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    Wolfenstein 3D

    Game » consists of 12 releases. Released May 05, 1992

    Considered by many to be the progenitor of the first-person shooter genre, Wolfenstein 3D is a 1992 first-person action game that pits the player, as Allied spy William "B.J." Blazkowicz, against the might of Nazi Germany.

    epicsteve's Wolfenstein 3D (Xbox 360 Games Store) review

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    • epicsteve wrote this review on .
    • 2 out of 7 Giant Bomb users found it helpful.
    • epicsteve has written a total of 87 reviews. The last one was for Outlast
    • This review received 3 comments

    Doesn't stand the test of time

    Wolfenstein 3D is a pioneer that can be credited for inventing the first-person shooter genre. To celebrate the release of the new Wolfenstein game this summer, Id Software and Nerve ported the classic 1992 PC game to PSN and Xbox Live Arcade. The end result gives a great opportunity for console gamers to experience one of the most important games in history, but doesn't necessarily produce a desirable game.


    While some ported classics like Doom and Duke Nukem provide some bases of entertainment, and stand the test of time to some degree, Wolfenstein simply doesn't. The game is filled with too much empty space, non of the weapons are interesting, and the design of the environment has aged horribly. All the levels are designed as mazes, so naturally you'll constantly get lost and have no way to know where you're at because most of the walls/rooms are gray. So there's this constant strain of monotony that plagues the game, and the standards of today's gameplay design has put this game in an unfortunate spot of unplayability for new-comers.


    To add to this, Wolfenstein is fucking hard, too. I had to lower the difficulty all the way to make it through the game's six levels. You have a fixed amount of lives per level, and when you die, you'll lose all of your weapons and be stuck with the standard pistol with limited ammo. You're never in a situation were you're over-whelmed by the volume of enemies, but considering one bullet can take away 35% of your health is a tad extreme, and that's on the easiest difficulty.


    Wolfenstein's shortcoming are not unexpected considering the era it came from. While its faults are completely understandable, it doesn't necessarily make it a good game. It's a shame that Nerve couldn't at least give the option for a mini-map. Overall, Wolfenstein 3D shouldn't be played for enjoyment, but for either nostalgia or by anyone curious of where Doom, Half-Life and Halo came from.



    Other reviews for Wolfenstein 3D (Xbox 360 Games Store)

      GET PSYCHED...OR GET OUT! 0

      As one of the first first-person shooters released, Wolfenstein 3D helped to popularize the FPS genre on the PC and also established the run-and-gun archetype in FPS games. Originally released for the PC, it was then ported to several home consoles and computer systems, including the 3DO, the Game Boy Advance, the Atari Jaguar and the Super Nintendo. The game was also ported more recently to the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. There is also an online version of the game on the web. It's also one...

      1 out of 1 found this review helpful.

      The nostalgia factor 0

      When I saw Wolfenstein 3D on Xbox Live Marketplace I had bought it before even blinking again. I fondly remember as a child that my brother and I would take 2 hour turns playing the game as we only had one computer. One would sit and wish the time away while the same two hours was a blur of enjoyment for the other. Wolfenstein 3D is known as the grandaddy of FPS games due to its first person perspective and "3D" graphics. However when I loaded up this version what immediately struck me is that i...

      0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

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