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Name: Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Grey Matter Studios
Media: 1 CD
HD Installation: 743.1 megs(includes "GotY" Bonus Map Pack)
Dirt Cheap Price: $17.99, got it used a bit after it had come out. Came
with some "Making of" disc that had some artwork, insight
into the story, etc. and screensavers/pics of these "Girls
of Wolfenstein" that features models from Playboy magazine. |
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RtCW was played on an AMD Athlon XP 2400+ machine, under Windows XP with
a 64 meg VisionTek XTasy Radeon 9100(AGP) card and 512 megs of ram.
It was running with all options
turned to their highest settings and at a screen resolution of 800X600.
The game was played through on the "Bring it On(normal)" difficulty
level. |
Patches?
Yes, two.
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Just
for kicks, let me present the recommended system requirements: |
| 1.4
Update Patch - Size: 11.5 or 5.0 megs depending
on what version of the game you have(1.0 or 1.33)
1.41 Update Patch - Size: 6.9 megs.
For both
patches I'm going to send you to 3D
Gamers. The patches are pretty much straightforward: They identify
your version of the game, then tell you if what you're using will update
it or not. Run it, it patches, you're done... |
3-D
Hardware Accelerator (with 16MB VRAM with full OpenGL support, Pentium II
400 Mhz processor or Athlon processor, English version of Windows 95 OSR2/98/ME/NT4.0
(SP6)/2000/XP Operating System, 128 MB RAM, 16-bit high color video mode,
800 MB of uncompressed hard disk space for game files (Minimum Install),
plus 300 MB for the Windows swap file, A 100% Windows 95 OSR2/98/ME/NT4.0
(SP6)/2000/XP compatible computer system (including compatible 32-bit drivers
for CD-ROM drive, video card, sound card and input devices), Quad-speed
CD-ROM drive (600 K/sec. sustained transfer rate), 100% DirectX 8.0a (included),
100% DirectX 3.0 or higher compatible sound card and drivers, 100% Microsoft-compatible
mouse/keyboard and driver.
Multiplayer Support:
Internet (TCP/IP) and LAN (TCP/IP and IPX) play supported, Internet play
requires a 100% Windows 95 OSR2/98/NT 4.0 (SP6)/2000/XP compatible 56.6
Kbps (or faster) modem. |
The
nazis are back at it, this time trying to resurrect an ancient evil in the
form of "The Dark Knight" known as Heinrich. Playing as B.J. Blazkowicz,
you are sent in to investigate the Third Reich's interest in the occult
and what they are planning. After being captured and taken to Castle Wolfenstein,
you escape and begin you long journey into the depths of the nazi's evil
plan.
What's it all about?
A lot like Wolfenstein 3D, it's pure nazi-shooting action. This time around
though, it's not confined to just a castle: You'll fight through tombs,
air fields, frozen tundras, nazi chateaus and quite a few other locations.
Along the way you'll come across NPC's who will help you out with weapons,
info or even backup; this all adds a great deal to the overall story of
the game...
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| Graphics
- Unbelievably good. Everything just looks so very life-like, from
the lush textures to the character models. The color...the color is just
amazing, it really pushes the textures to the point of you going "Damn,
that looks *fucking* great!". Past that, the game just runs like a
dream and I *never* ran across any slowdown. This is, quite possibly, the
best use of the Quake 3 engine ever! The enemy models, especially the zombies,
look excellent as well with some sharp textures and excellent motion capture
work. |
| Sound
- The music is a nice mix of ambient, mood-setting pieces and inspiring
military-like anthems. The sound effects whip ass: They are loud, they are
clear and there are lots of them. The guns all have a very authentic ring
to them, the enemies' speech is very well acted out and the various environment
sounds will amaze you. |
| Control
- Smooth and amazingly responsive. Everything that needs to be
done is done quite easily, and pretty much any action can be assigned to
any key. About my only issue with the control was that I couldn't get the
extra buttons(the right and left "triggers") on my five button
mouse to register with the game...but it was only a minor annoyance and
one that I easily worked around. |
| AI
- Crafty. The enemies act and react in a very realistic manner
when being attacked: They dodge, they scream, they strafe, they block...it's
just incredible. It really makes you feel like you are playing actual,
human opponents at times. Now, unfortunately, the game is tainted
just a bit by
some cheap AI behavior in the form of the ever-frustating Paratrooper enemy,
Loper and Himmler's "Super
Soldier" with
their uncanny ability to hit you....NO MATTER WHAT, whenever you show
yourself
to
them.
