Customer Reviews

Return To Castle Wolfenstein Game Of The Year Edition

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Most FPS fans cut their teeth on Castle Wolfenstein back so many years ago. At the time it seemed amazing to be able to walk around in a 'virtual world'. This time around, the graphics still are what impress.

The game is more an interactive movie than a blast-em-up that the original was. The atmosphere, the music, the sound, all work together to draw you into the world of the occult.

You are, of course, in WW2, an American spy caught by the Nazis. The Nazis are trying to unearth an immortal power locked away one thousand years ago in northern Germany. The story is revealed to you with well done cinematics as the game progresses, and in the meantime you have to fight your way through enemies of all shapes in sizes with your trusty knife and guns.

The graphics are of course far superior to the original, and it's impressive to compare the two versions (the original is included with this copy). Back then we thought Wolfenstein had amazing graphics ... and today we feel the same way. There are points from which you can look down at the entire castle complex with all its layers and textures, and then wander down through the castle, looking out every window and door. True, the graphics aren't as crisp as some of the fresh games coming out now, but the improvement is still rather impressive.

The game is definitely a first person shooter, so non-FPS players probably won't be thrilled with it. Also, the game can definitely be trounced by a good FPS player in a matter of weeks. Still, that is just the beginning. You can now take your characters on line and play against other humans in a variety of scenarios. If you think the AI was challenging, wait until you test yourself against other humans who are FPS fans!

Recommended for FPS players who like a compelling storyline and the startling turns of a horror movie.

As someone who played the old-school Wolfenstein 3D, I was blown away when my boyfriend showed me Return to Castle Wolfenstein. I hadn't even realized that there had been a sequel, if you could call it that. Anyone who has ever played Wolfenstein 3D will remember the very low-quality graphics and sound (and for anyone who has forgotten, or who hasn't played it, the original is included with this game), the very few weapons, and all of the evil characters that looked the same. At the time, it was a fun game. But now? Wolfenstein has received a makeover, and it has never looked better. Or sounded better. The graphics are so great, it's almost like you're actually there. Sneaking around outside the castle, you can hear Nazis talking as they listen to classical music. You can find one getting drunk in an alley. And the Uber Soldats? They are big and mean, and ready to pump you full of electricity and missiles.

With that said, I would like to tell you how many times this game has literally made me jump. Quite a few times, actually, whether the floor unexpectedly gave out from beneath me, or a zombie just appeared out of nowhere. These little surprises were unexpected, and unpredictable. That is how you know when a game like this is good. I like being surprised by a game. Predictable games are too easy and pointless. However, Wolfenstein does have some incredibly hard levels. The one I was stuck on for a month was my first visit with an Uber Soldat, and I just kept on dying. But, every level in every game is eventually beatable, as long as you just take a deep breath and keep trying (and even though you may be tempted to use cheat codes during this particular level, I didn't, and I must say I felt very proud of myself when I finally did beat it).

I have not actually finished the game yet. I have so many games to play that I end up taking long breaks from each one from time to time. But come to think of it, this one hasn't been played for a couple of months. I think I'll go play it now. I think you should, too.

Return To Castle Wolfenstein is the sequel to a fantastic game Wolfenstein 3D, which came out way back in the day. I had high hopes for this game, because Activision has a good reputation in the gaming industry, and WWII games make excellent first-person shooters.

Once again, you are B.J Blastowicz (Don't hold me to that spelling) and you are trying to take down the Nazi War Machine. You and your co-agent are captured and held in Castle Wolfenstein, and through clues early in the game you find out that the Nazis are planning a huge archeaological dig, but for the sake of the plot, I won't mention what they are digging for. (You find out soon enough.)

The graphics are very good (considering that the game came out a long time ago), but the physics need some work. Clipping is a problem as bodies fall to the ground stiff as a board, and often go through the walls. This doesn't take away from the fantastic gameplay and sound though.

The gameplay of RTCW is perhaps the best of any FPS shooter I've ever played. The enemy AI is fantastic, especially of Helga's elite guard. A group of hot Nazi chicks armed with their silence stens. Enemies will peak around corners, and perform jumping rolls to evade, and they shoot with pinpoint accuracy, even on the easiest difficulty. The game is very challenging and made me sweat more than once. The fabulous soundtrack is a great addition. When alarms go off, the RTCW theme song kicks in, giving the game a desperate feel to it. During stealth missions (which are fantsatic), mysterious, low-key compositions give the environment a great feel to it.

Overall, RTCW is a wonderful FPS of epic proportions and should be played by all WWII buffs as well as fans of the FPS genre.

