Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War

 Xbox
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 38 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 38
  3. Negative: 0 out of 38
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. GameZone
    72
    First-person shooter heaven for Xbox owners. With a decent single player story mode complete with a great supernatural twist and equally wonderful visuals and sound, the action is thick enough to sink your teeth into it.
  2. eToychest
    70
    The single player campaign, while enjoyable for what it is, pales substantially to its online multiplayer counterpart.
  3. Games Radar
    60
    Put simply, if you have Live this is a highly recommended purchase, if you don't then it isn't.
  5. GameCritics
    60
    There's nothing revolutionary to be found here—no innovative play mechanics, no stunning graphics. This is a rock-solid Nazi-blasting FPS, and nothing more.
  6. Weekly Famitsu
    60
    7 / 6 / 6 / 5 - 24 [Vol 785]
    All this publication's reviews

Awards & Rankings

31
#31 Best Xbox Game of 2003
22
#22 Most Discussed Xbox Game of 2003
9
#9 Most Shared Xbox Game of 2003

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 100 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 80 out of 100
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 100
  3. Negative: 5 out of 100
  1. Yojimbo2015
    Jun 10, 2023
    8
    Sequel to the original 16 bit FPS with added shades of Doom thanks to its demonic scenario. A little generic in the early stages but it getsSequel to the original 16 bit FPS with added shades of Doom thanks to its demonic scenario. A little generic in the early stages but it gets better and better as it goes thanks to its varied enemies, many secrets to discover and atmospheric, well designed levels.… Full Review »
  2. Haldane
    Jan 21, 2023
    5
    This game is a 3 when you're fighting mummy-things in a crypt and an 8 when you're not. The crypt levels are a cringe idea, and the enemiesThis game is a 3 when you're fighting mummy-things in a crypt and an 8 when you're not. The crypt levels are a cringe idea, and the enemies are all absolute bullet sponges. At least with the robots in the later missions, you could run away and regain your bearings, but in a crypt every thing is so diarrhoea brown that you can't find a place to run away. Another dumb idea is that at the start of every new mission your health is the same as where it left off in the last mission, so God help you if you finished the last mission by the skin of your teeth only to find you have 3 waves of enemies at the start of the next mission before you can get just a sixth of your health back. Sometimes there's no choice but to revert to the Cheat Codes, it makes the game less stressful and makes you realise just how time-consuming killing just one enemy on normal difficulty really is. I definitely wouldn't be able to finish that boss-fight with the giant-ogre-zombie-nazi-lady without them. The game still deserves some credit due to the realistic fighting with humans and the fun strategic dashing in and out of hallways required to kill them all. The best part of the game is definitely when you are racing against a countdown to stop the launch of a rocketship, and you are just blasting your way through enemies to pull a lever in the last 5 seconds before you fail. I did fail this bit once because the lever kind of blends in with the rest of the consoles in the room it's in, but I didn't mind doing that fun part again with more knowledge on how to retain some health.
    All in all, if you want the best of the game you'll find it in Mission 3 Part 2 (rocket base), and if you want the most infuriating experience on the original Xbox it won't be the stealth mission like everyone tells you (they are fine just go building by building) it'll be the latter half of Mission 2 when you're unloading ammo mindlessly into exploding mummys and Olaric.
    Good Luck!    … Full Review »
  3. storygamer
    Oct 16, 2020
    8
    The early 2000s were a great time for FPS games. Especially for those, who already made a name for themselves like the Wolfenstein series.The early 2000s were a great time for FPS games. Especially for those, who already made a name for themselves like the Wolfenstein series. Return To Castle Wolfenstein: Tides Of War is the Xbox release of a PC cult classic. The single-player campaign has a crazy over the top storyline and the multiplayer is super amusing. Gameplay is great fun with dozens of weapons and a beautiful atmosphere. Sure for todays standards the graphics are a bit outdated but still completely ok. Great Nazi shooting time!… Full Review »
See all user reviews »