No One Lives Forever 2 Hands-On

Any FPS gamer worth his salt has played No One Lives Forever, probably multiple times. I consider it a masterpiece of FPS gaming, one of the best games I've played. Ever. (For those of you who have not had the chance to play this title, I highly recommend it.) The super sultry super-spy Cate Archer's exploits against the international crime syndicate H.A.R.M. in a pseudo-60's James Bond meets Austin Powers spy ring have gone down in the annals of PC gaming history as one of the greats. Laced with powerful weapons, exotic gadgets and beautiful scenery, the game combines fast-paced action while rewarding the player that takes it slow and sneaks through levels with extremely funny dialogue. I nearly pissed myself laughing at several of the voice-overs.

Oh yeah, slice me right up baby!

Snowing in Russia?! Wow! *Amazing*

Mind you, the game wasn't perfect. The engine, for one thing, was a particular down point. At the time of the game's development, curved surfaces were impossible for the LithTech engine to render, and Cate Archer, while impressively skinned, suffered for it. But now Monolith has gotten its grubby little mitts on the new and vastly improved Lithech Jupiter engine, and so they bring us No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way. I have had the distinct pleasure of playing an advance copy of the first few levels, and if the first 4 chapters are any indication, this game is a candidate for Game Of The Year.

The first and most obvious difference from the previous incarnation is the visuals...or to be more specific, Cate's visuals. Along with trading her orange and white mini dress in for a sleek black leather coat and skirt (with a hint of the orange underneath), Cate's had a bit of work done to her, and man...it shows. Her coif is neatly done, and her facial features are much softer and smoother than the previous engine would allow. Gone is the Roman nose and jagged lips, replaced by a gorgeous face that you could just run your hand over and down with eyes that could devour your soul with a glance and lips so full you could just....uhm....yeah. Suffice it to say she looks really nice.

Of course, she's not the only person who's had a makeover in this game. The new Jupiter engine allows for all of the game's characters to look much more lifelike with more impressive polycounts, skeletal animation techniques, and texturing. This, of course, includes the enemies as well. The game's first cutscene involves a very impressive looking ninja doing a martial arts kata that shows off the fluidity of movement and detailed backdrops that the new engine is capable of - without taking a framerate hit at higher resolutions.

The first of the four chapters involves sneaking into an oriental compound to collect information concerning a H.A.R.M. operative known only as "The Director." The only problem is the compound is being guarded by a host of female ninja assassins, all of whom move like lightning, and know Cate is coming. This set of levels reintroduces you to the NOLF world, while initiating you to its newer features. This chapter requires you to move quickly and quietly, using the highest levels of stealth possible. You are armed with a crossbow, a stun gun....and not much else. If you alert the ninja guards, they'll set off the alarm, and then you're in a world of hurt. They move fast, and you don't have much that can stop them. The first time I tried to take on a pack of them head on, I died. Pathetically. And often. It was quite embarrassing. But once I learned Cate's new tricks, it was much easier. Note the word easier, not easy. I was slashed to ribbons more times than I care to admit before I finally slogged my way through the level. For starters, Cate can now lean around corners to get a quick glimpse of the road ahead, take potshots at enemies and size up the situation. But if you linger too long, you will be spotted...unless you're hidden. Another new feature is that Cate can now hide in dark corners, and an icon with a progress bar will tell you how much time it takes until Cate can melt into the shadows, hidden from view. From there, you are invisible to enemies unless you move quickly...which includes firing weapons...but if you can find a spot to hide, it makes losing trailing enemies a distant memory. (This saved my hide more times than I can count.) (The AI is in this game is amazing. Far more life-like and environmentally aware than in any other game I've ever played - Ed)

As you can tell, I'm an alcoholic.

Hey, are you coming for dinner or not?

How long it takes you to perform certain actions (such as hiding) depends on your skill level. Another new feature to NOLF2 is the skill system. As you progress through the levels, you are rewarded with skill points. Additional skill points can be earned by finding certain pieces of intelligence (such as UNITY Spy Manuals strewn about the levels), by performing sub-quests (getting information for your contacts, collecting all intelligence pieces on a given level) or completing levels in a requested manner (for example, with a zero body count - very difficult!) Once your skill level reaches a certain point value, you can upgrade one of your skill levels, which grants certain bonuses. Advancing the Stealth skill shortens the time it takes to fade into the shadows, which can be useful when enemies are hot on your tail. Advancing the weapons skill shortens reload times, and allows for the use of heavier weaponry. If you upgrade the Stamina or Armor skills, you can make use of more health or armor available, respectively. I'll let you play the game to discover what the other skills can do for you.

The next section was a suspected Siberian nuclear weapons outpost, and this is where the game started to bug out on me. The first task that Cate must perform is to find fuel for a nearby snowmobile so that she can head out over the countryside in search of her objectives. I don't think the snowmobile physics have been finalized quite yet, since when I used it, it was jerky and more than once I fell off the world. (Yes, that's right...I was driving over a hill, when suddenly the world fell from around me and I died. So that was a little bug there, but the game is a beta - these things are to be expected.) Aside from that, it was good to get into the usage of firearms again, but it was also a chance to show off the particle effects of the Jupiter engine. This is Siberia, after all - there has to be snow...and plenty of it. Walking around in a wintry wonderland noting how the snowfall shifts a certain way if you move in a certain direction is a treat for the eyes.

At this point, the bugs hit an all-time high, as there was a crash bug that prevented me from moving any further in the game past the first mission in Siberia. I tried to work it out, but I attribute it to it just being a beta, and that, unfortunately, was the end of my foray into the world of NOLF2, but what I saw impressed me greatly. The game most certainly carries with it the kitschy 60's-pop feel that its predecessor offered, while being a challenging and extremely entertaining game. While the beta build I was offered wasn't perfect, the game is under development, and is due to go gold Real Soon Now ™. The developers of the Jupiter engine couldn't ask for a better debut.