I love first-person shooters, and it's taken me a while to
get round to playing Return to Castle Wolfenstein,
but it's certainly been worth the wait.
Regular PC gamers will know that the original Wolfenstein 3D game
was the one from id software that set the wheels in motion for Doom, Quake
and the subsequent sequels and since their last PC game, Quake 3, was
multiplayer-only I was crying out for a single-player game again and this
one doesn't disappoint... much, but just a little.
The graphics are everything you'd expect from an id FPS - well-detailed and
fast. I thought at first that the guards started to act in a slightly unrealistic
way when you shot them and they do to a degree - the way they sort of statically
slide down steps while still in a horizontal position, for example - but this
doesn't cause too much of a problem when the rest of the game is as much fun
as it should be. However, while it does look up-to-date compared to its origins,
it still looks like it could have been made any time in the last 2-3 years.
The audio holds few surprises, but it creates exactly the right kind of
atmosphere, aiding the game as you creep up to the guards, often stopping for
a little while to eavesdrop on an enemy conversation before storming in and shooting
them all dead. Weaponry also hits the right note, particularly when you get behind
the trigger of a gattling gun and aim at the Nazi onslaught.
I haven't tried the multiplaying section yet as I'm the type of FPS
gamer who mainly sticks to the single-player mode. Originally, this was because
I only had a standard 56k modem and the lag of online gaming was too much to
bear.
Since installing an ADSL modem though, my excuse is that I still get shot
down in flames instantly, but I'm slightly more ready for it because what I
can see onscreen is actually happening now and I'm not three seconds behind
the other participants!
However you play it, it's definitely worth a play while we wait for id to
turn out a third Doom version.
Just one slight final niggle - when you're killed for the first time after
quicksaving a game, it'll load you back into the saved gaem BEFORE that, so
you have to reload your last save. Why?
GRAPHICS SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC PLAYABILITY ENJOYMENT
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
I love first-person shooters, and it's taken me a while to
get round to playing Return to Castle Wolfenstein,
but it's certainly been worth the wait.
The graphics are everything you'd expect from an id FPS - well-detailed and
fast. I thought at first that the guards started to act in a slightly unrealistic
way when you shot them and they do to a degree - the way they sort of statically
slide down steps while still in a horizontal position, for example - but this
doesn't cause too much of a problem when the rest of the game is as much fun
as it should be. However, while it does look up-to-date compared to its origins,
it still looks like it could have been made any time in the last 2-3 years.
I haven't tried the multiplaying section yet as I'm the type of FPS
gamer who mainly sticks to the single-player mode. Originally, this was because
I only had a standard 56k modem and the lag of online gaming was too much to
bear.
