The Operative: No One Lives Forever

The Good
NOLF is a very fun, highly engaging first person shooter. Essentially, NOLF is a Bond parody, much in the same vein as Austin Powers, Casino Royale, Flint etc. The main character, Cate Archer, is a spy in training who is thrust into the thick of things early on. Accompanied by some fellow agents, well supplied by Santa (NOLF's version of Bond's Q), and directed by Mr. Jones and Mr. Smith, Archer uncovers a plot that threatens the world. Would you expect anything less?

Actually the plot is about as silly as a Jackie Chan movie although there are some interesting twists. What makes this a great game is, that like a Jackie Chan movie, there are some incredible action scenes. You will freefall out of an airplane and engage enemies midair, scuba dive through a sunken ship that implodes around you, and duel with some of the wackiest terrorists ever imagines.

Also incredible is the enemy AI. Enemies will assault in groups, run for cover, flip over tables, and change weapons depending on range. Even better dead'uns tumble down stairs and fall over balconies, some even become shark bait.

Graphically this game has its limitations, but there is great music and sound effects. Some areas are populated by civilians, which lends an element of risk to getting into firefights. One great feature is the ability to pick up intelligence during missions in the form of briefcases, microfilm, etc. This is a seldom required activity but does increase your spy rating and is both humorous and fleshes out the storyline. One particular piece of intelligence makes a sequence much easier.

Finally, similar to Thief or Deus Ex, stealthy players can eavesdrop on conversations. This would be a high point for the game, as many are hilarious. Guards will philosophize on the banality of evil, compare notes with other criminal organizations, wonder why so many crates are around, and so on.

The Bad
If this game has one major failing, it would be how the developers chose to advance the story. Most gamers have a love/hate relationship with cutscenes. In the early days of gaming, cutscenes almost acted as rewards for completing a particular level. They were of much higher quality than the rest of the game and often used impressive special effects. Now with the graphics quality being what it is, cutscenes are no longer that impressive and some gamers would rather have the story advanced through gameplay. Okay how does this relate to NOLF? NOLF not only uses cutscenes but some are unbearably long. Minutes go by, and eventually I felt like I was no longer playing a game but watching a movie. Ever worse, one particular cutscene thrusts you back into gameplay with a enemy at pointblank range.

So that's the major failing, minor gripes: intelligence items add flavor to the gameplay but you are unable to review them after you pick them up you cannot use weapons or equipment on vehicles- while largely not that important, there is a sequence when it is almost necessary at the end of the game I would have liked the option to see combined mission stats, etc and the ability to replay certain levels and finally, while stealth is encouraged enemies seem to have bat-like hearing; the ability to lean around corners would have helped.

I do believe later patches correct some of my minor gripes.

The Bottom Line
One of the best games I've played in a long time. Great level design and varied objectives keep this game exciting till the end. Hope there'll be more!

The Good
Ok, let me get this out of the way first: the level "Unexpected Turbulence" is one of the coolest levels I have ever played in any shooter to date. If you played the game, you know what I mean; if you did not, I will not spoil it more than I already have. This level probably raises the game rating some 3 or 4 points all by itself...

In general, this is a very good "spy action movie" shooter. The hero kills lots of bad guys, saves lots of innocent people, has tons of weapons and gadgets to use and looks good during the whole process (but, in this case, the hero is a woman, as you probably knew). Some of the action sequences are quite unbelievable and the bad guys are very much over the top, bordering goofy. All in all, reread this paragraph and you will realize that the game is just like an old James Bond movie.

Gameplay sometimes favors stealth over force, what keeps you thinking about how to deal with the different levels. The huge number of weapons and gadgets are wisely introduced during the game a few at a time in pre-mission briefings. AI is fairly good: enemies look for cover (sometimes a bit too much) and often run for help or try to sound alarms instead of taking you by themselves.

The graphics are fine for the game. They are a bit too clean, mostly, but the same can be said for some other outstanding games (like Half-Life). When textures are really necessary (grassy ground, mountains, etc.), they look good enough. The environments do have quite some variation: snowy Europe, tropical landscapes, urban sights, underwater searches, etc.

