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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Shooter Developer: Nerve Publisher: Activision Publishing Inc. |
Years ago a game was released that has helped to pave the way for a lot of what players see today in the gaming world, “Wolfenstein 3D.” This game has been known for being the title that first popularized the first
person shooter game, in conjunction with reputation regarding its frivolous use of Nazis, swastikas and other controversial symbols found during the time period with which the game takes place. To celebrate the
upcoming release of the brand new release of Wolfenstein for Xbox 360, id Software and Nerve have imported the original 1992 release of the game for players on Xbox Live Arcade. The results are very faithful to the
original game, but is this the type of game that players really want to play on Xbox Live Arcade?
To put it simply, “Wolfenstein 3D” hasn’t really aged very well over the last seventeen years between its original release on the PC and now with its release on the Xbox Live Arcade. For those that aren’t fans of change
in classic games, it original game has been left fully intact, from the 3D corridors to the enemies that shout German phrases when they are shot down. The game play consists entirely of walking around through the
dungeon hallways, shooting Nazis and hunting for keys that are used to open rooms containing for Nazis and secret passages that contain many treasures to collect. However, the little bit of charm that the game has
left is quickly undone by the maze like corridors of the Nazi castle that players must work their way through.
Players will find that nearly every hallway in the castle continues to wind back and forth constantly. Since players will need to locate keys to open specially marked doors in order to progress further in the level, players
will find that being able to keep track of direction becomes a very annoying necessity. Enemies don’t reappear in the levels, but all that really means is that half of the time in the game is spent sprinting around aimlessly
in empty rooms, searching for the next locked door. Players will quickly realize that repetition sets in very quickly and will find very little reason to continue playing the game for any long period of time. Only the game’s
boss fight which has players take on large and oftentimes oddly designed enemies stand out among the monotony that the rest of the game offers to players.
By looking at the game it would be hard to believe how difficult this game can actually be. Players will probably find themselves switching to the lowest setting to finish the entire game. Of course, those who are fairly
experienced in the game won’t have too much trouble making their way through the game, but those who are new to the game will find that there is a very high level of challenge offers in “Wolfenstein 3D” that may cause
problems for some players. Though there is a certain level of challenge in the game, it isn’t a level of challenge that is fair to the players. Although players will very rarely find themselves to be surrounded by enemies, a
single bullets is able to take anywhere from five to thirty five percent of the players life, which makes the game a bit more difficult if an enemy sneaks up from behind and gets a couple of shots in before the player is able
to find where the shots are coming from. This level of unfair difficulty is one thing that may turn some players away from the game fairly early on.
Eventually players will learn to carefully sneak up and peek around corners and check rooms for enemies before entering the room, but when enemies seem to be able to shoot through corners and at times through
doors as well, the game can become a fairly unbalanced and extremely frustrating experience. This is especially true when it comes to the weapon system that is in place in the game. Players will collect a machine gun
and chain gun as player’s progress through the game, which are basically the players only line of defense against the toughest of the enemies in the game. When players die, they will lose all of the weapons that they
had and players will need to continue from the last level armed with only a knife and pistol. They will find the more powerful weapons again eventually, but it is basically like increasing the difficulty level a little bit every
single time the player dies. It will become evident that this version’s new save system that allows players to save in the middle of a level, which wasn’t allowed in the original game, is highly recommended to use to
prevent the tragedy of losing weapons right before a big battle.
The variety of flaws that can be found in the game should come as any surprise to those who have played the game in the past because they have plagued past versions of the game as well. Obviously, this doesn’t
make their presence in the game any more acceptable. The games of today owe a lot to the technology and design that was used for the original “Wolfenstein 3D,” but that doesn’t necessarily make it a great game.
