VIDEO GAME REVIEW: Wolfenstein 3D (1992)

Wolfenstein 3D is commonly known around gamer circles as the grandfather of all first-person shooters. I happened to be well-aware of it's existence in my youth when my cousins acquired the shareware version on their Mac, and repetitively got in trouble with my parents for playing it, due to it's ultra-violence. Nearly 20 years later, in 2011, Wolf 3D is pretty tame by today's standards, but it still happens to be a lot of fun. Since it recently resurfaced on the PlayStation Network around the same time that the similarly-themed Inglourious Basterds was released, I found a copy online, and through running a program called "DosBox", managed to get this sick puppy gunning on Windows 7!

You play an American WWII POW, who has been captured by the Wermacht and brought to the infamous stronghold Castle Wolfenstein, in Nazi Germany. The object is to escape by blasting your way through legions of guards, enforcers, and even Der Führer, Hitler, himself! Along the way, you'll find secret areas containing treasure that you can collect for points, and ultimately extra lives, as you find your way to the exit and onto the next level. The game takes place over six episodes, each dealing with an evil plot that your protagonist must overthrow, in order to stop the Nazis.

Wolf 3D has definitely aged, there's no doubt about it. I'm sure many modern gamers may balk at the lack of "hand-holding" that this game does, in contrast to more recent digital fare. But I happen to appreciate it's simplicity; it's a great cooldown game after a long, hard day of dealing with the masses at work. Oh, what a guilty pleasure it is just to come home and plow down evil Nazis with a chaingun for about an hour or so, while my inner-Jew cackles at the morbid irony. The maze-like configuration of the levels can be frustrating at times, but it's surprisingly a great little way to exercise my spatial memory. While I wish there could be a little more variety to the game, it's fun enough to appreciate in it's simplicity.

7/10

Peace,
- Jon