NO ONE LIVES FOREVER 2: A SPY IN H.A.R.M.'S WAY

Cate Archer is a Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way.

The sequel to the award-winning The Operative: No One Lives Forever returns you to a world of espionage, intrigue, and dry humour inspired by the '60s spy craze. Armed with an arsenal of deadly weapons, cunning spy gadgets, and devious traps, you must undertake a dangerous, top secret mission that will take you to exotic locales like Japan, India, and Akron, Ohio in your quest to thwart H.A.R.M.'s plans for global domination.

An all-new, advanced AI system gives enemies a deeper understanding of their environment. Watch them work at desks or step outside for a cigarette break. Lure them into the shadows by knocking over a bottle or disturbing a wind chime. Evade them as they coordinate attacks to outflank you. You'll need sharp wits and quick reflexes to save the world from H.A.R.M.

• Go in with guns blazing or rely on cunning and stealth to complete a wide variety of objectives.
• Face off against ninja assassins at a trailer park in the path of a tornado.
• Join other operatives online for cooperative adventures against AI opponents in specially designed missions.

~ from the back of the UK box

In the early 2000s, Monolith Productions was on a roll, delivering some of the most beloved first-person shooters of the era. After the success of The Operative: No One Lives Forever (featured on this site exactly one-year ago), it was no surprise we would see more. In 2002, that came in the form of a sequel called No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way, a direct follow-up that retained all that made the first game so memorable. Yet, despite critical acclaim, the game now sits in relative obscurity due to a tangled mess of legal rights issues that have prevented any kind of re-release. This is a tragedy, because NOLF 2 is a stunning game not just of its time, but all time. A game that deserves to be revisited by a new generation of gamers for years to come.

The story picks up where the original left off. Cate Archer, the sharp-witted and quick-thinking spy, is back in action. This time, her mission takes her across the globe as she uncovers a series of H.A.R.M.'s (a villainous organization, of course) nefarious plans, culminating in a race against time to prevent the creation of a super-soldier army. The plot takes Cate from the samurai dojos of Tokyo, to the snowy streets of the Siberia and the bustling streets of India. What's great about the sequel's plot is how it expands on the first game, raising the stakes and bringing back familiar faces and enemies. The narrative retains its playful tone with a hefty peppering of clever dialogue and witty banter that will surely raise an eyebrow or two.

Visually, this sequel takes everything that made the original great and cranks it up. The environments feel more expansive, and the character models more detailed thanks to the new LithTech Jupiter engine. While the first game is no slouch in the graphics department, the extra polygons to the character models and more realistic textures breathes new life into the series. Everything is just better; the animations are smoother, the lighting more atmospheric, and the textures sharper. As for the levels, it ups the ante considerably. While the set-pieces in the original were inspired and memorable, they were more of less contained to their own stage. Here, scenarios fold back on each other making missions one large interconnected area. It does reduce the environmental variety somewhat (snowy military bases all look the same, and sometimes they are) and can frustrate a little as some information are found in previous areas, but for the most part the level design is as on point as the original.

What Q is to James Bond, Santa is to Cate Archer and here he guides her through stages as a robot raven (left).

Reading notes will earn you skill points, but make sure you have the decoder to read the ones with question marks (right).

The controls are more or less the usual keyboard-and-mouse setup that feels right at home for any PC gamer. The are some unique quirks, such as an entire key ("G") dedicated to picking up and dropping dead bodies. This becomes a must-do in many areas as strewn corpses can alert others enemies that danger is afoot. They are more than happy to trigger an alarm to unleash a hoard of attackers onto your position. You could go in guns-blazing, but this game demands stealth.

You can choose to play the stealthy spy, sneaking through vents and side sections to avoid detection and silently taking out guards. Or you can mow down enemies with the arsenal of weapons at your disposal. There are even levels where action isn't an option at all, forcing you to rely on your gadgets and clever thinking to avoid getting caught while infiltrating the Indian arm of the Evil Corporation. This constant changing up of the gameplay makes every level feel fresh and new, and while not all allow you to try different approaches (you cannot shoot chasing policemen, for example), they are all enjoyable.

