The Classic FPS Retrospective: Wolfenstein 3D

I adore classic first-person shooter games, or as some have called them in this day and age, "boomer shooters." Many of them were released before I was born, and yet over the years I've developed a fascination with them. To me, this era of FPS games demonstrated enormous shifts in gaming technology. At the time, 3D gaming was still a pipe dream and the most immersive a game could be were dungeon crawlers a la the dungeon sections of the Ultima games or the Might and Magic series. The idea of actually being there in the world and interacting with it without clunky interfaces was something else entirely. As the 90s progressed, the FPS genre became bigger and more ambitious, showcasing what was possible with the technology we had with the promise of something greater as technology evolved.

This little series is something I've always wanted to do. I want to outline the rise of classic FPS games, see how they grew and how they changed with advancements in gaming engines. I do want to go in chronological order when possible, but there are always those few games that slip through the cracks. Most of these games originated on the PC, so those will be the versions I will focus on; some of them have console ports but those are generally inferior to the PC version, either due to control issues or technological restraints. Besides, these games are ancient enough to run on most computers nowadays, so if you're viewing this on anything besides a phone or a Chromebook, you can play them. Rest assured, I will be dipping into console FPS games when we get to them. To start off this series, we're going back to the one that truly popularized the FPS genre, Wolfenstein 3D.

    

Wolfenstein 3D isn't necessarily the first FPS or even the first FPS game developers id Software developed. Prior to this, they developed Catacomb 3D, a fantasy dungeon crawler that saw you play as a wizard delving into catacombs, and Hovertank 3D which has you pilot a literal hovering tank. So why am I not looking at those first? Simply put, no one remembers them and if I started with all the games that qualified as FPS games before Wolfenstein I'd never get anywhere. Plus, as I said, Wolfenstein 3D was the one that made the idea of the FPS popular. It's certainly the first one where you play as a human with actual guns.

The story of Wolf 3D doesn't matter much. In fact, the story to most id games don't matter much at all. To quote John Carmack, one of the head developers at id at the time and designer for some of the most advanced gaming engines of the 90s, "Story in video games is like a story in a porn movie. It's expected, but it's not that important." You can disagree with that assessment all you like, especially with how technology has advanced to where games can actually tell stories (and to say nothing of the RPG genre which is almost entirely about story), it's a philosophy that encapsulates why id games are so special. There is a pureness to them; unhampered by trivial things like plot and characters, they're laser-focused on the core gameplay and how to make it fun, and at the end of the day that's what matters.

Well okay there is a story. The game is divided into three distinct episodes consisting of 9 levels apiece, with a secret level in each episode. Episode 1 sees B.J. Blazkowicz, an American soldier, captured by the Nazis during World War II; the first episode shows his escape from the titular Castle Wolfenstein. Episode 2 has him infiltrate the insane Dr. Schabbs' laboratory to stop his twisted experiments, and Episode 3 caps things off with a confrontation with Hitler himself, garbed in a giant mech suit. Outside of text dumps between episodes, the story is barely there and exists solely to provide context as to why B.J.'s in a different yet identical castle killing more Nazis. Besides, do you really want a game to overexplain Hitler in a mech suit? Frankly it's better they keep it simple.

So with the story stuff out of the way, what is the game like? Well it's built off the creatively titled Wolfenstein engine. Get used to hearing about gaming engines, they're central to the development of FPS games of this era. Anyhow, the Wolf engine creatively simulates 2D to look like it's 3D. There are a number of illusions at play here to make it look like you're navigating a 3D environment that I'm not smart enough to accurately explain. I think it's better to look at it yourself.

 

Essentially, the "3D" part of the title is a lie, but it's a carefully constructed lie. The walls certainly make it look 3D, and if you squint you could almost swear you are in a 3D environment with the way the walls line up in your vision. That being said, it's still very primitive. The game takes place entirely on one elevation and the walls are attached by 90 degree angles with absolutely no curvature to them. Still though, this was 1992, and being able to seamlessly traverse these 3D-simulated environments was absolutely mind-blowing.

