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Print"Return to Castle Wolfenstein"
Matt Noyes reviews the WWII-inspired game with a mission to take down the Third Reich.
Publisher: Gray Matter Interactive
Release date: Nov. 19, 2001
Price: $6-$17
Game systems: PC (original), PlayStation 2 (“Operation Resurrection”), XBox (“Tides of War”)
If I were to compile a list of several eclectic wonders, items like “RtCW” would dominate it. Let’s get one thing clear: I love killing Nazis. I’ll never get bored of dangling Hitler from the top of the Reichstag by his ankles, and I’ll definitely never get bored of alternate-reality weirdness-type stuff. “RtCW” combines your average rock-solid WWII shooter with zombies, Nazi beasts, dreadful voiceovers and an overall “Doom 3” pre-cursor feel. Did I mention that there are undead Nazis? Achtung, baby!
“RtCW” delivers both frightening supernatural thrills and intense, cinematic shootouts — all before the notion of combining the two arose. Meet B.J. Blaskowicz, or Indiana Jones as a soulless OSS agent without the encyclopedic knowledge of history. The PC version kicks off with a vengeance-driven quest through an Austrian castle, of the Wolfenstein-ish variety. These filthy Huns kill your homeboy Agent One and you’ve got no choice but to blast your way out. The game features an overtly dark tone, riddled with conspiracies and the like, but it also features a barrage of weapons including the quirky Luger pistol, the infamous MP-40, and the ultra-rare FG-42 paratrooper rifle. In fact, there are too many weapons to cycle through quickly. Not good when the going gets rough.
A video game is something that only seems completely sane to its writer. It’s unfortunate that not everyone can see the full extent of his or her vision, since some of these visions can be quite good. “RtCW” is a rare exception — I feel like it’s exactly what the creators put on the drawing board. Apart from some questionable voice work and some downright laughable facial expressions, the game looks great, particularly in the lighting department. It’s one of my favorite games of all time. In terms of gameplay, it’s no revolution but gets you from A to B. There is also a rather whiny difficulty curve, but at this point, I’m just nitpicking. A sequel is due out very soon and looks to be apocalyptically good.
Matt Noyes is a TulsaPeople editorial intern. Have a video game you’d like him to review? E-mail contactus@tulsapeople.com.
