The Operative: No One Lives Forever

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!