Wolfram (Wolf 3D Episode 1: Escape From Castle Wolfenstein)

Author: Chain Studios
# of levels: 10
Rating: 8.5/10
Difficulty: Easy, Medium, or Hard, depending on what difficulty level you choose

I am reviewing something a bit different today. It's not an Rtcw mod, but rather a complete remake of Wolfenstein 3D. This game, titled Wolfram, uses an engine that allows modern fps features (ironsight, jumping, crouching, etc...). Wolfenstein 3D didn't have these features, and the graphics were terrible by today's standards.

Wolfram has modern graphics, light flickering effects, sparks, fire flames, and nice shadow effects. It's basically like Wolfenstein 2009, but a much better game, in my opinion. This game is basically exactly like Wolfenstein 3D, using many sounds and music from the original game.

This game had a chance of getting a perfect score of 10/10, but there were a few issues and things I didn't like. First of all, the sound effects for the enemies were too low. It was hard to hear them, especially over the loud gunfire sounds. Second of all, the maps were lacking detail. I realize that the Wolfenstein 3D levels also lacked detail, but it wouldn't have been a bad idea to add more detail to the rooms, in my opinion.

The music, which is ported from Wolfenstein 3D, is great, but it does sound a bit unclear. But that's understandable, since the music is ported from a 1992 game. The models and textures are all in HD, and are very welcoming.

However, I didn't like the idea of items and weapons floating in mid-air. Also, the achievements feature made this game seem a bit like a console game, which I didn't like. (I'm a PC gamer only, I dislike the consoles.)

Wolfram is a standalone game, and does not require anything else to run. It's a good idea to have a somewhat strong PC, because this game can be very demanding of a computer's resources.

The enemies in Wolfram are pretty stupid. They often shoot at a door after it has closed, and seem to have hearing problems most of the time. When I kill an enemy, the other enemies ignore the death of their friend. Sometimes, an enemy will be looking away in another direction, even after he has seen the player.

There are some positive comments I have on the enemies as well. After injuring an enemy, sometimes he runs away to another room for protection. Sometimes the enemies follow me wherever I go.

The enemies in Wolfram aren't horrible, but they do need some improvement. Actually, the Wolfenstein 3D enemies were smarter in some aspects than Wolfram's enemies.

Wolfram includes all 10 levels from the first mission of Wolfenstein 3D (Escape from Castle Wolfenstein). This game would have been more interesting if it would have had all 6 missions from Wolfenstein 3D.

The weapons in this game include:

• Knife
• Luger
• Mp40
• Mg42

Just like in Wolfenstein 3D, the enemies in this game include:

• Guards with lugers
• SS Soldiers with mp40's
• Dogs (not German Shepard for some reason)
• Hans Grosse with 2 chain guns.

The goal of each level is exactly the same as in Wolfenstein 3D: Find the key to the locked door. If you're a fan of Wolfenstein 3D, and want to play the first mission, then I recommend Wolfram, as long as your PC can handle it.

Teaser video: http://www.moddb.com/games/wolfram/videos

I do not own the video above. All credit goes to Chain Studios.