Wolfenstein 3D (1992)
Believe it or not Wolfenstein 3D is actually an remake of an classic computer game called Castle Wolfenstein. id Software decided to recreate it their way being surprisingly true to it. id Software following this game became the owners of Wolfenstein franchise. This game still blows many people away today. Not only this started FPS genre, this also gave notice to console gamers about computers as well. Wolfenstein 3D begin an theme with FPS games that pushed DOS & other computer companies. It is an impressive feat to have an game as complex as Wolfenstein 3D & it works very well. Most levels are maze inspired allowing you to explore around each floor including secret ones. In Wolfenstein 3D you are B.J. Blazkowicz an American soldier taking on the Nazis. Now what's interesting is there's two main plots. I am not kidding the original three episodes is all about hunting down Adolf Hitler. Episodes 4-6 are prequel to those episodes about him stopping an chemical warfare from happening. Most classic FPS games doesn't have as close as many levels as Wolfenstein 3D. Officially counting secret levels there are sixty levels. Not many games has more levels even if I included their expansions. Everything about this game works very well. You quickly get use to enemies including bosses. An handful of weapons with majority sharing the same ammo. An great soundtrack for it's time. If I have any major problems with this. I think many people would agree some levels are confusing to figure out where to go.
Spear of Destiny (1992)
Not too long after Wolfenstein 3D, id Software comes back with Spear of Destiny. Like The Nocturnal Missions for Wolfenstein 3D. Spear of Destiny takes place before those episodes. Instead of doing the episodes theme like Wolfenstein 3D. Spear of Destiny decided to give you one big episode kinda like Doom II did to Doom 1. Sadly only bosses changed with some new level designs. Everything else is incredibly similar to Wolfenstein 3D. In fact I could do an blog about top 5 ways to differ Doom II to Doom 1 for those that can't tell the difference. I can't say the same about Spear of Destiny. Many people often called it an expansion to Wolfenstein rather than an follow up because of that. To be honest Spear of Destiny is an great game. This game started an theme that stopped with Final Doom. Which was each main game as well as expansions from ID Software would keep getting tougher. Yes Spear of Destiny is tougher to beat than Wolfenstein 3D. Honestly compared to most official Doom expansions, it wasn't as much as fun. You really need to memorize every level clearly if you want to survive.
Mission Packs for Spear of Destiny (1994)
Roughly two years later FormGen released two expansions for Spear of Destiny. I will only state what I didn't talk about in another recent blog entry relating to these. Both of them are horribly put together. Much tougher & more unforgiving compared to Spear of Destiny. Everything doesn't work with these games at all.
http://jackred1989.blogspot.com/2016/09/top-5-reasons-why-mission-packs-for.html
Return to Castle Wolfenstein (2001)
In 2001 an company called Grey Matter Interactive with id Software. The first official reboot of an historical video game franchise. Return to Castle Wolfenstein is still considered by many one of the greatest FPS of all time. They brought most of what I loved about Wolfenstein 3D & built on it. This was an refreshing take on the concept. Just like Wolfenstein 3D was technically impressive for it's time. So was Return to Castle Wolfenstein as many consider it one of the best among early 2000s games. Everything works incredibly well with this game. I am honestly really impressed how great this game actually is. Probably my second favorite Wolfenstein game as of recently. I love the controls, doing each objective and most cut scenes. I barely have any major issues with this game is an great sign. My biggest issue was how unbalanced the bosses are compared to the other games in Wolf Pack. Let me explain the first boss is pretty much normal. Roughly 50% you will either die or survive to fight another day. The second boss was the hardest boss in all of Wolf Pack. I kid you not Super Soldier boss was very difficult. The final boss was too easy after you figure him out. Honestly yes some of your enemies does surprise damage to you but this also occurs in the other games in this pack. Sadly no one is playing it online so I haven't got to play what many considered the best part of it. Return to Castle Wolfenstein is one of the best video game reboots I ever played. The developers knew this had a lot of high expectations because of Wolfenstein 3D. The fact this delivered exactly what most of them wanted tells you how amazing this game is. You get a lot more weapons with some having secondary fires kinda like Perfect Dark. This was an great modern take on an classic video game concept that easily could've gone wrong. Yes I'm not hiding how much I love this game. Some enemies mostly undead are the worst because it takes a lot of ammo to put them down. Some will constantly come after you limiting how you fight them. Most Nazis themselves are done very well compared to those from Wolfenstein 3D. This is an solid game that many more people needs to play.
From worst to best among all games included in Wolf Pack down below...
4. Both mission packs for Spear of Destiny
3. Spear of Destiny
2. Return to Castle Wolfenstein
1. Wolfenstein 3D
I hope you guys like my Wolfenstein blog entry, don't forget to check out an more in depth look at those mission packs. I am currently going to try to get more into Wolfenstein series. I already was an huge Doom fan for an few years. I just can't get enough from id Software more recently with some of the best games. Until next time I'm Jack Red & I'll see all of you later.
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