Like its predecessor,
Beyond Castle Wolfenstein is a combination action and
adventure game with stealth elements set in
Nazi Germany during
World War II. The objective is to traverse the
levels of the secret
Berlin bunker where
Adolf Hitler is holding meetings with his senior staff. The player must retrieve a bomb that operatives have hidden inside the bunker, place it outside the room where Hitler is holding a meeting, and escape before the bomb explodes. screenshot of
Beyond Castle Wolfenstein showing the player about to place the bomb in the meeting room, the numbers denoting the bomb's countdown timer and the passes the player possesses The game shows a top-down view of each room, though the characters are from a side view. The player explores the levels by sneaking by, impersonating, and sometimes killing opponents. The game is controlled via a
joystick,
paddles, or the
keyboard, although the keyboard is the only option that allows for all commands. The play is similar to its predecessor, but with some updates. The guards use a pass system, in which the player is periodically summoned by guards and asked to show the correct pass (which varies by floor), or offer a bribe. If an incorrect pass is shown or the bribe is rejected due to the lack of money (for a total of two times), the guard will attempt to activate a bunker-wide alarm or kill the player. The bodies of dead guards can be dragged through the room to conceal them, block passages, or gain access to objects. The
grenades of the previous game have been replaced with a dagger which can silently kill guards. Upon successful completion of the game, the player is rewarded with a high resolution image of the bunker exploding with the player running away in the foreground. ==Reception==