Genre: First-Person Shooter
Developer: id Software
Publisher: Apogee Software

Between Wolfenstein 3D's flashy chromatic look, it's almost unbelievably fluid motion, and the perspective from which its objects are drawn, put together with uncannily tasteful palette choices and fluidly animated enemies, make for a game where practically every single vantage point of every single room, in every single level, is positively picturesque. To an uninformed observer, undoubtedly comprehension that this is a nearly thirty year old DOS game and not some kind of "retro" modern-day technological release would come only with difficulty.

If Wolfenstein 3D's anachronistic appearance isn't startling enough, its sound effects are: the clanging doors, enemy shouts and gun shots, plus the way that the engine plays them all back, is almost jarringly clear, making one wonder what the hell has happened to audio direction in the nearly three decades since! And to top it off, Bobby Prince puts forth what has to be one of the best video game soundtracks of all time; alternatingly moody and smilingly goofy, with historically period-famous melodies cleverly interwoven, and even a song with a Morse code message in it, things simply don't get better.

But the anachronisms don't stop there: Wolfenstein 3D has mouse support-- something that even 2017 first-person releases on the PlayStation 4 lack. The scheme is fabulous to boot: holding down the right button causes the character to strafe, while the first button fires. The mouse can be flicked forward and back, causing the player to lunge into and out of door ways-- which happens to be a key tactic in the game! The game only has a few weapons, but it doesn't need any more, as each one serves its discrete purpose. The enemy designs have "goomba" levels of character, while not much needs to be said about the level design other than that it has featured in game design curriculum.

Like many of the best games of all time, Wolfenstein 3D is both simple and deep at the same time. Its repetitious, streamlined, strategic gameplay is reminiscent of other all-time greats, like Pacman, or even classic board games such as Chess or Go. It has a perfect convergence of splendid graphical aesthetic, memorable and capricious soundtrack and overall audio direction, and a control scheme which immediately becomes second nature. Like "Citizen Kane" or "The Godfather" in the film world, Wolfenstein 3D is one of those timeless classics that is just as approachable and enjoyable now as it was when first released. And has the fact been mentioned that it spawned an entire genre?