Official Website

Platform: PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC

Genre: First Person Shooter

Number of Players: 1

I’m sure there are quite a few gamers looking at just the cover alone of this and thinking to themselves that it’s another first-person shooter that’s trying to cash in on the success of the genre, and especially taking a cue from the Medal of Honor series. On the other hand, there certainly has to be old school gamers out there that know the name Wolfenstein quite well. While the FPS genre has taking the gaming world by storm, spawning more clones than what the Empire ever could, it was obvious early on that its true roots were quickly forgotten by many. Doom, for whatever reason, has always been the game that’s always been pseudonymous with the FPS genre as a whole. Perhaps it was the over abundance of blood letting that made it a highly sought after title by gamers and the bane of many parent groups across the country. And while Doom has long been remember as “the” FPS game and “the one that started it all,” the accuracy of that statement is about as close to the true as it would be to call Tekken the first fighting game.

Before Doom, there was Wolfenstein 3-D, but it didn’t have quite the beginning that you would think. In fact, Wolfenstein itself never started as a first person game, but instead was a very simple overhead game featuring a map that you navigated your stick figure across in hopes of leaving the WWII castle to escape from Nazi’s. It may not be as high tech as today’s game, in more or less played itself out as a cheap imitation of the old school game Venture, but it captured fans imaginations. The moderate success led to the development of the world’s first “3-D” game, none other than Wolfenstein 3-D. Once again players found themselves trying to escape the castle, this time it was free roaming and not nearly as rudimentary as the previous titles in the series.

That was way back in 1991, and now, over 10 years later, the time has come to bring Wolfenstein back into the public mind.

The year is 1943, and Hitler has put together a new division known to allied forces as the Paranormal SS. Their mission remains somewhat of a mystery, but the one thing that’s certain is that they are attempting to do something to turn the tides of war in their favor. That’s where B.J. Blazkowicz comes into the picture. Blazkowicz has been brought in to find out what the Germans are up to, starting at an archeological dig in Egypt. It will take stealth, perseverance, and killing a few hundred Nazi’s to get to the bottom of things and discover what exactly this new Paranormal division is trying to achieve.

For many, Return to Wolfenstein will certainly seem like it has some ideas that are taken straight out of Medal of Honor, but remember again that Wolfenstein predates the series by several years. This is more or less a sort of reworking of a classic, and one that has been long overdue. Players aren’t going to start at Wolfenstein however, as one might expect, although paying a visit back to the sinister castle does come into play. No, instead Wolfenstein goes for something a little more important, a storyline. From the first cut scene, Wolfenstein shows that it’s setting out to provide something a little more than just another WWII shooter. The game opens with a climactic battle between the forces of good and evil some 1000 years prior, and a mystic relic that proves to be monumental in the grand scheme of things, and is one of the main things that the new Paranormal Division is after. What this means is that there are gong to be more than just Nazi’s to take out, and the undead become a part of the action, making this also a sort of Resident Evil or House of the Dead shooter combined with WWII action.

But, Wolfnestein also doesn’t really set out to do much of anything different either. This has both a positive and negative side. Really, what sort of new thing can be done with the genre? We’ve seen just about every play on the whole FPS game and it seems that at this point, not much else can really be done with it. Instead, Wolfenstein aims to offer up good, classic game play above trying to add in something new that will either be accepted or immediately bashed by critics and fans alike. There are a few interesting things throw in though. Chairs can be picked up and used as a means to reach higher places that would normally be out of your reach, which really isn’t bad thinking at all. It doesn’t offer much to change the overall play; it’s just an interesting addition that really hasn’t been used too much in the past. Stealth plays a small role, but does become a big factor in some levels. The Nazi cowards will sound an alarm, if available, if they spot you, bringing back up running and making your job a little harder. If you’re careful though, you can take out quite a few of them without being detected. Additionally, you have the option to peak around corners, making some tasks a little easier, and giving you the upper hand in many cases. The only problem with this is that it can be a little difficult to fire since the control combination is a bit awkward.

Like just about every FPS, you also have some hidden areas as well as treasure that you can steal from the Nazi’s. The end of each level will tally up the total amount of points you get for finding treasure and these can be spent on upgrades for your character. You can increase your total amount of health, armor, or ammo, or you can even start the level with full health, or anything else that you’d like. If you don’t’ have enough points to spend though, don’t worry. You can hold onto them and spend them when you’ve accumulated enough for whatever increase you’re trying to aiming to get.

