Two of id's recent iPhone releases can now be had for cheap, with Wolfenstein 3D marked down to 99 cents and Doom Resurrection marked down to $2.99 USD. The latter might be a wise purchase now, as the forthcoming Doom Resurrection 1.1 update will add a new challenge game mode and one new level.

If that's more inline with you consider appropriate pricing for an iPhone game, then you'd better make those purchases snappy. Those mark downs will only last as long as QuakeCon does. It's all over Sunday.

id's other new iPhone release, Wolfenstein RPG, can be had at the regular price of $4.99, if your pockets go a little deeper.

Keep an eye on the QuakeCon liveblog for more exciting news than this.

Wolfenstein is, of course, another prequel to the game that started it all, Wolfenstein 3D. It may seem funny, this game being set before that relatively primitive example of 3D technology, but when you think about it it makes sense. Towards the end of World War 2, Germany had all but depleted their supply of polygons, and had to revert to pixels. True story.

I had almost forgotten that Spear of Destiny was a prequel to Wolfenstein 3D, but I suppose it makes sense. Once you kill Robo-Hitler you can pretty much retire. No need to move on after that. Instead, we get a look at one of William "B.J." Blazkowicz's earlier adventures, in which he takes on a less daunting opponent - the angel of death.

The basic facts haven't changed even if the business circumstances have quaked. Wolfenstein returns to consoles on August 4, developed primarily by Raven Software, with supervision by id. That's id, the company that just sold to Bethesda parent ZeniMax and told Kotaku that letting outside developers work on its intellectual property has resulted in a "step down in quality."

That's right. On Thursday morning, id's own CEO gave us reason to doubt Wolfenstein would be that good. And then, in the afternoon, id and Activision reps in New York City showed of the game. Kinda awkward.

What Is It?
Wolfenstein is a one-man first-person war (no vehicles!) against Nazis set in World War II and amplified by the supernatural powers of something called The Veil. It's a follow-up to the shooters that, along with Doom and Quake, defined id.

What We Saw
I played the game's hospital mission in the Xbox 360 build of the game. It occurs about a third of the way into the game. I had undying mode on, which allowed me to see the effects of taking damage without dying.

How Far Along Is It?
Wolfenstein is out on August 4. The build I played was a beta.

What Needs Improvement?
Clarity of Veil: So our hero, B.J. Blazkowicz, has more than machine guns and disintegration guns that spit out energy like fire hoses. He can find and activate four Veil powers. Until a meter depletes, these allow for the ability to slow time, see hidden passages and obscured enemies, don a shield or shoot bullets through walls. Nothing wrong with that. But activating and stacking the powers via the d-pad becomes confusing. The problem was that the visual cues distinguishing one power from the next were not as pronounced as a first-time player like me would have liked. Perhaps this is remedied in the main game, which doles the powers out individually. But I got confused as to which powers I had on or off.

Lack of Mecha-Hitler: Yes, Hitler will be in paintings hung on walls in the game. But he's not in the game. Not being a player of past Wolfensteins, I don't mind. But I suspect others will.

What Should Stay The Same?
The Powers: Blowing up barrels of Veil energy make enemies float, flailing in the air. Using Veil powers makes B.J. sort of a super-hero and sort of the classic FPS griefer/cheater. Seeing through walls to shoot enemies with fully-powered Veil Sight and Veil Empower? Why not? Upgrades to the Shield power, I'm told, will cause bullets to bounce off B.J. and back at his enemies. Sounds good to me, especially if the Veil powers work as well in multiplayer.

Hub City: Conceptually the design of Wolfenstein seems smart. Here's hoping it is, even though I wasn't shown it. The game is partially set in the fictional German hub city of Eisenstadt. Resistance fighters, merchants (who sell items and power-ups for collected gold) and Nazis populate the city. So do non-player characters who will lead you to mission-activation points. It's a different way to organize an FPS rather than a linear progression of missions. You can explore the city, find treasure, and interact with all these people. Or go to missions. But the developers not showing any of this yesterday was a little worrisome. Let's hope it's shaped up well.

Final Thoughts
Despite some sudden concerns I have about non-id id games, Wolfenstein appears to have some solid, core ideas. It is fighting for attention amid a crowd of FPSes this year, but it has a fighting chance by getting an August release. If those Veil powers hold up, then this could be a fine summer vacation from all that going outside stuff people recommend.

Wolfenstein is set for release on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Players of the recently-released PSN and XBLA versions of Wolfenstein 3D can earn gold for the Wolfenstein by completing simply playing the download game.

And, for the record, id community manager Pete Sokal, who oversaw my session with the game, told me that "We feel confident with the product Raven has made. It feels like Wolfenstein."

All 60 levels of Wolfenstein 3D will be hitting both consoles on June 4th, giving gamers something more constructive to do than refreshing gaming websites for the latest news out of E3. And while the original Wolfenstein 3D might not be as fun to play today as it was when it was originally released back in 1992, but Activision has included plenty of incentive take on Mecha-Hitler one more time. Perhaps taking a cue from the Fable II Pub Games, playing through Wolfenstein 3D on your Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 will earn you accolades and gold to pay for weapons upgrades in Wolfenstein, the next chapter in the series due out August 4. Very sneaky.

There's no mention of any upgrades to the game, so it looks like it's a straight port, and there's no mention of a price either, so we're just going to have to wait and see what's announced between now and next week.

No press releases, no bullet points touting potentially upgraded HD graphics, no mention of screen borders for the 1992 classic. Just a product page, with no release date, from which we can at least glean the fact there'll be no multiplayer.

Wolfenstein 3D [Xbox]

"Celebrate" Hitler's B-day or just seize an excuse to play video games with the following titles where the Fuhrer makes many an appearance either as a vague threat or an actual character you can kill (or at least punch).

Note: This list was put together from two different lists and half-remembered boss fights from my childhood; if you spot an inaccuracy or want to add to the list, hit me up in the comments.

Axis & Allies
Bionic Commando (Japanese version)
CannonCrotch
Capcom Classics: Mini-Mix (includes Bionic Commando)
Castle Wolfenstein
Command and Conquer: Red Alert
Empire Earth
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Medal of Honor: Frontline
Medal of Honor: Heroes 2
Operation Darkness
Operation Europe: Path to Victory 1939-45
Persona 2: Innocent Sin (I think only the Japanese version There's only a Japanese version)
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Rush for Berlin
Snoopy vs. the Red Baron
Time Twist: Rekishi no Katasumi de...
Total Carnage
War Front: Turning Point
War Times
Wolfenstein
Wolfenstein 3D

Adolf Hitler [GiantBomb]
Adolf Hitler in popular culture [Wikipedia]

Some ingenious developer has programmed a clone of Wolfenstein 3D into a mere 5k of Java, appropriately christened it Wolfenstein 5k and released it upon the internet populace at large. Small enough to fit inside memory on the display of your coffee maker, it's a cute little clone in which Nazis are replaced with Bobbleheaded Smiley Faces. No shrieks of Mein leben! or Die Allied Schweinhund!, unfortunately, but we'll take what we can get. Squint ahoy!

Wolfenstein 5k [Official Site] (via Aeropause)