Return to Castle Wolfenstein Platinum

by ACTIVISION

Product Features

• Supernatural World War II first person action thriller
• Includes original Return to Castle Wolfenstein and RTCW: Enemy Territory
• Play as an Axis or Ally in this squad based combat thriller
• Enemy Territory has support for up to 32 players online
• For 1 player

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0000TA6IW
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: October 16, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,302 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Platinum Edition makes you the world's last defense against the most vile Nazi plans! This game bundle includes the original Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and the multiplayer sequel - Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkable. Absolutely remarkable., December 5, 2005

By 

Spartan7 - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Return to Castle Wolfenstein Platinum (CD-ROM)

I've never had much use for WWII games. Call of Duty, Medal of Honor...they all looked the same to me. So when the word got out that Return to Castle Wolfenstein was making its big FPS return -- and that you'd be facing enemies other than Nazis only 20% of the time -- I wasn't impressed.

Well, who knew shooting down Nazi scum would be so much fun?

That's right, I finally figured out what all you WWII-ers have known all along; that until we get Imperial Stormtroopers to mow down, the Nazis will just have to do. And it's such a visceral rush, cutting down these goose-stepping murderous fanatics, that you won't really mind that other twenty percent of the time when you're not facing them. Oh sure, fighting the undead or '40s-era cyborgs each have their own challenges, but it's those Nazis most in the need of killin'.

The game's graphics are amazingly lifelike. Grey Matter -- the development studio -- reportedly took hundreds of research photographs while in Eastern Europe, and it shows. The textures are incredibly real, and the Nazi soldiers even have different types of uniforms and decorations; some of them are even wounded, with bloody bandages.

The sounds are so realistic, so layered, you'd think they were first recorded during WWII itself. Machine-gun fire, grenade explosions, the whoosh of flamethrowers...even the sound of eating food isn't just genuine, it evokes a reaction in you. Just listen to the sound of BJ eating a hot meal and tell me your own throat doesn't work on reflex.

But the story behind the game? Well, it's just outstanding.

In 1943, over a year before the Allies made the landing at Normandy Beach, there was a secret, joint-intelligence venture between the U.S. and Britain known as the OSA, or the Office of Secret Actions. Your character, U.S. Army Ranger Pvt. BJ Blazkowicz, is one of the OSA's operatives, who stumbles on a horrific plot being carried out by the SS Paranormal Division. They intend to use Nazi knowledge of the occult, robotics, and chemical warfare to spell ultimate doom for the Allies, and total victory for the Third Reich. I won't give away the whole plot, but let's just say that finding out how all these puzzle pieces fit together is just part of the fun.

Your objectives can vary wildly from one mission to another. For instance: In one, you must sneak into a secret Nazi installation without setting off any alarms. Once inside, you must scuttle a chemical warhead aimed at London and fight your way back out again. After that, you sabotage a Nazi radar installation, before finally reaching an airstrip and stealing an experimental rocket-plane. And that's all just in one mission out of the seven you'll be playing. Good times, folks. Other missions take place in such different locales as another occupied village in the dead of winter, dusty tombs infested with both Nazis and the undead alike, a half-demolished city that's just undergone 48 straight hours of Allied bombing, and a secret lab in the frozen wastelands of Norway.

While most of the weapons are, I'm sure, completely faithful recreations of what was being used by both sides at the time -- the MP40 and the Sten are two such examples -- the others are extrapolations of how such weapons could've been developed, like the Venom or the Tesla. Hell; this is also the first time I've ever played a game that gave me a CHOICE of sniper rifles. The Mauser, Snooper, and FG42 each have their own unique pros and cons that make them ideally suited to their roles.

One of the most compelling things about this game, though, is that it makes you wonder just HOW MUCH of all this was real? Was there really an OSA? Was there a real Kreisau Circle (the anti-Nazi German resistance in the game)? Did Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler -- both madmen, to be sure -- really look into such concepts as the occult or human experimentation as part of the war effort? Did the Reich really have an SS Paranormal Division? And did they really train women to be used as commandos?

Nevertheless, this game is worth it. It's fun, it's challenging, it makes you think, and it makes you feel so much better about yourself by putting hot lead into the most evil bunch of knuckle-dragging mass murderers this planet's come up with yet.

Now go give Jerry what-for!!

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars simply amazing, February 21, 2005

By 

Yaroslav Rodionav - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Return to Castle Wolfenstein Platinum (CD-ROM)

This game has some points that makes it superior to other PC first-person shooters.
The most amazing thing about the game is perhaps music surrounding. It is superb! The themes greatly
contribute to the atmosphere of the game.
The second point is a good storyline. Sometimes you get missions which could exist in reality. That's amazing, because
it makes you feel as if strange personages you read about in Nazi's memoirs came to life, and you may participate in real events!
The third amazing feature is graphics. The game is aesthetically beautiful, full of colourful landscapes and ancient castles.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic paranormal WWII FPS, March 31, 2010

By 

Media Man (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Return to Castle Wolfenstein Platinum (CD-ROM)

Return To Castle Wolfenstein Platinum(U.S.)/Extended(U.K.) Edition was a ground-breaking FPS for its time and is still brilliant years after its initial release. This title paved the way for other FPS in the WWII genre. Games like Necrovision, Clive Barker's Jericho, Doom 3 and F.E.A.R. were clearly influenced by this Wolfenstein title. Back when I bought this title a few years ago it was quite rare and ended up purchasing the U.K. version. Both games are exactly the same and contain the multi-player expansion Enemy Territory. The online only expansion alone warrants its own accolades. The single player campaign focuses on Office of Secret Actions and U.S. Army Ranger Private B.J. Blazkowicz. Blazkowicz is sent to investigate and eliminate the SS Paranormal Division who plans to use robotics and the occult to win the war against the Allies. Here are my thoughts on the game;

Pros

+ Plentiful array of realistic sounding weapons and ammunition.

+ Carrying capacity of weapons is unlimited.

+ Original Storyline

+ Great graphics for a 2002 title.

+ Not an on the rails shooter. There are a lot of areas to explore and secret areas to discover

+ Varied levels and environments including towns, crypts, forests, castles etc.

+ Some scary horror type moments in the crypt/tomb/archaeological dig areas.

+ Amazing musical score composed by Bill Brown

+ The late, great Tony Jay does some of the voice acting.

+ Save anywhere, anytime.

+ Smooth frame rate.

+ Solid multi-player expansion.


Cons

- Enemies can often spot you from very unrealistic distances.

- Some buggy shooting moments where you would clearly hit the enemy yet they would take no damage. They would however be able to shoot you just fine! Rather frustrating.

- Overly scripted areas could become problematic resulting in trial and error runs. One example in particular that I remember involved protecting an advancing tank from enemy panzerfausts when you were on the exact opposite side of the map.

- Ending was brief and a bit of a let down.


Overall a great game with very few flaws and a lot of positives. It took me just under 11 hours to finish the single player campaign. While the platinum/extended edition is somewhat expensive and more difficult to find it's worth it in the end. Return to Castle Wolfenstein is definitely a title worthy of a place in anyone's FPS collection!