One of the most exciting improvements over the first game is the sheer variety of gadgets and weapons at your disposal. The original game had a fun selection to choose from, but you had to pick them before entering the stage forcing you to practice a non-existent clairvoyance to know what's needed or not. That is completely gone here. Weapons reset and pre-determined at the beginning of each mission, but every weapon you find stays with you throughout the lengthy sections found within.

Make sure your safe before searching bodies. It takes time, but it's worth it (left).

The lockpick becomes a useful tool to access new areas. Upgrade your stats to pick it faster (right).

The weapons you do find are mostly cribbed from downed enemies. You hold the right mouse button to search the body and pilfer their weapons, ammo or the odd ugly baby picture and used lipstick. Those last bits are just there for fun, but they never fail to amuse me. As do the varied and entertaining munitions you get too. From the throwing stars to tranquilizer darts, samurai swords to incendiary bullets, they variety is expansive. You select between them using the mouse wheel or, for a quicker change, cycle through each column with the corresponding number key. If you have different ammo types, a tap of "F" will switch them out. It's perhaps the best way to organise an otherwise rather large loadout.

When you look at your gadgets, you get a true scope of what you can do in the game. A lockpick disguise as a makeup mirror, a camera disguised as lipstick - they all as useful as they are fun. The decoder allows you to read hidden messages, letting you know the secret code needed to contact undercover spies. More to the point, the "Angry Kitty" is a cleverly disguised bomb that shares similarities with the first games "Canine Persuader". In a rather apt connection to the season I'm reviewing this in, they are all created by a character named Santa. He joins you on your missions as a robotic raven offering up guidance and objectives where needed. This means the sometimes-tedious tutorial level is no more, but you can choose to talk to him if you need help.

One other neat feature is how Cate can upgrade her stats like an RPG. Stealth, Stamina, Marksmanship, Carrying, Armor, Weapons, Gadget and Search can all be upgraded four times allowing you to increase your speed, quieten your step or a number of other useful bonuses. These are paid for by your skill points, which are earned not just for every objective completed, but every piece of information gained. These come in the form of notes pinned to posts and doors, pages gathered by rifling though dossiers or even evidence collected from dead bodies. Each earns you point and if you have 1000, you can enhance your first stat. It makes learning the lore and jokey side-stories all the more rewarding.

All manner of stats can be upgrades. I recommend stamina and search for a speedier game (left).

The snowmobile is a little twitchy to control, but not enough to ruin the experience (right).

There is one gripe I have with the game, and it's one that sits alongside some of its standout moments. In the second mission you get to dive a snowmobile in a series of thrilling set pieces that takes you through a henchman-filled snowy mountain. However, there is a catch - while you can race through the frozen tundra at breakneck speed, you can't actually shoot from the vehicle. This means you'll need to dismount to engage enemies, which makes for a disjointed stop-start style of play. I also found controlling it rather twitchy should you use the mouse. I had to turn the thing upside sound so I could adequately control it with just the arrow keys without interference. This may be an issue with the patches and mods used to get the game running again as I don't remember it being this bad when I played it back in the day, but it's also possible I have my retro-specs on. The improvement in controls over the last two decades may have made it stand out all the more. Either way, it still makes for a fun few sequences as you escape snow-covered army barracks and jump exploding bridges.

Despite this minor flaws, No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.’s Way is every bit the classic all those gaming magazines of the time said it was. It improved upon the formula of the original in nearly every way, adding more gadgets, more weapons, better graphics, and more diverse gameplay options. The story is just as entertaining, with memorable characters and a plot that doesn't take itself too seriously. The mix of stealth and action, the variety of environments, and the clever gadgetry make it a unique experience that's still worth playing today. It deserves to escape legal purgatory and be remembered once again.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber runs natively on Windows thanks to the NoLF2 Modernizer Mod by HeyThereCoffee. Manual, Reference Card and Official Strategy Guide included. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.

File Size: 922 Mb.  Install Size: 1.92 Gb.  Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

Download

WINDOWS

WINDOWS

No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way is © Twentieth Century Fox, Monolith Productions & Lithtech, Inc.
Review, Cover Design and Installer created by me

Like this? Try These...