Tuesday 23 April 2019

Editorial | B.J Blazkowicz: A tired killing machine



By Sam Coles:

The Wolfenstein series has always been as subtle as David Cage’s storytelling, with the action being equated with a six lane pile up. With Wolfenstein: The New Order back in 2014 I was shocked that the square jawed protagonist B.J Blazkowicz had character and flaws, where originally he was merely a face at the bottom of the screen gurning as you were shot. He comes across as tired and warn out, no matter how many machine gun toting Nazis he kills they keep coming and coming.

The New Order saga takes place in a grim depiction of a what if scenario, where the Nazis win the Second World War with a 1960’s with a more German flare. After being in a coma for 14 years after trying a last ditch effort to push back the Nazi warmachine in 1946, B.J Blazkowicz finds himself year 1960. However this is not the swinging 60’s that we know and love, no this a dystopian 60’s gripped by Nazi tyranny, they rule the world after taking over Europe and nuking New York. B.J coming to the realisation of this doesn’t believe the US would ever surrender, however he comes to terms with it and wants to pick up arms and rebuild a resistance.

In the opening of Wolfenstein The New Order B.J is day dreaming, he is dreaming of a normal life without death and destruction where he has a wife and child with the white picket fence life. However he is rudely awakened by blood and death, where he tries to save the world from Nazi tyranny. When the war is lost and the Nazis takes over the world, he is comes across as tired and this is only more prevalent as you progress through the game with all the comrades and loved ones he has lost.

It’s not just B.J that has this attitude throughout the game, his allies by the end of the game are overwhelmed by the Nazi oppression that some of them just want to end it all. What makes this more convincing is the superb performance from Brian Bloom, his voice may sound familiar if you have played Call of Duty over the years, he said in an interview that this is one of his favourite roles he has done. I understand why because Machine Games have managed to make a sympathetic character, because he was nothing more than a macho man who gunned down Nazis and that was about it when it came to characterisation. He has grizzled voice when he narrates the story, which emphasises his weariness as he reflects on those who are with him or no longer with him. It can be heart-warming some of his anecdotes, but at the same time to hear him pour his heart out over loved ones can be devastating.

When we see him in Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus B.J is a quite literally broken, his body holding on a mere hair strand as his organs are failing and his bones are crushed where his bound to a wheel chair. This legendary hero that everyone either fears or looks up to, is reduced down to a vulnerable child hence why get various flashbacks to his childhood. All he wants at this point is the support of his mother, which unfortunately is no longer around due to his father letting her fall into the hands of the Nazis due to her Jewish background.

It is heart breaking to see him at his lowest point in the first half of Wolfenstein II, because he doesn’t know if he is going to be there for his wife Anya or his twins that have yet to be born. However it is after an absurd situation which I won’t spoil, but you know exactly what I’m talking about if you have played the game he is reborn with vigour. It’s this situation that we see a rebirth of the character, where he turns back to the B.J we all know and love, where he smiles with glee as a he slices another Nazi’s throat open. It does create a bit of levity for the character in the second half of Wolfenstein II, as the game overall swaps out the sad mask for a laughing one. Some did criticise this change in tone, but I however embraced the absurdity.

What Machine Games have done with the character of B.J Blazkowicz is nothing short of amazing, they turned a square jaw action hero into a sympathetic character that is tortured and tired with his endeavours. If you have yet to experience the narrative of The New Order trilogy I highly recommend it, even if you’re not the biggest fan of first person shooters.

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