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XBOX
Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War
Cloud
Reviewed
09.28.2003
Publisher
Activision
Developer
Nerve Software
Format
1x DVD
Origin
Import / Domestic
Available
? (Japan)
May 5, 2003 (USA)
Exclusive
No
Difficulty
Adjustable
Dimensions
3D
View
1st Person
Genre
FPS
Player(s)
1-4 offline
1-16 online
Options
Backup
Downloads
Vibration
Xbox Live
Requires
n/a
Importable
n/a
Intro
     > Journey back in time to the greatest war in history. Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War has been called the best Xbox Live experience yet, in my opinion its not far from it. Activision took a big step porting this from the PC to the Xbox and they were right on the money when they did.
Graphics
     > For a port of a year old PC game, you couldn't tell how old this game was. Character models, animations and backgrounds have all been redone and fitted to the Xbox's graphical power. In some levels you can tell the dated graphics but its still enjoyable. The character models are good but not great, they could have used some change in facial expressions and the animations are a little dull. 

     > From the dark and scary castles high up in the mountains of Germany or to the sands of Egypt this game delivers all sorts of exotic locals to explore on your fight to free Europe from Axis control.

Control
     > The control is just as basic as any other FPS you've played before. With customizable controls available you can fit the controls exactly to which ever your comfortable with. The only problem I really encounter was the poor camera angles that you can't change. Expect nothing extraordinary here, just the plain old basic FPS controls and camera angles.
Sound
     > The Dolby Digital 5.1 really adds to this game with all the gunfire and explosions going off it gives a feel of you standing on the beaches of Normandy fighting for freedom. The background music is decent at best, it tends to give off a erie vibe on some levels which is expected and a fun cheerful vibe when the Allies win the battle, and vice versa when the Axis powers win. A 5.1 receiver is a must for this game to get the full enjoyment from it.
Fun
     > I've had Xbox Live since day one and so far no game I've played has compared to this one. The single player mode has a good storyline to follow instead of the tired "run around and kill everything frenzy". You actually have to sneak behind guards and collect clues and meet with secret contacts are you travel the world trying to stop the Nazi menace.

     > Xbox live is the main draw to this game. With a numerous amount of huge environments to turn into your battle ground and with more to come courtesy of the downloadable content option, you'll never get tired of seeing the same level. You can customize three different versions of game which are Elimination (which is the basic Deathmatch), Stopwatch (you switch from Axis to Allies every other turn), Objective  (you stay on one side throughout the game trying to complete all the objectives). Games are also playable with up to 16 characters which makes for a more intense experience. You can also keep track of your progress with the stats section being updated every week and month. This game never gets old on Live.

Bottom Line
     > If you want a great FPS with a good storyline and fun multiplayer and online play get this Xbox Live game this should be it. Killing Nazis and having a blast with your friends never gets old with this one.
Ratings
Overall: 9.4 | Graphics: 8.9 | Control: 9.1 | Sound: 9.5 | Fun: 10
~ Cloud ~
pictures courtesy: xbox.com

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