Tomorrow sees the release of Wolfenstein the New Order, the latest iteration of the legendary Wolfenstein franchise. While many gamers of a certain age will fondly remember the fast-paced kill-or-be-killed style of 1992’s Wolfenstein 3D, a deeper look reveals that Wolfenstein has been a trend-setter since its first incarnation in 1981. While many gamers will remember Wolfenstein 3D as ushering in an era of first-person shooters (FPS) with Doom and Quake being released shortly after, throughout its three-decade history, Wolfenstein has often been at the forefront of game design. Below we look at the major innovations and trends initiated by the series.

Phase I: Castle Wolfenstein and Beyond

Created by Silas Warner and released by Muse Software for the Apple II computer in 1981, Castle Wolfenstein stood out from the get-go with its permit to let game players go one-on-one with Nazi guards and SS Stormtroopers as the player traversed the levels of the castle to rescue a secret map and escape. It and its sequel, Beyond Castle Wolfenstein, were top-down action-adventure shooter games that actually placed less importance on shooting—players after all had a limited amount of ammo—and more on stealth, as players were more likely to succeed by outwitting their opponents through evasion and even disguise, presaging the late 90s boom in such stealth games as Metal Gear Solid and Thief: The Dark Project. The original was so successful that it resulted in the creation of the first game trainer, helping players to bend the rules of the game as needed.

Phase II: Wolfenstein 3D

For gamers in the 90s, the release of Wolfenstein 3D in 1992 was a watershed moment, introducing many features of the first-person shooter whose influence is still felt today. As Muse Software had allowed their trademark on Wolfenstein to expire, iD software stepped in to create a wholly new gaming experience paired with an exhilarating (and blood-filled) storyline that helped to popularize the FPS genre for the PC while pioneering the run-and-gun model that would become a hallmark of subsequent FPS games. Compared to its predecessor, Wolfenstein 3D signified a quantum leap in game design as players were thrown into a pseudo-3D environment, playing as the protagonist William “B.J.” Blazkowicz as he makes his way through a series of map-like levels with ample ammunition.

A decidedly raunchier and more inventive version of its top-down predecessor, players stalked swastika-draped environs while encountering a seemingly endless onslaught of guards, manic guard dogs, Nazi mutants, and eventually Adolf Hitler himself, decked out in a robotic suit and multiple chainguns. Over the next few years, iD continued to pump out additional mission packs and expand to such ports as the SNES, Atari Jaguar, and the Mac OS—anyone remember the opening scene from 1995’s internet-thriller The Net where Sandra Bullock’s character “tests” the game for viruses? Priceless. However, the game lost steam as popular FPS games like Doom and Quake pushed the genre into even darker and bloodier territory, nudging the Wolfenstein franchise into hibernation.

Phase III: Return to Castle Wolfenstein

Released when WWII FPS games seemed to be coming out faster than they could be played, Activision decided the time was ripe for a new generation of gamers to enter the world of Wolfenstein with 2001’s Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Players could choose between assuming the character of B.J. in a single-player version that featured even more fantastical foes or play together in the exceedingly popular multiplayer mode where players could fight in teams against each other in teams of either of Axis or Allies, which reflected the increasing popularity of historical FPS games that allowed players to assume the role of the enemy. Building on the success of its multiplayer version, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory was released as a free, downloadable multiplayer game that still remains popular over a decade later.

Phase IV: Wolfenstein and the Future

As military shooters retained their popularity with such franchises as Call of Duty, the 2009 Wolfenstein incarnation took players even deeper into the increasingly bizarre alternative history of the Wolfenstein universe, implementing even more sci-fi and fantasy elements. However, the game came out to mixed reviews and disappointing sales, seemingly putting a death nail in the franchise’s future.

And yet, developer MachineGames and its owner ZeniMax Media acquired id Software and its many classic franchises in 2009 and decided to start developing Wolfenstein: The New Order in 2010. This latest version takes the player back to the single-player origins of Wolfenstein 3D, placing them in an alternate 1960 where the Nazis have won WWII. While early buzz has been solid regarding the game play and plot, it’s a safe bet to assume that the Wolfenstein franchise could either flourish again or recede into video game history for another decade depending on its success. Either way, this writer will be happy to content himself playing Wolfenstein 3D on his iPhone for the foreseeable future and see how the franchise continues to both change with and influence the current video game landscape.

