Return to Castle Wolfenstein: The Extended Edition

 

 

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When Wolfenstein came out it had tough opposition in Medal Of Honor: Allied Assualt. Both were FPS games based on WW2, one serious, the other slightly camp - and Wolfenstien was all the better for it. Instead of plain realism (overrated in many games) it went for sheer playability, and therefore became a more enjoyable gamingg experience than MOHAA will ever be. Don't get me wrong MOHAA is a good game, but Wolfenstein is the FPS I have enjoyed most since the lengendary Half Life (soon to gain a sequel). This Wolfentstein game is actually the second - the originally often being credited as the game which spawned Doom. Looking back on it now it is actually quite a boring game, but the new version has taken the series to a completely new level. At this price it would be a crime to miss out on a FPS that while not revolutionary is certainly one of the most polished games in it's field - and a (...) good buy.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein certainly has a blockbuster pedigree. It's a sequel to Wolfenstein 3D - id Software's first-person shooter that defined the genre, which was itself a follow-up to the beloved Apple II classic Castle Wolfenstein.

Wolfenstein is primarily a run-and-gun shooter with some stealth sections mixed in. It also features enemy guards engaged in conversations as you approach them, a largely defensive AI for those guards, and between-level cut scenes that recount meetings between your superiors back at home base.

The story, which involves your attempt to stop the Nazis from creating biomechanical zombie super soldiers, is somewhat far-fetched; Wolfenstein's graphics are the games strongest selling point. Wolfenstein's levels are spread across seven missions and feature a good variety of environments. The levels alternate between expansive outdoor scenes, such as a Nazi camp with a good deal of hilly terrain surrounding it, to interiors that range from cramped tombs to massive, ornate castle chambers. The quality and detail of the levels' textures and lighting are uniformly excellent. The weapon models, the character models, and the animations are also first-rate. Character movement is especially smooth. Though the conversations between the guards may not be terribly interesting, the guards' idle animations are great. For instance, at one point a guard patrolling the deck of an icebound submarine stretches, lights up a smoke, takes a few puffs, then drops the butt and stubs it out under his heel. You'll often delay your assault on guards just to sit and watch what they do. The game's zombies - who look more like mummies than traditional rotting undead - move with a convincing disjointed shuffle. One particular type of skeleton enemy is especially eerie as it creeps toward you through low-lying fog, its eyes glowing.

Wolfenstein's sound effects are generally good, from the dull "thock-thock-thock" of bullets striking the wooden table you're hiding behind to the appropriately varied noises made by footsteps on different floor materials.

Soldiers exhibit a real capacity for self-preservation. Rather than charge right for you, they'll often find cover and stick to it, waiting for you to come flush them out. They're also smart enough to run away from grenades, and they'll occasionally even kick one back at you. On the other hand, enemy soldiers don't give off the appearance of squad coordination, as they did in games such as Half Life.

Ultimately, Return to Castle Wolfenstein is a pure shooter. As such, the core of its appeal lies in its gunfights and the variety of different ways that bullets interact with objects in its universe. Though the character models are well animated, their reactions to being hit with gunfire are far too subtle. Often, you'll riddle a soldier with bullets and receive no real visual reaction from him other than the fact that he'll eventually fall over dead.

Regardless of the single-player game, the multiplayer game is worth the price of admission. Each map features a unique set of goals that must be accomplished in order for one side to win. Generally, these goals involve one team destroying a series of barriers to reach a final position, at which point they must either blow up some structure or steal an object and return it to an extraction point. The other team, meanwhile, must successfully defend these objectives for a specific period of time. One map, called Depot, provides targets for both teams, forcing each one to play offence and defence simultaneously.

Each time you respawn, you can choose from four different classes. Soldiers can use all the game's weapons. Engineers can both plant and defuse the dynamite needed to destroy goal structures, and they can also repair the mounted guns that appear in various fixed positions throughout the different maps. Medics can drop health packs and revive "dead" team-mates, permitting them to instantly respawn where they've fallen. Each medic also provides every team member with 10 extra starting health points. Lieutenants can drop ammo packs, and they are the only class equipped with binoculars. Lieutenants can also call in air and artillery strikes, which cut a wide swath of destruction at their target point. All four of the classes are useful and necessary. Since there aren't any health or ammo packs in the levels, the medic and lieutenant are both critical to keeping the team supplied. The soldier is the only class that can access more than the basic weapons, and the mission targets can't be destroyed (or successfully defended from a planted explosive) without the engineer's skills.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein features an amazing multiplayer component coupled with an excellent single-player game. Fans of id Software's previous 3D shooters will not be disappointed.

Just for those of you that might have been put off be dec0de's reveiw.
He is incorrect, Enemy Territory is a completly seperate game and not a mod for Return to Castle Wolfenstein. It was origonaly intended as an expansion to Castle Wolfenstein but the developers canceled it at the last miniute and some of the programers working on it decided to release it for free. You do not need Castle Wolfenstein to play Enemy Territory. It is well worth buying just for the online play as there is a huge fanbase out there always willing to give people new to the game a chance to learn.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Spookenstein
What a great game! All the spooky noises keep you jumping. It's got the right balance of being not too difficult to stop you playing and not being too easy to stop you playing... Read more

Published on 5 Dec 2006 by Grape Ape

5.0 out of 5 stars A true classic
This is a masterpiece with playability written all over it. It's not a new title, but it's still going strong. Read more

Published on 16 Aug 2006 by Martian Buddy

5.0 out of 5 stars BRILLIANT BRILLIANT AND BRILLIANT
A smidgin better than Medal of Honor.
Better than Doom and Quake.
Loads of stealth and sniper fire required. Quick save facility helps here. Read more

Published on 20 July 2004 by K. Bond

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
This game is Fantastic. I advise anyone who is thinking about buying it to buy it. This game is definitely worth the money and you have hours worth of great entertainment whilst... Read more

Published on 13 May 2004 by Mr. A. WALKER

4.0 out of 5 stars Note on Enemy Territory
Contrary to what blaarghh says the enemy territory mod that was made free and is downloadable from the net does not require this game. Read more

Published on 17 Jan 2004 by edilla

5.0 out of 5 stars blaarghh
This is more of a tip than a review, For those that dont know this package comes along with return to castle wolfenstein + the enemy territory mod. Read more

Published on 3 Dec 2003 by Dcode

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