Wolfenstein Preview

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We won't be told much about the other Veil abilities, though, because this is our first time with the game and Raven wants to hold things back until we're further up the PR stepladder. Entering the Veil though (be sure to check out the graphical transition in the shots and trailer), we do see other options: taking out floating enemies that pop Veily energy near covered Nazis to blow them to bits, for instance. And while we often mock "improved AI" when it makes the features list, we just as often then praise it for drafting depth into basic FPS combat, and we're told to expect that here as well.

Having landed behind enemy lines in occupied territory, BJ is also able to pick his movements a bit more than he could in the old Castle interiors, and the resistance movement will offer him various opportunities to mix up story-specific missions with optional elements. "He joins up with resistance forces when he's moving in and around the city, he has choice on where to go, upgrade weapons - there's a lot of that in the game," says Cloud. "Raven's spent a lot of time building up a lot of elements to deliver the story to the player. So you have the resistance forces, characters BJ deals with off and on throughout the game and different resistance groups." Storytelling seems to be done through Half-Life-style interactive cut-scenes. And for all the emphasis on "choice", BJ won't be "wandering aimlessly, knocking over trash-cans or anything".

Meanwhile, Cloud and Raven won't be talking about multiplayer yet, despite RTCW enjoying most of its subsequent appeal thanks to a Nerve Software-developed online component. British developer Endrant will complement Raven and Pi Studios' work on the one-man campaign by focusing on the multiplayer element, and while Cloud rules out a Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory retread (it's a brand apart these days), he's confident the new Wolfenstein will find a happy middle. "People that have played Wolfenstein multiplayer back with RTCW, and they loved that game, I think they're going to love what we're going to deliver here," he tells us. "So, classes and that type of stuff. The cool thing is we've got these new powers with the Veil, and we're going to make the multiplayer universe consistent with those elements of the single-player universe."

It's not quite The Great Escape.

"The thing is, again, at the cornerstone of what Wolfenstein is is intense combat," Cloud adds when we get back onto single-player and ask whether there's a more varied rhythm than the up-and-down RTCW. "And so all these things - story and interactions with the resistance forces and puzzle elements - are things you deal with to balance between the action. We'll have some puzzle elements," he confirms.

Given that it's Wolf, and the solid but humble Raven, we wouldn't be too surprised if these are still of the "find the switch, open the door" variety, but we wouldn't mind that either. In a WW2 sub-genre that increasingly angles for profundity, this is, after all, a game sold on a dodgy German voice growling, "Velcome to the New Reich."