The GBA version of Wolfenstein 3D is a defilement of a great PC game.

User Rating: 4.9 | Wolfenstein 3D GBA
By WoolieWool | Review Date:
If you've been playing PC games long enough, you may remember Wolfenstein 3-D, the progenitor of the first-person shooter genre. Wolfenstein was a fast-paced, rather simplistic game by Id Software (makers of the prolific Doom and Quake series) that put you in the role of William Joseph "B.J." Blazkowicz, an Allied spy captured by the Nazis during World War II. During your quest to escape, derail some experimental Nazi projects, and kill various leaders of the Third Reich, you wandered through sixty levels, collected treasure, and gunned down lots and lots of Nazi soldiers. It was rather crude, with a tile-based map structure, no floor and ceiling textures or lighting, and no multiplayer. But it was also fun and well-executed. Now Bam Entertainment has released a GBA port of the game, just like the original, only it's not any fun at all.

The game looks just like the original, only lower-res, with the menu fonts cut down for the smaller screen. Surprisingly, the status bar is translated quite well. However, the dim GBA screen is disastrous for a game like Wolfenstein, making it difficult to see enemies and objects, especially while being fired upon.

The sound effects are straight from the game, although slightly tinnier due to the inferior GBA sound hardware. All the familiar gunshots, treasure pickup sounds, and pidgin German screams are reproduced faithfully. Unfortunately, the music was cut out completely. That is a great shame, because the music was one of the best aspects of the PC original and work through the same system as the pickup sounds, so there's no excuse to leave it out.

Gameplay is where the GBA version of Wolfenstein falls on its face. The basic mechanics are the same as ever, but the execution is terrible. The framerate is very choppy, despite the primitive engine, and the controls are very loose compared to the PC version, making aiming difficult. In large open areas, the framerate is so bad that the player is effectively rendered a siting duck, netting the GBA verrsion a "hard" rating despite the easiness of the original. Frantically spinning around a room while Nazis shoot at you from several directions is a maddening experience.

As with the original, there is no multiplayer. Period. The original 60 levels are all there is to this game, and once you've completed them, there's nothing more to see. This further damages the replay value of the game, making it uninteresting after the first time through the game, if the slack controls and abysmal framerate don't drive you away before then.

The GBA version of Wolfenstein 3D is a defilement of a great PC game, a total disappointment, especially to a Wolfenstein fan like me. If you want to play Wolfenstein, get the original and use VDMSound to fix the sounds. This GBA port is frustrating, flawed, and just not worth your time.

What's Hot: The PC classic represented in its entirety, completely uncensored unlike Doom, large number of levels
What's Not: GBA screen makes visibility poor, no music, awful framerate, even more awful controls
Also Try: Doom, Duke Nukem Advance

Other Helpful Reviews for Wolfenstein 3D

  • Rating:6.9

    By Danny_Bullit | Review Date: Mar 30, 2006 | GBA

    This game has a cult status. And I think it will remain even in the GBA version. It's good to play this shooter again after "all this years" (no, really!) - to walk in those gloomy places - to fire in nazi enemies and to... Read Full Review

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  • Rating:8.9

    Still a great game!

    By rover301 | Review Date: Apr 09, 2005 | GBA

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