ShareThis"Wolfenstein"
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Genre: Shooter
Publisher: Activision
ESRB Rating: M, for Mature
Grade: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
My first video-game experience was when I was a kid and my best friend Jason introduced me to "Castle Wolfenstein" on his Apple II. I was 9 years old and had no true idea who Nazis were. All I knew was that they were bad and I had to help him navigate the castle and win the game.
More than 20 years and several editions later, the same concept still applies as "Wolfenstein" has made its way to next-gen consoles. You still play as the same protagonist, but instead of stealing war plans, now the point is to keep the Nazis from harvesting a mythical superpower.
"Wolfenstein" is not the most complete first-person shooter on the market, but it does have its advantages. A solid variety of guns -- from the realistic to the fantastic -- is at your disposal, and with a new upgrade system resembling that of RPG games, there is a good deal of depth to explore. You are also armed with Veil power, which gives you an upper hand in speed, power and skill when fighting a lot of enemies at once. The enemies are numerous but as dumb as nails, so defeating them is more time-consuming than tricky.
Jason and I never finished the original "Castle Wolfenstein," and beating it now would probably be too easy. Hopefully, he has maintained his love of the series and can finally discover victory two decades later.
"Madden NFL 10"
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PS2, PSP
Genre: Sports
Publisher: EA Sports
ESRB Rating: E, for Everyone
Grade: 3.5 stars
By now you should know what you are getting with each year's release of the "Madden NFL" franchise. You are going to get some good pro-football gaming, but also you are likely to be frustrated by little, nagging issues that detract from the overall experience.
The two biggest and most impressive additions to this year's edition are the online franchise mode and the Pro-Tak control system.
The online franchise is exactly what it sounds like -- the ability for you and your friends (or AI-controlled teams) to run franchise leagues online. Sounds simple, but it gives "Madden NFL 10" a huge shelf life and it's a feature that has long been asked for. The Pro-Tak control is an on-the-field improvement. With this system you get the chance to make more realistic tackles, and with a lot of variety to them, making the game itself more realistic and less stagnant over time.
The game features a great deal more of the cinematics and closeups in an attempt to make every game feel like a Super Bowl match-up, even when you are just playing the Lions. The visuals are certainly more detailed and give that "you are there" feeling, but the same cannot be said for the audio. Cris Collinsworth's color commentary is on par with the standard stuff he delivered last year. But Tom Hammond's play-by-play is just awful, and it sounds like he is calling a golf match instead of an NFL game.
(E-mail Chris Campbell at game_on_games(at)mac.com)
Game On
