Price: £39.99 Players: 1-2 Widescreen: No 60Hz: No Dolby Digital 5.1 sound: Yes Xbox Live-enabled: Yes Game Type: Military-style FPS (First-Person Shooter) This title has been around for a while, but as with all Xbox games, the Play Live option adds an entirely new dimension. You are B. J. Blazkowicz, a ruthless Army Ranger recruited into the Office of Secret Actions (OSA), tasked with penetrating the deepest and darkest realms of the Third Reich in an attempt to put paid to Heinrich Himmler's occult and genetic experiments with the living dead. Initially teamed with another OSA operative, Agent One, you begin your journey in Egypt where the pair uncovers the early stages of Himmler's plans. After being grounded by anti-aircraft artillery fire, you must overcome capture and the death of your new partner as you battle throngs of the Fuhrer's brainwashed soldiers and hordes of zombies in an epic campaign, which spans the globe from Egypt to Norway and the heart of Nazi Germany. The game features the most twisted and frightening enemies, including: SS Guards patrolling forests and secret military installations, zombies unleashed in ancient crypts, the mutant X-creatures - the product of the hideous secret X-lab facilities, and the terrifying Occult Priest.

Made for the Xbox, Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War delivers Dolby Digital 5.1 audio; new monsters, weapons, and useable items; an expanded story line, including new missions, co-op play, and full Xbox Live; and System Link multiplayer support for the definitive Xbox experience. Tactical combat: Every situation is different, and players must survey each potential combat situation and decide how best to approach the combat, by either using stealth or overwhelming firepower. With a robust scripting system and life-like A.I. and animation systems, tactical combat reaches all-new levels. CO-OP Action - The Allies only remaining hope in the battle against the insidious Reich lies in the hands of two men: B. J. Blazkowicz and his new partner Agent One. This Xbox exclusive split-screen co-op mode allows two friends to battle as B. J. Blazkowicz and Agent One through the entire single player campaign. Multiplayer Warfare - Using Xbox Live or System Link, Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War multiplayer pits you in a team-based Axis versus Allies contest for front-line domination, where multiple player classes must mobilize and work together to accomplish mission objectives. Styles of play range from Objective mode all the way to a team-based Elimination mode. With battlefields designed specifically for play on the Xbox, players can enlist up to eight versus eight for fast and furious combat. Xbox Live players can invite other players from their buddy list to their game or jump straight into the action using Xbox Live Matchmaking to find a favourite style of gameplay. With the Xbox Live Communicator and full voice masking capabilities, you can verbally coordinate attacks, communicate enemy positions, or scream for a medic. Tactical Combat - Every situation is different and you must survey each potential combat situation and decide how best to approach the combat by either using stealth or overwhelming firepower. With a robust scripting system and life-like AI and animation systems, tactical combat is taken to new levels.

Graphics, Sound and Playability comments: Multiplayer warfare: Using Xbox Live or System Link, the game's Multiplayer modes pit players in a team-based Axis-vs.-Allies contest for front-line domination, where multiple player classes must mobilise and work together to accomplish mission objectives. Styles of play range from Objective mode all the way to a team-based Elimination mode. With battlefields designed specifically for play on the Xbox, players can enlist up to eight vs. eight for fast and furious combat. Xbox Live players can invite other gamers from their list of friends to their game or jump straight into the action, using Xbox Live Matchmaking to find a favourite style of gameplay. With the Xbox Live Communicator and full voice-masking capabilities, players can verbally coordinate attacks, communicate enemy positions, or scream for a medic.

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Review copyright © Seeka, 2003.

Games reviewed by Seeka are played on a 32" Sony Trinitron widescreen TV with 5.1 Dolby, linked to a Technics entertainment system with 5.1 Dolby through an SA-DV170 amplifier and SH-DV170 sound processor, using a standard Xbox and an Xbox Controller S.

Live-enabled Xbox games are played on the same system via a Belkin Gateway cable/DSL router through a 1 Mb NTL broadband cable modem connection using the Xbox communicator system.

Warning: When you try to connect to Xbox Live using a chipped Xbox, the mod chip is detected when you connect, and your machine's ID is then read, and added to a banned list. Even if you remove the mod chip afterwards, your machine cannot be unbanned, as it's Microsoft's belief that it can never be seen as trustworthy again.