Gaming

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus Review — Propulsive pulp classic

Published

November 15, 2017

Joseph Berida

With fascist figures influencing the world, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is as timely as a first-person shooter video game about fighting Nazis can be. How effective is its message conveyed through story and gameplay?

There is an important legacy to the Wolfenstein name. Wolfenstein 3D basically started the 3D first-person shooter genre in 1992. That name, however, had become irrelevant since then, as its World War II setting and white-bread protagonist BJ Blazkowicz were used as a template for a lot of FPS games for years. It wasn’t until Wolfenstein: The New Order came out in 2014 and surprised gamers that Wolfenstein mattered again.

It wasn’t because of innovative gameplay, although The New Order was certainly solid in that department. What wowed fans was its nuanced narrative.

As a direct sequel to The New Order, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus was then burdened with the challenge of being as good or even better than its sleeper hit predecessor. Its marketing that capitalized on the political climate in the US only served to raise the stakes.

The New Colossus wields its storytelling and gunplay like dual shotguns to blow away those expectations and then some.

Horrifying alternate history

The New Colossus picks up right where The New Order left off. There’s a short video recap for the events of the previous game for players who missed it. It’s 1961 and the Nazis are at the height of their power. They won World War II and have taken over the United States of America after dropping a nuke on Manhattan, forcing the US government to surrender. Protagonist BJ Blazkowicz is with his ragtag resistance group from Europe. On board a captured high-tech German U-boat, they’re sailing to American soil to start a revolution and liberate the nation from Nazi rule.

Sounds like a hopeful premise to start with, no?

The New Colossus hacks that hope with a hatchet in the most shocking intro to a video game I’ve ever seen. In the first half hour alone, it features extreme graphic violence, domestic abuse, animal cruelty, racial and homophobic slurs, aggressive sexually suggestive behavior, and body shaming.

It’s understandable that some might find all this immediately off-putting and done for cheap shock value. However, considering the atrocities that the Nazi party, the Ku Klux Klan, and other racial supremacist factions committed throughout history, it’s critical for a game that has those groups in power to depict them for what they truly are: evil people who hold beliefs that cannot be reasoned with yet are rooted in very real human frailty.

Brutal combat for brutal difficulty

The game establishes its villains in the beginning so effectively that you can’t help but want to bring them down. Fortunately, you build up a small arsenal to do so in supremely bloody fashion. You get throwable axes, machine guns, explosives, and lasers to maim and murder Nazis. There are upgrade systems to improve your weapons as well as your character’s base abilities like movement speed and health regeneration.

You’ll need to take full advantage of these mechanics to beat these virtual fascists. The New Colossus is unforgiving in its difficulty. Most levels begin with you in stealth, but sneaking around is tough because of how most levels are structured. You’re either going through narrow hallways with just a couple of paths or wide open arenas with very little cover.

Like in The New Order, there are commanders that you’ll have to eliminate to keep them from calling in reinforcements. Unlike in its predecessor, these commanders are almost always hidden away at the very end of the sections you’re traversing. So what usually happens is you get spotted after taking out a couple of guards, the commanders sound the alarm, and waves of heavily armored soldiers swarm in for a gunfight.

Seconds of sustained gunfire will kill you. Making matters worse is there’s little feedback to indicate you’re taking damage. It’s very easy to get gunned down without you expecting it. Recovering health is finicky, too. While you can walk over health packs on the ground to restore your life, most of these items blend in the background and are up on shelves and desks. You have to manually look at these pickups and press a button to use them, and the seconds you take to do so can be enough to eat bullets from all sides.

The answer is to never stop moving and always pull out two firearms. Only through relentless mobility and ferocity can you reliably overcome these encounters. It helps that sprinting and shooting in The New Colossus looks and feels good. You can blitz across rooms while carrying an automatic shotgun in one hand and a grenade launcher in the other. Every blast from your guns explodes in a rhythmic song of righteous fury.

Momentum-driven human drama

This philosophy of constant, confident movement rings resoundingly in the cinematics. The New Colossus rarely lets up on dropping atomic plot bombs. The entire cast crackles with character in every cutscene. The dialogue and delivery pop and snap like a Quentin Tarantino flick, with motion capture rivaling the Uncharted games for expressiveness. The industrial metal soundtrack, courtesy of DOOM (2016) composer Mick Gordon, rips and tears to hype you the hell up.

It’s not just bluster, either. You take commands from the leader of a militant African-American organization and partner with a socialist armed rebel group. Both parties holler at the social injustices that are deeply ingrained in America’s racist and hyper-capitalist culture, long before the Nazis came along. In fact, The New Colossus reveals just how poised pockets of American society are to fully embrace white supremacist authority, which apparently isn’t so different from reality.

