Return to Castle Wolfenstein (Game)

Return to Castle Wolfenstein

GAME » on November 19, 2001

Mac (Platform)PC (Platform)PlayStation 2 (Platform)Xbox (Platform)

B.J. Blazkowicz returns to fight elite Nazi troopers, supernatural creatures, and mechanized super soldiers in this reboot of the original 1991 classic Wolfenstein 3D.

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Overview

Return to Castle Wolfenstein is a historical-fantasy first-person shooter developed by Gray Matter (with its multiplayer component developed with Nerve) and published by Activision (Company) for the PC (Platform) on November 19, 2001.

Powered by id Tech 3 (Concept), Return to Castle Wolfenstein is a loose remake and series reboot of id's 1992 game Wolfenstein 3D (Game), with a single-player campaign that puts a similar "alternate historical" twist on World War II (Concept) (focused on classified Nazi (Concept) use of supernatural occultism and secret technological advancements). In addition, the game features an online multiplayer component with class-based team-oriented gameplay (which later became the basis for the free standalone game Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory).

In the single-player campaign, players play the role of B.J. Blazkowicz, an Allied OSA ("Office of Secret Actions") agent investigating a variety of dangerous Nazi (Concept) projects. After escaping his capture at the titular Castle Wolfenstein, Blazkowicz must investigate the SS Paranormal Division (led by Helga von Bulow) while foiling the plans of the SS Special Projects Division (led by Wilhelm "Deathshead" Strasse) and figuring out a dastardly connection between them. Along with the standard SS infantry, Blazkowicz must fight elite troopers, supernatural undead creatures, crazed mutants, and mechanized super soldiers.

The game was officially ported to the Mac (Platform) in April 2002 (by Aspyr), Xbox (Platform) in May 6, 2003 (by Nerve), and PlayStation 2 (Platform) in May 27, 2003 (by Raster). Both console versions include an additional prequel mission ("Cursed Sands", set in the fictional Egyptian town of Ras El-Hadid) and new cutscenes. While the PlayStation 2 version (titled Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Operation Resurrection) does not include online multiplayer, it did include the a bonus feature in which players could purchase upgrades by finding secrets. The Xbox version (titled Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War), in addition to online multiplayer via Xbox Live (Concept), includes split-screen co-operative multiplayer (with the second player being fellow OSA operative "Agent One") and an unlockable version of Wolfenstein 3D.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein was later re-released (as a Game of the Year Edition (Concept)) in 2002 with seven bonus multiplayer maps (developed by Splash Damage) and the original Wolfenstein 3D. An additional "Platinum Edition" re-release in 2004 also included Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. The original game was then re-released by id as a downloadable game, via Steam (Concept), on August 4, 2007, and its complete source code was later released as open source on August 12, 2010. It also received a sequel in 2009, with Wolfenstein (Game).

As the first entry in the Wolfenstein (Franchise) series with multiplayer, the game starts the trend of removing certain Nazi symbols from the "Axis" side in the multiplayer mode, including use of the swastika. In addition, the game is the first to have a special German version, in order to comply with their strict laws. In this version, all Nazi symbols and references were removed, and the story was changed to match.

Levels

Prologue: Cursed Sands

Added in the console versions. In March 12, 1943, Captain William B.J. Blazkowicz is re-assigned to a top secret assignment with the OSA. Together with "Agent One", he must gather intelligence regarding Heinrich Himmler's rumored SS Paranormal Division in the Egyptian city of Ras el-Hadid.

Ras el-Hadid
Ancient Ruins
Burial Chamber
Buried Alive
Eye of Anubis

Mission 1: Ominous Rumors

Learning of increased Paranormal Division activity near a remote village, Blazkowicz and Agent One are sent to investigate, only to become captured and imprisoned in a nearby stronghold known as Castle Wolfenstein. Blazkowicz must escape and rendezvous with a member of a German resistance group known as the Kreisau Circle in the village.

Escape!
Castle Keep
Tram Ride

Mission 2: Dark Secret

After escaping Castle Wolfenstein and reaching the village, Blazkowicz learns that the Paranormal Division, led by Helga von Bulow, is staging an archaeological dig near the outskirts of the village. He is now tasked with finding a way into the dig site for further investigation.

