First Impressions: Wolfenstein 3D

And now for another retro game played on a console with nonstandard controls! However, unlike the Binatone, the Atari Jaguar's controller was... well it was awful. But that shouldn't stop you playing the Wolfenstein 3D, one of my favourite games of the entire EGX expo!

Basically, it's a 3D shooter set in a Nazi castle (specifically, Castle Wolfenstein. Wait, did the Nazi's even have castles?) that acts as a prison camp, where you play as William "B.J." Blazkowicz, an American spy of Polish descent as he attempts to escape from the prison. While he does this he also attempts to kill many Nazi officers, sabotage them where he can and... collect Nazi treasure...? 

Anyways, the game begins with you having overpowered your guard and obtained a basic pistol and knife, which you use to overpower more guards and, eventually work your way up to a submachine gun and other, much better weapons. As you progress through the levels, you can also get more points by collecting the aforementioned treasure, finding all the hidden rooms, getting a 100% kill ratio and by completing the game quickly (yeah, I can't say that I was this good when playing...). 

But something else that I found out (towards the later parts of my playthrough, I might add) is that when you die, you are sent back to the beginning of the level with only your pistol and knife. Now, let me tell you that this was quite a shock after going around with the submachine gun for a while.  

I don't think that I got particularly far in my limited playthrough as I only reached the first boss, but it was enough to convince me that I wouldn't mind playing the game, or at least the genre, again. There were only two things that put me off slightly. Firstly there was the viewpoint - think Doom's gun (you know, the one that is directly in front of you as if your hands were coming from your chest) seen though hyperspace (as in everything is stretched slightly to the side). However, this only took a bit of getting used to. Secondly, was the previously mentioned controller - this took a bit more getting used to but still nothing prevented me from enjoying what was simply an enjoyable run and gun game. 

Overall, the game was great fun and enjoyable and, well, gamey (which I think is going to become a more serious criteria point in the future) although it was let down slightly by the ill-fated Atari Jaguar. 

 

Goodbye for now, Harry