What is most impressive though is the game’s deep dive into protagonist BJ Blazkowicz’s psyche and personal history. He cuts the perfect Aryan figure; a white, blonde, blue-eyed, square-jawed, deep-voiced, musclebound manly man. But The New Colossus takes the time to explore his emotional vulnerabilities, his sources of inner strength, and how his core values differentiate him from the insecure, paranoid, and destructive narcissism of Nazi oppressors.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is a double threat of ultraviolent action and ballistic fiction. It swings from hilarity to horror with rockstar swagger while maintaining pitch-perfect solemnity in its soliloquies. 25 years since the series debut, Wolfenstein proves that it’s always relevant to resist.

[irp posts=”23802″ name=”Doki Doki Literature Club: It’s all fun and games until it’s not”]

Features

Why choose the MSI Claw?

Is it the gaming handheld for you?

Published

April 18, 2024

GadgetMatch

The MSI Claw is the latest gaming handheld from a major PC and laptop brand. The competition in this emerging gadget segment is tighter than ever. So, what is it about the MSI Claw that can scratch your gaming itch? Here’s a quick list.

Best grip in the game

One quick glance and it’s hard not to compare the claw with another popular gaming handheld. But a closer look and actually holding the thing will reveal that its grip easily feels better.

It has a slightly deeper groove that makes it easier to hold. So, MSI’s “Grip and Game” tagline isn’t all talk. Its design truly does provide one of the better feeling handles among its competition.

The overall design makes sure it’s made for extended gameplay sessions. The buttons are where you expect them to be. That includes the four mini buttons on the upper edges of the screen. These are the View, MSI Center M, Menu, and Quick Settings buttons.

In addition, the face buttons and d-pad all feel great. The face buttons, in particular, feel comparable to those of regular console controllers.

The rest of the buttons and triggers have a very satisfying tactile feel. It also uses Hall Effect technology to get rid of any stick drift issues.

Up top, you’ll find the power button, MicroSD Card slot, Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port, audio jack, and the volume buttons. These are intuitively placed and just makes sense given the overall design approach.

As cliché as it sounds, you’ll really think you got your money’s worth once you hold, touch, press, and grip the MSI Claw.

Dragon Vision

Now, MSI isn’t really calling it that but I thought it sounds pretty cool. A big part of the whole gaming experience is the display. Balancing resolution and frame rates is always tricky but the MSI Claw does it convincingly.

With this gaming handheld, you get a 7-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Looks great on paper and it’s even better in real life. It’s the sweet spot in terms of both size and performance. There’s enough here to immerse you all while delivering a satisfying level of crisp and smoothness.

It’s comfortable to view whether you’re on the couch, on a desk table, or lying down getting a quick game in before you get some shut-eye.

Battery Life

At 53Whr, the MSI Claw has a 36% larger battery capacity than its contemporaries and promises 50% more play time.

MSI claims “elevated performance with extended endurance” using the Claw with faster charging capabilities.

These percentages are hard to measure in real life usage. What we can say for certain is that you get the expected performance and playtime typical of a handheld. That’s a little under two hours for graphically demanding titles, and close to four hours on less demanding ones.

The charging claim is legitimate. The MSI Claw juices up faster than most other handhelds, going from 20% to 100% in about a little over a K-Drama episode (roughly a little over an hour).

MSI Center M

Any self-respecting gaming handheld has its own software to make navigating the thing more manageable. While its direct competitors have an armoury crate and a space, MSI went with Center M.

The best part about MSI Center M is it puts your installed games front and center. Right when it launches, you get immediate access to the titles you have available on your machine.

MSI Afterburner is already the most commonly used app for taking a look at how your machine is performing while you play. That functionality is built-in to the MSI Claw. You can access it view the Quick Settings buttons.

Layout and functionality-wise, the MSI Center M is certainly one of the better Gaming Handheld softwares available right now.

Competitive Performance

A defining trait of the MSI Claw is that It’s the first gaming handheld to be powered by Intel Core Ultra. With it comes Intel XeSS tech. What it does is leverage AI upscaling to boost the fps of select titles.

As of launch, 50 notable games are supported. That number will certainly grow throughout the device’s lifespan. Some of the titles include Hi-Fi Rush, Dying Light 2, Forza Horizon 5, Call of Duty Warzone 2.0, Returnal, and many, many more.

Naturally, results will vary depending on the game mode you’re using. But in general, AAA games get anywhere between 10% to 45% better frame rate performance with Intel XeSS.

For our part we played TEKKEN 8 and the recently launched Horizon Forbidden West. Both graphically demanding games played relatively well on the MSI Claw. Frame rate performance on TEKKEN 8 is crucial and we got a relatively consistent fps, never dropping below 40.

