Customer Reviews

Return to Castle Wolfenstein Platinum

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!!

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.

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!

Brilliant game! Creepy, atmospheric and adventurous - most things lacking from modern games. The game may be an fps but it has loads of puzzles and plots and sub-plots to make it compelling - as well as infuriating. This is kind of Indiana Jones meets Painkiller (but without the repetitious gameplay).

Enemy Territory is the online game that comes with this version, though you can now download this game for free (legally! Try Gamershell). Even so it is still worth buying just for the `main event'. I got mine for nine pounds from Amazon uk a year ago - so you may get it cheaper from there.

I recently downloaded Return to Castle Wolefenstein: Enemy Territory and loved it! It is ten times better than RTCW because it has ranks, promotions, features that no other MMOFPS has ever tried to accomplish. I recently became a vet at this game, if you are new at first person shooters than it will take a while to get used to this game. But it is fairly easy to get the hang of and hard to master. Very addicting as well. You'll spend hour after hour just playing the campaigns with other users.

Here is a little layout of the more popular Campaign levels:
Oasis- The allies are trying to blow up the anti-tank guns located at the other end of the fortress, You first have to take over the Axis base and cause hell for the axis. Then Attack their second base and win. If your the axis your obviously on the defensive.

Battery- Sort of like Omaha Beach in a sense, you are going up and taking over the Axis base and destroying their primary weapon. One the best levels, it's fun to be a sniper and go undercover in this level.

Fuel Dump- Probably the best of all the levels, again your the allies driving the axis back into their base and destroying the fuel dump. It's still the best because of the underground tunnel, the tank and some of the raiding you get to do.

Rail Gun- One of the only ones where the Allies are on the defensive. Axis is trying to load the rail gun and the allies are trying to prevent it. Another great map, very sweet if you ask me the graphics are phenomanal.

This game is probably not the best to buy considering its freeware and you can download it (Enemy Territory) but if you want to buy RTCW then buy this one and save the hastle of downloading and viruses.

This is a very good first person shooter with a good but not to thought out but good storyline. Every level fits in with it very good and your fighting because of the story line in a way. For the person who installed it and said its only multiplayer, not true. Its multiplayer AND singal player one of the disks is multiplayer and the other is singal player. The graphics are good but really not the best kinda wierd at parts (like one time a zombie walked threw a soldier and then the zombie blew up. Whats that?) The controls are hard to get used to be when you do its o.k. The games is really difficult at parts especially if you just kick down a door throw a gernade in and starts shootin (sometimes thats the funniest though ;)) Theres a huge selection of weapons includeding potato bashers (a type of gernade), dynamite (which is really neat i threw it on the floor below me and the floor i was on blew up!) a luger (pistol), tommy gun, flamthrower, and lots lots more. The enemys are neat included german soldiers zombies (kinda freak me out since they eat people...) and x mutants (they are creepy too). The zombies come in place when you come in the catacombes. They will surprise you by just bursting out of walls and floors which catchs you off guard especially when they come from behind. You can sometimes know theyre comeing when you hear a german soldier shoot, scream, then here flesh being eaten (its kinda gross if your up close and see it) The x mutants are german mutations by the ss division (which IS a real division of the (...) army and DID do odd eqperiments on people but never made mutants) Which are locked in deep catacombs and come out and well are nearly impossible to beat. All in all i give it a 8/10. Its pretty good but perhaps to difficult at parts and not the best graphics.

I remember when the first of this series came out. It was soooooooo far ahead of anything else. This version is so much fun and is challenging but will not frustrate you. If you like first person shooters, you will enjoy this title. I hope they bring out a sequel.

I started playing this game but haven't gotten around to finishing it yet. Never played the multi-player so I can't comment on that aspect of the game. The AI is fairly smart and the dialogue is cool, but it isn't nearly as impressive or engaging as NOLF. Some games I play for a while and then get bored with them and tossed them out. Not sure yet if RTCW will fall into that category.

This is a briliant game, and its not just online multiplayer. the online part is an add on. There is a very big single player game called.....return to castle wolfenstein. lol. the online game is enemy territory. oh yeah, and i got this game at target for 5 bucks! you cant beat that. you just cant.

this was a great game. for its time it is still fun to play.
shipping,packaging and delivery was very good. quick fast and on time.
game was in perfect condition, played very good in single player and worked on line as well. no problems or issues.
Thank you,