I must admit that I’m old enough to have played the PC’s instant classic Wolfenstein 3D and enjoyed every minute of it.  So I was particularly thrilled by the fact that several years later, a new game found itself on the PC with today‘s advanced gaming technology.  Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War now finds itself on the Xbox and your game-loving reviewer has reverted back to that overly excited child that couldn’t get enough of some first-person shooting action.  How well does this one stack up, you ask me?  Let’s find out.

The game’s single Campaign mode puts you in the GI boots of B. J. Blazkowicz during World War II as he is handpicked by OSA intelligence to infiltrate the Third Reich’s secret operations overseen by head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler.  Driven by Adolph Hitler’s obsession with the paranormal, Himmler seeks out the dark power of an evil Germanic fiend that wished to raise an army of undead Dark Knights but was imprisoned for centuries.  Seeing a potential in this, Himmler seeks to extract this power to create an army of enhanced Nazi warriors.  As Blazkowicz you travel to the corners of the earth until you find yourself in the famed Castle Wolfenstein where the situation just goes from bad to worse.

With an interesting premise that mixes both Nazi-fighting action with several encounters with undead zombies and creatures bathed in hellfire, the game plays like your average first-person shooter.  The controls are pretty straightforward, a good thing really since it allows you to concentrate on aiming accurately and shooting.  You can even kick breakable obstacles (which you’ll be doing a lot of since there are hidden chambers filled with secret items).  You’ll find that switching weapons is fast and efficient since you do get to use an ample amount of weapons from shotguns to sniper rifles.  There are even moments when you need to use some stealth moves, but these moments are more a suggestion than a requirement.

Here’s the fun part: Campaign mode can be played as a co-op game . . . meaning you can go through the entire game with a friend playing the role of fellow comrade, Agent One.  This is actually something of a blessing since the game can sure pile on the enemies (many of, which are intelligent enough to get out of the line of your fire or that grenade you just, tossed).  As in Halo, the action is seen split-screen style and runs along somewhat smoothly (there’s some hiccups here and there).  Playing with a friend will help you beat the game a bit faster.  Your reward for completing Campaign mode?  It unlocks the original Wolfenstein 3D . . . how’s that for extras?

The real treat, though, is the Xbox Live multiplayer mode (you can also play the same online games through the System Link deal).  Up to sixteen gamers can team up as the Axis or the Allied troops in Objective, Stopwatch, Checkpoint and Elimination.  Each game type brings it own challenges but half the fun is interacting with your teammates that have their own specialty or character class.  One gamer can assume the role of Medic, handing out med kits to comrades that call out for them while another assumes the role of Engineer, Lieutenant or soldier.  Since teamwork is the key here, you’re often come up with strategies and battle plans via the Xbox Communicator headset.   Online, the game runs somewhat smoothly but there’s plenty of gamers eager to team up with (as of this writing, I’m already on two group’s Friend list).  There’s even a scoreboard to see how which team is worth challenging and some downloadable extras promised.

Graphically speaking, the game doesn’t take full advantage of the Xbox’ graphics power but this game still looks amazing.  The cut scenes and character animation are wonderful to look at but it’s the visual effects that will be sure to impress.  For instance, tossing a grenade not only causes an impressive explosion but you’ll still find the cloud of dust linger a several moments after.  Flames from the flamethrower look realistic, as does the rocket shot from a rocket launcher.  Environments look pretty decent, although there are times that the texture in the walls of various building don’t look at good up close as it did from afar.  It’s not really a big complain seeing as this still a great looking FPS.   

Sound-wise, though, the game does a fantastic job of take advantage of the Dolby Digital sound support.  There’s nothing quite like listening to an all-out gun battle as bullets are flying from every which direction as well as the sounds of Nazis shouting back at comrades.  The voice acting is done well, although it’s funny how the Nazis sound like Hogan’s Heroes stereotypes (I watch way too much classic TV shows on cable) which does take away from the realistic feel of the period that Medal of Honor: Frontline was so good at establishing.  Top it off with a great score and you have a game with sound worthy of your surround sound system.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War is well worth the purchase price not only for the great first-person shooter action and story, but for the Xbox Live features that really should be experienced right away.  Much like Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon, the Xbox version--compared to the PS2--just adds more value to the overall experience and thus makes this the essential console version to own.  Do yourself the favor of picking this one up, you won’t regret it. 