Horizon Forbidden West is a much more graphically demanding game. We were able to run it in Medium Settings and while it doesn’t look as incredible, it still played relatively well with a frame rate surprising for a gaming handheld.

Extras

MSI made sure that if you wanted to, you could get some extra stuff with the MSI Claw. Its separately sold accessory set includes the Claw Travel Case, Nest Docking Station, Claw Lanyard, and Claw Keychain.

On paper, the MSI Claw lists its ergonomic design, AI Engine, and App Player as distinct advantages over its competition.

Whether it’s the Gaming Handheld that matches your needs is still ultimately up to you. If you have the opportunity to test drive the device, we suggest you do so. That might just solidify your purchase decision.

Price and availability in the Philippines

The MSI Claw will be available in three configurations in the Philippines. There are priced as follows:

MSI Claw A1M-075PH (PhP 45, 995).

Intel® Core™ Ultra 5 processor 135H
512GB NVMe PCIe Gen4x4
LPDDR5 16GB, dual channel
Intel® Arc™ Graphics

Claw A1M-076PH (PhP 50, 995).

Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 processor 155H
512GB NVMe PCIe Gen4x4
LPDDR5 16GB, dual channel
Intel® Arc™ Graphics

Claw A1M-077PH (PhP 53, 995).

Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 processor 155H
1TB NVMe PCIe Gen4x4
LPDDR5 16GB, dual channel
Intel® Arc™ Graphics

Ongoing Promotion

You can still get your own MSI Claw with exclusive bundled freebies 𝐄𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐃 until 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟑𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒!

This feature article is a collaboration between GadgetMatch and MSI Philippines.

Deals

Play Assassin’s Creed Mirage for FREE

For a limited time

Published

April 17, 2024

GadgetMatch

If you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to try Assassin’s Creed Mirage, that opportunity has come. The game is available for free trial on the PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, Ubisoft Store, and the Epic Games Store. The promotion will be available from April 17 to 30.

During the Free Trial, players will have access to the first two (2) hours of the. Progression will carry over if they purchase the game.

Players streaming will be able to get and offer to their viewers an exclusive reward: Basim Valhalla Sword, if they stream during the Free Trial period. This unique sword is Basim’s weapon from his later years in England.

Discounts will also be available on PC via Ubisoft Connect only. From April 17t to 24 , Assassin’s Creed Mirage Standard Edition and Deluxe Edition will be 40% off.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage

Assassin’s Creed Mirage spins a tale centered around an already established character, rather than a blank slate like Valhalla’s Eivor. It follows Basim Ibn Ishaq, a character introduced in Valhalla. Taking place before the events of the previous game, Mirage has the assassin root out the Order in 9^th-century Baghdad, a setting familiar to those who played the original title in 2007.

Gaming

GameSir announces Nova, Nova Lite gaming controllers

Budget-friendly gaming controllers

Published

April 16, 2024

GadgetMatch

Gaming peripherals brand GameSir has introduced two new budget-friendly gaming controllers: The GameSir Nova and GameSir Nova Lite.

These controllers feature multi-platform compatibility and cutting-edge technologies, like anti-drift Hall effect sticks and tri-mode connectivity, for affordable price points.

The GameSir Nova is available for UK£ 39.99/US$ 35.99/PhP 2,100 while the GameSir Nova Lite costs UK£ 29.99/US$ 24.99/PhP 1,500.

Color options for the Nova are Neon Teal and Retro White, while the Nova Lite comes in Stellar White and Space Purple. Customers may purchase from Amazon, Amazon UK, and the GameSir website.

Ultimate multi-platform gaming controller

The GameSir Nova and Nova Lite are both compatible with multiple devices, including PC, iOS, Android, and Switch. The Nova Lite, meanwhile, can also connect to Steam Deck.

Both controllers also support tri-mode connectivity for flexibility. The Nova can be connected via Bluetooth, 2.4GHz, or a wired connection. Its Lite counterpart supports Bluetooth, a wireless dongle, and a wired configuration.

Precise, consistent gaming

With anti-drift Hall effect sticks, the Nova provides a smooth and consistent gaming experience. It uses specially optimized algorithms, and even supports motion controls to tilt, shake, or rotate for more immersion.

The Dual HD Rumble Motors in the grips also provide vibrations for real and precise feedback, whatever the game’s effects may be. Furthermore, there are two programmable macro back buttons that allows gamers to execute complex combos with ease.

The Nova Lite, meanwhile, also has analogue triggers, a 20Hz Turbo function, and two motors in the grips to cater to the user’s needs and feel.

In addition, the Lite includes a multi-function M button. Users may use this button to adjust different settings on the fly. For instance, pressing M plus the D-pad’s up and down buttons raises or lowers the vibration intensity. The sticks’ dead zones may also be adjusted to one’s liking.