Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Activision has released a "Game of The Year Edition". This edition comes with a fully registered version of the original Wolfenstein 3D. For those of you who have been looking for the original game and haven't been able to find it on eBay, this may be the best way to get it. The game also comes with 7 extra multiplayer maps; these "extra" maps are available for download. Of course, none of them are as good as the demo map, mp_beach. Finally, the new edition comes with a level editor so that you can make your own maps.
They have also released a "Platinum Edition" of Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The Platinum Edition is just the Game of the Year Edition with Enemy Territory included. There is no reason to buy the Platinum Edition if you already have RTCW since ET is a free download.
If you already own RTCW, there is no point in buying either of the above special editions; however, if you still haven't bought the game, they are the way to go.
The game uses the Quake 3 engine resulting in far superior graphics to the original Wolfenstein 3D. The graphics are spectacular - especially the flamethrower. With the Quake 3 OpenGL engine, you won't have to worry too much about framerates. With my GeForce256, I was getting well over 80 fps indoors and over 30 fps outside - until other players came around. Then framerates dropped to around 20. Not bad, but a better graphics card would definately make the game better (it looks great with a GeForce3 Ti200). Even when using the flamethrower, I was getting around 25 fps with the GeForce256. I did keep all of the detail options at medium or higher.
The basic premise is the same - you are captured Captain William J. "B.J." Blazkowicz and have just killed a Nazi guard using your knife. Once again, you must escape from the castle, however, there is more of a story than last time. This story will be revealed using techniques similar to those use in Half-Life and No One Live Forever (cut-scenes, overheard dialogue, etc). You only escape from the castle in the first mission which is 3 levels long.
There are stellar graphics, a variety of realistic (except for one) weapons, and some great looking enemies. There will be both realistic human enemies and some sci-fi mutants and the like. The mutants will not seem out of place since part of the plot will involve nazi genetic experiments; they first appear in Mission 2, Part 2 (the fifth level of the game). The fact that certaiin enemies may be immune to some weapons should make for interesting gameplay. There may also be some allies that fight along with you adding to the realism of the game.
Some features in the game include a stamina bar and a multiplayer-only power bar. Sprinting is the third speed of movement (after walk and run); however the time you can spend sprinting is limited by the stamina bar that recharges over time. The power bar is another self-regenerating bar that affects some weapon use and multiplayer special class abilities. While playing, you will also notice icons appearing over items indicating if they can be used/climbed/etc. The included multiplayer system is also very interesting.
Additional Resources
Story - historical facts that are the basis of the game's story.Single Player Mods - nothing wrong with making a good game better.
Weapons - the tools of destruction.
Items - helpful things you can find.
Enemies - description and tips on the bad guys you will encounter.
Friends - the low down on the good guys (they're not all trying to kill you).
Console Commands - cheats and other interesting console commands.
Walkthroughs - more help for the single player game.
Speed Tweaks - tips and tweaks to help improve game performace
Screen Shots - get a first look at some of the action from this game.
Multiplayer Info - all that you need to know about the multiplayer game.
MP Maps and Mods - for when you get bored of the 8 included maps.
Classes - info on the classes available in multiplayer.
Console Commands - console commands for running a server.
Additional Downloads
- Official PC Updates/Patchs - latest patch is version 1.4.1
- Official Mac Updates/Patchs - latest patch is version 1.3.2
- Multiplayer Demo - free 66.3MB download of Return to Castle Wolfenstein multiplayer demo. Have fun fragging your friends before buying the full version!
- Singleplayer Demo - free 114.1MB download of the Return to Castle Wolfenstein single player demo. See the amazing game before buying it.
- Macintosh Single Player Demo = free 108 MB download of the Return to Castle Wolfenstein single player demo for Macs.
- Q3E Minimizer v1.20 - lets you minimize RTCW so you can switch to other applications while playing RTCW (144 KB)
Full Version Purchase
- Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Platinum Edition - PC version of the game. Includes the free Enemy Territory for $15.
- Return to Castle Wolfenstein - Mac version of the game for $30.