History VideoGame / CastleWolfenstein

* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: A common tactic is to stick up a guard with an empty gun, rob the guard for any bullets, then shoot him immediately afterwards.

* [[EarthShatteringKaboom Castle Shattering Kaboom]]: If you blow yourself up with a grenade or shoot a trunk containing grenades or cannonballs, the entire screen is lit up with an explosion and sends you back to the main menu. Apparently, [[MadeOfExplodium the entire castle]] is destroyed from this one blast, since the game forces you to start over in a new castle if this happens.

* MasterOfUnlocking: In the original game, if the player finds a locked chest he has to "lockpick" it ([[WaitingPuzzle wait for a timer to count down]]) before it will open. The player can shoot the chest to speed up the timer; unfortunately, this uses up bullets, and may attract nearby guards. It's also bad news if the chest has explosives (ammunition, grenades, cannonballs)) in it.

* OneBulletClips: The player only has one pistol and can't store any extra bullet magazines. Thus if he came across enemy bullets, he only reloaded if they had more bullets than he currently had.

** The Nazis in these games are [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons straightforward and realistic in portrayal]], lacking any hint of the [[StupidJetpackHitler advanced technology]] or [[{{Ghostapo}} supernatural elements]] that would define them in later installments.

* LoadingScreen: The game displays four pages of unskippable introductory text (as shown in the page quote) while loading.

** In the original game, you can steal a uniform and wear it; the regular guards would ignore you, but the SS would spot you instantly.

* JumpScare: A light example: a player encountering the SS troopers for the first time may mistake them for room-locked enemies just like normal guards. That is, until one jumps out of a door while pursuing them, screaming "SS!" in sharp, digitized German.

* MasterOfUnlocking: In the original game, if the player finds a locked chest he has to "lockpick" it ([[WaitingPuzzle wait for a timer to count down]]) before it will open. The player can shoot the chest to speed up the timer; unfortunately, this uses up bullets, and may attract nearby guards. It's also bad news if the chest has explosives (ammunition, grenades, cannonballs (???)) in it.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Due to the randomly-generated nature of ''Castle Wolfenstein'', there's a chance that there will be a container carrying grenades, armor, a disguise, or even the [[MacGuffin war plans]] in the cell the Nazis placed you in.

** Played mostly straight in the first game -- while a single shot will kill the player, the ''probability'' that a shot will hit depends on several factors, such as the distance of the gunman and whether the player is wearing a bulletproof vest.

* PatrollingMook: If one of the guards sees you while you aren't wearing a uniform (and for SS guards, even if you are), he will call out to alert other guards and possibly activate an alarm.

* RewardingVandalism: Averted; blowing up a chest with a grenade causes everything within to be lost. Blowing up a chest with ammunition results in a NonStandardGameOver.

* VideoGameStealing: You can steal [[DressingAsTheEnemy the uniform of a guard]] or an SS trooper's bulletproof vest, then put it on and use it, all while holding the guard at gunpoint. This was the best way to kill an SS Trooper, since it usually took a full clip or more to take one down. Sneaking up on them, telling them to give you their bulletproof vest and then shooting them? One bullet.

* AlternateHistory: ''Beyond Castle Wolfenstein'''s premise is based on the July 20th plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb, except that the agent is actually ''successful'' in killing him.[[spoiler:..or is he?]]

* DoomedByCanon: It's implied in the hint-book for ''[[VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D Spear of Destiny]]'' that the events of ''Beyond Castle Wolfenstein'' did happen in id Software's continuity, but Adolf Hitler survived, meaning that the Allied Soldier's mission was ultimately a failure (as it was in real life).

* AlternateHistory: ''Beyond Castle Wolfenstein'''s premise is based on the July 20th plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb, except that the agent is actually ''successful'' in killing him.

** The Nazis in these games are straightforward and realistic in portrayal, lacking any hint of the [[StupidJetpackHitler advanced technology]] or [[{{Ghostapo}} supernatural elements]] that would define them in later installments.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: 2D top-down perspective, stealth-based gameplay, RandomlyGeneratedLevels, Atari-esque graphics, and [[DamnYouMuscleMemory twin joystick controls]]? Not something you'd expect from the series that helped put the first-person shooter genre on the map. Not only that, but the Nazis also lack any hint of [[StupidJetpackHitler advanced technology]] or [[{{Ghostapo}} supernatural activity]] whatsoever.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: 2D top-down perspective, stealth-based gameplay, RandomlyGeneratedLevels, Atari-esque graphics, and [[DamnYouMuscleMemory twin joystick controls]]? Not something you'd expect from the series that helped put the first-person shooter genre on the map.

''Castle Wolfenstein'' (1981) was a computer game written by Silas Warner for the UsefulNotes/AppleII, IBM home computers, UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers, and the UsefulNotes/{{Commodore 64}}. It is regarded as one of the [[UrExample first stealth-based games ever]], and began the ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein}}'' series.

''Castle Wolfenstein'' (1981) was a computer game written by Silas Warner for the UsefulNotes/AppleII, UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers, and the UsefulNotes/{{Commodore 64}}. It is regarded as one of the [[UrExample first stealth-based games ever]], and is the direct inspiration for the ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein}}'' series.

* LostForever: If you are killed or captured with the war plans in your possession, then you won't be able to retrieve it a second time without starting a new game.

* JumpScare: A light example: a player encountering the SS troopers for the first time may mistake them for room-locked enemies just like normal guards. That is, until one jumps out of a door while pursuing them, screaming "SS!" in sharp, digitized German.

* NoSwastikas: Averted; the regular Nazi guards had uniforms with large swastikas across their chests. SS Solders wore uniforms with "SS" instead.

* CollisionDamage: If a Nazi knows you're an enemy and touches you it's an immediate GameOver.

* RewardingVandalism: Averted; blowing up a chest with a grenade causes everything within to be LostForever. Blowing up a chest with ammunition results in a NonStandardGameOver.

* DeadlyWalls: Bumping into a wall stuns the player for several seconds. Not particularly lethal unless he's being chased by a soldier at the time...

* EliteMooks: Unlike regular Nazis, the SS Soldiers will instantly recognize you even if you're wearing a uniform. They're also harder to kill due to their bulletproof vests.

** In ''Beyond Castle Wolfenstein'', getting shot actually caused you to limp and slow down.

* RandomlyGeneratedLevels: The game has pregenerated rooms whose layouts didn't change; however, the order and connection between rooms was randomized at the start of each game.

* OutlivedItsCreator: The ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein}}'' franchise has outlived Silas Warner, who died in 2004. Although he wasn't involved with further games, he endorsed the use of the name.

* UnwinnableJokeGame: In ''Castle Smurfenstein'', a hacked version of the original Apple II ''CastleWolfenstein'', the game was deliberately modified so that it's impossible to get past the first level.