Sisterly Nazi Slaying--Wolfenstein: Youngblood

I built a new PC earlier this summer and received several "free" games that were packaged with my graphics card and CPU.  Every....single...one of them was a shooter!  I don't hate shooters, they just aren't generally my first pick for gaming.  Luckily, there was enough variety within the games I received that I've been able to remain invested enough to finish most of them (not World War Z, sadly).  My most recent shooting spree (*in a violent video game...that didn't make me violent) took place in the Nazi-occupied world of Neu-Paris in Wolfenstein:  Youngblood.

The Blazkowicz sisters are on the prowl for Nazis.

It's worth mentioning here that the last time I played a Wolfenstein game was when I was a kid--in fact, it was likely the original game from the 1990's (the controversial violent game from then!).  I've been intrigued by the series since its rebirth in the modern day, but not enough to give any of them a go.  Wolfenstein:  Youngblood is my first foray into the new series--it's probably a bit of a strange place to start since it is supposedly a departure from the format of the previous games.

The story in Youngblood follows the twin daughters of professional Nazi-slayer BJ Blazkowicz.  Jess and Soph(ia) grew up in the (apparently) liberated United States (in Texas...ya'll) and appear to be in training to continue the family legacy of Nazi killing.  There is a nice introductory cutscene that lays out the Blazkowicz family dynamics--Jess is carefully guided by her father in hunting a bighorn and Soph is being pushed by her mother in hand-to-hand combat.  A few weeks later, BJ mysteriously goes missing and Jess, Soph, and their technologically-gifted friend Abby "overhear" (*are spying with equipment that Abby stole) BJ's supposed last known location.  Rather than sit back and wait for the adults to take action, they procure (*steal/borrow) the FBI helicopter belonging to Abby's FBI Mom (and, conveniently filled with Nazi-slaying goodies) and head to Neu-Paris to track down their Daddy.  The girls manage to track down the Parisian resistance who assists them as they work to follow the leads to BJ.

Pros:
+ Great environments.  I enjoyed the details of Nazi-occupied Neu-Paris.  There are several different districts to unlock throughout the city and each has its own vibe.  There are shantytowns where desperate residents have attempted to flee; there is the fancy, hoity-toity Nazi officers quarter filled with storefronts hawking traditionally German food and drink (pretzels and beer--but there's also a touch of Paris in the number of croissants present); each area is sprinkled with checkpoints, guard posts, and plenty of Nazi's to kill.  There are also other little details which are indicative of the daily life that happens in each quarter--a broadcast area is set up for a Nazi propagandist to give a speech--you fight among the speakers, cameras and chairs set up to accommodate this event.

The game also has a very cool, 1980's with a Nazi twist kind of vibe.  I enjoyed all the German language advertising for 80's products.

+ The Catacombs is a badass base.  The Parisian resistance have set up their base in the famous catacombs located under the city.  The base is a network of tunnels lined with the bones of thousands of past Parisians.  The base is the perfect place to recharge and prepare for actions out in the open-world of Neu-Paris--there are shared life crates, a shooting range with ammo and armor, a music room, and, the best part, an arcade cabinet where you can play through the classic version of Wolfenstein.  There are many different characters who offer sidequests and its best to revisit the catacombs often.

+ Co-op.  Youngblood decided to take the series into the land of co-op and it's very apparent that the system is built around working together (I played singleplayer, but got a good idea of the mechanics).  Your sister squad has a shared pool of lives--this means that going off on your own is a bad idea--if one of you can't be revived before the timer expires, your team loses a life.  Each sister can equip a unique "pep signal" that will give the team either a health or armor boost.  Inputting some codes, opening doors, and shared life chests require both players to interact--you have to stick together.

+ Sisters!  Soph and Jess are supposed to be teenagers...who just-so happen to have an excellent Nazi-killing pedigree--and throughout the game there is banter and general sisterly-goofiness.  Whenever you ride an elevator there is a mini-loading screen that shows the sisters goofing around between floors.  When you get off the elevator, the sisters give each other a cute fist bump.  I liked the way the relationship between the sisters played out.

+ Serious, but not too serious.  The beginning of the game sees the sisters killing their first Nazis and their giddiness is kind of hilarious.  There are jokes sprinkled throughout the game and the tone stays well-balanced.

