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Wolfenstein 3D Classic Review
Written by Chris Buffa on Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The same Wolfenstein 3D we know and love, classic sound effects, 60 levels, tasty dog food, extra large kill boxes.
Controls take some getting used to, no additional content.
Although it's 17 years old, we quickly downloaded Wolfenstein 3D to our iPhones. This $4.99 remixed version, dubbed Wolfenstein 3D Classic, has 60 levels of Nazi-blasting, canine stabbing fun. It runs smoothly, features all the classic weapons and lets you square off against the ultimate evildoer, MechaHitler. Considering the watered down Super Nintendo version we had to put up with, this uncensored edition is a welcome change of pace.
Similar to the original, Wolfenstein 3D Classic is a first person shooter (the granddaddy of them all, actually) that casts you as one man wrecking crew B.J. Blazkowicz. With only one mission, escape Castle Wolfenstein, you set out on a blood-thirsty rampage that results in hundreds of dead Nazis, dogs and other enemies. Along the way, you'll pick up different weapons (pistol, chain gun, automatic rifle), eat dog food to regain health and even pocket Nazi gold.
As expected, the game runs beautifully on the iPhone. Publisher id Software did masterful work converting the retro game to Apple's handheld, right down to the enemy sprites, stone walls and familiar sound effects.
Performance wise, we have few complaints. Wolfenstein 3D runs super smooth and you can adjust tilt/turn sensitivity to speed things up. The controls, however, take some getting used to. If you live and die by a mouse/keyboard setup, you'll probably hate the controls and for excellent reason. Although id deserves praise for coming up with decent control schemes, none of them replace that pinpoint precision. You'll constantly struggle targeting multiple enemies at once and adjusting your aim in a firefight. The extra large kill boxes help (you can kill someone even if your aim's a little off), but that won't prevent frustrating deaths.
What's here, though, works fine so long as you move forwards/backwards/strafe with a on-screen d-pad and turn by physically tilting the iPhone. You'll never rotate fast enough to prevent being shot in the back by the tougher enemies, but with practice, you'll quickly speed through rooms and leave bodies in your wake.
Sadly, the game lacks multiplayer and new levels, but it's hard to resist Wolfenstein 3D's old school charm, even at five bucks. Now all we need are DOOM and DOOM 2.
