Wolfenstein

by ACTIVISION

Product Features

• Classic Wolfenstein multiplayer with an occult twist reminiscent of the heart-pounding and award winning class and objective based multiplayer of Return to Castle Wolfenstein.
• Amazing enemies the Nazis throw at you next as they bring their dark fantasies to life.
• Epic combat moments that unfold in movie-like action sequences as you fight to prevent the Nazis from unleashing the power of the Black Sun, a war-ending weapon of supernatural mass destruction.
• Unique environments overlapping this world and the Veil, a world between our reality and the occult underworld that offers you combat advantages but also new supernatural threats.
• The ability to battle with a diverse collection supernatural 'Veil Powers,' as well as Allied and Axis conventional weapons, all upgradable via an in-game black market.

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001CLYL1K
• Item Weight: 3.4 ounces
• Media: DVD-ROM
• Release Date: August 18, 2009
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (105 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,325 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #43 in Video Games > PC Games > Action > Shooter

Product Description

Platform: PC

Amazon.com Product Description

Wolfenstein is a supernatural/science fiction first-person shooter, based on the video game series developed by Id Software that has been a favorite of 2D and 3D gamers across multiple game iterations and platforms since the early 1980s. In this new take, players battle the Nazi's dark obsession with the occult through epic action and harrowing shooter combat. Filled with ferocious enemies, movie-quality action scenes, unique gameplay environments, an impressive array of weapons and compelling multiplayer gameplay options, it is truly a fitting new chapter in the history of this classic gaming franchise. Battle conventional enemies. View larger. And the supernatural. View larger. Collect and wield 'Veil Powers.' View larger. Explore multiplayer modes. View larger. Story The storyline of Wolfenstein picks up where the events of Return to Castle Wolfenstein left off. You play B.J. Blazkowicz, a highly decorated member of the Office of Secret Actions (OSA). You are sent on a special mission into the heart of the Third Reich to investigate evidence of the Nazi's possession of a new and mysterious power. But while behind enemy lines, you discover they have done much more than develop a new weapon. The Nazis are attempting to harness the supernatural power of an enormous energy source called 'Black Sun' which resides in a parallel dimension called 'The Veil.' Their goal is to use what they find to create supernatural weapons and soldiers of war-ending magnitude. Yours is to stop that from happening by any mean necessary. Gameplay Even though the game obviously features loads of Nazi enemies, Wolfenstein is not so much a World War II game, as a game centered around "dark science" and "Supernatural Science fiction." In it players move between the the parallel dimension of the Veil and that of our own as they command an enormous arsenal of conventional weapons or unleash the Nazi's own dark powers and perverted science against them with supernatural weapons and Veil-enhanced firepower. One of the major strengths of Wolfenstein is that it allows you to choose the way you want to play. Although as in previous games in the series B.J. Is a one man wrecking crew, he also works with a local resistance group. This means that players have the choice to follow the standard missions as they are revealed, take on requests from the resistance to explore the gameplay area and investigate the Nazi experiments, or to tackle the whole endeavor in multiplayer mode. Veil Power A huge part of Wolfenstein's sci-fi identification comes via gameplay that relies on the accumulation and use of a number of 'Veil Powers'. These powers though supernatural in origin, are used in large part by B.J. To magnify the effectiveness of his conventional weaponry and tactics. A sampling of these powers include: 'Mire,' which allows you to slow down time around B.J. So that he can take out enemies and obstructions such as machine gun nests, without the risk of taking severe damage; 'Veil Sight,' a sort of supernatural night vision that helps you see enemies in the dark; and 'Veil Shield,' which absorbs bullet fire and can be used as a battering ram in some circumstances. As with all the weapons in the game, all Veil Powers can be upgraded and indeed must be in some cases to proceed through the game. A notable caveat that comes along with the mastery of Veil Powers is that they do not necessarily guarantee overall success. As the game proceeds, the Nazis become aware of B.J. And his understanding and use of these powers and in response distribute 'Veil Inhibitors,' devices that negate the use of these Veil-powered abilities within range of them. This opens up a puzzle-solving aspect within Wolfenstein that require players to explore the environments around them to find the inhibitors and destroy them in order to proceed. Key Features Amazing Enemies - You never know what ferocious enemies the Nazis will throw at you next as they bring their dark fantasies to life. Epic Combat Moments - Experience movie-like epic action sequences as you fight to prevent the Nazis from unleashing the power of the Black Sun, a war-ending weapon of supernatural mass destruction. Unique Environments - Explore the mysteries of The Veil, a world between our reality and the occult underworld that offers you combat advantages but also new supernatural threats. Impressive Firepower - Go to battle with a diverse collection of Allied, Axis and experimental Nazi weapons. Earn gold by working with the resistance fighters, purchase upgrades in the black market, and customize your personal arsenal. Classic Wolfenstein Multiplayer with an Occult Twist - Revisit the heart-pounding and award winning class and objective based multiplayer of Return to Castle Wolfenstein; now with occult-enhanced firepower. Weapons Wolfenstein features a wide array of Allied, Axis and supernatural Nazi weapons. All of these can be upgraded using treasure in the form of gold, military intelligence and mystical tomes found throughout the game via the in-game black market. This escalation of firepower is important in order to match the growing power of mini-bosses and bosses faced with each successive game level. System Requirements: Minimum Specifications: OS: Windows Vista/Window XP Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 3.2 GHz or AMD Athlon(TM) 64 3400+ processor RAM: 1GB Video Card: 256MB NVIDIA(R) Geforce(R) 6800 GT or ATI Radeon(TM) X800 DirectX: 9.0c (included & required for Windows XP & Vista) Hard Drive Space: 8GB (Plus an additional 800MB for Windows swap file) Sound Card: 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card Other: Broadband connection and service required for multiplayer

