If you're going to make a new Wolfenstein game, this is the way to do it. Bethesda and developer MachineGames have cranked the hype amplifier to '11' with the Wolfenstein: The New Order announcement trailer.
Wolfenstein: The New Order does two things right in my eyes: its combines intriguing visuals with an awesome musical track to create a trailer with a lasting effect, and it uses an alternate reality to re-imagine a series that could use a boost.
The first thing in the trailer that hits you is the music. The music slowly builds with organ, acoustic guitar and a steady drum beat until it finally blends Jimi Hendrix's All Along the Watchtower, just as an 'army of steel' weaponized mechs march in the rain. It's one of the most effective uses of a song in a gaming trailer that I've seen. Visually, Bethesda and MachineGames created intriguing imagery that I hope to see come to life in-game. A crumbling Eiffel Tower during the beveling of the infamous Wolfenstein symbol stresses that this isn't the outcome of WWII that we all know. However, the best shot in the trailer is when ammo is being cased in a factory. On the wall in the background, the lighting makes shadows of Nazi soldiers during different motions of their goose step march. It all makes for very haunting imagery.
The other thing that Bethesda and MachineGames had to do was create a fresh world/story for a new Wolfenstein game to be appealing. By making The New Order take place in a 1960s alternate reality where the Nazi regime was victorious in WWII, new liberties can be taken. Cities, characters, organizations, locations and events can be created, or existing ones can be changed. In this alternate reality, you play as American war hero B.J. Blazkowicz, the protagonist of the series since Castle Wolfenstein in 1981. He's tasked with launching a counter-offensive against the Nazi powers that have taken over the world. Nazis are always linked to weapons of destruction — whether it's creating mechs, zombies or super soldiers — so I"m quite curious to see the enemies that we'll have to take down.
The awesome trailer has me hyped for this new direction of Wolfenstein. If the game's story, action and gameplay can live up to the trailer, we're in for quite a treat.
Wolfenstein: The New Order will release on Xbox 360, PC, PS3 and next-gen consoles in Q4 2013.
You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at LLiebl@GameZone.com
