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Wolfenstein

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This article is about the video game series. For the 2009 game, seeWolfenstein(2009 video game).For other uses, seeWolfenstein (disambiguation).
Wolfenstein
Logo as ofWolfenstein: The New Order
Genre(s)First-person shooter,action-adventure,stealth
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
Creator(s)Silas Warner
Platform(s)
First releaseCastle Wolfenstein
September 1981
Latest releaseWolfenstein: Youngblood
July 25, 2019

Wolfensteinis a series ofalternate historyWorld War II video gamesoriginally developed byMuse Software.[1]The majority of the games followWilliam "B.J." Blazkowicz,an American Army captain, and his fight against theAxis powers.Earlier titles are centered aroundNaziattempts to harness supernatural and occult forces, while later games are set after the Nazis successfully implement variousscience fictiontechnologies toachieve victory in World War II.

The first two games in the series,Castle WolfensteinandBeyond Castle Wolfenstein,focused onstealth-based gameplayfrom atop-down perspective.Beginning withid Software'sWolfenstein 3D,they shifted to, and helped popularize, thefirst-person shootergenre. AfterZeniMax Mediaacquired id Software, including theWolfensteinfranchise, developerMachineGamesbecame the series' primary developer.

History

[edit]

1981–1992: Muse Software

[edit]
The first-person view of the player character, atop a destroyed bridge, shooting a Nazi with his machine gun.
The series presents an action-heavy take on the fight against Nazi Germany, as shown here inWolfenstein The New Order

Castle Wolfensteinwas developed by programmerSilas Warner,along with Dale Gray and George Varndell, and published in 1981 by his companyM.U.S.E. Inc.(later known as Muse Software).[2]Warner is cited as a pioneer in the early eras of video gaming, especially in thestealthgenre.[3][4]

Castle Wolfensteinwas initially conceptualized by Warner after he saw the 1961 British-Americanwar filmThe Guns of Navarone,which follows the efforts of anAlliedcommandounit as they attempt to destroy a seemingly impregnable Germanfortress.[5][6]That same day, Warner played themulti-directional shooterarcade game,Berzerk,in which the player navigates through a maze with laser-shooting robots.[7]After playing the game, Warner thought about taking the design ofBerzerkand replacing the robots with Nazis.[8]He eventually settled on the idea of a game based on the arcadeshoot 'em upgenre, where players dodge enemies with the intent of killing them, but instead changing the objective to escape the enemy guards and their castle, not necessarily to kill and destroy them; this made shooting guards a means to an end and not an end in itself.[6]

Castle Wolfensteinis often credited as one of the first video games in the stealth genre, as it focuses more on avoiding or disarming enemies, and killing them is considered a last resort.[9]Castle Wolfensteinwas the first computer game to featuredigitized speech[10]and influenced the development of other similar game franchises such asMetal GearandThief.[11]Muse Software released the follow-up,Beyond Castle Wolfensteinin 1984 before the company legally disestablished on October 7, 1987.[12]

1992–2001: id Software

[edit]

In November 1991, the recently established video game development companyId Software,founded byprogrammersJohn CarmackandJohn Romero,game designerTom Hall,and artistAdrian Carmack,were planning their next major game after finishing their contract with their former employerSoftdisk.[13]After an initial suggestion for ascience fictiongame by Hall titledIt's Green and Pissed,about fightingmutantsin a research lab, Romero proposed a3DremakeofCastle Wolfenstein.The team gravitated to the idea as Hall, Romero, and John Carmack had all enjoyed playing the 1981 originalCastle Wolfenstein.[14]The team initially believed they would not be able to use the name but found that the trademark had already lapsed by 1986.[15]