The core gameplay of Wolfenstein 3D consists of navigating large, labyrinthine mazes while killing off Nazis you find along the way. The Nazis themselves come in several varieties. There's the Nazi Guard, the most common enemy you find and the easiest to take out. The SS are dressed in blue and have a machine gun; they have the highest hit points so they warrant more caution than your average goon. Then there are the Officers, decked in white with the fastest reaction time. There are a couple of unique enemies as well such as the dogs that pose little threat and the Mutants, which are the worst enemy in the game in my opinion. They fire quickly and don't flinch when shot so you have to be careful not to get surrounded by them; they make the beginning part of Episode 2 in particular a total nightmare.

Of course, this being a first-person shooter, you are well equipped to fight back against your fascist foes. B.J. starts off with a pistol and a knife, though with some exploring you can find a machine gun and a gatling gun. The weapons in Wolfenstein 3D are interesting in that they're less of an arsenal and function more as upgrades to your current weapon. The knife is basically useless and only exists as a last resort. The pistol gives you more of a fighting chance and is a much more viable starter weapon, but it's incapable of rapid fire; it only fires with each press of the button which makes it a poor choice for larger fights and against anything higher than a guard. The machine gun meanwhile can fire continuously which makes it a much more useful weapon. The gatling gun is obviously the most powerful but it chews through ammo quickly and should be reserved for desperate moments and boss fights. Unlike most FPS games, there's little in the way of weapon management which makes the game feel more like an arcade game.

In fact, Wolfenstein 3D has other arcade elements as well such as points and a life system. You start off with 3 lives, and you can earn more by collecting points, which are earned by killing enemies and collecting gold scattered throughout the level. If you die, you restart the level with just the pistol again. Thing is, this system is rendered moot since you can save anywhere without the risk of losing anything. When given the choice between reloading a save and dying and starting all over, I think most people are going to go with the former. Granted, saving is a bit more tedious in Wolfenstein 3D than in most classic FPS games. There's no quicksave key, so you have to manually save each and every time you want to, and Wolf's menus are absurdly slow; you have to wait a couple of seconds for menus to load versus other games which are basically instant. This is not helped by the fact you essentially have to confirm the file you want to save twice (first you select the file, the game asks if that's the one you want to overwrite, then you have to confirm again that, yes, you do in fact what to save). It's cumbersome, but again, it's better than losing everything.

 

As for how the game feels, Wolfenstein 3D controls very strangely. Movement is really stiff; B.J. feels like a train bound by tracks when he moves, and it isn't helped buy his uncanny speed and trajectory. Part of it is due to lack of feedback; there's no screen bobbing and B.J. holds his gun perfectly still while moving, which in turn makes movement feel robotic. Strafing is possible, but it feels like directing a tank that can move sideways. None of this is to say it controls badly per se; for the kind of game Wolfenstein 3D is, it works perfectly fine. You won't die due to lousy controls nor will it actively hinder you when exploring the 90-degree mazes. Turning is a bit too slow though so that's something to keep in mind if and when enemies sneak up behind you. It's just going back to Wolfenstein 3D, especially when you play anything that came after it, isn't the smoothest thing in the world.

Thankfully, the shooting itself isn't hampered too much by the game's controls. There's a generous autoaim system at play so that as long as you're facing the enemy dead on you will hit them. However, the game also has an interesting element of RNG to it; the farther away your target, the less damage they're liable to take, but if they're close they will take more damage. This isn't a guarantee; sometimes you'll still need to pump a few bullets into a Nazi even at close range, but generally speaking they might die quicker. The same applies to B.J. as well however, so you have to be careful about getting into close contact with Nazis, because B.J. can and will take an insane amount of damage. Even more dangerous is the fact that getting shot in the back can cause massive amounts of damage, both for you and for your enemies. This game was also released well before the days of regenerative health; B.J. starts at 100% health and you can only regain it by finding restorative items like food or medkits. So shooting becomes a game of cat and mouse, trying to gain the upper hand against the enemies who greatly outnumber you while also making sure no one sneaks up behind you. When you're on a roll, Wolfenstein 3D can become a lot of fun as you mow down Nazis while also remaining careful they don't blast too many holes in you.

