Whether you liked the
original Wolfenstein or not, whether you like id Software or not, and whether
you like John Carmack or not … if you are an FPS fan, there is some respect that
needs to be given there since if it wasn’t for those three things, FPS games as
we know them today may have never come along. Wolfenstein kicked the whole thing
off way back in the late 80’s / early 90’s, and while it wasn’t quite as popular
as Doom … it was the first of its kind. About a decade and a year or two later,
id decided to unleash Return to Castle Wolfenstein onto the PC, which met with
big popularity and hype. Now, PS2 owners can revel in the enjoyment as well with
a direct port from the computer with a couple of extras.
For anyone who hasn’t played
the original Wolfenstein or Return to Castle Wolfenstein on PC yet, the plot is
a typical id Software creepy fragfest. You take the role of Sgt. BJ Blaskowitz
as he and another agent known creatively enough as “Agent One” are assigned to
travel to Egypt to investigate recent Nazi activity in an ancient Egyptian
burial site. After finding out that Himmler’s SS Paranormal division is behind
all of the activity, BJ and Agent One head out to Castle Wolfenstein to try and
figure out what the Reich is up to. Well, they make it into Wolfenstein … but as
prisoners after their plane is shot down. I won’t go into any more of the story
here so I don’t give anything away … but be prepared for some weird storylines
and a whole heck of a lot of killing.
RtCW is reminiscent of your
typical FPS game. You run around various levels solving very simple switch based
puzzles and blasting holes in just about every other thing that moves which in
this title consists of Nazi soldiers, zombies, undead experiments, and some
really bizarre creations that only id Software could fathom up. In order to be a
one man army, you also get such neat toys to play with as an MP-40 machine gun,
grenades, flame throwers, and sniper rifles just to name a few. There are also
armor boosting helmets and flak jackets to make you a little more bulletproof,
and some mounted 50 caliber guns that you can jump behind from time to time to
help increase the body count in your favor. Altogether it’s a good recipe for a
good, fast paced action title without a whole lot of wandering back and forth
trying to figure out what stone fits in what hole to slow down the action. There
are secrets that can be found though, and finding them will earn points that can
be traded in at the end of a level to do things like increase health allowance,
armor percentage, or extra stuff to carry.
The first thing that was
pretty neat about RtCW on PS2 is the fact that you actually get about 7 – 8
levels up front set in Egypt that PC owners didn’t get that explain a little
more of the back story and help make a little more sense about why you’re there
to begin with. The developers also did a good job blending them not only into
the storyline, but also in making sure that the graphics or overall feel of the
game didn’t change either. This point obviously also extends gameplay out a
little bit and while the game itself on the computer wasn’t a one or two day
thing (and isn’t here either), there’s just more of it to enjoy.
Another thing that was good
and will also make PS2 owners happy is that all of the Wolfenstein parts of the
game are a direct port of the PC version, plain and simple. Granted, they aren’t
running in the high resolution textures of a PC, but the fact that all of the
levels, secrets, bad guys, and even a save anywhere feature were incorporated
can allow you to run back to all of your PC friends who brag about playing it so
you can tell them that you played it too … plus you get that little extra up
front that they didn’t get for an added bonus.
RtCW all in all is a great
port of the PC title, but there were a couple of things that didn’t make it to
the console version that sadly could have been improved on. The biggest one that
apparently hit the cutting room floor was the multiplayer version, both online
and off. One of the coolest things about RtCW when I played it on PC was the
online levels, which were loud, dark, and had cool things like rushing a beach
Normandy style or looking to swipe German documents from a secured area. Even a
split screen would have been nice, but unfortunately this is only a single
player game that severely hinders the replay area. Once you beat it, there are
higher difficulty levels to play on or secrets in each level that you can go
back and find, but most people I know (me included) don’t see this as a reason
to start all the way over again.
Secondly, this game is a
true “run and gun shooter” style … so don’t be expecting well-trained enemies to
be your problem. There are a lot of them, and firefights are fun and can get
really intense, but you can also eliminate a large number of bad guys by simply
kicking a door in, moving to the side, and waiting. To the game’s credit,
wounded enemies are more likely to run behind an object or behind a wall, but
this usually only happens if you are a good distance away. Up close, they will
stand their ground and return fire until one of you is dead.