Village
Catacombs
Crypt
The Defiled Church

Mission 3: Weapons of Vengeance

With Helga's scheme involving the undead seeming to have come to a close, Blazkowicz is now tasked with investigating the SS Special Projects Division, led by Wilhelm "Deathshead" Strasse. He learns that Deathshead intends to attack London from the Baltic Coast using a chemically-altered V2 rocket, and must use stealth to infiltrate and prevent the attack.

Forest Compound
Rocket Base
Radar Installation
Air Base Assault

Mission 4: Deadly Designs

After destroying the V2 rocket plane and escaping, Blazkowicz is tasked with infiltrating one of Deathshead's secret weapons facilities in the bombed-out city of Kugelstadt.

Kugelstadt
The Bombed Factory
The Trainyards
Secret Weapons Facility

Mission 5: Deathshead's Playground

After encountering Deathshead's mutants, Blazkowicz pursues the madman to Norway and must break into his "X-Labs" to investigate his most advanced technological project: the Super Soldier.

Ice Station Norway
X-Labs
Super Soldier

Mission 6: Return Engagement

With Deathshead in hiding, Blazkowicz learns from stolen documents that Himmler's ultimate goal with both the Paranormal Division and Special Projects Division is to use Deathshead's super soldiers in a ceremony to resurrect the 10th century Saxon warlord Heinrich I (Character). Blazkowicz is now ordered to assassinate the Paranormal Division officers and prevent the resurrection from taking place.

Bramburg Dam
Paderborn Village
Chateau Schuftaffel
Unhallowed Ground

Mission 7: Operation Resurrection

Blazkowicz must now race against time to prevent the resurrection from taking place.

The Dig
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Heinrich

Enemies

Nazi Soldier
Elite Guard (Concept)
Nazi Officers
Black Guard
Scientists
Zombie (Concept)
Flaming Zombie
Zombie Knight
Loper
Super Soldier Prototype
Super Soldier (Concept)
Helga's Transformation
Heinrich I (Character)

Weapons

Knife (Object)
Luger
Colt .45 (x2)
Grenades ( Stielhandgranate and Pineapple)
Dynamite (Object)
MP40 (Object)
Thompson SMG
Sten (silenced)
Mauser Rifle (scope)
Snooper Rifle
FG42
Panzerfaust (Object)
Venom Gun (Object)
Flamethrower (Object)
Tesla Gun

Multiplayer

The multiplayer portion of the game, developed in-part by Nerve Software, was unique for its time for its asymmetric, objective-based, team-based gameplay set in World War II (Concept), as well for its use of character classes. While it is not the first to have asymmetric team objectives, it is the first where this style is the primary focus (as games like Unreal Tournament (Game) focus primarily on traditional FPS modes).

While the overall gameplay is similar to the single-player campaign, the multiplayer mode has several key differences, such as the use of weapon loadouts (with ammo no longer being shared between primary and backup weapons) and a compass showing the location of nearby objectives. In addition, the game includes the concept of "reinforcement spawning", where dead allies all spawn at the same time in a roaming interval.

Much of this portion of the game was later reworked into the 2003 Splash Damage free standalone expansion Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory.

Classes

Players choose from four character classes, each with unique perks to help their team in different ways. All players have access to the Knife for last-ditch melee combat, their faction's handgun for backup combat (Luger or Colt, both starting with four magazines), their faction's submachine gun for direct combat (MP 40 or Thompson, both normally with two magazines), and an explosive Grenade.

