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

Once upon a time, a simple first-person shooter about zombie Nazis and Hitler's fascination with the occult ruled over all the landscape. Wolfenstein 3-D was one of the first shooters ever made, and it not only helped spawn a franchise, but an entire gaming genre as well. Now Activision and Raven are teaming up to bring us the latest entry in the series, and from the looks of things, we're all set to pick up blasting bad guys in brown shirts right where we left off.

The new Wolfenstein continues to follow series hero BJ Blazkowicz as he investigates yet more stories of Nazis dabbling in supernatural affairs. What BJ discovers is an amulet that Allied researchers have found to grant access to the Veil, a parallel dimension with some very special powers. It would seem that the Nazis are attempting to enter the Veil and track down the Black Sun, the source of the dimension's power. If they manage to pull that off, then BJ and the rest of the non-Hitler-loving world are going to be in deep trouble.

Series fans will be happy to know that, on a basic level, this iteration nails the feel of a Wolfenstein game. Level layouts, baddie behaviors and all the other little things that make the franchise unique are making a return, and they're just as you always remembered them, which is a comforting feeling indeed. Rather than simply make the same game again with better graphics, Raven and Activision are utilizing the Veil as an integral part of the adventure and also throwing in a hefty dose of exploration and upgrades.

Once BJ gets his hands on one of the Nazi's mysterious amulets, he's allowed access to the Veil whenever he wants. This alternate reality lets BJ get the drop on enemies by calling them out in bright colors against the background, as well as granting the skill to walk through certain walls and generally move a bit faster. Keep in mind, this is just the basic level of Veil powers, and there are plenty more where that came from.

The only power we got to see in action was Mire, which allows players to slow down time in the now-cliché video game way. The Mire power will be helpful for flanking enemies and essential for surviving traps, but using it comes at a cost to the amulet's power; once the device is drained, BJ will have to find a source of Veil power to charge it up again.

Unfortunately for BJ, he's not the only one who can use the Veil, and it wasn't long before we saw some very special enemy troops that knew a few tricks of their own. These bald baddies could zip around the battlefield super-fast, as well as throw balls of Veil energy at BJ and toss up shields for their buddies, making combat quite difficult. Obviously, the strategy is to take out these troops as quickly as possible, but you're going to have to catch them first. Raven teased that this is just a taste of what Veil-powered enemies will be able to do, so who knows what kind of crazy powers we'll be seeing in the later stages of the game.

Thankfully, by the time players hit the nastier foes, they will be armed to the teeth with weapons, some of them super-powered and all of them upgradeable. For example, in the level we played, we got to take down a Nazi heavy trooper who was packing a mean machine known as the particle cannon. This firearm is just as dangerous as it sounds, turning Nazis into piles of ash where they stand pretty much instantly. Now then, unlike a certain recent shooter (*coughKillzone2cough*), which gave you a super weapon for the span of a level and then promptly took it away at the start of the next stage, the guns in Wolfenstein are yours to keep forever; you can even go back into previous levels with them and create an all-new swath of destruction. Even better, every single weapon in the game is upgradeable (thanks to collectible sacks of gold that can be traded on the black market), meaning that as badass as your particle cannon is now, you can make it even more impressive. The same goes for Veil powers; by finding tomes to trade with the scholars' factions, you can earn upgraded abilities and longer-lasting effects.

While we still have some questions about Wolfenstein (multiplayer wasn't discussed at all), we're definitely looking forward to seeing what else Raven has to offer in this latest franchise entry. The inclusion of the Veil adds a whole new level of gameplay to the title, and the promise of plenty of awesome firepower and our never-ending bloodlust for naughty Nazis means that this game is primed to make a splash when it comes out. Unfortunately, all we know about a release date is that the game will come out "when it's done," but the general consensus is that day can't come soon enough. Will we ever get tired of this series? I'm going to have to say no.