Sound is mostly excellent: the music is very 60s and the tempo follows the action very nicely. Sound effects are good and varied. Voice talent is also good enough (not stellar), but the scripts are really good. In particular, many unimportant characters have in-level conversations that I almost always stopped to listen (sometimes this stop would even make my mission harder...) -- these dialogues ranged from vaguely amusing to very funny. One of them sounds just like I do when teaching Statistics and got me laughing aloud ("Correlation is NOT causation!").

The Bad
As mentioned above, voice acting could be better. Also, the cutscenes that are done with the game engine itself are well scripted, but the movements of the models during such cutscenes could be improved -- there is a lot of repetition and not a lot of expression from the model faces.

Some nitpicking: while it is nice that the music speeds up and gets louder whenever action is going on on the screen, sometimes it would be TOO loud. I often lowered music volume just so I could hear what was going on during the action... but then the music would be VERY feeble out of the action. I guess this little annoyance actually comes from the fact that I LIKED the music and I wanted to hear it, but it would be nice to have two controls for music volume: "action" mode and "non-action" mode.

I was somehow expecting more from story and environments... On the other hand, it is probably just me -- I have just played "Wheel of Time", and the story and world there are so interesting that N.O.L.F. probably lost a couple of marks there.

But, really, I really did not like the plot ending. Too much happens in too little time, and it feels contrived... This was probably done intentionally, but I wished they had held it a bit. Even James Bond movies are not THAT goofy at the end.

The Bottom Line
A good shooter with character and plot.

The Good
First things first, daddyo. How 'bout we deep six the annoying hippie jargon, ok? Ok, that's better. The thing is, NOLF makes you want to talk like that. While it's nowhere near that far over the top in practice--for one thing, its take is British, not American--it just exudes '60's style to the point that you want to lose yourself in the spirit of the era. You might say that NOLF is to the '60's what Interstate '76 was to the '70's, only more so.

It is perhaps no accident that NOLF was published by Fox Interactive, which has one foot in the movie industry. Those connections really show here, as the writing, the animation work, the sound effects, the music--everything--is top notch all the way. The player really becomes British secret agent Cate Archer, and is made to feel as if he or she is actually starring in a '60's era Bond-style action movie, complete with hilarious side plots and dialogue. Indeed, half the fun of playing, even though you're nominally the main character, is listening to what the "nobodies"--the extras--around you are saying. This is not throw-away stuff. It's really, really good and really, really funny. As you proceed through the game, you will find yourself initiating conversations with NPC's you'd never give a second thought to in other games just to see what they'll say. More often than not, they'll have you laughing.

As for the gameplay, it's mostly standard fare, although there are some fun twists. In true FPS fashion, you run, jump, and sneak through levels using a variety of weapons and clever special objects (such as poison barettes, robotic poodles, and a ton of other neat gadgets I don't want to spoil by preannouncing). However, many of the levels offer special treats, such as the opening scene, in which you have to dispatch a bevy of Moroccan assassins who are after the hilariously deaf American ambassador to their country. This amounts to simply standing at a window and picking them off as quickly as you can, Duck Hunt-style, but the whole riff is wonderful, and turns out to be a great way to start off the game. In another scene, you must jump from a plane without a parachute, and nail all the bad guys on the way down. This is much easier said than done, but again, the novelty of the scene makes it into much more than just another level.

NOLF is, quite simply, a triumph of writing, acting, and gameplay in the interactive genre. It has no peer in this regard. Even other highly regarded games like System Shock II and Thief must bow to its superior artistry...and I don't say that lightly, as I am a huge fan of both of these. (I do not, however, mean to say that NOLF is in every way a better game than all the rest. I simply mean that the quality of the ingredients is, in the main, higher all around. It must remain for each individual player to judge how successfully the parts have been made into a whole.)

