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Return to Castle Wolfenstein

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Return to Castle Wolfenstein is a first person shooter computer game published by Activision and released in 2001. The single player game was developed by Gray Matter Interactive and Nerve Software developed its multiplayer mode. Id Software, the creators of the original game entitled Wolfenstein 3D, oversaw the development of the game and were credited as executive producers.

There are many different versions of the game. The Collector's Edition comes in metal case and includes promotional materials. The Game of the Year Edition comes with the original Wolfenstein 3D and game demos. The Platinum Edition comes with , a stand-alone expansion.

In 2003, the game was ported to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox video game consoles and subtitled as Operation Resurrection and Tides of War, respectively. Both console versions include a series of prequel single player missions where the main character, William Joseph "BJ" Blazkowicz (Agent Two) and his partner Agent One operate in Nazi-occupied Egypt / North Africa. The two player co-op mode is exclusive to consoles and allows the second player to play as Agent One (later tortured to death in the Wolfenstein castle/prison of Mission 1). The Xbox version has the addition of online play via Xbox Live.

The game is powered by a heavily-modified version of the Quake III engine. The Return to Castle Wolfenstein engine was subsequently used as the foundation for (Splash Damage/Activision), "Trinity" (Gray Matter Interactive/Activision) (shown at E3 in 2004, but cancelled shortly after) and Call of Duty (Infinity Ward/Activision).

Contents

Overview

Return to Castle Wolfenstein is a remake of sorts of the early, seminal first-person shooter, Wolfenstein 3D. However, with the advances in graphics technology and gameplay design since the original game, without the name and the occasional in-game references, it would be unrecognisable as a remake.

It features a story-based single player campaign (taking up many of the themes from the original game), as well as a team-based networked multiplayer version which features different character classes that must work together in order to win, similar to the concept of Team Fortress. Although there are only four classes - lieutenant, medic, engineer, and soldier - the soldier can be one of several subclasses depending upon the special/heavy weapon that he selects. Some unique weapons not found in other WWII-themed first-person shooters include the flamethrower and the airstrike beacon. The multiplayer demo included a beachhead assault similar to the opening of the movie Saving Private Ryan.

The game is based on Castle Wewelsburg, a 17th century castle occupied by the Germans under Heinrich Himmler's control, and used for occult rituals and practices. Unlike the original Wolfenstein 3D, only a handful of the single player missions in Return to Castle Wolfenstein takes place in the infamous castle/prison. The single player game takes place in Nazi-occupied Europe during 1943 and revolves around Allied Commando B.J. Blazkowicz, who, along with another agent (Agent One in the Xbox and PS2 versions), is sent to investigate rumors surrounding one of Heinrich Himmler's personal projects, the SS Paranormal Division. The agents are, however, captured before completing their mission and are imprisoned in Castle Wolfenstein. Taking the role of Blazkowicz, the player must escape the castle and continue investigating the activities of the SS Paranormal Division, which include research on resurrecting corpses, bio-technology, and secret weapons. During the game the player will face numerous foes, including Wehrmacht soldiers, elite Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers), legions of undead creatures, and horrific Übersoldaten (supersoldiers) formed from a hideous blend of surgery and chemical engineering. The end boss is an undead Saxon warrior-prince named Heinrich I. Some of the missions involving the undead were influenced by The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001) movies, and somewhat similar to Indiana Jones. Other missions are similar to romanticized fictional stories of Allied commandos and resistance fighters that operated behind enemy lines to spy and sabotage.

To make the game eligible for sale in Germany, the developers of the game removed the infamous Nazi swastika in Return to Castle Wolfenstein. In its stead, the German forces' logo is a creative logo that can be interpreted in 3 different ways; Quake III Arena (a game previously developed by id Software and the graphics engine that Return to Castle Wolfenstein is based upon), an Eagle (a symbol often used to represent Germany), and "W" (standing for Wolfenstein). Every reference to the "Third Reich" was removed; thus, the player is not battling Nazis, but a secret sect called the "Wolves" led by Heinrich Höller, whose name is a pun of the original character Himmler (Himmler roughly translates as "Heavener", Höller as "Heller").

