Wolfenstein 3-D

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Original North American box art.

Wolfenstein 3-D is a World War II themed first-person shooter developed by id Software and originally released for MS-DOS in 1992 and then ported to several other platforms. The game is based on a much older game, Escape From Castle Wolfenstein, and, like the original, you play a prisoner of war must escape from a Nazi dungeon. Additional episodes were added where you infiltrate Nazi strongholds and kill Hitler and other Nazi leaders. Wolfenstein 3-D is a video game milestone being one of the first hugely popular FPSs.

I first played Wolfenstein 3D in the early 1990s and was really impressed, not just by the 3D perspective, but also the gratuitous violence and digital speech. I rarely played the game fairly, usually relying on cheats to skip through most of the game, but I did play a few of the episodes properly.

This was also one of the first games I spent a lot of time trying to modify. I was able to get my hands on a map editor, and I made several custom maps for the game.

Status

I do not own Wolfenstein 3D, but have beaten the first three episodes at Bring 'Em On difficulty.

Review

  • Overall: 5/10
  • Best Version: DOS

Good

  • The game, for its time, is a beautiful example of a first-person shooter done right.
  • Though cartoonish, the graphics are well-drawn and attractive.
  • The enemy AI is pretty dumb, but it does sometimes cause some rather shocking results when they inadvertently sneak up on you from behind.
  • Bobby Prince's incorporation of Nazi and American political music was a nice touch.
  • The sliding secret doors is a really cool addition.
  • The addition of a secret 3-D Pac-Man level was pretty cool.

Bad

  • The game tends to become monotonous. After the third episode, you've seen nearly everything the game has to offer save the remaining bosses.
  • The use of lives and points doesn't really fit the game's theme.

Ugly

  • Nothing.

Documentation

Maps

Graphics

Gallery

Links