Video Game Review #179: Wolfenstein 3D

Wolfenstein 3D

PC

Nostalgia Factor:

It was a big deal when our family took the plunge and bought a computer in the early 90s. I used to be so fascinated by it. I spent hours searching through its programs and exploring everything there was to explore. We didn’t have much in the way of actual games, but that changed when one of my stepbrothers brought over a title called Wolfenstein 3D. It was unlike anything we had ever seen before. First person viewpoint, the ability to walk around almost anywhere you wanted. There was blood, there was violence. And Nazis! You killed actual Nazis in this game. All of this was unheard of back in 1992 or ’93. All us kids played the crap out of Wolfenstein 3D. The only problem is that it wasn’t the full game. The pack only included the first set of nine or ten levels. There were an additional FIVE game packs out there, each with its own full set of levels. I used to beg and plead for the “full game” as a Christmas or birthday gift, but I never received it. As a result, I was stuck playing the same handful of levels over and over again. Eventually those levels lost their novelty and I stopped playing the game entirely.

Fast forward to 2009, where I located the complete version of Wolfenstein 3D on the PlayStation Store. It was like a dream come true. I was finally going to be able to play all those levels that I never had a chance to play when I was younger. I played the game and beat it in a week or two. That was a memorable time for me, because I met the person who would turn out to be my future wife during that two week span. As a result, I always associate that time of my life with Wolfenstein 3D, of all things. Go figure.

Now I play it again in 2019.

Story:

Wolfenstein’s storyline isn’t its strongest suit, but it serves its purpose. You control a fantastically named American agent named BJ Blazkowicz. When the game starts, he is in a Nazi prison. It is your job to snatch up a weapon and blast your way out. This is the first “mission pack” that I played when I was a kid. When you escape from the prison, the first mission pack ends.

As I mentioned earlier, there are six mission packs, each nine or ten stages long, in the complete version of the game. Each pack has its own unique storyline. One has you infiltrating a Nazi complex and taking out an evil scientist who is performing experiments on people. Another chapter has you storming Hitler’s complex to track him down and kill him. The last three mission packs are actually prologue chapters that follow BJ’s exploits as he performs strike attacks against Nazi hideouts.

Gameplay:

First person shooters are a very common thing in today’s age, but this was the first game of its genre that I ever played. Because of this game’s old age, expect things to be very basic here. Anyone should be able to pick this up and get the hang of it quite easily.

The D-pad or the analog stick controls your character. You use left and right to turn him. Up moves you forward and down makes you walk backwards. There is a button you can hold to sprint at a fast pace. There is a fire button. I don’t remember which one it is, but there is another button you use to toggle back and forth between weapons. And of course there is an action button that you use to open doors. You can also use this button to discover secret locations. If you notice a funny looking wall, or a location that looks like it might hide something, walk up to it and press the action button. Most of the time your efforts will be fruitless, but hey, every once in a while the wall will slide open and you’ll discover some ammunition, health, or treasure tucked away inside it.

Your average stage has a defined starting point and a defined ending point. Your goal is to make it through each maze-like stage and find the exit, which is pretty much ALWAYS an elevator. Standing in your way are Nazis, locked doors, and some pretty hard to navigate corridors. Enemies come in different shapes and sizes. The generic Nazi guard is dressed in a bland brown uniform, and is usually pretty easy to take down. Blue SS soldiers carry uzis that deal out massive amounts of damage, and require more shots to kill. There are white uniformed Nazis that move and shoot faster than your average enemy. There are dogs and mutants created in labs that you have to fight through, as well.

The final stage of each mission pack contains a boss that you have to take down. I used to be SO intimidated by these bosses, until I realized on my last playthrough that they are actually a piece of cake. Just hide behind a wall and duck out every once in a while to pump some lead into them, and then retreat again. Easy peasy. Each boss stage contains a hidden room full of health items and ammunition, too, so this makes them even easier.

Graphics:

Before I fired this game up, I was expecting it to have aged TERRIBLY. While it doesn’t look anywhere near as good as games made with today’s technology, it still looks… fine. It isn’t pretty but it has a certain charm to it.

Graphics are blocky and pixelated, especially when you get in close to enemies and walls. This doesn’t make the game unplayable, though. From a distance things look okay. But still, levels are very basic and drab looking. Expect to see the same wall textures used over and over and over and over and over again. The same portraits, paintings, and wall decorations are reused quite often as well. The floor is the same shade of dingy grey for every level. The ceiling changes color from stage to stage, but it is still pretty bland looking no matter which color it is.

Graphics are not Wolfenstein 3D’s selling point, at least not anymore. If you are a young person who grew up on prettier titles like Halo or Call of Duty, you might scoff at Wolfenstein’s graphics and not give the game a chance. Which is a shame, because the game is quite fun.

Sound:

Wolfenstein’s music isn’t the best. The only memorable track I can think of is the song that plays on the game’s main menu. Even that is not that great. Level music is just kind of quiet and generic. A lot of it has a military marching band feel to it, complete with drums and everything.

Where the game’s audio excels is in its “audio cues”. Enemies exclaim out loud whenever they spot you or hear you firing your weapon. This is a great way of cluing in players as to whether or not there are enemies in the area. I relied on this as a survival tool during my playthrough. I would often enter rooms and fire my gun and listen for how many shouts there were in response. Three shouts = three enemies. Of course, enemies can still surprise you from time to time. Sometimes they don’t hear your shots, especially in large maze-like areas. I’d often walk around a corner, thinking the room was clear, and walk right into an enemy.

It also helped to listen for doors opening and closing. They for the most part only open and close as a result of your actions. So if you are wandering around and you hear a door open behind you, you know that there is an enemy from another room following you and trying to sneak up on you.

Keeping an “ear open” so to speak helped me out a TON in this game, more so than pretty much any other FPS I have played. It’s not just all loud music, gunfire, and explosions. The game has a certain subtlety to its audio quality that makes each stage feel like an intense game of cat and mouse – and it is the better for it.

Overall:

I had a surprisingly good time with this game. Like I said before, I expected to find that it had aged poorly. While certain aspects of the game, like its graphics and music, may not be the best, the actual game itself is a blast. Every time I would turn this game on, I would end up spending a longer amount of time on it than I had expected. It’s one of those games where I kept telling myself: just one more level. Just find this one key. Just beat this one boss, then you can stop. But then I would keep on playing.

I think it took me three days to beat the game, which isn’t bad. It wasn’t too short or too long. It was the perfect length. Take the fact that the game itself is a lot of fun and combine it with the fact that this was pretty much the first first-person shooter ever made and you can’t help but appreciate its legacy. It is a trend setter, for sure. Without it, we wouldn’t have games like Doom, Fallout, Halo, BioShock, and others.

Wolfenstein 3D might look primitive when you come back and play it now, but there is no denying its importance. It’s a lot of fun, too! You know a game is good when it is the first of its kind, AND it still holds up after almost 30 years. Definitely give it a shot. Don’t let its outdated graphics scare you off. It’s nowhere near a perfect game, but it is still a lot of fun to play.

Final Score:

A-

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