Return to Castle Wolfenstein Multiplayer Demo

The FPS hall of fame accommodates a wide variety of shooters, which managed to somehow innovate the genre or the entire industry at the time of their release, whether by integrating successful new mechanics, or with the help of a staggering new graphics engine. Thus, Half-Life, Doom and Wolfenstein 3D are quite well known for being part of the revolution, although there are many other titles out there that managed to do the same in more recent times.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein was a bold attempt to continue the saga of Wolfenstein 3D, which was a massive undertaking, considering the fact that the developers had to keep the feeling intact and yet struggle to impress through innovation for a second time in a row. Despite this great pressure, Grey Matter Interactive managed to succeed in their task and release a very sturdy sequel, complete with a fascinating story, catchy atmosphere and plenty of new gimmicks to appeal to the new generation of gamers as well.

While the multiplayer component does not really take into account the background story from the singleplayer mode, the maps are somewhat inspired from the locations you get to visit as you go through the campaign, so the plot deserves a small mention as well. Hence, B.J. Blazkowich makes a comeback in this title too, as he manages to escape from a Nazi interrogation and make his way out of the torture chambers. Throughout the game, he must go head-to-head with various supernatural creatures concocted by the Nazis to aid them in the war, as well as plain soldiers that serve as cannon fodder in between the atmospheric boss fights.

Now, the multiplayer mode had to fill in some pretty big shoes as well, especially when you consider the fact that it had to compete with the likes of Half-Life and Quake III, which was no easy task. However, success was achieved in this regard as well, thanks to the fluid mechanics and the exciting gameplay that kept the players glued to the screen for hours at end. Although there are only three game modes to try out, including Deathmatch, Checkpoint and Stopwatch, the different classes and the balanced maps, not to mention the huge fan support when it comes to player-created content, can definitely provide you with a lot of fun, as long as you can still find an active community.

The game is completed by its technical prowess, since the graphics engine received a lot of attention from the developers as well, who managed to stretch the id Tech 3 to its limits and create a fascinating world in the process. The textures are sublime, there are plenty of special effects to improve the atmosphere and the characters themselves have been nicely modeled. Moreover, things are just as jolly in the sound department as well, since the music and the voice acting fully accomplish their objectives.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein can only be praised when it comes to gameplay and the overall atmosphere, while all the other bits and pieces come together perfectly to revolutionize the genre yet again. Hence, the game deserves its place in the hall of fame and it certainly stood the test of time, since it can still be used as an inspiration source, even today.