Production forWolfenstein 3Dbegan on December 15, 1991.[16]Romero pitched the idea as a 3D version ofCastle Wolfensteinand the team initially planned to include many of the same features thatCastle Wolfensteinand its sequel had introduced, such as dragging and looting dead bodies, and opening crates. They began to implement other ideas inspired by the stealth aspect ofCastle Wolfensteinsuch as swapping uniforms with guards, and stealth attacking enemies; the team was able to get it working so if a guard saw a dead body they tried finding the player.[8][15]However, the stealth related features were eventually removed as Romero found that they impeded the flow of the game; Romero stated in an interview that "the problem is that the game came to a dead stop when you did these things... we didn't want to slow it down so we actually removed the features and left it fast." As Romero further explained in another interview: "The game was most fun when it was a breakneck run through maps with tons of blasting down Nazis. Anything that slowed down that gameplay had to go."[17]

id'sWolfenstein 3Dwas released on May 5, 1992, and published byApogee Software.[15]The game has been credited with helping to establish thefirst-person shootergenre,[11][18]and marked a new direction for the franchise itself.3Dwas the first game to feature afirst-person viewand3D graphics,breaking away from the more reserved gameplay ofCastle Wolfensteinthat valued stealth andresource management.The game instead adapted therun and gunstyle that would set the template for thefirst-person shootergenre.[11]Wolfenstein 3Dwas the first game to featureWilliam "B.J." Blazkowicz,an American spy of Polish descent, who would become the mainprotagonistof the series.[19]

id Software was hoping to make around $60,000 from the game upon its release.[8]By the end of 1993, the game had sold over 100,000 copies, plus a further 100,000 units of its prequelWolfenstein 3D: Spear of Destiny.[17][20]

Games

[edit]
Release timeline
1981Castle Wolfenstein
1982–1983
1984Beyond Castle Wolfenstein
1985–1991
1992Wolfenstein 3D
Spear of Destiny
1993–2000
2001Return to Castle Wolfenstein
2002
2003Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory
2004–2007
2008Wolfenstein RPG
2009Wolfenstein
2010–2013
2014Wolfenstein: The New Order
2015Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
2016
2017Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
2018
2019Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot
Aggregate review scores
Game Metacritic
Wolfenstein 3D (GBA) 57[21]
(PS3) 77[22]
(X360) 66[23]
Return to Castle Wolfenstein (PC) 88[24]
(PS2) 66[25]
(Xbox) 84[26]
Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (PC) 90[27]
Wolfenstein (PC) 74[28]
(PS3) 71[29]
(X360) 72[30]
Wolfenstein: The New Order (PC) 81[31]
(PS4) 79[32]
(XONE) 79[33]
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (PC) 76[34]
(PS4) 77[35]
(XONE) 76[36]
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (PC) 86[37]
(PS4) 87[38]
(XONE) 88[39]
(NS) 79[40]
Wolfenstein: Youngblood (PC) 69[41]
(PS4) 72[42]
(XONE) 64[43]
(NS) 67[44]

Castle Wolfenstein(1981)

[edit]
Main article:Castle Wolfenstein

A stealth-adventure game set during World War II, in which the player controls an unnamed American prisoner of war as he steals German files containing secret war plans. The main goal is to escape the eponymous Nazi stronghold, while avoiding, disarming, or at times killing hostile guards.

The inaugural game in the franchise was developed and published by M.U.S.E. Inc. in 1981.

Beyond Castle Wolfenstein(1984)

[edit]
Main article:Beyond Castle Wolfenstein

A sequel toCastle Wolfensteinset in World War II during Adolf Hitler's rule as Chancellor of Germany. The objective of the game is to traverse all the levels of the secret Berlin bunker where Hitler is holding secret meetings with his senior staff. The player must retrieve a bomb that the operatives have placed inside the bunker and place it outside the door of the room where Hitler is holding his meeting, a scenario bearing a passing resemblance to theJuly 20 Plot.

Beyond Castle Wolfensteinwas the second and final title developed and published by Muse Software, and was released in 1984. After the death of the original designer of the program,[45]the widow of Silas Warner released a ported version of the game, as well as its reconstructed source code in his honor in 2004.

Wolfenstein 3D(1992)

[edit]
Main article:Wolfenstein 3D

After the Nazis apprehend an American spy, William "B.J." Blazkowicz, who was sent to sabotage the enemy's regime and foil their schemes, they imprison him under the grounds of Castle Wolfenstein. Finding a way to incapacitate a prison guard, B.J. manages to arm himself with a stolen pistol and advance through the subterranean floors of the castle, on his way to accomplish his mission by uncovering the truth behind 'Operation Eisenfaust' and destroy it.

