Parents' Guide to

Wolfenstein

By Marc Saltzman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Violence against Nazis at center of over-the-top shooter.

Game PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360 2009
Wolfenstein Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Wolfenstein Game: Screenshot #1
  • Wolfenstein Game: Screenshot #2

Community Reviews

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age 15+

Based on 4 parent reviews

Rhiana J.
Rhiana J. Adult
December 24, 2017
age 18+

VERY ADULT GAME

This game is not for children of any age and not for squeamish adults. Expect extreme violence and gore. Extreme nudity and adult situations. Swearing, drinking, drugs. HARD R rating.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
Tom_Gamer_Tom
Tom_Gamer_Tom Adult
June 8, 2010
age 14+

A violent shooter.

Wolfenstein is violent, Even from the front cover. Lots of blood,decapitation and our old favourite. Dismemberment! Its one of the goriest you can buy in the FPS genre. Its pretty boring gore as well. The language is moderate. But there is some swearing. Overall its not really that violent in nature. Because the dismemberment looks stupid and unrealistic. You electrocute people too!

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much swearing
See all 4 parent reviews

What’s It About?

The classic 3-D shooter that ate away countless productivity hours in the early '90s, and then was resurrected on the iPhone earlier this year, is not only back but darker than ever before. Activision's WOLFENSTEIN shines a light on the Nazis' dark obsession with the occult, as you resurrect your role as B.J. Blazkowicz, a decorated member of the Office of Secret Actions (OSA). Using brains and brawn, you need to stop the Germans from harnessing power from a parallel dimension to create a weapon of unprecedented mass destruction. Step into battle with a diverse collection of Allied, Axis, and experimental Nazi weapons, in both the story mode and varied multiplayer options.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (4):
Kids say (10):

If you can forgive the lame story, slow cut-scene movies, and some enemy A.I. (artificial intelligence) that's not too smart, Wolfenstein offers some intense (and quite bloody) fighting sequences and very fun, over-the-top boss battles against superhuman foes. The single-player story should provide many hours of intense combat, but the myriad of multiplayer modes -- Team Deathmatch, Objective, and Stopwatch -- all help add to the game's replayability. Our top pick is Stopwatch, which pits two teams against one another to see which side can complete its objectives faster; each team has a soldier, media, an engineer, and a Veil power. Wolfenstein might not be the best game of the year, but it proves to be a very good one that should certainly satiate fans of first-person shooters.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about whether this level of violence is more acceptable because it's against nasty Nazis, mutated soldiers, and inhuman creatures. Compare this, for example, against cop killing or prostitute bashing in games such as the Grand Theft Auto series. Is it the same thing or different?

  • Do you think the main character is a good role model because he's fighting for good, or are his tactics so extreme that he's not someone you should admire?

Game Details

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