"Even without Xbox Live this is one of the best Xbox FPS you can buy."

Return to Castle Wolfenstein originally debuted on the PC in November of 2001. This marked the return (no pun intended) of the series that invented the FPS genre. The game was very well received on the PC, offering an excellent storyline, awesome graphics, solid gameplay, great sound and superb online play. Return to Castle Wolfenstein is essentially a direct port of the PC version with a few nice additions. For one, if you complete the single player campaign you unlock the original Wolfenstein, now the game is nothing to get really excited about but it is a nice addition none-the-less. Also, id has added four new levels that take off from the beginning of the game. In the PC version you started out in a prison cell at Castle Wolfenstein, with no explanation as to why you are there or how you got there. The four new levels shed light on the situation and essentially tell the story of why you are at Castle Wolfenstein and what is happening. So Return to Castle Wolfenstein Tides of War is much more than a straight port of the PC version and if you’re a die hard Wolfenstein fan you should at least give the game a rent to try out the bonus levels in the beginning of the game.

NOTE: I do not have Xbox Live, so my view on the game does not include the Xbox Live experience.

Graphics-9
Return to Castle Wolfenstein Tides of War features some really nice graphics. What stand out are the weapon and character models. The guns look really good and the character models feature well rendered facial features. The environments are very well done too. Castle Wolfenstein looks old and worn down in a very realistic way. The “scary” areas are very creepy with excellent use fog to keep you on your toes. The level designs are fairly varied so you get a nice balance of great looking levels. The cutscenes are truly fantastic and feature the best mouth movement I have seen in any game. Even individual teeth and tongue movements can be seen when characters are talking.

Sound-9
This is where I think the game really shines. One area that really helps or detracts from my enjoyment of shooting games is how the weapons sound firing and how the bullets sound coming at you. Well in Return to Castle Wolfenstein Tides of War both sound fantastic. Bullets whiz by you and really make it feel like you’re in some intense combat, the sound of the bullets hitting wooden objects behind you is classic. The Mauser Rifle gives off an extremely loud blast, both from you and when your enemies are firing from a distance. The voice work is also very well done, its quite cool to sneak up on Nazi soldiers having a chat hearing there voices get louder and louder as you approach. The German and British accents are properly done.

Gameplay/Controls-9
I really enjoyed Return to Castle Wolfenstein Tides of War it has several difficulty levels which fit in, as they should. I played it on the second hardest level of four “Bring em on!” and was satisfied at the difficulty I encountered. The controls are your standard FPS. There really isn’t much to tell, the aiming is precise your character doesn’t move to slow or to fast. Later on when you get a lot of weapons switching between them can be a little hassle, especially when you’re being assaulted. But it is really nothing to complain about.

Story-8
Return to Castle Wolfenstein Tides of War’s story revolves around the Nazi’s involvement in the Occult. Specifically Heinrich Himmler, for those of you who don’t know he was basically Hitler’s right hand man. I never like to get into the storyline very much as I feel it can ruin the experience somewhat. I enjoyed the storyline, being a big fan of history and WWII I got a lot of enjoyment out of it for obvious reasons. And I think that the average Joe whose knowledge of WWII consists of what happen in Saving Private Ryan can enjoy it as well.

Replay-8
If I had Xbox Live I could play this game online with others forever, but without Live it doesn’t have nearly as much staying power. The addition of the original Wolfenstein is nice, but it is severely outdated and is more of a gimmick than anything. The addition of four new levels are nice, but the game only took me around 12 hours on the second hardest difficulty level. I consider myself to be a great FPS player though, so it might take you a little longer if you’re a novice to the genre.

To Buy or Rent?
If you like FPS, then Return to Castle Wolfenstein Tides of War is the game for you. If you only mildly enjoy the FPS games and didn’t like Halo all that much then you most likely wont like this game. For hardcore Wolfenstein fans, like I said you should at least give the game a rent to try out the four new levels. I haven’t played it on Xbox Live, but for you Xbox Live fans looking for a great FPS that can go online this should tide(pun intended) you over until Counter-Strike comes to town later this year.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/11/03, Updated 06/11/03