Sirens

Sirens (also known as Alarm boxes) are a recurring mechanic in the series that originated in 2001's Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and would later appear regularly in the MachineGames reboot series. They serve as a tactical hazard for the player to overcome.

In some appearances, the alarms can be destroyed, which provides a tactical advantage to the player, the extent and overall worth of which varies from entry to entry.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein[]

Alarm boxes first appear in the 2001 reboot of the franchise. They can manually be activated or shut off by the player in addition to the enemies in the game. When active, they cause all enemies in the vicinity to become aware of the player's presence, making stealth less practical, if at all anymore. Alarms may also summon additional enemies to the area that would otherwise be entirely absent from the level.

They can also be destroyed via any method of damage the player deals to them; an act which will permanently disable them, but can also alert nearby enemies to investigate the noise. Enemies that stumble upon the broken alarm will also become alerted to the player's presence locally.

The alert system, while mostly a passive mechanic, is brought into the spotlight in any level that possesses a "No Alert" stipulation. In these levels, an alarm being triggered functions as an automatic faliure of the mission. As such, it is crucial in these scenarios to remain undetected, or to systematically destroy every alarm in the level.

One noteworthy alarm in this game is found in one of the first rooms in the mission 'Escape!'. It is the only alarm in the game to appear broken by default, and two German soldiers are inspecting it when the player reaches it.

Wolfenstein: The New Order[]

After their absences in both the multiplayer-only Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory and the 2009 follow-up, Wolfenstein, Sirens would make a reappearance in 2014'a Wolfenstein: The New Order.

In the MachineGames reboot, the alarm boxes serve a similar purpose to those of RTCW; they alert all enemies in their vicinity to the player's presence, and summon reinforcements to make the resulting fight more difficult. Where they differ, however, is the precise nature of their mechanics.

When the player is near an area with an alarm, one or more indicators will appear at the bottom of the heads-up display (HUD), showing the number of active Commanders, their general location relative to the player, and whether or not they have tripped the alarm.

If an enemy spots the player and is not dispatched quickly enough, they will alert other enemies in the vicinity to the player's presence. If a Commander is present, they will trip the alarm and summon additional units until they are killed or their reinforcements are exhausted. In either case, the alarm will shut off.

Unlike RTCW, the alarm boxes themselves cannot be destroyed.

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood[]

The alarms, though aesthetically different from The New Order, are functionally identical. However a slight mechanical tweak was the fact that the alarm will continue to sound after being tripped, until all active commanders are killed, whereas before it would stop after all reinforcements were killed.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus[]

The alarm boxes return once more in The New Colossus, this time with a bit of a mechanical overhaul.

For starters, sirens are now marked on the player's map, as red bell icons. Additionally, the sirens are now able to be destroyed by the player once again. Unlike in RTCW, destroying an alarm in itself is never noticed by enemies unless the player does so in a noisy or disruptive way, and even then, the enemies will never acknowledge the broken alarm, but rather the player's actions which caught their attention.

If the player successfully destroys every alarm in an area, and then alerts a commander, they will be unable to call for reinforcements, though their HUD icon will still turn red to reflect their alert status. However, in some areas, dismantling every alarm without alerting anybody can be a daunting task, as many areas have multiple vertical levels which may all possess their own sets of alarms. Additionally, some areas, such as the final portion of the first visit to Section F, feature scenarios where destroying all the alarms without alerting anybody is outright impossible. Typically it is simply more ideal to attempt to take out the commanders before the alarm is tripped.

The alarms do not shut off if they are all destroyed after being tripped. Only the act of killing all active Commanders (or entering a new section of the level) will deactivate the alarm.

Übercommanders, however, are unique in that they can summon reinforcements regardless of whether the sirens have all been destroyed or not.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood[]

The alarm boxes have not changed since from the previous games, but this time, they are not displayed on the players minimap. In this game, the alarm can be rised up by any enemy, including dogs and robots. That will result in the enemy reinforcements being deployed to the area. If in the in the area exists a Kommandant or Kampfkommandant, than he will request for backup and more powerful reinforcement squads will arrive in addition to the normal reinforcements. The alarm siren can be turned off only, once the area is cleared from the enemies fully.