Return to Castle Wolfenstein (2001) (VG)

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Director:

Drew Markham

Writers:

John Carmack (story)
Steve Goldberg (writer)

Release Date:

marraskuu 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

You play a World War II American intelligence agent who must stop various Nazi special weapons projects predominately involving the occult.

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Occult | American | Germany | First Person Shooter

Cast

Tony Jay	...	The Director (voice)
James Alcroft	...	Jack (voice)
Neil Ross	...	Higgs / Nazi Soldier #2 (voice)
Jonathan David Cook	...	Heinrich (voice) (as Jonathan Cook)
Charles Napier	...	Murphy (voice)
B.J. Ward	...	Nazi Cmdr. Helga Von Bulow / Nazi Woman #1 (voice)
Drew Markham	...	Nazi Soldier #1 (voice)
Peter Renaday	...	Monk (voice) (as Pete Renaday)
Jim Ward	...	Nazi Soldier #3 (voice)
Gaille Heideman	...	Nazi Woman #2 (voice)
Cam Clarke	...	Nazi Soldier #4 (voice)
Matthew Kaminsky	...	Lt. B.J. Blazkowicz (PS2 version) (voice)
Jim Piddock	...	Agent One (PS2 version) (voice)
Brian Mysliwy	...	Army Major / Egyptian #1 / Prologue German #1 (PS2 version) (voice)
Brian George	...	Egyptian #2 / Prologue German #2 (PS2 version) (voice)

Also Known As:

Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Operation Resurrection (USA)
Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War (USA)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Germany:(Banned) (uncensored version) | Germany:16 (modified version) | UK:15 | Australia:MA

Company:

Activision

Trivia:

In Paderborn village, in the psychic's house, there is a letter to a doctor Merkwurdigliebe. Dr. Merkwürdigliebe, meaning Dr. Strangelove, is a character from Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb (1964).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Medal of Honor: Frontline (2002) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Die Fahne Hoch

Better than its press

Most people seem to like Return to Castle Wolfenstein, but they qualify their praise with criticisms and reservations.

Well, I have almost no criticisms. This game is simply the bomb. For me, it's a near-perfect blend of horror, wartime action and - very occasionally - gritty realism. The graphics are lovely, and the game simply has a cool aesthetic. I've always found Wolfenstein games to be much more attractive and engaging than, say, Doom, which usually takes place entirely in a dark corridor.

This version of Wolfenstein has a nice variety of missions, too. You fight Nazis in castles and chateaus, undead in gloomy catacombs, and robotic supersoldiers in a top-secret lab. Some missions are reminiscent of the ultra-tough WWII game Hidden and Dangerous, which involved lots of sneaking around and careful gameplay, whereas other missions are all-out slugfests. For me, the game's fairly frequent shifts in tone, pacing and emphasis aren't a weakness, but a strong selling point.

I also love the far-out villains. The armored undead are creepy, and thankfully not nearly as revolting as zombies from other games. But I particularly love the leather-clad babes with machine guns - they're a little sexist, I'm sure, and somewhat tacky, but they're also entirely appropriate for a game like this.

Sure, Return to Castle Wolfenstein has some flaws. The cutscenes are boring, and the dialogue is a little corny. But hey, I didn't expect a good script from Wolfenstein. I expected fun (and carnage), and I got it. It's prime stuff, and very hard to stop playing.