RETURN TO CASTLE WOLFENSTEIN
Developer: Gray Matter / Nerve
Publisher: Activision
Game Type: First Person Shooter
Similar To: Quake/Unreal

Date: 3/11/2002
By: Rice

Note: Screenshots courtesy of FiringSquad.com

    For many gamers in their early 20's, the name Wolfenstein brings a silly, nostalgic grin to their faces. I know, because I am one of them. My very first PC, a blistering 40 MHz 386, came preloaded with id Software's breakthru hit Wolfenstein 3D. The ability to play in a first person mode blew me away, and I have become a slave for FPS's ever since.

    A dozen years later, B.J. Blazkowicz is back, and this time, he's in true polygonal 3D. Unfortunately, while he's been in hibernation, the FPS genre evolved like a radioactive freak. Long gone are the days of find the key, open the door, and find the next key. These days, you had best bring something worthwhile to the table, or else be left behind to eat the dust of better titles. Okay, now that I have made myself as vague as possible, I will deliver the bad news first: RtCW has a highly ho-hum single player campaign.

Back to the scene of crime at Castle Wolfenstein.

    Not that it's horrid by any stretch of the imagination. It's just very... mediocre. If an alien from the Alpha Quadrant landed in my backyard and asked me to show him/her/it the quintessential FPS of today, I would quietly boot up RtCW. If you took a big pot, threw in every FPS ever made into it, turn the heat up to 450 and stirred, you would get RtCW. Anyways, you get my point, and besides, I am out of ridiculous analogies.

    Its graphics are powered by id's venerable Quake III engine, and they are mighty fine indeed. The textures are highly detailed, and their colors are deep and vibrant. Character models are also fluid and realistic. B.J.'s missions range from expansive Nazi camps to zombie infested catacombs to gorgeous medieval castle grand halls. It also incorporated one of the most effective night levels I have ever experienced. Being shot at in a moon-less night is highly unnerving, especially when your health is down to the teens. And no, turning up the gamma does not help. It only turns the pitch blackness into pitch grayness.

Low on health? Nothing like a hot meal to fix that.

    Gameplay wise, RtCW draws on the tried and true. All the puzzles are one-dimentional. as in there is only one way to solve them. And they aren't even clever puzzles. One way to think of them is like a maze. You wander around until you find a fork in your path. You choose one way, and find that it is locked. So you back track, and go the other way. Eventually, when you've traversed that way long enough, you'll find that it leads to the other side of that locked door you ran into a bit earlier. How cute. Rinse, lather and repeat. Along the way, you merrily exterminate either Nazi's or undead zombies. Sound familiar? It should to anybody who has ever cracked open several FPS's in their lifetime.

    The folks who developed the single player at Gray Matter must also have been big fans of Monolith's No One Lives Forever. RtCW is not unlike a massive deja vu attack of NOLF, except a notch below. For example, some levels require complete stealth... a gameplay attribute made famous by Monolith's game. In one particular office level in NOLF, I was practically sweating bullets dodging employees and rotating cameras. Wolfy, on the other hand, doesn't quite pull it off as well. Also in Wolfy, the Nazi guards talk idly in broken english, much like NOLF's NPC's. The difference is that the latter has hilarious dialogue and I would find myself camping around the corner listening to their bantering. The former tries to be funny, but instead just makes want to decapitate them as soon as possible to shut 'em up.

Castle Wolfenstein sure has changed.

    Another thorn in RtCW is their unbelievably tedious mission briefing cutscenes. You basically have two types: one where a bunch of military leaders in a conference room monotenously drone on and on about some Nazi mess that you're eventually have to clean up, and one that takes place in the oval office or something, where an advisor is advising the president to send you out into the heart of Hitler's camps and make like John Rambo. Nothing exciting ever happens in those cutscenes. They're supposed to give the plot some soul, but they're not the least bit engaging because they're so boring. You never even get to see yourself in said conferences or hear yourself say a single word. Bottom line is, there is nothing that draws you into either the plot of the missions, or the characters that are involved... integral elements to any good story.

    At the risk of sounding like one of those jaded critics that can sap the fun out of even Happy Fun Land, I will now promptly turn a 180 and lavish praise upon praise for RtCW's multiplayer aspect. Not to take any credit away from Gray Matter, but the boys at Nerve are what gives this game some spine against the competition. Some people have even gone as far as to say RtCW is essentially a multiplayer game with a single player component tacked on. The truth is, Nerve was brought onboard pretty late into the development to do the multiplayer section, and by golly, I'd hate to think of the state the game'd be in without them.

Damn these zombies and their bulletproof shields.

    I first experienced Wolfy multiplayer in our annual Winter break LAN party. However, 3 on 3 Axis vs. Allies makes for a pretty pathetic war, so I shall let our resident RtCW owner, Cruise, voice out exactly how much butt this kicks (... huh??).

