Genre: First-Person Shooter
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Raven Software
Release Date: Q3 2009

Set within a near-fictional, historical WWII setting, players take on the role of the heroic OSA agent BJ Blazkowicz as they are thrust into the unknown and unexpected to battle against combat troops, otherworldly forces, and the dark science created by a supernatural Nazi force hell-bent on world domination. Wolfenstein offers players an action-packed experience as they investigate the powers of a dark parallel dimension, join with resistance forces, and employ an arsenal of conventional and otherworldly weapons in attempts to annihilate the Nazi war machine. Ensuring a deep variety of action, Wolfenstein provides gamers with an assortment of interlinked missions that drive an intense, story-driven combat experience; while the Wolfenstein multiplayer experience continues the world-renowned tradition of class-based team objective gameplay with a full arsenal of conventional and supernatural weapons for addictive online warfare.

WP: Who has the honor to speak with us? State your name, rank, and occupation!

I'm Peter Sokal, and I'm the community manager for id Software.

WP: So tell us a little bit about this iteration of Wolfenstein. What's going on with BJ this time?

PS: Well, BJ is the action hero who's always been around in Wolfenstein, and Wolfenstein's always been about the fast-paced combat, the unexpected things around every corner, dark science, the occult. This time, we basically ratcheted that up and made a really intense story and a lot of awesome combat around it.

WP: The big draw for this iteration of Wolfenstein is the Veil, which is your new occult magic system and gives BJ some power. What can you tell us about the Veil and how it works? How is he going to utilize that in combat?

PS: The Veil is a bridge between our reality and the Black Sun, which is an energy source that the Nazis are trying to use to win the war. BJ gets his hands on an amulet that utilizes the veil energy, and you get Veil powers throughout the game that will enhance the combat for you. For example, Mire is the first power you get, and it slows down time so you can dodge bullets, dodge rockets, whatever you want to do. You can run up to guys and shank them. (laughs) It also introduces some puzzle elements into the game. Every Veil power, we wanted to make sure that it enhances the combat experience because that's what Wolfenstein is all about. It's about BJ kicking ass and killing Nazis.

WP: Speaking of killing Nazis, another question is what kind of enemies are we going to see? There will be plenty of Nazis, but what variations of those?

PS: The Nazis are starting to use the Veil, and they've utilized that for their troops as well. You'll run into guys like the scribe, who can cast shields on his friendlies as well as shoot Veil energy at you. You can see guys like the heavy troopers, who have particle cannons. The enemies just keep escalating as you get through the game and you tape more into what they're up to.

WP: Obviously you're going to need quite the arsenal to take down these guys, so what kind of weapons are we going to be seeing this time around?

PS: You're going to see a lot of really cool weapons. What we've been showing is the particle cannon, which is basically just awesome. You just mow down Nazis, and they turn into ash by the second. There are a lot of Veil-powered weapons that you can to find throughout the game, as well as some classics that you'll expect to see. It's a lot of good stuff.

WP: Are players going to be able to keep what they acquire throughout the game and go back to previous levels, or are they going to have to drop guns along the way, like some of the other shooters are doing these days?

PS: Like we've been saying, Wolfenstein is a giver. It's the type of game where you can carry your entire arsenal with you at all times. We didn't want to punish the player. If there's a certain gun that he likes, he can hang on to it as long as he wants and kill as many Nazis as he feels need it the most.

WP: There are a lot of secret items to find, a lot of treasure to unlock, a lot of stuff to come across. What's that going to do for the player when he finds these secret treasures? What can he do with that and turn it into something tangible?

PS: Well, treasure-hunting is a big part of the Wolfenstein franchise, so we wanted to make sure that was intact in this game, and we've incorporated it into the gameplay. All the treasures and gold that you find in the game will allow you to upgrade your weapons. You visit the black market and you can put a sniper scope on your Kar 98, and you can put a bayonet on it for good stabbing action. If you want to go in guns blazing, you can slap a bigger magazine on your MP 40. Every weapon in the game is upgradeable. We allow you to sell back upgrades if you want to change up your play style. The game really allows players to do what they want to do.

WP: It's still early to be talking about multiplayer details, but can you maybe tell us how many players you can get online at once, or maybe a little bit about the modes? Or is that all still under wraps?

PS: That is all under wraps, but I can assure fans who are returning to Wolfenstein multiplayer, we know that it made that great. We don't want to disappoint fans, so we've taken all that stuff that made it such a great experience, and we've incorporated the Veil into multiplayer.

WP: One last thing, and we'll let you go. What's been the best thing so far about working on the game, and what's been the worst thing that you've dealt with so far?

PS: I think my favorite thing has just been the amount of hard work and dedication that everyone has to the Wolfenstein name. It's just really energizing to see people get so jazzed up about it, and then you see guns like the particle cannon when you're playing, and it's just a rush every time I see it.

The worst part of working on Wolfenstein is showing it to people and them getting really excited, and now we have to wait for it to come out. We want to get it in their hands as soon as we can.

WP: And how much longer are we going to have to wait?

PS: Well, I work at id, so when it's done. (laughs)