STACK#127 May 2016

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THE WOLFENSTEIN STORY

people could easily get their hands on it. The first episode was ported as shareware and the final two were available for purchase, so players could get a taste for the title before they splashed their money on it. By end 1993, Wolfenstein 3D had sold over 100,000 copies. The game received rave reviews, achieving 5/5 star rankings multiple times, and was even said to “set a new standard for PC gaming”. It won “Best Action/Arcade Game” at the 1993 Shareware Industry Awards, and also received acclaim for its outlandish “MechaHitler” boss battle. Not only did the title cement itself as “the Grandfather of 3D shooters”, but it also confirmed shareware distribution as a profitable and viable release for distribution companies. The fast pace and technical prowess exhibited within Wolfenstein 3D helped it to become one of the defining games of the shooter genre. Wolfenstein 3D also received a prequel from id Software by the name of Wolfenstein 3D: Spear Of Destiny . In this iteration, BJ is tasked with recapturing the famed Spear Of Destiny from the Nazis following its theft from Versailles. Return to Castle Wolfenstein was the

next to be released, landing in 2001 on PS2, Xbox, PC, Mac and Linux. The single-player was developed by Gray Matter Interactive – responsible for the Redneck Deer Huntin’ series – with Nerve Software – a studio set up by ex-members of id - responsible for the multiplayer. There were also rumours surrounding a Return to Castle Wolfenstein film, with Roger Avary attached to direct, but nothing materialised. Following in the wake of the previous games, Raven Software released their own adaptation – simply Wolfenstein – for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The 2009 game sees the return of B.J. in his mission to (once again) shut down the Nazis in their (usual) quest for mass destruction and/or world domination. The game used an improved version of iD Software’s id Tech 4 game engine- the likes of which was later used for the well-known Doom 3 and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars . However, due to the underperformance of the game, a number of staff from Raven Software were laid off. After Wolfenstein came Wolfenstein: The New Order, the action-adventure FPS.

Released in May 2014 on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC, players once again embraced the role of William “B.J.” Blazkowicz, as imagined this time round by MachineGames – who were later acquired by Bethesda Software’s parent company ZeniMax Media. The New Order is played from a first- person perspective, with the story arranged into a series of chapters that must be completed in sequential order to finish the game. The prologue episode offers a morality choice that alters the entire progression

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