Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War

"Tides of War brings FPS gaming to the next level"

First off, I used to hate first person shooters. Ever since I was scared out of my boots playing Duke Nukem as a kid, I rarely ever buy a FPS. However, I have found the exception to my hatred towards FPS's and it's name is Wolfenstein. Before buying this game I decided to check out reviews just to see what other people thought about the game and it was proclaimed as one of the best games on the Xbox. I knew that I had to give this game a shot, and now here I am, proclaiming this game just as many others have.

You take on the role of Captain B.J.Blazkowicz who specializes in heavy weaponry, covert operations, and assassination. In the game you encounter many different enemies but mostly soldiers of the Third Reich. Later in the game you have to fight undead monsters, and x-creatures which can be a pain in the behind. The controls are like most FPS's and eventually you will get used to them, although at first they do seem rather difficult.

The gameplay in Tides of War is the games best aspect. In total there are 8 missions, but there are many levels inside each mission that it takes a good amount of time and skill to beat the game. The guns are very cool, you can choose from handguns such as the Colt or Luger or you can go with heavier guns like the Thompson M1A1 or the MP40. A great selection which allows for maximum enjoyement. The game is very realistic such as if you shoot somebody in the head they might die right away rather than taking a few more shots.

The graphics in the game are above average. They aren't overly spectacular but they are better than what you will find with most other first person shooters. Character models are well designed. The guns are very detailed and the same goes for the levels. At times the game seems very frightening because of how well the lighting, fog, and all other details have been worked out.

I like the story, but at times it seems very generic. The fate of the Allied troops rests on your shoulders. You basically need to infiltrate the Third Reich base and stop Himmler from resurrecting an undead army. Along the way you run into some trouble, and I'll let you discover the rest for yourself.

Multiplayer is a fun way of playing with a few friends or even going online. The online play is the main reason why I got this game. However, I still can't get my Xbox Live hooked up so you'll have to resort to someone else's review for the online parts.

Replayability for this game depends on the player. If you like to beat the game on every difficulty level than you will enjoy playing this game over and over again. Otherwise most people won't play the campaign mode that many times. But as for online play, I'm sure you will want to keep going back and playing on that over and over again.

My final thoughts, would be to tell you that this game is a must buy. Go out and get it now. Definitely get Xbox Live because I'm sure that this is the best part of the game and I hope to hook mine up soon and see you all on there.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/14/03, Updated 06/14/03