Spear of Destiny (DOS)

Discuss Review + Want + Have Contribute

Description

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).

Screenshots

Promo Images

Alternate Titles

• "Wolfenstein 3D: Spear of Destiny" -- Informal name
• "SoD" -- Common abbreviation

Part of the Following Groups

• 3D Engine: Wolf3D
• BPjS / BPjM indexed games
• Castle Wolfenstein series
• Games with boss key
• Games with manual lookup copy protection
• Historical conflict: World War II
• Spear of Destiny series

User Reviews

Do you have any gold spray paint? Well, do you, punk?	Katakis | カタキス (39490)	unrated
Fine supplement to the original	MAT (186618)
A cheap knock-off of Wolfenstein 3D, but still kind of fun.	Les Nessman (281)
Decent.	Tomer Gabel (4646)
Better than the Original	James1 (247)	unrated

Critic Reviews

Joystick (French)	Apr, 1993	90 out of 100	90
Pelit	Mar, 1993	90 out of 100	90
Génération 4	Apr, 1993	81 out of 100	81
Power Unlimited	Sep, 1993	8 out of 10	80
Just Games Retro	Apr 27, 2008		80
Techtite	2000		80
PC Zone	May, 1993	60 out of 100	60
Computer Gaming World (CGW)	Jan, 1993	Unscored	Unscored

Forums

Topic	# Posts	Last Post
Back Cover Screens	1	BurningStickMan (18027) 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

Related Web Sites

• S&F Prod.'s Wolfenstein 3-D Page (Some information for this game.)
• Spear Of Destiny (The official homepage)
• Spear of Destiny Levels (Mostly a custom levels site.)