Wolfenstein 3Dwas the first game in the series to be developed byid Software,and published byApogee Software.It marked the series transition to thefirst-person shootergenre, a genre that the game would go on to popularize.

Spear of Destiny

[edit]

Spear of Destinyis a stand-alone expansion pack forWolfenstein 3Dthat was developed by id Software, and published byFormGen Corporation.Set before the events ofWolfenstein 3D,the player assumes the role of William "B.J." Blazkowicz, who is set to reclaim theSpear of Destinyfrom the Nazis after it was stolen from Versailles. Spear of Destiny had two expansion packs developed by FormGen "Return to Danger" and "Ultimate Challenge".

Return to Castle Wolfenstein(2001)

[edit]
Main article:Return to Castle Wolfenstein

Two operatives of an allied espionage agency, William "B.J." Blazkowicz and Agent One are captured by the Nazis and imprisoned in Castle Wolfenstein during their attempt to investigate rumours surrounding one ofHeinrich Himmler's personal projects, theSS Paranormal Division.Agent One is killed during the interrogation, while Blazkowicz escapes custody, fighting his way out of the castle. As the challenge is still afoot, Blazkowicz discovers that the Nazis are constructing a plan called 'Operation Resurrection', which oversees resurrecting the dead as well as dealing with supernatural elements, using them for their own advantage to win World War II against the Allied power.

The game was developed byGray Matter Studiosand published byActivision,and released in 2001 on Microsoft Windows. The game would be ported to consoles two years later.

Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory(2003)

[edit]
Main article:Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory

Originally planned to be released as an expansion pack toReturn to Castle Wolfenstein,Enemy Territorywas instead released as a standalone,free to playmultiplayer title. Instead of a single-player campaign mode and storyline, the game features an expanded edition of the previous title's multiplayer. The game was developed bySplash Damageand published byActivision.

A commercial follow-up, calledEnemy Territory: Quake Wars,was later released in 2007.

Wolfenstein RPG(2008)

[edit]
Main article:Wolfenstein RPG

In a mission to investigate the Paranormal Division of the Axis military, William "B.J." Blazkowicz is captured and held prisoner in The Tower. He escapes the enemy forces, and sets himself to stop them and their operation that involves supernatural activities once and for all, infiltrating Castle Wolfenstein to continue his escapade deep inside.

It is amobile phonegame developed by Fountainhead Entertainment, and published byEA Mobilein 2008.John Carmack,one of the key people ofWolfenstein 3D,reprised his role as the sole programmer.

Wolfenstein(2009)

[edit]
Main article:Wolfenstein (2009 video game)

Blazkowicz discovers an unnatural medallion containing supernatural powers while on a mission on a German battleship. Learning the Nazis had begun digging deep into crystal mines to obtain more of the material, the OSA sends their operative to the fictional town of Isenstadt, which the Nazis had taken complete control of in order to excavate rare Nachtsonne crystals necessary to access the "Black Sun" dimension.

The 2009 game was a loose sequel toReturn to Castle Wolfensteindeveloped byRaven Software,produced by id Software, and published byActivision.

Wolfenstein: The New Order(2014)

[edit]
Main article:Wolfenstein: The New Order

The New Orderis set after the end of World War II, in an alternate universe where the Axis powers won World War II. In 1946, as the Nazis expand their regime over the world, OSA agent William "B.J." Blazkowicz is sent to assassinate General Deathshead, as part of a last all-out effort by Allied airborne and commando forces. The mission is a failure and, after the unit is slaughtered by Nazi forces, Blazkowicz barely escapes the compound, sustaining a critical head injury which renders him unconscious and subsequently puts him in a coma.

In 1960, fourteen years later, B.J. finds himself settled in an asylum, unaware of the events that took place during his coma, and about to be executed by the Nazis who have ordered the asylum liquidated. Awakened into full strength, Blazkowicz fights his way out of the building, escaping with a wounded nurse, Anya. B.J. locates the Resistance and helps them fight the Nazis, dismantling them and ultimately crippling their dominance around the world.