The Bad
My biggest frustration with NOLF has to be the control scheme, or more specifically, the lack of a couple of controls I've come to regard as essential. The first is the ability to lean. In a game that involves sneaking around as much as this one does, it seems inconceivable to me that such a function would be omitted, but it has been. What you have to do instead is pop out from behind corners for a brief second, and then pop back. The designers have tried to make this the functional equivalent of leaning, by making the bad guys not notice you until you've been exposed for more than a second or so, but in practice it is very unintuitive and clumsy. Moreover, it means that when you shoot you always have to have your whole body exposed to the enemy. In first- or second-generation shooters, such things might have been acceptable, but after games like Thief the rules changed forever. I just wish Monolith had realized that.

The second fatal omission is the ability to toggle crouch mode. There is a crouch function, which can be assigned to any key you want, but it still only works for as long as you press the key. Once you let go of the key, your character stands up. Why is this a big deal? Because a) just as in Thief, you make less noise while crouching and can often slip by enemies this way, and b) available cover may be only waist-high, requiring you to squat to take advantage of it. The problem is, since you can't lean around corners, you will often need to crouch and move either laterally or forward and backward at the same time, which turns out to be a very tough thing to do no matter where you assign the crouch key.

Beyond these not insignificant shortcomings, my only complaint is with NOLF's somewhat convoluted and confusing menu system, which on the one hand seems hardly worth mentioning, but in the interest of full disclosure should be acknowledged.

The Bottom Line
Playing NOLF is like starring in a big-budget action movie and is loads of fun. It features probably the best acting, and hands down the best dialogue ever heard in a computer game, and it's uproariously funny to boot. While there are a couple of fairly serious control issues, these should not dissuade you from experiencing this gem of a game. Work of this quality simply does not come along every day. It would not, in fact, be too much to call it art.

The Good
There is really no other fps out there that can compete with NOLF in terms of quality. Sure, such game may offer better multiplayer modes, such other better graphics, etc. etc. but no other shooter game offers such a carefully polished and beautifully crafted experience as this one.

Throughout 60 fully detailed missions you'll be taken in a gameplay ride that combines superb shooter action, a solid sneaking angle, a light pseudo-rpg system (get shot a lot and your health gets boosted, go around sneaking and you become better at it later on, etc.), a well made spy feel that has you collecting intelligence items and using gadgets that later open up new areas in old missions, and exceptional action set-pieces like sniping sequences, snowmobile and motorcycle sequences.

The action itself is fantastic, with dozens of realistic weapons and an impressive set of enemy animations, your opponents fall from buildings, roll down stairs, and react to every shot and situation (like discovering a dead buddy) with a series of great motion-captured animations that take the whole experience to a new level, I never realized how dull other games where in the animation department until I checked this one out! And the AI is really impressive too, enemies attack with their brains most of the time, and they remain alert whenever they detect a disturbance.

The levels are incredibly well designed with a real posh 60's feel that lampoons the decade and it's cultural icons, furthermore on a game this long, it's important to avoid the Halo syndrome and provide a lot of variety, and NOLF delivers to a degree that none of the missions ever manage to feel old or repetitive. Express trains, space stations, terrorists facilities, underground headquarters, jungle outposts, executive buildings, cargo freighters and more await you in this game, and there's even a level where you free-fall off a plane and try to snag a parachute in mid-air!!

Of course, all those missions would be merely acceptable if they were just thrown loosely at you, but the game ties them up in a cohesive and entertaining storyline that has a unique comedy edge. One may initially think that it takes the Austin Powers route, but instead of focusing on gags and token catchphrases the story takes a more ironic route and wins by it's use non-obvious humor and it's dead-on take of the 60's super-spy movie genre. In fact, half the fun of NOLF's story is the fact that it could actually have been (save for some over-the-top touches) an actual 60's super-spy movie!!

Of course no review of NOLF would be complete without a nod to what has to be the game's crown achievement: Writing. This game has the best comedy writing in any game ever bar none. Each conversation in the game is funny in a truly smart way, with characters that trail off and start talking about seemingly mundane things and turn them into excellent comedy bits (sort of like a super-spy version of Seinfeld). The conversations you overhear during the game can go from guards asking each other about the medical plans of their terrorist organizations, the problems they have with their wifes at home, or discuss more serious issues such as how good was "Our man Flint" or if alcohol leads to a life in crime. In a word: priceless.