Gameplay: 9.0
The game controls are both tight and effective enough to you’ll be switching weapons on the fly or ducking for cover without accidentally pushing the wrong button.  Aiming isn’t incredibly difficult either so trying to aim a far too sensitive reticule won’t frustrate you.  You can also crouch to sneak up behind some unsuspecting Nazi stooges for a stealth kill.

The enemy AI is also a lot smarter than the average FPS enemy, meaning you won’t see a lot of enemy soldiers running blindly towards you if you decide to stay hidden behind the corner they spotted you behind.  Toss a grenade too early and an enemy soldier will kick it back in your general direction.  The undead foes, though, understandably attack mindlessly . . . what do you expect from a zombie?

Graphics: 8.5
Visually, Return to Castle Wolfenstein is far more striking than Activision’s most recent first-person shooter Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix and gamers that have played the PC version will be pleasantly surprised in this respect.  For one thing, the visual effects are simply amazing, especially when explosions or a hail of gunfire from a gun turret bombards you.  Flick on your flamethrower and watch the mesmerizing flames consume the unsuspecting Nazi who starts flailing his arms and lighting things (and people) up as he runs in terror.

The framerate, however (especially when playing co-op with a friend during the game’s story-driven Campaign mode), does tend to drop enough to make for some jittery movement.  Still, while it’s very noticeable throughout the game, it’s never burdensome.  Still, there’s some great cut scene animation here and the environments (especially those with body of water) look really sharp and realistic.  

Sound: 9.0
Great use of the Dolby Digital sound support makes for a game with plenty of great sound effects and a good score that certainly does set the mood (check out the opening cinema to see what I mean).  If you have a good sound system hooked up to your Xbox, you’ll be able to pinpoint the exact direction when gunfire is coming from or what door a Nazi soldier just opened.  There’s also some pretty decent voice acting to be found here, although the Germans all seem to have comically exaggerated accents.  Their dialogue during the game is also amusing and often hilarious.

Difficulty: Medium
Castle Wolfenstein is actually a very challenging game that throws various kinds of dangers your way since you’re not just dealing with some pretty well armed and somewhat intelligent Nazi soldiers.  Blazkowicz also has to deal with the army of the undead--many of which wield medieval weapons or use powerful magic.  You’ll definitely find the single player game challenging in the normal setting (called Bring Them On in this game), but playing coop with a friend evens the odds quite nicely.

Concept: 9.0
Alone the game might seem like your average first-person shooter that just happens to have a really interesting and entertaining story and plenty of shoot-everything-in-sight action.  The fact that you’re dealing with Nazis and the undead make for a real change of pace and is unique in its own way.  Still, the feature that takes this one to the top of the got-to-have-it list is the online multiplayer component.  Those without the Xbox Live service will be missing out on the perfect multiplayer team-based action this side of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon.  The different character classes and game modes are enough make a die-hard action gamer drool (somebody pass me a napkin).

Multiplayer: 9.8
Quite possibly the blueprint of how games should handle their multiplayer and online features, the game piles on enough multiplayer goodies to keep gamers busy for a very long time to come.  First there’s the much welcome cooperative play feature for the game’s story mode that offers up some great split-screen fun (unless you set the game up with a System Link cable and another Xbox) as you and a friend take up the role of Blazkowicz and Agent One.  While this is great stuff, it pales in comparison to the Xbox Live supported multiplayer mode.  Here, the game puts you and up to sixteen other players in an all-out team-based war.  The teams even come complete with their own character classes so you can go from medic to demolition expert.  Plus, the game makes no secret out of the fact that there will be plenty of maps and extra goodies to download pretty soon.

Overall: 9.2
Fall in, soldiers, Return to Castle Wolfenstein is first-person shooter heaven for Xbox owners.  With a decent single player story mode complete with a great supernatural twist and equally wonderful visuals and sound, the action is thick enough to sink your teeth into it.  Add one of the best multiplayer options, like the great Xbox Live support, to the mix and you’ll have a Must-Have game you’ll be glad to play for the many months to come.