This year is the 60th Anniversary of the fall of Hitler’s Nazi Germany.
Yeah. I heard there‘s lots of places in Europe were celebrating it, and some that even went so far as to invite President Bush to their parties… why I don‘t know. But I do know one thing, I wasn’t invited to any of those parties so I don’t care for whatever it is they did at those parties. Phooey on them and their fun.
Anyway, since it was just me and myself on this momentous occasion (and nobody is throwing things that may or may not be grenades at me while I write this) I decided to celebrate the occasion by reviewing a Nazi stomping video game… but what to play? That was the question.

I wasn’t too keen on reviewing Call Of Duty : Finest Hour since it lacked save points (meaning you‘d better be an excellent shot or have a God mode code ready to wade through endless enemies), and it featured the Russians… eck, speaking of which what’s with the obligatory Tractor Factory level everytime there’s Russians in a first person shooter anyway! Just because Russians always talk about making tractors doesn’t mean there has to be a Tractor Factory level!
And I wasn’t too keen on Medal of Honor : Frontlines for only having 19 Missions to play through, and while I wanted to review Brothers In Arms (the newest WWII first person shooter milking the same fanbase that Call of Duty : Finest Hour went after… those who watched Saving Private Ryan or the HBO Series Band of Brothers) I couldn‘t get ahold of a copy so that review was no go.
Anyway, the real fact of the matter was I felt more like shooting zombies than Nazis… that and North Koreans but it just made no sense to review Mercenaries or Project : Snowblind during this occasion… so I opted for Nazis… zombies… Nazis… zombies… so I split the difference and chose Zombie Nazis.
Which is not exactly true at the start, but more on that later.

Odds are if you made a top ten list of the first person shooters you played in the past that you loved playing, one of those games just might be the original PC Castle Wolfenstein.
A PC classic, this original shooter was not very beautiful graphics wise, but what it didn’t have in that dept. it made up for in sheer playability and fun. The game was solid, the action was good and the gameplay decent, and it was one of those classics that got gamers hooked (along with other games like the original Doom which is now celebrating it’s 3rd slash 31/2 incarnation on the PC with it’s new Expansion pack and the Xbox with the release of Doom3... If only they had managed to tape that light on top of the guns though. And yes, that’s important because if you’ve seen Obscure for the PC then you are left to question this… just how intelligent is the person you’re playing as if a dumb jock in a survival horror video game set in a high school is smart enough to duct tape a flashlight to his gun, and you’re Doom3 character isn‘t so smart.
But since this isn’t a Doom3 review I’ll get back to Castle Wolfenstein, where no flashlights are required.

There were a few sequels to this game if I remember, but we’re looking at the more recent PS2 version sequel, Return to Castle Wolfenstein : Operation Resurrection.
The game starts in, of all places, the year

983AD as a lone JedI robed wizard takes down a powerful (and probably immortal) megalomaniac “dark knight“, sealing him away for what he hopes would be forever.
Flash forward 1000 years and see that forever isn’t going to be in the plans for this sealed up powerful dude as it looks like Hitler’s supernatural hunters have located the dude’s “prison” and look ready to dig it up.

Now, before we go further, a little talk about Hitler and the Occult.
Yes. If you’ve seen movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade or even the recently released Hellboy movie, or any of a number of WWII slash Nazi themed mainstream US comics set in such Universes as the MARVEL, DC or probably even the IMAGE Universes then you’ve seen this trend that makes Hitler look like an occult obsessed dictator, hellbent on digging up the evils of the ancient world and using the “dark side” to wipe out his enemies and become more powerful.
Sounds like a tall yarn and the work of fiction writer’s imaginations, right?
Not so. According to historians the real Hitler really DID have a thing for the occult, along with actual proof that Hitler dabbled in the occult. Sure, Hitler never raised an army of the undead, nor did he find the “Spear of Destiny”, the Ark of the Covenant, or the Holy Grail but he was interested in the topic.
And while I’m at it Hitler also did not summon the forces of darkness, raise an overthrown evil dictator or “dark knight” creature of the past to serve and fight for him, nor did he master the power of the dark gods or summon demons to do his bidding, but he was still interested in the topic nevertheless.
Then again what he and his henchmen did over their years in power should have disgusted even the most vile of demons and undead so maybe they were just avoiding him and his cronies since they kind of made a lot of “dark things“ look like pansies in comparison to the atrocities they committed.

So, with that being said, taking that real fact showed a connection between Hitler and the Occult it’s clear why a lot of creators went one step further and had Nazis digging up ancient evils left and right, mostly because it wasn’t entirely false in the premise of Hitler’s interest in the occult… that and if it worked for Harrison Ford it’ll work for Activision.

Thus we come to Operation Resurrection.
In Episode 1 (of 6) you’re chillin’ over in Tunisa when you’re given the orders to slip into nearby Egypt (where Hitler’s gang was hanging out in Raiders of the Lost Ark), with orders to find out what they’re doing inside an ancient Egyptian site that’s supposed to carry the eternally damned (who, if woken, would rise as the undead to consume the living… just like Raccoon City but with foreign accents and even more decayed corpses). Yeah, apparently Indy was out so you were their only hope.