+Story missions take place in several large, well defended towers,  Each tower represents a part of the Nazi control structure in Neu-Paris--one houses a jail and interrogation center; one is the center of zeppelin travel; one is the center of research and development; and the last is a super, top-secret location (and, you have literally no idea what goes on there...but it can't be good).  Each "brother" tower is a large, sprawling area where you are guaranteed fierce firefights.

+ Collectibles.  Scattered throughout the world are several different types of collectibles--there are readable items that help flesh out the story of Neu-Paris/the Nazi controlled world; there are 3-D glasses which unlock character models; there are "UVK" (like a Nazi version of a VHS tape) tapes with goofy Nazi plots; and there are special Gestapo crates which unlock concept art (the challenge is in finding them and also finding the codes to unlock them).  If tracking down items is your thing, there is plenty to encourage you to search every nook and cranny.

+ Stealth kills are violently fun.  In general I find stealth in shooters to be kind of a stupid mechanic, but if you take the cloaking ability, you have a brief window in which you can silently stab Nazis.  The takedowns are very violent, but oh-so satisfactory.

+ Weapon customization.  You can choose the type of customization you want for each weapon and purchase mods with currency you loot.  There are three different "sets" which, when all are combined, unlock specific bonuses--for example, greater headshot damage or faster firing rate.  Or, you can mix and match (but you don't get the "set" bonus).

+Pricing and buddy pass system.  I think the $29.99 price tag is perfect and I really like what they did with the buddy pass (basically you can spend $40 and give one copy to your preferred co-op partner!).

Cons:
-No full-size map--the only map you have is your mini-map and there are minimal helpful markings on it!  I know that there is a contingent of gamers out there who think maps aren't needed....but I'm not one of those gamers.  I don't understand the decision not to include a full-size map--I had moments of genuine frustration when I would find a floppy disk and then have to go searching for the last place that I thought I had seen a computer (you have to find specific computers to "decode" the disks you find).  Once, I got ridiculously lost while trying to exit a sidequest in one of the towers and spent about 30+ minutes trying to navigate to the metro exit.

-Not enough to make it much different from other FPS.  The guns in the game are pretty standard FPS-fare--pistols, shotguns, etc. and even the "special" guns that you locate throughout the game aren't anything extremely exciting.  The game being co-op is...something, but I just don't think that the gameplay itself was unique enough to differentiate it from any of the other numerous FPS games out there.  Yes, there is a "talent" system, but the points that you get still build toward very standard abilities--carry more grenades!  Carry heavy weapons!  My one major wish is that they had built more talents that are co-op focused and could be utilized by both players.

I expected a DOOM-like fast-paced style, but I didn't really get that at all.

-Side quests take you back throughout the same 3-4 areas in Paris and are also pretty standard "kill this!" "Fetch this!"

-No explanation about certain aspects of the game.  Early on I kept finding "unidentified ammo" and certain doors that required specific weapons to unlock (and, unlocking these doors is entirely optional).  There is no explanation about the fact that you find the "special" weapons required to unlock these doors in the main story missions.  It would've been nice to at least have had a hint about these doors/crates!

Other:
Microtransactions.  I'm not going to label this as a pro or con even though there were some folks who were triggered by the fact that there are microtransactions in this game.  I honestly forgot that there were microtransactions...that's how unobtrusive they are!  I was never prompted "buy this special currency!" or "sale!" or anything even resembling that.  There was some early days confusion over boosts that have since been fixed, but honestly, its nothing to get excited/upset about.  The majority of items in the game are purchasable with in-game currency (silver coins).  There are a few (like two, maybe?) skins/weapon skins that utilize the real-money currency (gold bars).  Not a big deal at all (and not worth freaking out about!)

Buy it or skip it?  Final verdict:
I enjoyed Youngblood, but don't think it really added anything new or special to the FPS genre.  I think more work could have gone into developing better co-op talents that could have possibly given it some uniqueness.  I do think the pricing and buddy pass system make it an affordable option for anyone looking for something fun to play with a friend.

Buy it if you're looking for some co-op shooter action.
Skip it if you're looking for something that is going to be genre-changing and life altering.