Unfortunately, Wolfenstein 3D's biggest issue is its level design. The game does very little to distinguish its levels from each other or even within the same environment.

These screenshots are all from different levels throughout the game.

Episode 1, Level 4

Episode 3, Level 1

Episode 1, Level 2

Episode 1, Level 1

Wolfenstein 3D suffers from severe visual monotony. You'll be running down virtually identical blue, grey, and purple hallways for basically the entirety of the game. The lack of variety in the environments causes the game to feel extremely repetitive after a while, and this isn't helped by the fact that the levels are huge and labyrinthine. Even worse is the complete lack of a map in the vanilla version of the game, so some of the later stages devolve into running around identical looking hallways trying to find the exit, or in the worst levels two keys and the doors they open.

This is a game best played in short bursts. When you're playing casually, mowing down Nazis and occasionally fumbling around, Wolfenstein 3D is quite fun. If you're looking to beat the game in one sitting, then may God have mercy on your soul. Doubly so if you're also playing the prequel episodes, which detail the events prior to B.J.'s capture and feature more of the same gameplay. Triply so if you're going after the secrets, which are anonymous-looking walls that push inwards when interacted with. There's next to nothing that distinguishes these walls from the rest of the maze, so you'll just have to rub your face against every wall if you want the secrets.

Now let's talk source ports. For those that don't know what a source port is, it's a kind of software that's built off the game's source code so that it can function on modern computers, and in many cases it allows for modern quality-of-life improvements. Many of these games have had their source codes released to the public, which allows technically-minded fans to tinker with them and keep the games alive not just for modern technology but for modern gaming standards as well. Source ports are often the best way to experience these games not only because they can play on current systems but also because they are generally more accessible thanks to revamped controls and added benefits. I should point out that the source ports require you to actually have the game downloaded on your computer; they can't do anything by themselves so don't think that just because you have the source port that you can play the game (I bring this up because it's a common point of confusion for people not accustomed to the idea of using them to play these old games, specifically those who are new to the whole PC gaming thing).

 

 

Wolfenstein 3D's a good starting point for this topic, because let's face it, Wolfenstein 3D is an old game. Few people are going to want to play it with the traditional keyboard-only setup (well you can use a mouse but it's not advised since vertical mouse movement moves your character forward and turning that off is a hassle) and even fewer are going to want to play the game without a map. If you want to play it vanilla and untouched, DOSBox works fine, but for those of you who want a less aged experience, you're in luck. ECWolf is a source port that allows the game to have modern controls (you can remap them to whatever you like, but most people would want WASD keys to move and mouse to look around). It also features a handy map so you aren't as liable to get lost. It's a little hard to read frankly since it's built off the level geometry instead of regular lines like most FPS maps of this era, but with enough practice you can read it, and it makes the game flow so much better since you aren't running in circles. ECWolf is also incredibly easy to get running; nothing needs to be in the same place in your file explorer, as the program will find where Wolfenstein 3D is located and start running from there. That's a huge plus in my book since a good number of source ports are a pain to get running.

As for where you can get Wolfenstein 3D nowadays, you can get it off either Steam or GOG. I'd recommend getting it off Steam simply because its price is too steep on GOG. The GOG release is $9.99, but it also comes with Spear of Destiny, a sequel of sorts to Wolf 3D that plays virtually identically but with new locations and enemies. Meanwhile on Steam you can get Wolfenstein 3D by itself for $4.99 and Spear of Destiny for an additional $2.99, meaning you actually save a couple bucks with the Steam release, and frankly I think five bucks is a far more reasonable price. Wolfenstein 3D's a fun novelty and an interesting game historically, but I'd be lying if I said it's aged well. Unlike most of the other games we'll be looking at, I don't think Wolfenstein 3D can still appeal to a wide, modern audience. Still, the FPS genre had to start somewhere, and Wolfenstein 3D birthed something truly remarkable, as we'll see further on ahead. However, we won't be looking at that game just yet. We'll be making a slight detour to another game that's all but forgotten in today's world but might just be one of the most monumentally important games in the first-person genre.