The Bad
There are very few flaws in NOLF, but I feel I have to point them for the sake of objectivity: First of all, while the writing may be wonderful not so is the editing if you will. Most cutscenes are of the "talking heads" type, and this is not an oversight since they are made with the game engine.

The other thing I could mention is that there isn't a proper graduation in the way equipment is given to you, you aren't properly eased into their use and as a result you will find that you just won't use a lot of those things... like the robotic poodle. How many people out there actually used it? Or what about the exploding lipstick? Did you actually judge when to take the timed, proximity, or impact detonators??

The Bottom Line
Do you like great shooters? Then pick this one up, because it's the grand-daddy of them all. In a genre so prostituted and overpopulated like the fps genre it's very hard to tell one that manages to be a jewel of a game and also raise over it's competition as "the one" but this one does. Does that mean that it's the best shooter ever? That's not for me to say, but I can assure you that no other fps has the level of quality and dedication this one has, and it is one hell of a game!

And don't fear it because of it's swinging-60's feel! Most people missed out on this masterpiece because of that ignorant prejudice!

The Good

This game takes the story driven shooter, and removes its traditional serious edge, leaving a very well put together, entertaining game. NOLF is the story of Cate Archer, former cat burglar turned secret agent. As Ms. Archer, you go up against the Bond-esque organization of super-villainy known as H.A.R.M. in an attempt to stop them from blowing up important world leaders.

As far as gameplay in shooters go, this one is pretty standard, which is not to say bad. It follows a tried and true formula and does it well. Where NOLF really excels is in its extensive use of humor. When you sneak up on a pair of enemies talking, you can eavesdrop on their conversations. These conversations range anywhere from the humorously mundane to the absolutely hilarious. You will find yourself replaying levels just to hear conversations you may have missed.

Aside from a great single player game, I think that the multiplayer is one of the best death match games around. It has cool weapons, even cooler character models, and great maps, especially the outdoor ones. It was easier to find a busy server when the game was released than it is today, but it still makes for an enjoyable experience.

**The Bad**

I really liked almost everything about this game. I will say that the stealth missions can be a bit trying and tedious. Then again, I almost never like being forced to sneak around if I don't want to. It's a shooter, not a sneaker.

**The Bottom Line**

NOLF is a really nice change of pace from the standard sci-fi or wartime themed FPS. It's fun, relatively challenging, nice to look at, and funny to boot. Anyone looking for a refreshing addition to the slew of 'me-too' shooters out there should definitely pick up this game. It's groovy, baby!

The Good
STORY: Set in the "swinging 60's" After seven U.N.I.T.Y agents are killed the company is forced to send in newbie Cate Archer - a thief turned spy. After a H.A.R.M agent kills Cate’s mentor in Morocco - Cate must unravel the mystery of H.A.R.M and stop their evil plans. This game takes a lot of it's story locals from the Bond film Moonraker - such as the space station, fall from the plane - and the hidden space launching facility in the jungle. Most of the levels have scenes in them - these are little "breaks" that split up a level - there are usually four or five of them in a level.

MENU LAYOUT Nothing much stands still in this menu layout - and despite moving backgrounds - they are not that distracting and blend in wonderfully with the 60's colour theme. All items are accessed with ease - a description of what is what is listed below.

GRAPHICS The Lithtech 2.5 engine has it's good and bad points. While it's not as detailed as the Quake 3 engine - it still holds a very good skeletal animation - with blending in it. This allows for very good character animations - I'll get back to that. Despite the rather obviously jagged edged graphics it still holds enough substance to shine in lots of points - like lighting. Everything is set in a 60's theme - so that means "Plastic Fantastic" as well as eye scorching coloured couches - fake flowers galore - and lots of stuff in pink and orange. This works very well and it's so tacky and kitsch that it's cool. The textures are very well done - nice and crisp with lots of detail. The characters - while a little rough on the edges - have lots of charm to them - from the large fat Opera singer to the fez wearing bad guys - all of the characters are memorable. Other effects - like snow is very well done - and it looks like you ARE in snow. Also you leave prints in the snow as well. Other great effects also include the mini welder from your Zippo lighter and the Super Atomic Laser. Overall the graphics in the game do it justice - while everything may not be as smooth as other games - you can sure bet you won't find as many colours in the other games.