***

    Ever since I bought my copy of RTCW, it’s been only once that I’ve taken advantage of multiplayer (my only real reason to buying the game, btw). During that time, I’ve drowned myself into Counter-Strike and Medal of Honor: Allied Assault online while RTCW was sitting in my drive collecting digital dust. It was only through the request of Rice did I resurrect the game to write about the online aspect of the game. So how did it fare against the regulars? I’d have to admit, it has conquered my daily gaming orgasms and more. My sleeping patterns are off the whack during the week as the game penetrates through my mind only to find myself screaming in my dreams, "Diffuse the bomb! Defend our objective!!"

    Ok, maybe not that far-but damn close.

Got a mummy infestation problem? Give me a call!

    Since the game is based on WWII, you have two teams to choose from: Allies and the Axis. Each team has specified objectives in each map, whether it be planting the bomb and stealing an item or simply guarding numerous flag posts. There are four different classes to choose from: Lieutenant, Soldier, Medic, and Engineer. Each class has their own strengths and weaknesses, therefore teams that are well balanced across the classes are more likely to succeed. I personally prefer using the Engineer and the Medic since they play a very important active role in most maps. Here’s a breakdown of each class:

    Lieutenant: He has the ability to drop ammo packs for his team, which is the only way to obtain ammo. He can also drop a smoke grenade to call an air strike or an artillery strike with his binoculars. The Lt. is probably best at penetrating or defending in open fields with his air strikes.

Flame thrower = Sweeeeet.

    Soldiers: The most versatile class is the soldier. He has the ability to drop his gun and pick up any guns that are on the battle field. The flamethrower, the panzerfaust, the venom are some of the most potent weapons that he has at his disposal. The heavy weaponry that he possesses comes at a cost of his mobile speed, however.

    Engineer: Possibly one of the most important classes is the Engineer. He has the ability to plant dynamite that is crucial in certain areas in a map. Complementing the ability to arm dynamite, he’s the only one who can defuse one as well. On top of that, he can repair stationary machine guns if need be. He also carries the most hand grenades out of his entire team, which makes him the best grenade spammer in the game.

Looking at natural green supposedly soothes the eyes.

    Medic: The backbone of the team is the Medic. To prevent your teammates from going into limbo mode (which I’ll explain in a minute), medics have the ability to revive the wounded with a syringe and heal with medpacks. Gibbed teammates (e.g. ones that ALMOST dodged an enemy grenade. --ed) cannot be revived, however. Also, just the fact that there is a medic on the team automatically increases the whole team’s health by 10 points. Medics carry only 1 full round of ammo at spawn, which makes them quite vulnerable.

    RTCW possess a unique spawning system that provides reinforcements in sequential intervals. Axis are on 40 second intervals while Allies are on 30 second intervals in one map. Lets say you’re an Ally and you’ve been gibbed by an air strike 5 seconds before the 30 second interval has counted down, you need to only wait 5 seconds to respawn. If you happen to miss your chance to respawn on that interval, you must wait till the following interval counts down to zero. During that time, you will be in limbo mode and you can do several things in that mode. You can change your class or weapon, change your spawn point, change sides, issue commands to other limbo teammates, or go into chase cam.

Quaint little cabin in the countryside.

    The need to be a certain class depends on the situation of the map. If the gates have been breached and there are no further points to be detonated, then the Engineer has no further objectives to be fulfilled and it’s probably beneficial if you switched to a different class to adapt to the needs of the situation. Adaptation is the key to raise the chance of success of your team on each map. That also applies to adapting well within your team. You should try to fill the spots that aren’t filled such as being a medic when there is lack of or a soldier with a venom if there is another soldier with a flamethrower. One of my favorite tactics is teaming up a Lieutenant with a Medic since the Lieutenant can supply ammo and the Medic can watch his back and supply medpacks. Variety and balance contributes to the chances of success. If you can play your rounds with strategy, I’m sure you’re bound to have a very rewarding experience online.

***

This fool was on the wrong end of my automatic sten.

    If Cruise did not make it abundantly clear enough, Wolfenstein multiplayer is FUN FUN FUN. For example, one level takes place at the infamous Omaha Beach. Allies must breach the sea walls and steal intelligence while the Axis must prevent it from happening within a certain time limit. The Allies start off coming onto the shore while the Axis man the artillery and turrets in the far end. Allies initially fall like flies against enemy howitzers, but push on and on. As you can deduce, this makes for some seriously intense scenarios that only the most tightly knit team can pull through for victory.

    To summarize, I must emphasize that while I generally found the singleplayer to be lacking, especially in hindsight, I am somewhat biased due to the great affection I hold for the original Wolfenstein 3D. To expect RtCW to give me the same reaction as it's predecessor is probably unfair objectively speaking on my part, yet I am only human and could not help it. I say this now because I don't want you to think it's not worth playing. The single player is actually very solid, and worth at least a run through by any FPS fan. As long as you keep your expectations in reality check, you'll stop nitpicking and have fun... something I realized a wee bit too late into the game.

Don't tell me... more zombies bursting out of the floor.

Final Grade: B+
Summary: Mediocre single player aspect. Multiplayer single handedly garners RtCW a B+.

Gratuitous Screenshots:

None this time, sorry. Isn't the above ten enough?