Return to Castle Wolfenstein took the gaming world by storm when it was originally released for the PC. It had good graphics for the time, a good single player story, and a very addictive online multiplayer option. The game is sort of a mix between realistic World War 2 first person shooters like Medal of Honor and more arcade type shooters like TimeSplitters. From how many hits it takes to kill someone, to how high people can jump, it is obvious this game wasn't designed to be a realistic World War 2 game. Instead, it took the World War 2 theme and mixed it with fast paced, incredibly fun gameplay, and it clicked. Does the same style work with the transfer over to the console world or should it have just stayed on the PC?

It's a tough choice really. The game has its ups and downs. Really, the only good version of the game is the Xbox version. The Xbox Live online play sported by the Xbox is the only thing that makes this game worth it. Starting with the gameplay itself, the game lacks in a lot of places. The fast paced shooting worked with the PC with a mouse and keyboard, but on the console it doesn't work as well. Aiming with a joystick is definately not as easy with a mouse, and the pace just feels all wrong. It's not that arcade type shooters and consoles don't work together, it's just that the gameplay for Return to Castle Wolfenstein is just plain clunky. There are occassional "hiccups" in the graphics causing players to zap around a little bit, especially in cooperative mode where neither of the players move smoothly when you look at them. Also, my biggest complaint with this game is that guys take too many shots too kill. Honestly, it doesn't take 10-20 shots point blank from a machine gun to the chest to kill a guy. It really makes the game less fun.

The graphics are pretty pathetic in this game. I realize this is a PC port, but still, there should have been an overhaul to the graphics. It's sad the Halo, a game that was released when the Xbox first came out, looks twice as good as this game. This is also because the game was also released for the Playstation 2, and companies need to realize if they want to make a game successful on the Xbox it has to look good, and Playstation 2 graphics simply will not impress an Xbox owner. There are a lot of jagged edges, movements are sketchy and not move, blood isn't realistic, and the environments are not detailed at all. The game just looks plain, especially up close.

The voice acting is pretty well done in this game. In fact, it is one of the few things that is actually done right. The voices match their characters well enough, and the dialogue sounds pretty realistic. "Helga" definately sounds like she should (and let's just say she's not the foxiest lady around). The guns sound decent but don't sound very realistic. The developers should have taken some tips from EA with the Medal of Honor series, which has very good sounds for their guns. Really, the game should be a bit louder. With all the guns and explosions going off it should actually sound like it, and not just a pop when a grenade goes off.

Xbox Live play is where it's at for the Xbox version. The Playstation 2 version doesn't have Live play and really that game is just plain crap. The Xbox version is only halfway decent because of Live. It adds some good replay value to the game. Even though playing online with it isn't all that fun, because the arcade shooting style just makes it hard to aim and there is also some small lag which doesn't help anything out. But if arcade shooters are your style, then this is your game. I would suggest waiting until the game goes down in price if you want it though.