SOUND The whole game is full of sound - from tape to tape reels buzzing in the background, to camera hums and footsteps. The voice acting on this game is top notch and adds to the atmosphere. One great thing about this game is the dynamic music. Start creeping around and there's a faint soundtrack ambience playing - get into some action and you are propelled into an authentic 60's action soundtrack - and it works. Overall the sound is brilliant and creates a wonderful atmosphere to the game.

LEVEL DESIGN This game houses one of the best level designs ever. The levels feel like you are in a bustling Arabic city - with lots of detail like rugs - pillows and powerlines strewing the area. There are a lot of open areas - and a good portion of the game is played outdoors. All of the levels feel like you are in the intended area - from a plane that's being ripped to shreds - to a sinking cargo ship all is done in wonderful detail. Never did I feel like I was going to one room from another - there was a pretty free world to explore.

GAMEPLAY This game can cater for many people’s tastes. If you prefer sneaking around past all the guards - then do so. Or if heavy gun action is your mood - you can also do that as well. The missions are very varied and fun to play - I was never stuck in a level -, as most of them are pretty linear. One of the more memorable missions involved you escaping from a sinking cargo ship - water slowly fills the land and the walls buckle in. Other great missions also included you free falling out of a plane in order to chase a guy with a parachute below you - ala James Bond and Jaws from Moonraker. There's even a mission on a space station - with its sectors titled weird names like "Security Sector Raspberry". The A.I in this game is something to be reckoned with - these guys are smart. If they hear a noise - see a flashlight - your footsteps in the snow or see a dead comrade - they get very suspicious and start doing a search for you. They also duck for cover behind any obstacle they can find - or make one by kicking a table over and hiding behind it while firing suppressing fire over their head. They also call for others to come and help attack you. While the gore in this game is only limited to a few small spatters of blood on the wall - there is still impact areas on the person. This means a shot in the head will bring them down instantly - while an arm shot will make them stagger back - sometimes with their finger on the trigger causing their gun to fire randomly about the place. Another great feature is that they will react to their environment - either falling off, over or down things like a flight of stars, ramps or railings. All this is not scripted and depends on how they are killed. There is a large arsenal of weapons to choose from - ranging your P-38 pistol to a one hit-kill laser gun all of the weapons are nice and chunky giving them a good solid feel to them. The lasers have little whirly things on them - giving them a kitchy 60's look to them. Most of the guns have alternative ammo in them - from dumdum rounds that encourage bleeding to Cyanide tipped bullets that if you are hit by one - you see phsycadellic goats floating and bleating around. Other weapons also include a crossbow that can impale people on the wall - can you say wall decor? Along with your weapons you get quite a few zany gismos and gadgets that may have rather silly look to them - yet they have a serious use to them. For example your hair clip can double as a lock pick and a poisoned blade. Others include explosive lipstick and a belt buckle grappling hook - there are many more that I had not mentioned that are all very cool. One thing that really makes this game is the humour. There is a running gag that involves code phrases - which revolve around pick up lines. The little conversations about the code names are very funny. The missions themselves have a very funny range of conversations spoken by guards and NPC's - from discussing what 60's spy TV show is the best to how bad some girls hair looks. One very funny moment was when you overheard someone going on about how much he loved this woman -upon entering the room you found a guy and a goat standing on either side of a crate that has candles and filled wine glasses. Stealth is also a very interesting way to play - from avoiding cameras and floodlights - you can shoot them. From stalking people - to sneaking around setting fire to bins to set off fire alarms. Also they have borrowed the floor element from thief - so if you face a greater chance of being caught if you walk on metal than carpet. And it's quite challenging too. Another thing that makes this game great is the little interludes where you can test upcoming gadgets in a Q-branch like lab. This works wonderfully because it gives you a good idea how they all work without having to guess. Oh and there a few missions involving you riding on a motor bike and snowtruck. The single player is full of wonderful intense and exciting moments - brilliant level maps - and the get hit - stay hit policy gives it a more realistic edge. This is one of the greatest games I've ever played - it's right up there with Half-Life.

