Techtite Game Reviews ---

Is it a sign of how good/bad a new "edition" of a game is, when I merely suffix a short addendum to the original review? Not really; actually, I needed to change the original review anyway, since the purchase links for the original No One Lives Forever no longer work. You see, all original versions of the game are no longer in distribution, and are being replaced with the new, revived "Game Of The Year" Edition. What's the difference? Well, if you want to know right away, just jump to the addendum, at the bottom of the review. Otherwise, read my original review bytes below, and relive a fond memory of 2000...

First, allow me to praise the game concept in and of itself. With how successful the Austin Powers sequel was last year --as well as how popular 1960's nostalgia is-- it's surprising that a game like No One Lives Forever was never considered until now. After all, who doesn't want a game in the spirit of classic James Bond films? ...or Austin Powers films, for that matter? At the extreme least, among so many games with "rust" and "shadows" as the main colors, it's definitely the most vibrant-looking game to be released in years.

Your character in this game is Cate Archer, a rookie in the spy business during the cold-war ridden 1960s. A secret terrorist organization called H.A.R.M. has been killing off U.N.I.T.Y. agents one by one, and you're one of only seven spies left in the unit! Reluctantly, your superiors (in a cutscene shown here) send you on missions, if only because everyone else is busy. In time, you gain their trust and respect, and get even harder missions, eventually leading, of course, to the final battle with those behind the H.A.R.M. terrorism once and for all.

These missions are all very elaborate, and all very brilliantly interwoven into the spy-film formula. You'll be fighting bad guys in snow, water, deserts, jungles, and small towns. Some missions even salute the best moments in the James Bond films. In one mission (a la Moonraker), you find yourself blown out of a plane with no parachute, and must "borrow" one from a nearby enemy paratrooper. In another, a la For Your Eyes Only, you must retrieve items from a sunken vessel during a scuba mission. Further missions are equally excellent salutes to classic James Bond scenes, though I won't spoil the surprises. Each mission is very long, which means you'll be playing for quite a while. When done with that, there's a multiplayer option to keep you busy a while longer.

The place where this game shines is its spy-oriented gadgetry. Your trusty barrette, for example, hides both a lock pick and a poison dagger. Your lighter in later missions doubles as a blowtorch to break tougher locks. Your nifty shades can take photos of secret documents. These are just three examples of imaginative gadgets that are introduced at the start of every major mission. There's one or more introduced periodically, allowing for uniqueness at every turn, with new tools to use and new areas to use them in. In addition to spy gadgets, feel free to do what spies do, and search for hidden secret files at every turn. Gamers who love to hunt for all items will want to look for such secret documents in each level. Find them all (or close enough), and Miss Archer receives a boost in skill, in either aim, damage, or stealth.

The story itself is intentionally campy: imagine an Austin Powers comedy, without the overdone potty humor (and thank heaven for that omission!). You might also note some intriguing inside jokes within the game, like the name of the ship you must sneak onto, as well as humor in many secret files you come across. Similar to other "lifelike" games of recent years, you can often get to overhear enemy conversations, including the plights of some henchmen you come across (I particularly liked the one whose girlfriend does not understand his need to "work for the forces of evil" to pay the rent). Other jokes are even more blunt. In one instance, you're looking for a secret base, only to come across a post it note nearby that asks the personnel to direct their boss' exercise instructor to the nearby secret entrance. Sure, some diehard gamers may not like the spoiler, and yet it's funny when seen while playing, and you still have to find the door.

The game uses the LithTech game engine, not unlike other Monolith games (including the recent release, Sanity: Aiken's Artifact). However, unlike Sanity, all action is seen in the first-person action game perspective, with only cutscenes shown in third-person mode. Such cutscenes are all done within the 3D game engine itself, which allows for some very impressive visuals (for people with great 3D accelerator cards). From the teasing opening shot of Cate in a steam-filled shower, to the foggy depths of a sunken cargo vessel, this game engine can handle it all, very impressively. As for characters, each moves their lips in sync with their voice, and they even blink and make body movements appropriate to their character.

The best feature of the game, however, is the excellently chosen lead character. While other characters' mannerisms in cutscenes are well done, the most work was done to make Cate seem more lifelike, and it shows. While it might've been better to have NOLF be a third-person perspective game, a la the Tomb Raider series, it still is a pleasure to see each and every cutscene, with such a likeable lead character in every one.

So, you ask, what's so fab about the "GOTY" (Game Of The Year) Edition? Well, for starters, I personally preferred the original box art (shown at right), though that's just me. As for the game itself, people who never played, obviously have little reason to not RUN and buy the GOTY version of this game. It has all the "patches" for the original game pre-installed, plus a whole new mission, 4 levels in size. It may not up the rating of the overall game at all, though with my original rating of the game being the highest possible, I don't think that's a problem.

So, is the new mission good or bad? Well, on the plus side, it is a full mission, complete with in-game cutscenes, new places to explore, and four "levels" that are more than slightly unique from the original game's. However, if you want to see it by starting a game from scratch, pack a big lunch; this level is added to the very end of the game. You'll even have to wait until after the credits. You might ask if its worth it. Well, any excuse to re-play this cool game is worth it, though that's beside the point...

The new mission involves --quite ingeniously-- Cate Archer going on a well-deserved vacation. As you might expect (and again, in typical James Bond fashion), you are not alone in this vacation paradise. You first discover this in comical fashion, then stumble upon another H.A.R.M. plot. I thought it a bit much that some new villains include guards who wear monkey masks. However, the rest of the levels are more of the same as in the original game, which is a very good thing.

The GOTY packaging also includes two added perks, in "while supplies last" fashion. One is the Prima Official Strategy Guide for the game. I would've liked an addendum to this book, of the new mission, though the book is still useful for people interested to see areas/secret items they may not have found before. In addition, there's a music CD, which is a little bit more inspired than the original music CD offered with the game last year, which was of 1960's tunes totally unrelated to the game. This CD includes music from the game itself, including the main theme. Nice addition, I say.

Regardless of the new mission, however, you're bound to be done with the single player missions only a few hours later than you would've been without them. In addition, given the long, elaborate finale of the original game, the final shot offered by this "added mission" seems like a pretty big letdown. However, again, this shouldn't deter people who have never played this game, from trying it out, NOW. It still may not have the alternate ending potential of Deus Ex, nor the above-grade stealth tactics of Thief 2, and yet it is still one of the best games I played in 2000 --and, for that matter, most of 2001 so far-- and was more than worth the experience.

	Final Rating : Deep Impact. While with its fair share of flaws, the game never gets dull, and with the added mission, it's even more worth buying.
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Techtite's PC Game Reviews!

No One Lives Forever:

Game of the Year Edition

A Techtite Review