Spear of Destiny

aka: SoD, Wolfenstein 3D: Spear of Destiny
Moby ID: 311

Description official descriptions

It's World War II and you are B.J. Blazkowicz, the Allies' most valuable agent. In the midst of the German Blitzkrieg, the Spear that pierced the side of Christ is taken from Versailles by the Nazis and secured in the impregnable Castle Wolfenstein. According to legend, no man can be defeated when he has the Spear. Hitler believes himself to be invincible with the power of the Spear as his brutal army sweeps across Europe.

Your mission is to infiltrate the heavily guarded Nazi stronghold and recapture the Spear from an already unbalanced Hitler. The loss of his most coveted weapon could push him over the edge. It could also get you ripped to pieces.

Spear of Destiny is a prequel to Wolfenstein 3-D. It is a first-person shooter that uses the same engine and has the same gameplay, however the game is not divided into 6 separate episodes - all the levels are one long episode.

The enemies and weapons are pretty much the same as in Wolfenstein 3-D. Only new additions include: new bosses, a new type of enemy, and a new pickup (a large box of ammo).

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Screenshots

Promos

Credits (DOS version)

23 People

Chief Operating Officer
Software Engineers
Master of the Pixel
Creative Director
Art & Manual Design
Composer
Cover Illustration
Level Design (uncredited)
Tester for Psygnosis Ltd (UK Publisher) (uncredited)
Beta Testers

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 83% (based on 8 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.7 out of 5 (based on 61 ratings with 5 reviews)

Fine supplement to the original

The Good
Story is downright existent for the sake of just having one, but the game's main perspective is still focused on nothing else but blasting through the enemy ranks with scarce but powerful arsenal. Wolfenstein 3D was a classic, it was the point that made you wonder what will happen when this genre evolves. Well, you can quite clearly see that with current Medal of Honor and Call of Duty titles... evolution or mutation... it's up to one's perspective. This time you're back to face German Wehrmacht, hungry shepherds, and deadly officers plus you get to face some mean bosses for which shoot and run backwards tactic still seems to work. New music is great, although very few new tracks are to be heard, and new textures give a slight feeling of playing a whole new game, but it's still the same Wolf3D with more of the same, hence considering this more of an add-on than an actual sequel.

The Bad
Zombies and other creatures are here, some new some already seen, and this is where the WWII setting starts to break. Alas, this is but a scratch of surface that witholds all the crap Id Software has unleashed upon the world.

The Bottom Line
A worthy game that adds the same amount of fun as the original as well as some newities to keep up with the difference. Shooting was never so much fun... and then came Dark Forces and id could as well be forgotten. Doom, Quake, and whatever came next might carry the cool graphics, but good looking crap is still a bunch of crap. Wolf3D and SoD are the only two games I know of that didn't present id software as entirely uninspiring.

DOS · by MAT (240255) · 2012

Decent.

The Good
This is by no means a masterpiece, but cool to play. Based on the revolutionary (at the time) Wolfenstein 3D engine, it offers more gameplay and levels and somewhat improved graphics.

The Bad
Nothing really, it's just fun.

The Bottom Line
If you liked Wolfenstein 3D, you'll like this one as well.

DOS · by Tomer Gabel (4539) · 1999

A cheap knock-off of Wolfenstein 3D, but still kind of fun.

The Good
Spear of Destiny contains the same edge-of-your-seat fun and excitement that made the original Wolfenstein 3D a masterpiece. There are some new end-of-level bad guys, and a occult inspired twist at the end of the game that I personally did not see coming. The great sense of humour that permeated the first game continues in Spear.

The Bad
The game is basically a cheap knock-off of the original Wolfenstein 3D. And really, who can fault Id for this? They must have been as surprised as the rest of the world by the phenomenal success of the earlier game, and realized that there was some additional money to be made before releasing Doom. Spear doesn't add anything new to the Wolfenstein 3D experience, but Wolfenstein in itself was the bargain of the century in terms of bang-for-your-buck. Again, who can complain about Id realizing that gamers would be willing to pay for more of the same.

The Bottom Line
Very similar to Wolfenstein 3D. A classic game that is worth a look, even by today's standards.

DOS · by Les Nessman (265) · 2006

[ View all 5 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Back Cover Screens BurningStickMan (17916) Apr 28, 2008

Trivia

Copy protection

When you answer incorrectly too many times at the copy protection screen, one of the things the game does is call you a pirate. However, if you enter a certain word to bypass the doc check, it will produce the message "Greetings Professor Falken, would you like to play Spear of Destiny?", a reference to the movie War Games.

Development history

Spear of Destiny took the id team two months to create the game from start to finish.

German index

On March 31, 1999, Spear of Destiny was put on the infamous German index by the BPjS. For more information about what this means and to see a list of games sharing the same fate, take a look here: BPjS/BPjM indexed games.

Spear of Destiny is violating §86a of Germany's penal code (for using characteristics of unconstitutional organizations), therefore it is illegal to produce, distribute, import, export and use it in the public. This does not mean it is illegal to just own the game.

Inspiration

The Spear of Destiny is actually based on the lance, that according to the Gospel of John, has been used at the Crucifixion to wound the side of Christ. With the passing of time, the lance was the subject of many legends, both old and modern. The game's storyline has more things in common with the modern ones, especially the one detailed in Trevor Ravenscroft's 1973 book, The Spear of Destiny. According to it, possession of the Spear would bring its owner the power to conquer the world, but losing it would bring immediate death. The relic had been owned by a succession of powerful European rulers down through the centuries and eventually came to be in the possession of the Habsburg Dynasty. Hitler stole it from Habsburg's treasury at the Hofmuseum in Vienna, when he conquered Austria in 1938. It fell into the hands of the Americans in 1945 and it is said that later that day, in fulfilment of the legend, Hitler committed suicide.

iPhone version

Spear of Destiny was released on the iPhone as a free update to Wolfenstein 3D on October 28, 2009.

Title screen

A second title screen is shown when you finish the game. You can see it here.

Information also contributed by BrandeX, Brolin Empey, John Romero, Kabushi, Roger Wilco, and Xoleras

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  • MobyGames ID: 311
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Andy Voss.

Additional contributors: Accatone, Xantheous, Brolin Empey, Frenkel, tarmo888, Alaka, Maw.

Game added October 16, 1999. Last modified January 22, 2024.