If you played the original W3D, you know what to expect. Yes, this game is all about killing the enemy that's out to jump at you from every crook and cranny. Killing is spectacular and realistic - blood and guts, body parts flying, flesh being incinerated - this is not for the faint in heart. The enemy here are the Nazis and their ill-begone undead which turn against anything living, including the Nazis themselves. The game consists of 7 episodes ("levels"). My favorite ones are the mountain tram episode (with spectacular mountain views that will give you vertigo), the church episode (where hot Nazi commando babes in tight leather and high heels will blast you to pieces with their silenced high-powered submachine guns), and the "village" episode with realistically rendered medieval town in winter, where snipers are waiting for you in second-story windows. The catacombs will give your heart alarming palpitations, when the creepy undead break out of walls and drop down from ceilings to feed on your flesh. Just shooting them is not good enough - some will deflect your bullets back at you! Others will take entire clips of ammo to be laid to rest. The game requires that you master stealth (they hear you coming and you can hear them and their conversations). The knowledge of weapons and their effectiveness against specific targets is also something you will learn along the way as you die many times trying. My favorite is the high-powered bolt rifle with the scope for taking out lurkers from a distance. You'll also get three submachine guns (a standard German issue, a big-bore Thompson with excellent stopping power but limited ammo, and a silent high-powered auto that must be discharged with short bursts in order not to overheat), a silencer for your semi auto sidearm and grenades. Watch out - them Nazis may kick a grenade back to take you out! The binoculars allow you to scope out the terrain before moving in. Found armor makes you less vulnerable. But watch out where you step or you'll fall (and die). Don't hit civilians or your own men - this will abort the mission immediately. There are, of course, secret areas and treasure to be found. There is beer to be had for stamina and food for health with pretty bar tending freulains begging you not to kill them. A drunk soldier adds some humor to this world of sadistic violence - but he gets a bullet in the back as well.

The graphics are excellent at high res setting. The sound is pretty good with a great deal of terrifying racket in the catacombs and German war tunes emanating from radios. The performance is smooth and fast on my 1.6GHz Athlon Win2000 Pro machine, and the game is super-stable.

Drawbacks? Too few episodes and not much of a replay variation with a single story path. The last episode is the typical Meet the Mega Monster affair, with everything coming at you at once. I haven't tried the multi player yet.

While this game may have it's shortcomings in single player (even the hardest difficulty provides little challenged for moderately experienced FPS fans), the multiplayer portion RTCW compensates for that. Multiplay is excellent to say the least, and I really feel this game still stands tall against such titles as Quake3 and Unreal Tournament 2003.

A nice bonus to this "game of the year" edition is that it's packaged with a copy of the original wolfenstein game from the early 90s. It's amazing if for no other reason to visit this oldie simply to see how far the industry's come.

Overall, this is a great game with good models and animation, compelling sound and music, and addictive multiplayer action. Definetely worth a shot if you're a fan of the original.

This game is probably the best First Person Shooter (FPS) game I have ever played. The Singleplayer mode is pretty good. It will teach you about all the different weapons and train you to work the keyboard and mouse to get around. The weapons choice is realistic, handgun, machine guns, flame throwers, hand gernades, etc., except there are couple new weapons that you need to possess to kill the real powerful monsters in the singleplayer mode, like the venom gun. The levels have either Nazis to kill or some fantasy creatures and zombies. I don't really prefer having to kill fantasy creatures but I guess they balance it well with the super weaponry you use to kill them. After you train yourself and get thru all levels of the singleplayer, you'll be ready for multiplayer mode. The best part of this game is, afterall, the Multiplayer mode. In Multiplayer, you get to play with other virtual people like you on the internet playing the same game. You can choose to be a soldier, engineer, medic or lieutenant. Each has different weapons and abilities. Like, when you get sick of killing, you can choose to be a Medic and revive fallen teammates. No zombies in multiplayer, just killing other players. All in all excellent game play. Not too buggy, no real glitches. Of course, for multiplayer, a fast internet connection is recommended. Buy it you won't regret it.

This is essentially a compilation of the standard RTCW and all of the official downloadable maps. If you don't have RTCW, this is a great package, if you already have it; don't bother.

RTCW is a World War 2 game. It has 2 seperate modes of gameplay. single player or multi player. single player explores the world of an agent who goes to infiltrate nazi experiments with the dead and mutants. what i really like is RTCW's award winning multiplayer. it is realistic meaning NO ZOMBIES OR MONSTERS. They have realistic maps like the beach invasion and village destruction. This is a Really good gameand , I recommend you get this game over medal of honor.

A great game with good graphics, story-line and musical accompanyment, but just not enough levels for the money. For the price I expected to get more and not a game I could run through in less than a normal weekend.

This rules. Not only does it have return to castle wolfenstien a wonderful game with its great multi play. It also includes game demos ,a full version of wolfenstien 3d {The eather remake or sequal to the oringal it was made in 1992 like doom where you shoot Nazis play it after you beat return to castle wolfenstein} and a behind the scenes making and seven additional multi maps and much much more. Definatly worth it. It also has booklet that provides great info and wofenstien history and lore. Do you return to castle wolfenstien game I beleive the fourth wolfenstein game. The first was a game called castle wolfenstien which was a 1983 apple 2 game. The second was wolfenstein 3d then spear of destiny and finaly return to castle wolfenstein. Get the extra in the package are a super bargain.