The last possible bigger
issue that I could see here (which will probably be seen as a plus for run and
gun kill fanatics) is the fact that the game has mission objectives, but they
are very basic things like “find the exit for this item” or “meet up with this
person” and there’s really no challenge to them. Since the game’s levels are
very linear in nature and there’s not a whole lot of area to explore except for
a few secret areas, it doesn’t make it too hard to get from A to B and the
majority or the puzzles are simply “throw the switch”. This does help to focus
on blowing people away rather than becoming a detective, but it just falls in
line with 30 other titles that are out right now.
Graphically, as I mentioned
earlier, the game doesn’t look as good as the PC version … but it looks really
good overall for the lower powered PS2. There were some good lighting and area
effects that were done here, and the enemy animations looked decent overall even
though there is no reaction or movement from them when they are shot during a
firefight. There were also some collision detection issues that I found as well
mostly in the Egypt levels where things like a killed enemy would fall out of a
window and float around in mid air or a gun dropped near a box would actually
sit and hover about a foot away from it. It doesn’t ruin gameplay and you won’t
have soldiers shooting through doors, but it is there and is noticeable enough
that it had to be brought up.
The sound to RtCW is a good
quality overall, and the music that was done for both the overall game and the
more action based areas was very good. The voice acting wasn’t too bad either,
and little extras like villagers talking from inside open windows about the
“American who was rumored to be in the area” or the hollow moaning of the undead
was a nice touch. Weapon reports and clinking shells added to the environment
and the gameplay and on a 5.1 surround could get downright brutal and loud at
times. The Nazi voices and their fake accents were a little silly and
repetitive, but you can’t have everything I guess.
Overall, RtCW on PS2 is a
great port of a popular PC title that is a fun and worthwhile FPS title despite
a few flaws. Ultimately, most FPS fans will have a blast with this one but I
would still recommend caution since once you beat it you may not see much reason
to go back and play it a second time unless you just have to try a harder
difficulty or want to try and find all of the treasures. For those of you who
are new to the FPS market or Wolfenstein, this is a good opportunity to see a
re-made version of an old favorite that started the whole popular FPS market
that we know and love today.
Gameplay: 7.5
This is an exact
port of the popular PC title, and the PS2 controller retains its crown as the
best one for FPS games in my opinion. The game is fast paced and there’s no
shortage of action or killing to be had here, and you folks looking for
something that will bring some excitement will find it here. Unfortunately,
there is no multiplayer option though, which was a big item in the PC version,
and there really aren’t any puzzles or things to figure out which may also be
seen as a good thing by a lot of you shooter purists out there.
Graphics: 7.7
While it’s not on
a PC, it still looks great on the PS2 and was very well done overall in
everything from environments to lighting effects. There’s even some blood spray
on walls and such when someone gets killed. The animations of the bad guys were
good, but when in a firefight there is no movement or attempt to move by them
for the most part. There were also a few instances of non-lethal or gameplay
problem inducing collision detection, which was mostly found in the new levels
that were added in for the PS2 only.
Sound: 7.9
The sounds to
RtCW were really good in my opinion and things like the music and voice acting
were done well enough to be entertaining. The Nazi guards had some really bad
accents, and some of the things that they would say could get repetitive but
nothing that will make you want to turn it off. The effects of things like the
weapons as they fired, dropped shells, or were being reloaded also were done
well and could get really loud and fun on a good stereo system.
Difficulty: Medium
There are four
different difficulty levels to the game and each one shows why it is harder than
the one before it. The game is easy to get into and figure out what each of the
controls are for, and the biggest thing that will kill you here for the most
part are level traps or getting caught up in a big crossfire. The guards aren’t
the smartest crew on the block overall, and most of them can be lured into
simple traps like “I’ll just wait outside the door while they run through”.
Concept: 7.6
This was a good
game overall, and is a lot of fun for people who like a good FPS title. There
were some things that I personally felt could have been done a little better,
and some things that were left out that would have improved the longevity or
replay value of the game.
Overall: 7.4
People who were
fans of the original Wolfenstein will have fun with this game, especially if you
haven’t had the opportunity to play it on PC yet. If you own or have beaten the
PC version, there’s not a whole lot of reason to pick this one up unless you
just want to play the opening few levels … in which case I would recommend a
rental. Overall Wolfenstein is a fun and fast paced game that will provide FPS
fans enjoyment, but there’s probably just not enough after the first time
through to keep you coming back for more.
