Nazis … I Hate Those Guys

The PC hit Return to Castle Wolfenstein parachutes to the Xbox in a new, expanded version, Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War™. Winning World War II ain't easy, even for the legendary war hero B.J. Blazcowicz—especially when the Nazis are dabbling in the occult (just ask that archaeologist fellow with the hat). We've cobbled together some advance tactical information to let you hit the ground shooting.

Sometimes, a frontal assault works best.

Five-Star General Gameplay Tips
Auto-aim is good; manual is better.
Like most of your finer shooters, Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War rewards good marksmanship. And, as anyone who's seen a George Romero movie knows, zombies go down faster if they take a headshot. Don't let up until they explode into dust.

Fight with your head.
Enemies pack many of the same weapons as B.J. and have startlingly good A.I. Peek around corners to get a read on the room before you jump in, guns blazing. Use binoculars to place the crosshairs on an opponent's skullcap, then switch to your MP-40 (or your pistol) when you don't have access to the sniper rifle. In short, play smart.

For Pete's sake, don't use an annoying voice mask.
With full Xbox Live support come the customary voice masks, but unlike other recent Xbox Live titles, the game puts an icon over the head of the character that's speaking. That means, you shouldn't set it to the little-kid mask, unless you want everyone to target your whiny self.

Take your sniper shot carefully.

Weapons Manifest
Now, familiarize yourself with the tools of combat, soldier.

Knife
This is your basic pig-sticker. If you approach a Nazi silently, you can use the knife to stealthily take him out with one slice.

Colt Pistol
The Colt Pistol is the standard Allied sidearm. You probably won't use it much, unless you're A) out of ammo for all your other weapons, or B) toting two at once, John Woo-style.

Luger Pistol
Made with that pesky German engineering, the Luger Pistol is actually a bit better than the Colt and can sometimes be used with a silencer for sneakier kills.

Shotgun
Oh, yeah. Devastating at short range, this six-shot weapon beheads zombies and Nazis with equal effectiveness.

MP-40 Sub-Machine Gun
You'll use this one a lot—the ammo is (somewhat) plentiful, and the 32-shot clips are nice and fat. It's useful for a wide bullet-spray or short, controlled bursts, more suitable for headshots.

Sten Silenced Sub-Machine Gun
This is a definite upgrade from the Luger for stealthy soldiers. It uses MP-40 ammo, but the barrel overheats quickly—try to stick with single shots when you can.

Thompsons Sub-Machine Gun
The Wolfenstein flavor of the classic "Tommy gun" is head and shoulders above the MP-40 for power and accuracy, but don't expect to find as much ammo lying around.

Take on Nazi freakshows together with co-op.

Paratrooper Rifle
Paratroopers get all the good stuff—in this case, a powerful machine gun that comes equipped with a scope. The clips are smaller than other automatics, though (only 20 shots).

Mauser Rifle
"Mauser" is German for "sniper," at least in Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War. Zoom in and go for the head shot. But remember: B.J. isn't Master Chief—he still has to breathe, which can make you miss.

Snooper Rifle
This is a super-sniper rifle with a night-vision scope. Don't waste bullets; ammo can be hard to find.

Venom Chaingun
Death on a stick. The chaingun tears through both enemies and ammo with equal speed.

Grenades
Once you learn to throw accurately, the grenades can mean the difference between life and death. (Our own Luke Judge recommends using them on the flaming crypt zombie). Try holding grenades on a three-count before tossing, for maximum damage.

Flamethrower
Set the bad guys aflame, and then switch to a machine gun to mow them down while they can't shoot back.

Zombies are surprising flammable.

Panzerfaust
Winner of the prestigious "most German-sounding Weapon" award, the Panzerfaust rocket launcher is usually a guaranteed one-shot kill. Rockets can be hard to find, so make them count.

Tesla Cannon
This dynamo-powered electro-gun will slowly fry the bad guys and can even create a chain-lightning effect to take out multiple foes at once.

By Danny Chihdo