Of course this is just the beginning for you. After wading through the streets of an Egyptian city and the underground catacombs of an ancient tomb, you’ll take a trip to Castle Wolfenstein as the unofficial “guest” of the Nazis… of course you’ll “decline” the invite and escape, leading eventually to Episode 3 and… you’ll see. Well, in 30 missions spaced out over 6 “Chapters” you’ll fight your way from Egypt all the way to Castle Wolfenstein, then out of the Castle and into

another dig nearby which contains the “dark knight” thing seen at the start of the game, then probably back to the Castle Wolfenstein once again where you’ll have to fight both the living and the unliving (which really hasn‘t happened much though I hope that picks up soon) as you play. Ultimately you’ll find yourself face to face with the thing that was at the start of this game, the so called “Dark Knight” thing.

And that is where I note the undead… first undead that you fight in Egypt, despite your character’s insistence that they were “zombies”, were in fact “mummies”… you know, like Arnold Vosloo’s character from The Mummy who was “mummified” and sealed away like a criminal… only these guys have no staying power and die easy enough if you shoot them enough times.

As for the gameplay? Gameplay is solid, really. It’s an easy first person shooter to master, and enjoy, with enough of a challenge (and multiple level settings) to really give you a workout. Getting into the swing of the game will be easy, mastering the game is going to be a challenge (but a nice challenge).
You won’t be short of means to eradicate your Nazi foes as you’ll be able to pick up quite a few interesting weapons during the game, and use lots of stealth techniques to get past the many Nazis you’ll have to fight to move from level to level.

As you play you’ll locate weapons, as well as treasures (the more hidden spots and treasures you find the more points you’ll earn for upgrades for your character during the game) and items you can use to replenish your health or provide armor boosts. And as you locate hidden spots and treasures you’ll earn points which allows you to upgrade your character in several ways which is another plus for this game in my book.
It awards attention to detail and hard work as you’ll gain more and more upgrades with each new secret spot and treasure you find as you play, which is a plus in my book.

Healing is a piece of cake. Food and medical kits can be found dispersed about the game, making it easy for your character to recharge his health. Sometimes they’re not so easy to find, though, but they’re available if you look hard enough for them (another way this game rewards diligence and hard work).
It‘s your character‘s “life“ after all, so work hard to keep him going..

One thing I miss in this game, that is also a downer for this game, is a map feature.
I don’t know, and there’s no instruction booklet since I rented this, but I don’t seem to have a map feature. Does this game have a map? It’s not easy to access, though I could just be missing it which wouldn’t have happened if I had the instruction booklet to read over.
Then again it’s not like the levels are hard for some part, but some levels really do require a map to get through (like the underground catacombs and Castle Wolfenstein).

Otherwise management of the game and the functions is easy enough. Reload is as easy as tapping the R3 button, while locking on is all done manually (no auto lock here). There are several different weapons types, each with a varying amount of power and kick to them though the weapons are a little sparse in their variety and different weapons available. The handgun and Luger isn’t very powerful, but can take down an opponent with enough shots.

The larger and bigger rifles and guns provide some kick as they fire, making aiming a little hard yet realistic at the same time. Also realistic is the fact that you and your enemy runs out of bullets (same as you) and needs to reload, giving you a chance to get the drop on a foe while he’s reloading his weapon (another nice touch).
And did I mention you can bust up a whole lot of things? That’s one of the ways you find hidden areas, but for me it’s just fun breaking up nazi propaganda, swastika flags, directional signs in German, and those Berlin ‘40 autographed posters of Hitler on Ice (as seen in the end of “The History of the World Part 1“ by Mel Brooks, who celebrates “Springtime for Hitler“ in his play “The Producers“).

With quite abit of depth, a clean satisfying departure from your standard WWII yarn, though not historically accurate, I find this to be a game for those who are tired of the endlessly repetitive WWII first person shooters but who still want to go around shooting nazis. Breakdown time!

Return to Castle Wolfenstein Breakdown
What’s Hot?
If you are a fan of the original games before this one you’ll find no fault in Operation Resurrection.
In fact the game is pretty good if I do say so myself, so regardless of your thoughts on the previous incarnations you should find no flaw with this game. And the mere fact that’s it’s been out for awhile means you should be able to buy this for a low low price if you can find a copy.
Solid gameplay, solid music, solid voice acting, solid animation and solid overall package on all levels makes for a good game.

What’s Not?
I can’t think of much. I’m not terribly hot on WWII shooters, but this is one I really sunk my teeth into.
Wish there were more WWII shooters out there like this, which doesn’t stick to endless replay of history and does something abit different. That’d be nice.

Moments to Remember?
The gameplay is the most memorable. Solidly done it’s one of those games that just play well and should be easy on the pocketbook for a quick and easy purchase since it did come out 2 years ago (2003).
If you can find a copy I suggest you check it out, it’d be well worth it.

What to Ignore?
Where to begin… what to ignore… hmm…
You’re not shooting zombies at the start of the game! They’re mummies!
Now if dead nazis or villagers or whatever in later levels were to come after you then they’d be zombies, not this… and that’s nitpicking. Alright. Ignore me once again, I have no serious complaints here.

Overall?
It’s not a diehard WWII shooting sim that makes you relive the major battles of WWII, but it is something far better… it’s a game where you blow away Nazis and have fun doing so! No historical reenactments, no overacting, none of that! Just a solid shooter that really plays well and looks good too.
For those of you tired of storming the beaches of Normandy, battling house to house in small villages along the French countryside, or fighting your way to Berlin this is the game for you.

Yes, it does have Nazis, but it’s not a historical die hard game that relives the past glories of the Greatest Generation over and over again. Not that it’s a bad thing but some variety would be nice… except please don’t make me play a Card Battle version of WWII please, don’t do that.