If there's one thing Activision is good at lately, it's trying to wake up dead franchises. Of course, Wolfenstein hasn't been truly "dead" for a long while; the most recent incarnation of the series, prior to this, was 2001's Return to Castle Wolfenstein (Eight years? Has it really been so long?).

Raven software, the favorite of most "who's using iD's engine now" crew, took this one and turned the Wolfenstein series on its side; rather than focusing simply on bigger-badder weaponry, they chose to explore more of the "occult" aspect of some of the Nazi leadership, and hand players an intriguing new tool -a medallion that can slow time, shield, or even act as a sort of "X-Ray Glasses" to reveal missing information or hidden passageways.

In a world where fewer and fewer games are the "own it" sort rather than rent-and-forget, this one's worthwhile.