Wolfenstein 3D is as timeless and legendary as its more popular outstanding pupil, Doom, albeit it's probably the one of the two that's aged the worst. The premise is as simple as it gets: you're B.J. Blazkowicz, superspy/soldier in WWII. Get in enemy territory, take down all the Nasties in your way, go to the next level, rinse and repeat. The key to Wolf3D's success is in its gameplay basis: extremely basic and to-the-point yet undeniably addictive. Gunning Nasties down never gets old! Unfortunately the weakest aspect of this game is by far its level design. I understand the constrictions imposed by technical limitations and how much you could do with the engine at the time, but unfortunately Wolf3D's confusing maze-like levels will lead you to get lost very often. While I consider this gem a true gem and one of those you must play at least once in your life, it's hard to deny it gets old pretty quickly. I consider it a perfect game for short bursts and a little match every now and then, but if you try to beat all of its episodes (plus the Spear of Destiny expansion) in a row, you'll get bored very quickly. As another piece of advice: you should definitely play this in the ECWolf source port, as it's the most convenient modernized way to taste the original. Alternatively you can get a vast number of interesting recreations of Wolfenstein 3D in the shape of Doom mods.
I had no previous knowledge on The Wheel of Time series when I started this game, so I came to it with an open mind, allowing it to surprise me. While I still don't get much of its lore, what this title had to offer felt honestly fresh and unique, specially its particular approach to magic and arcane secrets, shrouded in a mystery aura that I haven't seen all that often in modern takes on fantasy. I also appreciated the quality of its dialogues, both excellently written and performed, something that took me back to the Legacy of Kain series. Its soundtrack is top notch as well. Unfortunately, this game's gameplay lost me in the middle of my run. It presents many common issues from other games built in the first Unreal Engine, but here they felt more aggravating. The lack of accuracy with most of its spells, along with the enemy's tendency to dodge almost every first shot, made combat feel a lot harder than it needed to be. Also those shielded knights and enemy sorceresses proved to be the bain of my existence. Long story short, The Wheel of Time is the kind of game that would really benefit from a Nightdive remaster treatment to make its gameplay a little more accessible. It's a shame, because that was the only element that prevented me from fully enjoying what's otherwise a genuinely well-crafted product. Too bad it remains chained by the gameplay conventions of its time.
The Catacomb Series is a fascinating one. Restricted, yet expansive. Narrowed-down, yet imaginative. A true testament of an age where much had to be done with little resources. Despite its whole 'it belongs in a museum' vibe, testing it is certainly quite an insightful view on how the FPS genre started and from where it evolved. In many ways, I find Catacomb to be surprisingly more varied and atmospheric than Wolfenstein 3D, despite its limited maze-like level design and restricted arsenal. There's more enemy variety, each level makes a remarkable work to stand to their core themes, and overall it's really a game that manages an astounding lot with so little. That said, there's little this game can offer to a modernized audience in terms of content or complex mechanics, yet I still definitely recommend to give it a try. If you do, though, do yourself a favor and play it through the CatacombGL source port, it'll make its dated controls feel way less of a hussle.
He tenido ocasión de probar este juego por curiosidad, y me alegra mucho haberlo hecho. Una razón más que me lleva a reivindicar la frescura y buen hacer de las aventuras gráficas de finales de los 90. Desde que empieza este juego consigue como pocos engancharte en su trama y mantenerte en vilo. Una sucesión de extraños y rocambolescos escenarios se suceden tras otro, y el protagonista, un amnésico de cara vendada, los recorre en un intento desesperado por recordar quién es y de dónde viene. Tal vez el argumento ya no nos sorprenda demasiado a estas alturas, pero no por ello deja de ser un muy digno ejemplo de thriller con tintes de terror psicológico. Aunque en un principio los escenarios parecen totalmente inconexos entre sí, conforme nos acercamos al final descubrimos que todo encaja y que todo tiene un por qué y una razón de ser. Como aventura gráfica además tiene una dificultad muy bien calibrada, y sus puzzles son moderados y desafiantes sin llegar a ser imposibles, exceptuando algún que otro caso de pixel hunting. Si mi calificación no llega al máximo de nota se debe sobre todo a pequeños fallos y bugs a la hora de controlar al personaje en ciertos momentos que dificultaron mucho la jugabilidad para mí. Pero eso no es un impedimento en general para disfrutar de una de las mejores aventuras gráficas que haya tenido la oportunidad de disfrutar. Si sois amantes de los juegos retro y de las pasadas generaciones, dadle una oportunidad a Sanitarium. No os arrepentiréis ;)