Criticism is an ancient and revered art form. Pretty much since stories were first written, other people were writing down their opinions about those stories. This criticism has always helped other people form opinions of the work for themselves and make informed decisions of whether it’s worth their time. Of course, storytelling has changed a lot since Aristotle wrote his Poetics, and criticism has changed to keep up.

Similarly, film criticism has been around since the advent of cinema itself and way back in the early 1900s early reviewers sometimes used this venue as a way to break into other film-related jobs. If you wanted to get a job as a screenwriter or director, starting off in criticism made a lot of sense. That’s something that hasn’t really changed over the last century, as it is just as prevalent now for film school students to blog about their career exploits and cinematic musings online in order to increase their chances of being noticed.

But before we get to the digital age, we need to cover the popularity explosion in the art of critiquing.

Film Criticism Goes Mainstream

By the 1930s, as film transformed from a Vaudeville curiosity into a more mainstream form of entertainment, the media started doing film reviews more frequently. At first, these reviewers were journalists diverted from the sports section or some other part of the paper, but pretty soon dedicated film reviewers were providing coverage of new releases and offering up their opinions about Hollywood news. During that time, famous critics like Otis Ferguson and James Agee plied their trade in local newspapers.

For years, film criticism was as much about the critic as the film. Critique was an art form and an opportunity for the critic to place a few beautiful turns of phrase and insightful comments in the context of a review. Since there would usually be only one reviewer per local paper, that individual’s opinion held great sway over the viewers in the area—it wasn’t too easy to get a second opinion. Movies, like restaurants and hotels, were rated with stars, and a four-or-five-star rating was a sign of a worthwhile film.

Once film criticism came to television, though, things started to change. Siskel and Ebert’s show At the Movies brought criticism into the living rooms of people around the country, and their reviews dumped all of the snooty literary criticism of earlier eras to focus instead on what mattered: Were the movies enjoyable? Were they worth watching? Until his recent death, Roger Ebert remained the biggest name in movie criticism of the modern age, and cemented in the mind of viewers everywhere just how valuable a “two thumbs up” rating could really be.

The End of an Era

That said, Ebert was probably the last of his kind. The Internet has made reviews more democratized. Now, with so many blogs and review sites like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic out there, anyone with an opinion about a movie can announce that opinion far and wide—and anyone who wants to find it can see it. Rather than there being any single authoritative voice on what movies are worth watching, there are endless people with endless opinions.

This makes film mavens nervous, and plenty of journalists have cried about the death of film criticism, but overall more opinions are a good thing. It does pose a unique problem, though: With so many opinions to choose from, how do you figure out which one to listen to? Is the opinion of a sole movie critic as worthwhile as getting an average score from hundreds of movie critics and bloggers?

Simply put, it’s a matter of preference. Film buffs tend to turn to particular critics like David Edelstein or Elvis Mitchell whose tastes match their own, while the more casual viewer can go to a movie review aggregator site and get a more general consensus on the quality of a movie.

So while some naysayers might consider the golden age of film criticism to be over, others could easily argue that the democratization of film criticism has turned the field into a more even playing field. Whether this is a positive or negative development, it is ultimately for the individual movie goer to decide how he or she wishes to approach film criticism.

As you may know, the New York Film Academy embraces the international community and so it’s no wonder we came across this rather unique film festival, the Golden Egg Film Festival. The GEFF is an international film festival with festivities taking place on both coasts, New York City and Los Angeles, and Cancun, Mexico. This year’s festival begins in Los Angeles (Feb. 20-24), followed by Cancun (April 30- May 6), and concluding in New York City (May 20-24).

“Our [GEFF] mission is to connect newer international filmmakers to more experienced filmmakers and to give both a platform to exhibit their works to a broader audience from major cities around the world.”

Interested? GEFF is now accepting films! Students who submit a film will be considered for GEFF NYC, GEFF LA, and GEFF Cancun. And, in a somewhat tournament fashion, the winners from each city will compete in GEFF Worldwide.

For more information on the Golden Egg Film Festival 2014, visit their event details page by clicking here.