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
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.