Multiplayer was a bit of a disappointment - none of the stealth and sneakiness from the single player game existed - there were the two vehicles in the game to help traverse the levels. This adds a innovative touch to the game - but with it's severe lack of gameplay modes it fails to make a mark.

The Bad
While this is a great game - there are a few niggles. One I found most of the levels to be too dark - this may have been the designer's decision to force you to use the flashlight - but there were too many dark areas - and no brightness adjust for the game. I also experienced some lockups - this was related to the game's engine, as well as getting stuck in a level's architecture and being unable to move and being forced to reload. The game was a bit too short and the ending was a little too sudden and taken at a rush.

Also the multiplayer was a real sham - nothing new.

The Bottom Line
Get this game! There are none like it and it blends the best of all the great shooters like, Theif, Goldeneye 64 and Half-Life all into one giving you one of the best gameing experences ever.

The Good
This is the first time in years that I have been so engrossed in a game single-player campaign. The average shooter right now pretty much works like this: Walk into a warehouse, shoot all the bad guys, walk back out, walk down the street to the next warehouse, and so on. No One Lives Forever lets you explore a beautifully detailed variety of locations including night clubs, hotels, exotic countries, airplanes, sunken ships, and even a space station! And the best part of all these neat locations is what you'll get to do inside them, such as where you jump out of the plane to steal the parachute on a diver below. Between each mission you'll get very well-done, in-engine cutscenes that advance the story, give you your briefing, and, most of the time, are really quite hilarious. Plus, No One Lives Forever has one of the best, most fitting soundtracks I have every heard in a game! This is the kind of game that literally makes hours seem like minutes!

The Bad
There's only one complaint I have about this game, and that is the multi-play. While it is definitely above average, it doesn't quite compare to the online play found in other shooters.

The Bottom Line
A funny, classy, incredibly fun game that no gamer should be without.

The Good
Jut finished playing NOLF, almost three years late - but does it really matter? I've found over the years that a good game just doesn't diminish over time. Too bad so few people have the capacity and patience required to judge a game in the context of its relevant timeframe; luckily MobyGames' reviewers include some such enlightened souls.

With that said, simply put, NOLF KICKS ASS! The game engine (LithTech) generally excels at rendering goregous scenes at decent frame-rates. The indoor scenes are most convincing, and the outdoor scenes are great too. The vast variety of form and colour in the game, combined with the continuous excitement of firefights and daring escapes makes for a very intense gaming experience that never bores. One of the worst qualities in recent years' games is their tendency for endless dream-sequences or linear "run from the bad guys" scenes; even the most linear and scripted scenes in NOLF give you a sense of satisfaction, that you've done something rather than watched as something unfolds. In this respect, NOLF compares very favourably to much more highly-praised games such as Max Payne.

The story is cheezy but very suitable for a 60s-esque spy movie. It's not overly ambitious (which, again, compares favourably to Max Payne) though not overly simplistic, unfolds well across the game's timeframe and manages to stay coherent. The game is also accompanied by very well performed, suitably cliché spy movie music, which (almost) never annoys and never gets in the way of the action.

The variety of weapons and gadgets in the game is absolutely astounding! From various semi-automatic pistols to machine guns, sniper rifles, AK-47 and even a long-distance, high-explosive firing sniper riple, this game has it ALL. Although I never found much use for most of the gadgets (being a "shoot first and ask questions later" player), it was nice to have all sorts of gadgets - lock pick, zip-cord, body-removing spray (ha!) and other cool items. The vast amount of weapons is adequately accompanied by a vast diversity of missions, from typical "enter the building and kill everyone" missions to even more typical "protect the ambassador" missions. Some missions involve subtlety and stealth while others require you to go through minefields and remove "obstacles" with the sniper rifle. There're even missions that require you to do some actual thinking: blow up a generator before attempting access through an electrocuted fence, or do some jumping to lower platforms, shooting people from behind instead of using an elevator. Don't get me wrong: the ability to finish a task in one of many ways comes nothing close to Deus Ex, but it is non-too-shabby...

