You play on the wrong team

Start of the Iconic Triology.
This is my opinion one of the best originals that they have made to the sequence that has followed and has gained so much traction, I remember playing this as i was growing up and was efatuated with everything that it had to offer from the german mad scientists that seeked out the great mysterious relics that were to give eternal life, to the final boss. That they made super hard at the time. Probably not anymore now. This game will always live rent free in my head of all of the good times I had and have played this game.

It's still fun.

Most guides will recommend installing RealRtCW through Steam, but my suggestion is to download ioRTCW, a source port, and Venom, a texture/graphical update that can be found on ModDB. Follow the instructions to NOT use Venom's updated AI--it makes the game a too difficult, imo, and is targeted towards people who have played the game before. RealRtCW is very good, many people might find it more enjoyable than the original RtCW, but it makes a LOT of changes to the game, so I don't recommend it.

RtCW is a Quake III engine game, which means the movement might be a little more glidey than folks used to more modern shooters might expect, but ultimately the game's still a blast. The gist isn't too complicated: the natsies are up to no good, and your job is to blast them and their diabolical creations, supernatural and sci-fi.

Some tips: The best way to stop enemies is to keep them at a distance. Your accuracy will always outclass the AI's, so you can dispatch natsies without taking too much damage yourself. Crouching improves accuracy immensely.

Overall, this game is primarily fun for people who remember it as a release title looking to relive the early '00s, but it still retains enough fun that it might be interesting for new players if you can catch it at a deep discount. I would recommend Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, which is free, and the 32bit ETLegacy (the most modern engine) for anyone curious for a multiplayer experience. There is still an active playerbase, and the team-based gameplay is still thrilling and takes better advantage of the Quake III engine's strengths. Just make sure you use the 32-bit ETLegacy, NOT the 64-bit, as all active servers play using mods that are not compatible with the 64 bit engine.