While there’s not a huge variation in the types of enemies that you’ll run across, there are plenty of weapons. There are many variations including two different pistols, sub machine guns, grenades, a flamethrower, and even rocket launcher. Some weapons have a heat level and if you’re not careful, you’ll find yourself the unhappy owner of an overheated weapon at just the wrong time. Of course, anyone who knows my thoughts on the FPS genre knows that there is one weapon that always manages to capture my heart, and if you’re wondering if it’s here, it most certainly is. The sniper rifle, my weapon of choice for obvious reasons, and Wolfenstein even has one with infrared. Okay, maybe it doesn’t sound like the thing you’d find in WWII, but keep in mind that if you research history, the Nazi’s were hard at work on various advanced weapons, so that can easily be used as an explanation on why you’ve got one in the game. Besides, there’s zombies, and that wasn’t something used to achieve victory in the war.

One thing that was a little unexpected though was ricochet. There’s nothing worse than taking shots at an undead, armored foe, wondering why it hasn’t dropped yet, and seeing your health dropping, It’s not often that this sort of thing is used in games, and it’s great to see someone take it into consideration. What was overlooked though was the pure and simple logic of some things being able to be destroyed. While Red Faction II gave us the option to destroy and blow up just about everything, that’s not the case here at all, and it’s certainly something that was missed by this player. It seems that in WWII, things like lamps and books are made of some futuristic alloy that gives them the benefit of not being affected by gunfire or explosives in the least. And while these items get the privilege of invulnerability, the civilians do not. One stray shot and you’ll be starting the level over, or at the very least from where you last saved. Yes, Wolfenstein will let you save at any point during a level, letting you forgo having to start at the very being of a stage.

With so much time having passed between the original Wolfenstein and this latest incarnation, the graphics have improved drastically. But, how do they stand up to some of the other FPS titles of recent years? Not very well unfortunately, with the game being “the one to beat,” at least in my opinion, being Time Splitters 2. Some of the graphics come across as being a little jagged at time and not quite as well refined as other titles in the genre. The cut scenes, while not horrible, don’t quite come up to the level that we see from most of the Japanese design teams, but that’s a very big hurdle, and one that unfortunately every American game company has to face. While the level design is done fairly well, none of them are anything very extraordinary to look at and certainly aren’t something that brings about a feeling of awe or wonder.

Wolfenstein also has a tendency for poor hit detection. Let me see if I have this straight: a single head shot from my rifle, once I have the sniper scope, will drop just about any enemy. However, if I manage to sneak in close enough and pull out a sub-machine gun, aim at the head, and then fire a couple of bursts, the Nazi still manages to turn around and take a couple of shots at me? I don’t think so. Even some of the terrain has some glitches programmed in, resulting in those mysterious floating bodies from time to time. However, it’s a problem that’s been inherent in the game industry for many years now, and one that’s probably not going to see any resolution any time soon.

The controls are a little on the frustrating side at first and certainly take some getting used to. They can be changed of course, but for some reason the design team went in a different direction with the weapon selection. Generally, most FPS titles use the shoulder buttons of the PS2 controller to scroll through the available weapons, but that’s not the case here. Instead, you use the buttons, Square and Circle respectively, and it’s not a combination that is generally used for the most part. These are the same buttons that are used incidentally for the sniper scope. Again, it’s something that takes a little getting used to, but forgivable once it’s burned into your mind.

Last on the list of flaws is the lack or multiplayer modes, at least for the PS2 version anyway. Wolfenstein is a single player game and completely lacks all the entertaining multiplayer modes that we’ve all used to make our friends look foolish after we’ve played through the game countless times. Even worse is the fact that there is absolutely no online support in the least. Why it is that designers and overlooking the PS2 having online play and going more for the X-Box is somewhat of a mystery. The titles that would make a great online game, such as this one, fail to do so while those that really have no need to being online, like Tony Hawk, continue to make an effort to capture an online audience.

Even with its flaws though, Wolfenstien isn’t a horrible game in the least. It may not be something that’s going to cause a stampede at the retail shops, but it’s also not something that is going to cause anyone to turn away from the genre either. Those of us that remember Wolfenstein are more than pleased to see it finally make a return to the gaming arena after such a long absence, and it makes the subtitle of Operation Resurrection apply so much more in this case. Obviously, there are those that are a little more spoiled and jaded when it comes to the world of the FPS, seeing games like Halo and Unreal as being more relevant. But, no matter what your school of though, the fact is that this is the return of the originator or the first-person shooter world, and while it may not necessarily be a return that’s going to make huge waves in the industry, its one that deserves respect nonetheless and will almost certainly be enjoyed by the die-hard fans of the genre.

-mike-