Added: 15.05.2015 17:00 | 9 views | 0 comments

The first-person shooter genre was forged in the grey, stone halls of Castle Wolfenstein. This medieval monument turned Nazi fortress carries all manner of connotations for the series which bears its name. But what is it about these connotations that compels us to return to Wolfenstein's corridors? Why, after 23 years, is it still exciting to find secret walls and gun down Nazis in this cold and oppressive castle?

For me, Castle Wolfenstein has an almost mythological quality about it--as much as a mythology can form around a video game locale. It is where first-person shooters as we know them were born, and it was the first testing ground of the genre's required skillset. With that skillset, Castle Wolfenstein presented a straightforward but difficult challenge: "Escape me."

Wolfenstein 3D

The look and feel of Castle Wolfenstein was established in 1992 with the release of - our third trip through the eponymous Nazi stronghold. The Old Blood extends the narrative surrounding Castle Wolfenstein even further by showing your initial disguised infiltration and giving you time to wander the fortress unimpeded. But you are inevitably caught, and the familiar narrative begins again. The castle's history is also divulged in written notes, detailing a medieval king and his explorations of the occult. Much of this history is hidden behind this version of the castle's secret walls, so your reward for exploration is not points or Nazi treasure, but narrative context.

The castle's history is also divulged in written notes, detailing a medieval king and his explorations of the occult.

But those secret walls are rare in this version of Castle Wolfenstein, because The Old Blood presents this location as one that's being torn away from the inside by the Nazis in their occult explorations. Those iconic grey stone walls have literally been demolished and dug through, revealing crypts and catacombs that hide centuries-old secrets. These makeshift tunnels twist and turn in on themselves in ways not possible 23 years ago. While this helps to develop the overall plot of The Old Blood, the story of your escape from Castle Wolfenstein itself now plays out at a slower, more sedate pace, as the game's new stealth mechanics recontextualise the prison break as a stealth mission, not a multi-level gunfight.

Everything Old is New Again

Castle Wolfenstein has been many things: a prison, a fortress, a dungeon, an occult laboratory. But its role in the Wolfenstein series has always remained the same. It is the first challenge you must surmount. It is hostile territory, and you must make it out alive. It is an architectural representation of the enemy force conquering space and recontextualising its purpose. It is what will happen to the rest of Europe if you don't escape its bowels.

But it is also the origin story for an entire video game genre, bringing with it a kind of purity and simplicity which makes shooters appealing at a base level. When you return to Castle Wolfenstein, you're not just revisiting a fictional location--you're visiting a museum. That is where Castle Wolfenstein's mythological quality comes from, and that is why, no matter how the context may change, we keep returning to its grey stone walls.

Added: 14.05.2015 17:16 | 14 views | 0 comments


PSU: The Old Blood falls back into the timeline of those earlier entries, taking place entirely in the alternate 1946 where the Nazis were not pushed back on D-Day. We come into play as gruff-voiced protagonist -and man with arms of steel- B.J. Blazkowicz is going undercover to infiltrate the menacing Castle Wolfenstein. Naturally things go wrong quickly and head ever-downhill from then on. It keeps the story-telling formula of The New Order, peppered with narrative voiceovers and gloriously cheesy 80s action hero dialogue, but a swifter run-time means side characters dont get quite as much fleshing out here. The big bad you spend much of the game at odds with is probably the standout new addition. Otherwise, the reasons this isnt a fully-fledged sequel are quite apparent as The Old Blood borrows heavily from The New Order and the last few Wolfenstein titles for set pieces, themes and areas, perhaps most notably from Return to Castle Wolfenstein.

Added: 13.05.2015 12:16 | 20 views | 0 comments


Cherry from PressA2Join writes "Infiltrating Castle Wolfenstein a feeling of dread comes over me. Nazis are everywhere and my German accent is well, very poor. The castle towering in the distance, Im given my orders. My goal is to find a folder containing information to Deathsheads compound, the very compound you attack at the beginning of New Order and from my experience with the twisted, psychotic Nazis in the previous game and their menacing Robotic dogs, I know my mission will not be an easy one."