On top of that, the game is absolutely hillarious; sometimes you get to hear the most ridiculous dialogue from your enemies ("Would you like to buy a monkey?"), others you will face some of the craziest situations ever concieved (Igne Wagner boss level, anyone?). Rest of the game you'll be blowing up a gajillion people with gajillion cool guns. What's not to like?

The Bad
There are very few things that I dislike about NOLF; primarily the one mandatory stealth mission, which I just cheated my way out of. I can't STAND stealth. The beautiful thing about Deus Ex is that at no point during the game is anything so utterly scripted that you can't avoid either a gunfight or a stealthy approach. NOLF just isn't as good in that respect.

Also, some parts are far more linear than I would've liked (primarily towards the end of the game).

Other than that, no complaints!

The Bottom Line
An extremely well-executed game with a hell of a lot going for it. Just get it and play it, you won't regret it - that's a promise!

The Good
Great, colorful, varied graphics; interesting, innovative fresh and generally brilliant missions; original and very interesting level design; fantastic character models; interesting, and pretty complex story with lots of interesting characters; fantastic weapons and gadgets; very good voice acting and sound in general; a lot of comic relief, jokes, and funny situations and dialogue in general; a breath of fresh air in a market full of clones;

The Bad
Some hard missions involving stealth elements and superhumanly acute guards; some slowdowns;

The Bottom Line
A brilliant, innovative, original, funny, fresh, interesting and polished first person shooter with a great story and fantastic gameplay.

The Good
Full disclosure: I played with a fan patch which makes the game playable on modern systems and adjusts the HUD for higher resolutions.

No One Lives Forever was made by shooter specialists who used their own established engine and it shows: the shooter mechanics are flawless and the gunplay is very good (although some of them are redundant). One of the strengths is the possibility to play much of the game stealthy if desired. It is very fun to do a section with a silenced weapon and kill everyone with headshots and switch to a machine gun in the next moment.

This is a very long game, but the levels are so varied (both in optics and gameplay) that it never becomes boring. NOLF has almost perfect level design: some are linear, some are more open (but always simple enough that you don't get lost) and others have adventure elements and consist of talking and collecting items.

The graphics are fantastic. Don't get me wrong: I don't say they are good for a 20 year old game, I say they are good for 2021. Of course they are blocky and technically outdated, but they are made so well it doesn't show much. The levels and assets are built with love, the offices and such are all furnished individually, the atmosphere is perfectly implemented. This is a game which could not have been made outside of the early 2000s - in later graphic engines the assets for one level alone would probably cost more to make than the whole game. It also helps that the game is genuinely funny.

The Bad
NOLF was made in a time in which every FPS had to have at least one shitty stealth level. This game is no exception, but since stealth is baked into the main gameplay mechanics those levels are not as bad as in other games like Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Still, NOLF works best when it leaves the choice between stealth and action to the player and therefore the forced stealth levels are among the weaker sections.

As a James Bond parody, the game also has a lot of gadgets such as a lighter which can meld locks or a knockout perfume. Unfortunately their usage is lacking: you'll only use them at pre-defined places when a specific gadget has to be used to proceed, which speeds down gameplay without benefit. You'll never use the gameplay gadgets because they are useless and unnecessary. The only not underused gadgets are the vehicles which even have their own levels dedicated to them. Unfortunately, I might add, because they handle very badly and the levels are boring slogs (drive, dismount in order to dispatch some distant enemies, rinse and repeat) which don't even look as well as the rest.

I already praised the humor, but nevertheless conversation cutscenes between levels can be tiring because they go on for too long. I also did not like the conclusion of the story - of course I can't go into the specifics, but there are some final twists which are only explained in another way too long conversation.

The Bottom Line
There is no way around it: NOLF is one of the best shooters ever made. Despite my complaints above, the good parts greatly outweigh the negatives and make a very fun shooter which is still worth playing.

A few words about the GOTY version
Later a GOTY version was released which added a new mission after the ending. It lasts for about 30 minutes and is pretty fun, although there is another driving section included. However, if you already own the original, it is not worth hunting down the re-release.