Jones was dragging them from trucks and propelling them into propeller blades, the Nazis have provided an almost inexhaustible number of disposable bad guys. No matter how many Swastika waving scoundrels get killed in movies or games, it’s genuinely difficult to care. Fiction tends to forget that many German soldiers were also just scared kids with no other option; instead, recent history’s greatest villains are simply cannon fodder deserving a bullet in the head. This attitude perhaps explains why I’ve always had a problem with World War II videogames; the immediate descendents of the people involved still exist. To its favour, Wolfenstein, the first instalment in ID Software’s seminal FPS series in six years, messes with history to such ludicrous extremes that’s its difficult to take seriously in any way whatsoever. Previous Wolfenstein games have always began comparatively realistic, and leant deeper towards science fiction as the story progressed. Wolfenstein 2009 doesn’t even wait for the intro cinematic to finish before descending into a mishmash of sci-fi, fantasy and war movie elements. And it’s all the better for it.

Raven, the developer behind the brilliant Star Trek: Voyager FPS Elite Force and 2005’s unjustly scrutinised Quake 4, have provided a textbook example of how to update a classic but abandoned franchise with whatever conventions are currently popular. Want time manipulation in your WWII? You got it. RPG elements? Why not. But while this approach makes Wolfenstein an interesting addition to the series, it also stops the game from providing anything that a more focussed contender doesn’t do better. Push the derivativeness aside, however, and Wolfenstein’s single player campaign is immensely entertaining. The plot, which sees regular G.I. Joe Agent B.J Blazkowicz at his Nazi bashing best, is intriguing enough that you’ll overlook any number of flaws. Much of the game is set in the fictional German town of Isenstadt, in which Blazkowicz will aid three rebel faction overthrow the Nazi forces that are literally tearing the place apart. Isenstadt serves as a hub from which other mission maps are activated, as well as a home for the Black Market, an underground faction that will upgrade Blazkowicz’s weapons and powers in exchange for the gold he loots on his journeys.