Line #4 YMMV/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein


1	* AluminumChristmasTrees:
2	** The whole "sexy Nazi dominatrix" thing the Elite Guards have going may seem like the sort of silly, salacious fanservice dreamt up by the same sort of people that made games like ''VideoGame/{{SiN}}'', ''VideoGame/HeavyMetalFAKK2'', or ''Deathtrap Dungeon'', but is actually a classic trope that goes all the way back to the old pulpy World War II era men's adventure magazines that the ''Wolfenstein'' series draws a lot of inspiration from (though Germans didn't have such fantasies).
3	** The "Snooper" rifle is based on actual early night-vision scopes mounted on M1 Carbines, which were powered by a heavy backpack-sized battery.
4	* AntiClimaxBoss: Once you get over the grandiosity of Heinrich I and realize how limited his effective range is, the fight becomes a laugh as you kite him around and run away from him when he causes you to gravitate toward him. The [[GatlingGood Venom Gun]] chews him up while Panzerfaust rockets help soften him up. Even the Tesla Cannon is effective, hitting Heinrich and his undead simultaneously. And yes, he's listed as ThatOneBoss boss too, that's YMMV for you. Doubles as a BreatherLevel given [[NintendoHard the rest of the game]].
5	* CatharsisFactor: [[DemonicSpiders Elite Guards]] give you hell. Then you get your hands on a [[KillItWithFire flamethrower]] and the tides turn. [[VideogameCrueltypotential Enjoy their screams]].
6	* DemonicSpiders:
7	** [[KingMook Proto Soldats]], especially the ones toting panzerfausts. These [[MightyGlacier walking tanks]] can mush you with a single hit.
8	** Über Soldats with [[ShockAndAwe Tesla guns]] are even worse. The bolts practically home in on you at ludicrous range.
9	** Loopers [[LightningBruiser are crazy fast, tough]] and can [[LiteralMetaphor fry you in matter of seconds.]] It's almost impossible to kill one without losing at least a third of your health/armor.
10	** Elite Guards can be incredibly frustrating to deal with. They're more competent than most guards, taking effective cover and dodge-rolling, and very accurate with their Sten. On top of that, each bullet hurts badly. Mercifully, they are only in a select few levels, their [[GlassCannon health is low]] and they often fire their Stens until they {{overheat\|ing}}, [[ArtificialStupidity leaving them vulnerable]].
11	** The Black Guard Paratroopers are close behind Elite Guards in deadliness, but not quite as bad as said Elite Guards. In the penultimate level, they also show up alongside the Elite Guards, making for a deadly combo.
12	* GameBreaker:
13	** The Sten. It's silenced, fully automatic, quite accurate, does more damage per bullet[[labelnote:]]10[[/labelnote]] than the Thompson[[labelnote:]]8[[/labelnote]] and the MP-40[[labelnote:*]]6[[/labelnote]], and uses the same type of 9mm ammo as the MP-40, so almost every German soldier killed is a generous resupply. As long as it's fired in short bursts to avoid {{overheating}}, it's one of the deadliest weapons against any regular enemy even in open non-stealthy combat.
14	** The FG-42 Paratrooper rifle has good accuracy, a decent fire rate and good damage, though using it too much will drain the relatively uncommon 7.92 ammo it uses. Thankfully as the game progresses you start fighting [[EliteMooks Black Guard Paratroopers]] which drop FG-42s, allowing you to scavenge ammo.
15	** The Venom [[GatlingGood Gatling Gun]] is a close-range devastator, able to mow down a group of Nazis in seconds, and is reasonably accurate when fired in controlled bursts. 12.7 mm ammo is moderately frequent after the Secret Weapon Facility mission, and the capacity is very generous at 1500 total rounds. It takes the edge off of encounters with Proto-soldats and Über-soldats, and chews up the FinalBoss to boot.
16	** The shotgun in the console versions instantly kills most enemies and doesn't require aiming. It's only balanced by the fact that ammo is scarce.
17	* JerkassWoobie: Zemph is a [[HerrDoctor Nazi Scientist]], but he has to put up with the abusive and reckless [[BadBoss Helga von Bulow]]. He's constantly berated by her, despite being absolutely right to be cautious when dealing with the [[EvilIsNotAToy undead]]. He's ultimately killed by her when he threatens to report her to their superior.
18	* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound: The gib splat sounds incredibly satisfactory. Or the explosions. Or both the firing[[labelnote:*]]especially in accord with the aforementioned splat sound[[/labelnote]] and reloading sound of [[GatlingGood Venom gun]]. Or the [[BlackComedy screams of enemies you set ablaze with the flamethrower]].
