Wolfenstein 3D

Wolfenstein 3D is the true godfather of FPS games, yeah Doom took the genre and perfected it, and Doom ended up being the more memorable game that people still reference today, but Wolfenstein still has a reputation and to this day there are still new Wolfenstein games coming out that people are getting excited about. Wolfenstein is a classic shooter, very similar in style to Doom, but instead of fighting demons and zombies in hell you are fighting Nazi soldiers and mutants (which were sort of the precursor to Nazi zombies) in bases. Wolfenstein has actually aged alright, the gameplay is solid, mainly just face an enemy and shoot until they die and most enemies use guns which go on the hitscan method of damage, which can be a little annoying since there is a randomness factor involved in how much damage you'll take from a shot. Now the problem I had with Wolfenstein is the design, so many levels just felt and looked so similar, where Doom had a variety of environments and design choices, Wolfenstein has the same textures and very similar design on almost every level. 80% of the levels in this game just felt so similar to each other that I felt like I was in one of those old dungeon crawler RPG games going through a dungeon. Ocasionally the game will throw in a level that has a different and more unique design and it is the most exciting thing after going through many generic levels to get there. Plus the enemies also don't have much variety, you have your normal troops, the big troops with machine guns, then the fast troops. I guess you have dogs and mutants too but they aren't as common, but compared to Doom that had at least double the amount of enemies than this game.

I mean my biggest gripe with the game is the design, and how limited it feels and that's more due to the time it was made. Back in 1992, this game would have nothing short of amazing and revolutionary and its crazy thinking a game of this calibur could come out in an era where 2D games like Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog were at their peak, but the game just doesn't have a big variety of weapons and most of the weapons in this feel way too basic, the same old enemies get old, the level design gets pretty repetitive and tedious, the music isn't anything too special, and there were many better FPS games to come in the years following. But it still had some cool things that would revolutionizing the genre, and the hidden secrets were cool along with having Hitler as the final boss. Its a classic game worth playing at least once, but once Doom came out, this game sort of became a bit obsolete.

7.5

If you weren't around when this released, this game had a certain allure to it that few other games matched. Not only was it revolutionary for its genre, but there was nothing out there quite like it at all. Now it may seem dated and the design may seem repetitive, but back then it was just one giant mountain of discovery. It was bettered the next year by the less revolutionary, but better game DOOM... yet this is still a special game and deservedly iconic.

I want to give this a perfect score, however even I can admit that the level design doesn't hold up and was arguably never good to begin with due to the colour scheme id software went with. That said, that's the games only flaw as everything else about it holds up even to this day.

True to its advertising, this game lets you fight the nazis from wwii which was deemed so offensive back in the day that it remains banned in Germany to this day (understandably so as it violates rules regarding nazi depictions over there.) That said, I feel the only people who can take offence to this game are direct descendants of the survivors of the holocaust, mainly due to how the game does simplify the end of the regime which can come off as insensitive to them (Hitler is the final boss as a heads up.) For everyone else, it's mindless fun as you mow down sprites that represent members of one of the evillest organisations ever known to man whilst pillaging their treasure in tight maze-like levels that heighten the tension during each playthrough. This game has difficulty settings which really serve to test your skills as an FPS player the higher the setting, although doom would perfect this the following year with its difficulty settings (including its infamous nightmare setting.) Despite its controversy, the game was later re-released with additional campaigns that serve as prequels to the original trilogy on the main game, giving you more to do once you complete them.

It's a game that isn't for the faint hearted and with shoddy art direction, however if you can accept its premise and presentation, it's a ton of fun to play even to this day.

decent oldschool fps, the level design can be extremely frustrating at times and also at times it feels like they were fucking drunk designing some of the levels (essential keys hidden behind ambiguous secrets, retarded mazes etc) but its kind of enjoyable overall

oh and the last 3 episodes were released post game, (kind of like DLC) they were titled "nocturnal missions" (shit joke) after realizing it only takes 1 day to make a single level. so i can kind of tell that these last 3 episodes are far less polished and worse in quality/rushed. especially episode 6. fuck you episode 6.

6.5/10

Today, Wolfenstein 3D has become something of a footnote, and perhaps for good reason. Although it may seem harsh, the game could be called something of a dry run for DOOM, but for those of us who were able to play Wolf 3D in its day, it was jaw-dropping. I won't pretend that I was a PC gaming enthusiast when it came out, because I was but a child, but it was one of the first PC games that I remember playing and thinking that it had something over the consoles to which I was so accustomed. My uncle owned a copy of this game, and during a family reunion in the early 90s, on his IBM-compatible laptop, he showed it to myself, my siblings, and my cousins, perhaps against some protestations by our parents, and it floored me. I was used to playing the 2D games on the Nintendo (or the NES as it is usually called now), and here was this realistic, three-dimensional (or so we thought) world. Nowadays, it isn't that impressive, and I would much rather play DOOM, but this was tapping into something that I did not think possible, and even now it has its charm. The visuals are simple but somehow still artful. I think id knew how to work within the confines of the systems of the day that many developers did not, and they avoid looking dated as a result. The gameplay is likewise simple, consisting of just running, shooting, and opening doors, but who could blame them in those days for sticking to the fundamentals. The controls feel a bit awkward, but I have to cut some slack as there just wasn't much of a framework or blueprint to go off. I now understand that the world was 2D with a 3D presentation, achieved through clever programming and manipulation of the first person perspective, but it looked convincing at the time, and it was a feat that my child brain thought impossible. Wolf 3D was not the first FPS, let alone the earliest game with a first-person perspective, but it was the first one that seemed to know what it was doing and certainly the first one to break through to a mainstream audience. Coming at it completely fresh today, it likely won't be too appealing, and I cannot help but say go for DOOM and other later id titles, instead, hence my more middling score, but it just cannot be overstated how much of an impression it left on me at the time. I begged my parents to buy a PC for several years just to play this title, and it was worth the wait, and even today, Wolfenstein 3D is worth booting up now and then just for old times' sake. This was a revolution at the time and has immense historical and (for myself) personal significance that I cannot overlook.

More of a dungeon crawler than a FPS. Primitive 2D sprites, cramped camera controls and level designs. But at least the map designs have a good sense of depth to them. You'll find something new every time you play. On the downside, navigating a lot of levels can be a complete chore, having to grab two keys on opposite ends of a map that looks the same. No mini-map, and only the color of the walls as your point of reference. Though it's really fun action and a great challenge, plus, you get to kill Mecha-Hitler.