No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way

The Good
The graphics and the sound get a great update. Especially noticeable is the music, that has a much fuller sound that doesn't as canned like the original. (I'm a musician, I notice these weird little things.) Kate looks better than ever. The cut scenes show more nuanced and articulated models, with more lifelike features. Gone are the bricklike hands.

The return of the original baddies from Nolf make for some great scenes. I love the overheard dialog between bad guys. Its pretty much what you'd think that henchmen would be talking about while being bored and waiting for action. The incredulous gadgets that you can use to take your enemies out.

You can use experience points to modify and increase your skill levels, such as sneaking, medical, etc... It didn't make a huge difference in game play, but it did add some depth. More often than not, you can use non-lethal ways of taking enemies out.

The Bad
Near the end, the novel game design falls away and you have a more gun and run play. The ending is satisfactory, but the ending play is more linear and not as interesting. Some of the wild gadgets do not work very well, leaving you vulnerable unless you employ more conventional weaponry. A lot of backtracking through non-descript areas.

The humor is there, but not quite as brilliant as in Nolf. Its missing some of the laugh out loud stuff that made Nolf so much fun.

The Bottom Line
An excellent FPS with great graphics and sound. But the gameplay was much better in the original.

The Good
The original No One Lives Forever is one of my favorite FPS, and a truly underrated gem. When I heard about the sequel, I was very expectant. This second part offers some great improvements over the original. Although very similar at first look, the graphics are better. The best improvement comes in the terms of facial gestures and people's movements. The submarine level felt very original, like a new version of the spaceship level on the original game I liked also the possibility of searching your enemies bodies and the chance of improving certain abilities.

The Bad
On the other side of the coin I have to admit that this level felt very, very short in comparison with the first one. There aren't the great variety of levels of the original NOFL, and even worse, much of the episodes takes place in the same map (the one in Morocco). I would like more stealth levels, too.

The Bottom Line
Despite being very short this is a game that won't totally disappoint to those who liked and loved the original No One Lives Forever. Long life to Cate Archer!

The Good
No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M. S Way, is as the title implies the sequel, to The Operative: No One Lives Forever. As one would expect it is a fun and funny game. Which is impressive as humor is hard to pull of in a game.

NOLF 2, takes place shortly after the first game. The game’s heroine, Cate Archer, having proved herself in the first game is now a full agent of U.N.I.T.Y. H.A.R.M. of course wants her dead. Cate’s adventure will take her to Japan, India, Siberia, Khios, and various H.A.R.M. bases.

Cate also has several close calls in NOLF 2. This game is truly humorous. Sometimes in the form of notes you come across. While other times a conversation you overhear. Or perhaps even the way your enemies act.

During missions you have set objectives, and usually can perform optional objectives. Which reward you with skill points that can be used to upgrade Cate’s skills and agent rankings. The level design is excellent as we have come to expect from Monolith. One of the most interesting missions is one in which you must defend U.N.I.T.Y headquarters from attack.

The Graphics are amazing, thanks to Monolith’s Jupiter Engine. After all Monolith is known for pushing the graphical barriers of PC games. Even of the lowest setting the game looks incredible. Environments and models are incredibly detailed. Lighting effects are also very impressive. Even considering the games age it still looks better than some newer games!

The voice acting is superb. As one would expect from a modern, American game. The sound effects are up to par as well. The music is appropriate 60’s trends which are dead now. The soundtrack is very good. I am surprised that it was not available for sale.

The game mixes FPS, with stealth, and vehicle segments. It blends the types of gameplay successfully. You can also collect data for skill points and they are often quite humorous. You can hide and lay traps for unsuspecting enemies. Other game makers can learn from this, the A.I. is beyond belief! Enemies have routines, they get up look over files, go and have a smoke break. They are also more varied than most games from H.A.R.M. troops to mimes! They will notice if they hear or see something strange. When in combat they will call for help or set off an alarm. They will duck and roll out of the way of fire. They are generally more cunning than in most games.

The Bad
You may need a patch to get this game up and running. And for some reason on my PC the game always tells me that my video card does not support T&L which is a load because Max Payne 2, needs a T&L supported card and that runs just fine. The game is on the short side. But at least it is not too long.

The Bottom Line
Overall NOLF 2 is still one of the best PC games. At Cate Archer is a babe. And could kick Joanna Dark’s ass.