Plot outline

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Weapons

Upon starting the game, the player's only weapon is a knife, though almost immediately he obtains a Luger from a fallen guard. He can also use a kick simultaneously with any weapon, though the kick does minimal damage and is primarily useful for bashing open doors or inflicting property damage.

The third weapon the player finds is an MP-40 German SMG, which uses the same 9mm ammunition as the Luger. Shortly thereafter, the player also obtains a scope-less Mauser rifle, which has high damage and accuracy, but uses a different 7,92 x 57 mm ammunition. A scoped Mauser is obtained later on.

In later levels the player receives a silenced Sten submachine gun, which uses the same ammunition as the MP-40 and Luger. He also receives a Thompson submachine gun and Colt .45 which are slightly more powerful than MP-40 and Luger, though with substantially rarer ammunition.

As the game progresses, the player also finds a flamethrower (though ammunition is somewhat rare), the Fallschirmjägergewehr Model 1942 paratrooper rifle (which uses the same ammunition as the Mauser), and several fictional weapons: a Tesla cannon and Venom Minigun. An experimental American silenced sniper rifle with infrared scope, called the Snooper Scope was also available (Although the real life equivalent did not have a silencer). All used unique ammunition.

The player also uses several varieties of explosives throughout the game, which include the Panzerfaust, dynamite and the "pineapple" and "potato masher" hand grenades of the Allies and Axis, respectively.

Several weapons have alternate modes of fire, which are activated by a key press. The Luger's alternate mode is a silencer (found in an early level), the Colt's alternate is dual-wielded Colts, and both the rifles's alternate mode is an adjustable telescopic zoom (neither scoped rifle has a visible crosshair in normal fire mode).

The Sten and Venom guns both have the capability of overheating. The spread of bullets will increase as the Sten is fired, seen also as an enlarging aiming circle. While firing, a bar appears onscreen which indicates the relative temperature of the weapon, which also decreases over time; upon reaching a specific threshold, the weapon ceases firing until the bar completely disappears.

Multiplayer

Enemy Territory spinoff

A multiplayer-only spinoff of the series, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, was originally planned as a full-fledged expansion pack for Return to Castle Wolfenstein developed by Splash Damage. The single player component of the game was never completed and thus was removed entirely. The developers at that point decided the multiplayer part would be released as a free, downloadable standalone game. Enemy Territory is a team-based networked multiplayer game which involves completing objectives through team-work and by using different character classes.

In 2005, id Software and Splash Damage announced a follow-up to Enemy Territory entitled using the Doom 3 engine. This new game will feature similar large-scale gameplay but instead of taking place in the Wolfenstein universe it will be a prequel to Quake II and Quake 4. ET:QW is speculated for release in 2006.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein 2

In July 2004, id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead briefly mentioned that a sequel to Wolfenstein was in development saying "Return to Castle Wolfenstein... basically the sequel to that is a project that's already under works at another studio". It has been confirmed that this statement was not referring to , which was the general assumption when ET:QW was announced. It is likely that it will be developed using Doom 3 technology. There have been a couple of news articles about RTCW2 discoveries, including an email received from Todd Hollenshead which can be viewed at http://www.rtcw2.com.

Film

A Return to Castle Wolfenstein flim was announced in 2002, however there has been little information since. On July 20 2005, IGN had a interview with ID Software about the Return to Castle Wolfenstein film.[link] In the interview, Todd Hollenshead says that the movie is in the works, though isn't very far along yet.

See also

Wolfenstein series

Video games
Wolfenstein 3D > Spear of Destiny | Return to Castle Wolfenstein |
Other
Return To Castle Wolfenstein Multiplayer > id Software |

Awards

External links

References

 

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