Product Description

Classic Wolfenstein multiplayer with an occult twist reminiscent of the heart-pounding and award winning class and objective based multiplayer of Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Amazing enemies the Nazis throw at you next as they bring their dark fantasies to life. Epic combat moments that unfold in movie-like action sequences as you fight to prevent the Nazis from unleashing the power of the Black Sun, a war-ending weapon of supernatural mass destruction. Unique environments overlapping this world and the Veil, a world between our reality and the occult underworld that offers you combat advantages but also new supernatural threats. The ability to battle with a diverse collection supernatural 'Veil Powers,' as well as Allied and Axis conventional weapons, all up-gradable via an in-game black market.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Single Player Experience!, October 4, 2009

By 

GeeBee (CA USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wolfenstein (DVD-ROM)

My review is for the single player aspect of the game and in this regard this is the most fun I've had with a PC FPS in a while. I'm not a big fan of the military shooters i.e., Call of Duty, etc., just to give you an idea of my taste in games. So don't buy this game expecting a realistic military style shooter. However if the mixture of tackling evil Nazi's, the occult and using special powers combined with standard weapons sounds good to you then you will probably like this game.

Many fans of Return to Castle Wolfenstein have slammed this game and it's usually in regard to the multiplayer which I'm not writing about here. But if I were to compare the single player aspect of the two games this new installment wins hands down in my opinion. The hub style of design (which developer Raven excels in) makes the game feel less linear than just going from level 1 to level 2 and so on. Finding treasure and gold are still there (as it has been since the beginning of the franchise) but now it has a purpose in that it's used for buying weapon upgrades. The missions are varied and fun and the shooting mechanics of the game are spot on. The weapon sounds are very satisfying as well. The Veil (occult) Powers add a whole new aspect of gameplay to the franchise and I enjoyed playing with them in combination with the standard weapons, makes a nice one, two punch so to speak. I also enjoyed the occult style enemies that are mixed in with the standard Nazi fare. It kept things interesting. And the locales of the missions were nice and varied as well.

As for the graphics I'm using a 9800GT with everything turned up all the way and I think it looks fantastic contrary to what some have said. Who cares if this is an older engine, it's what you do with it and Raven has done a bang up job. I love the artwork and the textures are beautiful. This game has a very clean, vivid look to it as opposed to a lot of games that use tons of bloom effects and have a very saturated, blurry look to them. I've had zero technical issues with the game and I'm on my second play through.

Nothing is perfect and if I had to say anything derogatory about the game it would be that this game was clearly developed for consoles first and PC's second. Not being able to save whenever you want is standard issue for PC games and this game retains the checkpoint system of it's console counterpart. Also there aren't near enough ways to tweak the video settings as there should be. I really would have liked a contrast and gamma setting. In the gameplay department I always found it funny that NPC's would have conversations about you like you weren't there even though you're standing right next to them. But don't get me wrong, none of these issues spoil the game. They just bear mentioning.