After the publishing rights were moved from Activision toBethesda Softworks,development onThe New Orderbegan in 2010 byMachineGames.

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood(2015)

[edit]
Main article:Wolfenstein: The Old Blood

A prequel toThe New Order,The Old Bloodfollows William "B.J." Blazkowicz and Richard Wesley, also known as Agent One, who are sent to infiltrate Castle Wolfenstein and obtain a top secret folder that contains the whereabouts of General Deathshead. The mission goes awry as they are discovered by the Nazi troopers and are captured. During brutal interrogation, Agent One is killed, but Blazkowicz manages to evade the Nazi forces and escape the castle. With the aid of Kessler, the leader of a local resistance group, he discovers that the folder is held by Helga von Schabbs, a Nazi neurologist who has just arrived in the village of Wulfburg. Evidence begins to emerge of supernatural activities taking place under the command of von Schabbs, who is conducting an archaeological excavation in an attempt to find a hidden underground vault containing occult knowledge previously possessed by German KingOtto I.

The game is a loose remake ofReturn to Castle Wolfenstein,with similarities in the storylines of the two games, as well as the existence of various characters as homages to the ones from the older title. Developed by MachineGames and published by Bethesda Softworks, the game is a stand-alone expansion toThe New Order,and was released in 2015.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus(2017)

[edit]
Main article:Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Set five months after the events ofThe New Order,"B.J." Blazkowicz awakens from the coma he succumbed to in the aftermath of surviving a near-fatal explosion, residing on a stolen Nazi U-boat commandeered by the Wiesenau Kreis. After an attack ensues on the base orchestrated byFrau Engel,many of the resistance members are captured, and the leader of the group is killed. Escaping the clutches of Nazi forces with the rest of the team, Blazkowicz takes over the leadership of the Resistance and proceeds to what would have been the next step in the plan to liberate America from the Nazis and use the country as a center base to free the rest of the world from their monstrous regime. Recruiting new members to the resistance along the way, Blazkowicz and the group intend to assassinate prominent leaders in the Nazi regime to bring the public conscious into the idea of liberty and freedom, thus urging everyone to rise against the hefty powers who are running the government. But, before they ignite the operation, the resistance must attack and take over Engel's airship, the Ausmerzer, to disable its use against their own by the Nazis, and hijack its command systems in order to start a revolution, thus reclaiming the land of freedom that was once theirs.

The New Colossusis the third title in the series to be developed byMachineGamesand published byBethesda Softworks.It was released on multiple platforms in 2017.[46]

Wolfenstein: Youngblood(2019)

[edit]
Main article:Wolfenstein: Youngblood

Two decades after liberating the United States from the Nazis occupation in the Second American Revolution in 1961, the newest members of the Global Resistance, twin sisters Jessie and Zofia Blazkowicz embark on a search mission to France in the capital city ofPariswhen B.J., their father, goes missing in action. As they task themselves to locate and reclaim B.J., they must also fight the Nazi regime in Europe that still remains.

Youngbloodwas developed by MachineGames in collaboration withArkane Studiosand was published by Bethesda Softworks on July 26, 2019. The game can be played insingle-playerandmultiplayermodes for the story campaign.[47]Those who purchase the Deluxe edition of the game are able to invite other players to their sessions, regardless of whether the invitee owns the game.[48]

Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot(2019)

[edit]
Main article:Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot

Set twenty years after the events ofThe New Colossus,the protagonist is depicted as a computer hacker known as Cyberpilot who works for the French Resistance against the Nazi regime.

Cyberpilotis a side story that takes place chronologically a week prior to the events ofYoungblood.Unlike previous entries,Cyberpilotis avirtual realityexperience.[49]The game was developed by MachineGames and Arkane Lyon, and published by Bethesda.[50]The game was released alongsideYoungbloodon the same day to mixed reviews.[51]

Film plans

[edit]

In 2012, movie producerSamuel Hadidaand Panorama Media announced plans to make a film adaptation ofWolfenstein,withRoger Avaryattached to write and direct.[52]

References

[edit]
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