With an emphasis on trying to avoid detection for as long as possible, Castle Wolfenstein and its sequel are considered by gamers to be prototypical stealth-based game the first in a genre that wouldn't gain popularity until the late 1990s.

Though hard to understand, the voices added to the game's atmosphere and made Castle Wolfenstein stand out from other games released at the time. German words shouted by the guards, such as 'Halt!' (stop!) and 'Kommen Sie!' (come, you!) were frequent. One of the main drawing points for fans was its unprecedented use of digitized voices. The Commodore 64 version of the game (released in 1983) featured improved graphics over the original Apple II version. Therefore, it is possible to fully map the castle, and then utilize the map during subsequent games. Although the rooms are shuffled at the beginning of each game, the path through the castle always remains unchanged. There are a total of 60 discrete rooms in the castle, on five separate floors. After drinking an alcoholic beverage, a message of 'Hic!' is displayed on screen and the player's aim is temporarily thrown off balance, resulting in bullets and grenades missing their target. Edible items, when ingested, result in comments on their flavor. Chests can also contain bratwurst, Liebfraumilch wine, Schnapps, Eva Braun's Diaries, cannonballs, and medals, though all are worthless in terms of gameplay. Some are empty, but others contain useful items such as bullets, grenades, uniforms, bullet-proof vests and the war plans. Some rooms contain locked chests that can be picked and searched. The player can still choose to kill the guard at this point, but it is not strictly necessary. Pulling a gun on a guard usually will cause him to put his hands up, allowing him to be frisked for ammo, bullet-proof vests, grenades, and keys. However, the SS guards will usually expose the player as an impostor. Once an enemy soldier is dispatched, his body can be searched for bullets, keys, grenades and bullet-proof vests.Īn alternative to the player shooting his way out of the castle is to find a uniform (either in a chest or from a dead guard), at which point the normal guards will think the player is one of them.

Alternatively, a grenade can be used, though this will also attract the attention of nearby guards. The first is to shoot the enemy, but this expends bullets, a scarce commodity, and risks raising the alarm if another guard is present. The player has two means of killing enemies. They require a large number of bullets or a grenade to kill. The SS guards are much smarter and once alerted, tend to chase the player from room to room. Additionally, they are unable to leave the rooms they are stationed in. The basic guards are not very intelligent, reacting only to the sounds of gunshots and grenades, or after seeing the player wandering around without a uniform. There are two styles of guards, the basic guards, and the SS Stormtroopers who wear bullet-proof vests marked with the SS insignia. Here a player can be seen searching a guard's body in the Apple II version of the game. Unlike most games of the era, not only did the player have to kill and defeat enemies, he also needed to search their bodies for possibly useful items. He must either run from the guards, or kill them. Once the player starts moving, he attracts the attention of the guards, who will try to shoot or apprehend him. Upon starting the game, the player is equipped with a gun and bullets, which were taken from a dead cellmate. A dispatched Nazi guard's body can be seen near the middle bottom of the screen. The emphasis on espionage can be seen here in the Apple II version of the game as the player attempts to pick the lock on a chest in the castle. Castle Wolfenstein can be controlled with a joystick, paddle, or a keyboard. The player traverses the levels by sneaking past guards, impersonating Nazi soldiers and sometimes even killing opponents. The game is played from a top-down perspective, though the characters are seen upright like in a side-scroller. There are 8 ranks, beginning with Private, culminating at the rank of Field Marshall. Progressively higher military ranks are earned upon each successful escape with the war plans, and the game becomes correspondingly more difficult as each higher rank is achieved. The game's main objective is to traverse the levels of the castle to find the secret war plans and escape alive. Castle Wolfenstein is a stealth game set in World War II.

Castle wolfenstein wiki