19	* PlayTheGameSkipTheStory: The story is mostly told in the way of the skippable briefing cutscenes, and optional logs that you can pick up and read. You can blaze through and complete all levels without seeing or reading most of them.
20	* PolishedPort: Both the [=PlayStation=] 2 and Xbox ports of ''RTCW'' contain a new prologue level set in Egypt that shows what B.J. and Agent One were doing before their arrival at Castle Wolfenstein, and includes a new shotgun weapon and Egyptian mercenary enemies, and B.J. is [[SuddenlyVoiced fully-voiced]] for the first time in the series, with remastered cutscenes to boot. The Xbox port, ''Tides of War'' also features online multiplayer, an exclusive co-op mode (with Agent One as the second player, [[SparedByTheAdaptation surviving his death]] in single-player mode), a few exclusive enemies (a lightning shooting priest and mecha dog) and ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' as an [[EmbeddedPrecursor unlockable extra]] that you obtain after completing the main game.
21	* PortingDisaster: The [=PlayStation=] 2 port, ''Operation Resurrection'', unfortunately suffers from frame rate issues with multiple enemies on screen, and levels are broken up into smaller chunks. Unlike the Xbox port, the [=PS2=] version lacks any form of multiplayer, or the new enemies outside of the the newly added prologue level.
22	* ScrappyMechanic:
23	** Weapon pickups provide ''random'' amount of ammunition in a certain extent. This is especially bad with the panzerfaust since it's quite rare and every shot matters. Due to this, many players resort to SaveScumming to get the maximum amount from every pickup.
24	** The game includes a toggle option to force manually picking up weapons, ammo and the like by pressing the Use key, emulating what would become standard in ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder''. The problem is that the system is not fully developed and very hit-or-miss, making it impossible to pick up certain key items in particular, so most players -- even those coming back to the game after ''TNO'' -- leave it off.
25	* ScrappyWeapon:
26	** Grenades. Nazis easily run away from them, and can kick them back at you. It takes B.J. a long time to charge them and throw them at long distances, and they easily bounce in wrong directions like rubber balls. Unless you have a height advantage or are a master at cooking grenades, save them for undead enemies.
27	** The [[ShockAndAwe Tesla Cannon]] is a rather situational weapon. It may stun foes, but there's a chance they -- especially EliteMooks -- can fire at you while the lightning is electrocuting them, and the Tesla's mechanics preclude scoring [[BoomHeadshot headshots]].
28	* ThatOneBoss:
29	** If you already have trouble fighting the Proto-soldat, than you'll be in hell once you fight the Übersoldat. The Tesla Gun prevents you from ever moving away to safety, draining your health away unless you're lucky enough to find a barrier, forcing you to take potshots. Even worse is that a dozen of enemy scientists will take potshots at you with their Lugers, while you're desperate for armor and health. [[LampshadeHanging The mission's end cutscene even mentions that BJ is beaten pretty badly after the battle]].
30	** Heinrich I. Not only does he take a ''lot'' of abuse, deal a lot of damage with his sword (one strike is either a OneHitKill or takes away most of your armor and half your health), and have [[FlunkyBoss an army of zombie warriors]] protecting him, but he [[ThatOneAttack summons ghosts to smother the player]] should the player stay too far back. Touching these ghosts will [[InterfaceScrew darken the screen]], slow you down, and take ''massive'' chunks out of your health '''all at the same time'''. They're also intangible, so you can't take cover from them. Also, you aren't even given any Panzerfausts during this battle, so you better have saved them up from earlier; otherwise, the Venom gun is almost mandatory.
31	* ThatOneLevel:
32	** "The Defiled Church" is crawling with [[DemonicSpiders Elite Guards]] who tend to camp out in each room, taking effective cover. They're also very accurate and their Stens hurt a lot.
33	** The penultimate mission [[TitleDrop "Return to Castle Wolfenstein"]]. You get reacquainted with the undead, who are much stronger this time around (though you have heavier weapons to compensate). The second half of the level is a gauntlet with the best troops the enemy has to offer. The Elite Guards fight alongside Black Guards so your life is constantly hanging on a thread.
34	** Both infiltration levels can be really frustrating, but the winner is the first one: ''it takes place in daylight'' and guards randomly activate the alarm even when they should not. The second one even has checkpoints that can screw you over if you kill an officer when an alarm is or about to be triggered.

Context YMMV / ReturnToCastleWolfenstein