Amazon is currently selling this game so cheap I think it's a no-brainer. For fans of single player FPS's I say buy it!

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More fun the more you play, September 24, 2009

By 

Cheezr (Boynton Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Wolfenstein (DVD-ROM)

I have to add this review as my original review was not as flattering and i have changed my mind (or lost it?)
But seriously the more i play Wolfy, the more i like it. The initial 10% of the game
is awkward until you are able to purchase some weapon upgrades which relieves
their clumsiness. The plot is fun and the gameplay is fun. there is no platforming or
puzzle solving but searching for gold and intel is pretty much as good.

Not having played any of the previous Wolfs I had no expecatations and found
the game a fun single player first person shooter, if you are looking for more than that
well YMMV!

I dinged one star off because 1) the save files can not be backed up or moved and
2) the game has crashed on me several times (but i never lost any progress or goodies).

64 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Short, Lacks Polish, Multiplayer is Bad, August 19, 2009

By 

J. V. Spirig "JVS" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Wolfenstein (DVD-ROM)

I have loved the Wolfenstein series since I first played the original back in 1992. The new game, Wolfenstein, is a standout amongst other great titles in that it lacks polish, has below-average graphics, and a multiplayer mode that feels more like Goldeneye than Enemy Territory.

Graphics:
The graphics seems like an enchancement to the 2001 Return to Castle Wolfenstein release as opposed to a generational improvement one might expect from the seven plus years since the last episode was released. Uniforms and clothing move awkwardly on the models and faces appear to have 2-3 expressions per model. Anti-aliasing seems to be unavailable from the options menu and the graphical presentation suffers for it. Finally, the cutscenes are presented in a surprisingly low quality mode. In RTCW cutscenes were rendered in the resolution setting of the game mode. Mysteriously, Wolfenstein seems to step down your quality settings by a large degree to present the cutscenes.

Having recently played through Doom 3 again, I would give that title the edge on graphical presentation. One positive note is the quality of the effect as you slip in and out of "the veil."

Overall: 4/10 - Below Average for bad cutscenes, lack of AA, lack of improvement

Audio:
The 5.1 and 7.1 modes are great. Sound effect quality is lacking. Guns have a "far away" and a "next to your head" sound, with not much in between. There are not many sound effects for ricochets, stuff hitting different surfaces, etc. While not wholly terrible, it lacks the polish of titles with great sound like Far Cry 2 or Fallout 3.

Overall: 7/10 - Slightly above average for quality of 5.1/7.1

Gameplay:
This is a major sticking point with me. In RTCW and Enemy Territory, the character seemed to move fluidly around the environment. Wolfenstein has the same FPS feel as the previous titles, but the character transitions between weapons, jumps, crouches, etc in a more awkward manner. If you wish to test this, try running and then shooting. It feels as if your character runs into a wall and a bullet suddently flies out.

Overall: 6/10 - Serviceable gameplay, but nothing exceptional

Multiplayer:
Wow, this was the worst disappointment. If you played Enemy Territory from RTCW you know what good multiplayer is. Multiplayer mode in Wolfenstein is BAD. If you played Goldeneye in 1995 then you have played Wolfenstein multiplayer. You pick a gun, pick a class (that barely seems to matter), then you go to a tiny map where people with life bars over their head are shooting you while permastrafing. There is very little strategy, the graphical presentation is laggy (even with 100fps and 40ms ping), and the maps are basically big squares with objectives in the middle. A big step backwards with absolutely no improvements since WolfET came out 7 years ago.

Overall: 1/10 - I gave it one point because it worked. Other than that I wont even load the multplayer mode again

Fun:
The single player mode is somewhat entertaining because they continue along the lines of Return to Castle Wolfenstein (RTCW). Story elements are presented much in the same manner to RTCW, cutscenes interspersed during and in between core missions. The voice acting is good, but the story is nearly identical to RTCW. After 4 hours of gameplay you are likely to have completed nearly half the game. (there is a convenient slider bar to notify you of this every time you check your inventory). The multiplayer mode is so awful that there is limited replayability. The entire thing feels like a bad console port.

Overall: 5/10 for good story, good voice acting, but the rest is humdrum.

FINAL SCORE: 4.6/10

I do not recommend this game and actually feel somewhat cheated given that I pre-paid $50 for this three months ago. Is a 8-10 hour single player campaign and 12 poorly designed multiplayer maps worth 50$?

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