Towards the end,
it's gets to be quite a nightmare dealing with the cheap-ass, almost mandatory
hits. |
| Replay
value - In single player mode, it's moderately high. There are
three difficulty modes that you can play on, and with the whopping *26*
levels(across seven missions), that's quite a bit of gameplay right there.
As for multiplayer, believe it or not, I've not ever tried it. I may get
around to it one of these days, but the single player game is just so fucking
good. For those who are into it, you can download the seven map “Game
of the Year” pack, or buy the GotY/Platinum edition of the game. Also,
the Platinum edition of the game comes with the "Enemy Territory"
mod pack, which is a completely new(and *free*) multiplayer-only version
of the game. In fact, you don't even have to have RtCW to play ET. As per
usual, all of these files can be downloaded at the excellent 3D
Gamers website. |
| Getting
it to run - Extremely easy on Windows XP. You
pop in the CD, hit "install" on the menu that pops up, put in
your CD key and that's it. Configuration is a snap, and once you've got
it set...you're done. I had some issues getting it to run on Windows 2000...it'd
make it to the intro, then crash *every time* after that. Tried talking
to tech support for a while, but never did find a solution...ah well, perhaps
it was just that particular computer that was having the issue... |
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Tips
for better gaming experiences:
Himmler’s
"Super Soldier" is, arguably, the hardest boss on the game...*if*
you take it head on. For those of you who’d like to avoid
the frustration of this overly-hard bastard, simply read the following
advice: After entering the room, and watching the cinematic(or skipping
it) back up to the door as far as you can. This will make the super
soldier back up as far as he can, to try to get a shot off...but
the problem is that there’s a wall directly behind him, so
he just kinda sits there and walks backwards. From here, just break
out the
sniper rifle and shoot him in the head. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT duck
down to get a better line of vision, doing so will allow him to
hit
you, even if you stand up again; it will completely ruin the AI flaw
its got going. Note: Unfortunately, this method doesn't work everytime.
As it's just some glitch, sometimes you can catch it, sometimes
you can't. Keep trying though, eventually it will present itself. |
Turning
on "Cursor Hints" helps quite a bit as it gives you hints
on how you can interact with certain things. It also helps you realize
that you can actually interact with things you wouldn't normally
expect to.
Heinrich,
the dark knight, isn't nearly as hard as you'd assume: Just break
out the lightning gun and zap his ass until the batteries run out,
then pull out the Venom gun and pump about 100 to 150 rounds into
him…and that’s it, he’s done. Keep out of the middle
of the ritual ground and you probably won’t take a single hit…
A lot of the guns in the game are wildly inaccurate, so to improve
your aim shoot in short, controlled bursts. |
Still Supported?
Yes,
and you can receive support at in the Support
section of Activision's website.
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| My
rating: 96(out of 100) - Fucking-a, this is good....it's definitely
one of the best FPS's of all time, no doubt. In every category this game
just blows you away, and keeps amazing you. Runs like a dream and looks
even better...the gameplay is as smooth as silk, the voice acting, story
and attention to detail are all top notch. A very few points were deducted
due to a few overly-cheap enemies, but past that this game is near-perfect... |
| Computer
Games gave it: 4 stars(out of 5) |
iBook's review: Holy fuck, if I *only* had the power to play this
one...if only! Ah well, back to the original Wolfenstein 3D for me...which
in, and of itself, isn't necessarily a bad thing... |
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Tearing
up the Chateau Schuftaffel. |
Mowing
down Nazis in a chilly village. |
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The
ever-gooey zombies. |
Heinrich
himself...*pray* you have the lighting gun at full charge... |
Fun
Stuff on the CD:
Actually, there's some very helpful stuff on the actual game disc.
1. Links that allow you to register the game, as well as take you to the
official support site.
2. Direct X 8(you most likely won't need this, but it's nice for those who
do...and don't have a broadband connection).
3. The game's manual in electronic form, across *five* different languages.
This also has links to the official site, as well as anyone associated with
the game. |
Xbox-ing
it back to the beginning:
The Xbox version of RtCW actually features a few prologue levels
where you get to see how B.J. and the other agent made their way into Germany,
and eventually got captured and taken to Castle Wolfenstein. It'd be nice
if Activision released this for PC and Mac users to play through... |
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