Wolfenstein 3D

"If you've played the PC version, you've played the GBA version."

Ah, yes. Good ol' Wolfenstein 3D. In this port of the classic FPS, you play as B.J., an anti-Nazi soldier who unfortunately got the death sentence, and has been trapped in Castle Wolfenstein, where he must introduce bullets to Nazi's faces as he makes his way out. And, well, if you've played Wolfenstein on the PC, you know what this game is like. I'm fairly certain it's a direct port, so don't except anything new except for new controls.

Graphics: 8/10

The 3D-ish graphics look great for the GBA, and everything from the original PC game is here, including blood, and shooting poor guard dogs to death. However, that's what earned this game a Mature rating, even though the original PC game, and during the opening screens (Yes, even on the GameBoy Advance version), had a PC-13 rating.

The game isn't very dark at all, which is a plus to those of us without an Afterburner, or decent light source. The menus are pretty basic, though nothing special.

Sound: 3/10

The music? Nothing. None. Nada. Jack squat. If you wanted music, too bad. There is no music to listen to, so your stuck to using a CD player or something similar, if you want to listen to something while playing besides the sub-par sound effects.

The sound effects are sub-par, for there aren't very many, and the ones that do exist get quite annoying after a while. Hearing a door open and the strange bumping sound that happens anytime you hit a wall for the elevendy billionth time gets quite irritating.

Gameplay: 7/10

A bare-bones FPS (But what do you expect from a game this old?), but great fun. 8 scenarios over several floors per scenario makes this little package of fun last for quite a while. Each floor is a maze in itself, as each maze gets more challenging than the last. On top of that, the game tests your reflexes as there are hundreds of Nazis that guard the area, each one begging to face the wrath of your gun.

Guns range from a pistol to a chaingun, and as you play through the game, a new gun can be found, each one better than the last. The realism is also quite high, as we all know that, if you eat enough dog food, your bullet wounds can heal like new.

Controls:

Simple, but the use of the L and R buttons is quite tedious.

The control pad moves, B activates a door or elevator, A fires the weapon or stabs with the knife, L and R strafe left or right, and holding L&R runs.

Wrap up:

This portable version of Wolfenstein is sure to please the fans of Wolfenstein, and FPS fans in general, but there are no extras. No cake, no pie, no ice cream. It's a bare-bones version of Wolfenstein re-produced onto the GameBoy, but that's not a bad thing.

Value?

I'd pay $15-20 USD for this, as a fair price. $40 seems a bit high...

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/25/02, Updated 06/25/02