Soldiers are versatile and straightforward combatants who can replace their SMG with a variety of unique weaponry, including the Mauser sniper rifle (which is only accurate when scoped), the Panzerfaust rocket launcher (which has a ~20 second cooldown when fired), the Venom gatling gun (which can overheat from continuous use), and the Flamethrower (which can engulf the wielder if not careful). The three heavier weapons slow the wielder down when held. They also start with three extra Grenades and start with an additional SMG magazine.
Engineers are important for completing objectives, as they use Dynamite (Object) to breach areas and objectives. Dynamite have a 30-sceond timer and must be armed using Pliers (Object), although they can also be disarmed using Pliers. Deploying dynamite has a ~30 second cooldown. They also start with seven extra Grenades and can repair broken turrets with Pliers.
Medics are skilled at strengthening their forces from the front-lines through both healing their allies (by dropping Health Packs) and reviving downed allies (using limited charges from their Syringe (Object)). Dropping Health Packs take up 25% of their cooldown meter. Despite not having much in terms of weaponry (as they start with only one SMG magazine), they automatically regenerate health (+3 HP/sec). Having multiple Medics in one server increases the maximum health (up to +25 HP).
Lieutenants specialize in both restocking their forces in the field (by dropping Ammo Packs) and suppressing enemies with forces outside of the battlefield (including air strikes at shorter ranges from deploying Smoke Grenades and artillery barrages at longer ranges from using binoculars). Dropping Ammo Packs take up 25% of their cooldown meter, while deploying a bombardment take up 100% of the meter. They can also opt to replace their SMG with the silenced Ster for allowing for more stealth play (although it can overheat).

Maps & Modes

Unlike most first-person shooters at the time, Return to Castle Wolfenstein does not include a traditional deathmatch mode and instead focuses on team-based objective play in one of two modes:

The standard Multiplayer mode (known in-game as "WOLF MP") focuses on unique map-specific primary and secondary objectives, usually in an asymmetric setting (with the Allies usually attacking and the Axis usually defending). An alternate competitive-focused version, known as Stopwatch (known in-game as "WOLF SW"), is a multi-round version where each team alternates between both factions and compete to see who can clear their objectives in the fastest time as the attacking faction. By default, Stopwatch uses an "ABBA" configuration, where Team A attacks in the first and final rounds and Team B attacks in the second and third rounds. This can be changed to an alternate "ABAB" configuration.
The Checkpoint mode (known in-game as "WOLF CP") is more straightforward and tasks both teams with capturing all control points on the map, with the first team to capture all of them simultaneously winning the round.

Six of these maps were later added in the GOTY Edition update, some of which were created by Splash Damage.

Both Modes

Depot - Set in an abandoned depot, both factions race to destroy their opponent's objective first. Axis forces must defend an AA gun while Allied forces must defend their field operations. Cannot be played in Stopwatch.
Village - Allied forces are tasked with infiltrating a village in order to steal gold treasure.
Das Boot - Allied forces are tasked with infiltrating an Axis compound to destroy a submarine.
Communique - Allies forces are tasked with infiltrating an Axis compound in order to destroy two radar control towers.
Assault - Axis forces are tasked with retaking their compound and destroying a communications tower.
Ice - Axis forces are tasked with reaching an Allied outpost in order to transmit top secret documents. Added in the GOTY Edition.
The Damned - Allied forces are tasked with infiltrating a dam and destroying its main water regulator. Added in the GOTY Edition.

Multiplayer Mode Only

Beach Invasion - Allied forces are tasked with breaching an Axis sea wall in order to transmit top secret documents.
Castle - Allied forces are tasked with infiltrating a castle in order to steal a sacred obelisk.
Keep - Allied forces are tasked with infiltrating a fortified keep in order to steal a sacred obelisk. Added in the GOTY Edition.
Chateau - Allied forces are tasked with breaking into a chateau in order to transmit top secret documents. Added in the GOTY Edition.
Tram Siege - Allied forces are tasked with using tram lines to infiltrate a castle high up on the snowy mountains, and use the radio access codes to radio for reinforcements. Added in the GOTY Edition.
Rocket - Allied forces are tasked with infiltrating an underground facility and use the launch override key to disable the V2 rocket from firing. Added in the GOTY Edition.

Checkpoint Mode Only

Destruction - Both teams fight to secure a village.
Trench Toast - Both teams fight to claim all six flags in vast trenches.

PC Requirements

Operating System: Windows 95 OSR2/98/ME/NT 4.0 (SP5)/2000/XP
Processor: Pentium II 400 MHz CPU or Athlon CPU
Graphics Card: 16 MB full OpenGL compiant graphics card
RAM Memory: 128 MB RAM
Hard Drive Space: 800 MB
Sound Card: DirectX 3.0 or higher compatible sound card
DirectX: 3.0

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