While the single player campaign is good, Return to Castle Wolfenstein
absolutely shines in multiplayer. The maps are large and well-designed and
provide for exciting and challenging multiplayer melees. Multiplayer games
are team-based, with players joining either the Axis or Allied sides. The
multiplayer game leaves the fanciful world of zombies and mutant super soldiers
behind, though, so multiplayer matches represent more conventional
warfare. Team-based play is encouraged by the four character classes
provided by the game: soldier, medic, engineer, and lieutenant. Soldiers
are standard infantry and can use all of the available two-handed weapons in the
game. Medics can provide health packs and revive downed soldiers.
This can save a respawn followed by a lengthy hike back to the frontlines.
In addition, each medic provides a 10 health point bonus to everyone on a
side. Engineers are demolition and repair experts. Assaulting teams
will need an engineer in order to use dynamite to take out walls and reinforced
doors. Defending teams will do well to have an engineer available to
repair damaged machinegun emplacements. Finally, lieutenants have three
unique abilities. The first is the ability to provide ammo packs to other
players. Secondly, they can call in airstrikes by marking a target with a
smoke grenade. Finally, lieutenants can use binoculars to direct an
artillery barrage at the enemy. There are no ammo or health power-ups
available in the game, and the maps feature obstacles which require engineers to
overcome, so it is vital that each player side consist of a balanced team of
specialists.
The four player classes are just one of the things used by Return to Castle
Wolfenstein to encourage cooperative team play. There are no deathmatch
games. Instead games are objective based and the winning side is
determined by the number of objectives held at the end of a game. Often
one side acts as the attacker and the other the defender, but there is a game
type which provides each side with objectives to both defend and capture.
Spawning is also implemented in a manner to encourage cooperation. Dead
players are respawned at regular timed intervals and must wait for the next
interval before returning to the game. When a spawn interval passes, all
of the waiting players enter into the game together. Instead of having a
steady stream of players entering combat at all times, there are waves of
entering players which act more as reinforcing squads and can coordinate their
move to the frontlines.
Return to Castle Wolfenstein is two games for the price of one. In many
games, the multiplayer component is very similar to or a weaker cousin of the
single player campaign. This is not the case in Return to Castle
Wolfenstein, where the single and multiplayer modes play out quite
differently. Most gamers will enjoy the single player campaign, but it is
the great multiplayer game that will keep them playing Return to Castle
Wolfenstein for hours on end.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 92%.
A pretty darn good shooter with great atmosphere, Return to Castle Wolfenstein
should not be missed. The single player campaign is visually interesting
and enjoyable to play, but the multiplayer mode is where the game really
shines.
System Requirements: 400 MHz Pentium II CPU; 128 MB RAM; 16 MB
Video RAM; 4x CD-ROM; 800 MB Hard Drive Space; Mouse.
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