Between the mazes of corridors, dreary gunplay and enemy design, along with the repetition that will break some of the most patient of players, this is a game that is not worth too much time. Although it was a gaming
pioneer nearly two decades ago, the relevance of this game is shrinking exponentially. It works as a great connection to the new game, but hopefully the new game will have more to offer to players this time around.
person shooter game, in conjunction with reputation regarding its frivolous use of Nazis, swastikas and other controversial symbols found during the time period with which the game takes place. To celebrate the
upcoming release of the brand new release of Wolfenstein for Xbox 360, id Software and Nerve have imported the original 1992 release of the game for players on Xbox Live Arcade. The results are very faithful to the
original game, but is this the type of game that players really want to play on Xbox Live Arcade?
To put it simply, “Wolfenstein 3D” hasn’t really aged very well over the last seventeen years between its original release on the PC and now with its release on the Xbox Live Arcade. For those that aren’t fans of change
in classic games, it original game has been left fully intact, from the 3D corridors to the enemies that shout German phrases when they are shot down. The game play consists entirely of walking around through the
dungeon hallways, shooting Nazis and hunting for keys that are used to open rooms containing for Nazis and secret passages that contain many treasures to collect. However, the little bit of charm that the game has
left is quickly undone by the maze like corridors of the Nazi castle that players must work their way through.
Players will find that nearly every hallway in the castle continues to wind back and forth constantly. Since players will need to locate keys to open specially marked doors in order to progress further in the level, players
will find that being able to keep track of direction becomes a very annoying necessity. Enemies don’t reappear in the levels, but all that really means is that half of the time in the game is spent sprinting around aimlessly
in empty rooms, searching for the next locked door. Players will quickly realize that repetition sets in very quickly and will find very little reason to continue playing the game for any long period of time. Only the game’s
boss fight which has players take on large and oftentimes oddly designed enemies stand out among the monotony that the rest of the game offers to players.
By looking at the game it would be hard to believe how difficult this game can actually be. Players will probably find themselves switching to the lowest setting to finish the entire game. Of course, those who are fairly
experienced in the game won’t have too much trouble making their way through the game, but those who are new to the game will find that there is a very high level of challenge offers in “Wolfenstein 3D” that may cause
problems for some players. Though there is a certain level of challenge in the game, it isn’t a level of challenge that is fair to the players. Although players will very rarely find themselves to be surrounded by enemies, a
single bullets is able to take anywhere from five to thirty five percent of the players life, which makes the game a bit more difficult if an enemy sneaks up from behind and gets a couple of shots in before the player is able
to find where the shots are coming from. This level of unfair difficulty is one thing that may turn some players away from the game fairly early on.
Eventually players will learn to carefully sneak up and peek around corners and check rooms for enemies before entering the room, but when enemies seem to be able to shoot through corners and at times through
doors as well, the game can become a fairly unbalanced and extremely frustrating experience. This is especially true when it comes to the weapon system that is in place in the game. Players will collect a machine gun
and chain gun as player’s progress through the game, which are basically the players only line of defense against the toughest of the enemies in the game. When players die, they will lose all of the weapons that they
had and players will need to continue from the last level armed with only a knife and pistol. They will find the more powerful weapons again eventually, but it is basically like increasing the difficulty level a little bit every
single time the player dies. It will become evident that this version’s new save system that allows players to save in the middle of a level, which wasn’t allowed in the original game, is highly recommended to use to
prevent the tragedy of losing weapons right before a big battle.
The variety of flaws that can be found in the game should come as any surprise to those who have played the game in the past because they have plagued past versions of the game as well. Obviously, this doesn’t
make their presence in the game any more acceptable. The games of today owe a lot to the technology and design that was used for the original “Wolfenstein 3D,” but that doesn’t necessarily make it a great game.
Between the mazes of corridors, dreary gunplay and enemy design, along with the repetition that will break some of the most patient of players, this is a game that is not worth too much time. Although it was a gaming
pioneer nearly two decades ago, the relevance of this game is shrinking exponentially. It works as a great connection to the new game, but hopefully the new game will have more to offer to players this time around.
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