Contract J.A.C.K.

The Good
I bought Contract J.A.C.K. not long after I finished No One Lives Forever 2. NOLF 2 was an excellent game and left me wanting still more 60's spy action with Cate Archer. Sadly, there was no NOLF 3 around. But there was Contract J.A.C.K., a game set in the same universe that was apparently a prequel to the game I had just played.

Indeed, Contract J.A.C.K. is set in the NOLF world and even features a cameo by Cate Archer herself. That is the only thing that makes it a NOLF game, though. J.A.C.K. takes an entirely different direction from the rest of the series, being a frantic out-and-out shooter rather than an espionage game.

And there is much shooting. Near constant shooting, in fact. Don't even try sneaking around. There's no point. This is like Doom in the 1960's. Just keep your finger on the trigger. If you like alot of action, this game does have it.

As usual for Monolith's efforts in this series, the game is pretty darned funny. The conversations between your enemies are a particular highlight. Also, there very fact that your primary opponent is a group called "Danger, Danger" is just too funny.

Graphics use the Lithtech II engine and therefore are nothing to sneeze at. All the character and level design is all high quality. Sound as well is very well done, with competent voice acting throughout.

The Bad
It's not what I wanted from this series. Yes, I know that this game sets forth to be a fast-paced shooter from the get-go, but it's still continuing the tradition of the NOLF series. There is none of the depth of gameplay in the previous two games. No gadgets, no intelligence to pick up, no sneaking around. It's just straight-forward shooting. And from this series, that's disappointing.

As well, J.A.C.K. doesn't even do the straight-up shooter that well. The basic philosophy of most encounters seems to be sending massive mobs of fairly stupid enemies. Further, the enemies respawn way too fast (a problem some NOLF 2 areas) and many do not drop ammo (you should not have ammo problems in a shooter like this).

All in all, Contract J.A.C.K. just isn't all that much fun to play with the kind of gameplay that is presented most of the time.

The Bottom Line
If you have played through the other two NOLF games and absolutely need more, then this might help satiate the urge just a little. Otherwise, go check out the rest of the series first.

The Good
The prequel to the excellent “No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In Harms Way”. “Contract J.A.C.K. shows gamers a darker version of the NOLF universe. Instead of playing as the super spy Cate Archer, we get to play as John Jack, a hitman, and the jack of the title.

In “Contract J.A.C.K.”, you take on the crime syndicate, Danger! Danger! While working for H.A.R.M. The games seven missions take you from Italy, to the Moon! The plot is not as well done as in NOLF 2. Nor is Jack’s adventure as long as either of Cate’s. Yet you manage to kill more people than in both NOLFS combined. But then again you are a contract killer.

There are no gadgets in J.A.C.K. But there are new weapons, including some that have returned from NOLF 1 and were not in it’s sequel. So I guess the amount of guns is supposed to make up for the lack of gadgets. Thankfully vehicle segments return. There are even more than there were in NOLF 2. And this time around the vehicles come equipped with a gun.

Most of the humor of previous games is gone. There are still some funny moments. But the jokes tend to be darker. For some reason there is a lot of explicit language in this one unlike the other games. The game also seems more violent, but I guess this is to be expected.

The Graphics are stunning. Once again thanks to the Jupiter engine. Monolith still uses this engine in it’s games, showing just how awesome it is. Like NOLF 2 this game looks great even on the lowest setting. The weapons and characters are look amazing. And the real time lighting effects have to be seen to be believed. The flash of light when you fire your gun is so sweet!

There is even less music in this than NOLF 2. But it is quality over quantity. The voice overs are good except for Jack, who has too much of a gruff voice. Which makes him sound odd. Some of the weapons sound different and more realistic.

J.A.C.K. plays more like Serious Sam than No One Lives Forever. This of course was disappointing to NOLF fans. As the NOLF series is known for successfully blending stealth and action segments.

The Bad
This game is way too short. You can finish it in one sitting. So it only has about four hours of gameplay. The difficulty settings are ridiculous. On easy it is way too easy. On Normal it is about ten times more difficult. The A.I. is not as good as we would expect, often enemies run right into to harms way.(No pun intended.) For some reason the box claims that there are ten missions. I have no idea where they got that number, as there are only seven missions. Three less than stated on the box.

The Bottom Line
Overall Contract J.A.C.K. is an average game. That while it does not live up the NOLF series, there is some fun to be had if you can get over it’s dissimilarities to NOLF. Do not pay full price for this game as it is too short, in fact I would not pay over $20. I got my copy on Amazon for about $6.00.

The Good
Nice graphics.

Seeing some of the characters from NOLF1 and 2 was neat.

If you like Serious Sam gameplay this could be fun...

The Bad
An absolute disgrace to one of my all-time favorite series. Characters that were once vivid and hilarious are now two-dimensional and stupid. Rather than the excellent first-person shooter action gameplay found in NOLF 1 and 2, you find yourself thrust into a Serious Sam-esque game style set in the No One Lives Forever universe. Bad guys will come pouring out of every single hole in the area and they won't stop coming until you've genocided the entire Italian nationality.

Levels are dull. Some nice detail here and there, but mostly it's crap. Nothing very imaginative, save for the space level -- oh wait, that was done in previous episodes. No, there's nothing special about the levels.

Aside from a mounted gun on a motorized ski thing, there's nothing much to say regarding weapons. Oh yeah, the vehicle handling STILL sucks.

This game has absolutely nothing to do with either No One Lives Forevers. Despite Monolith's constant claims that you "take part in Cate Archer's adventures from the dark side", you see her maybe once and that's it.

I encountered serious frame rate problems at times, often in areas that weren't really all that detailed or polygon-heavy.

The Bottom Line
This game right plain sucks and never should have been made. They've tainted one of my all-time favorite series.

If you wanted a goofy Serious Sam experience set in the No One Lives Forever universe, hey, this is your game. But if you have any respect for No One Lives Forever you'll stay away from this steaming turd called a game and pretend it never existed. God, I wish I had.