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No One Lives Forever is a fantastic game. I feel the stealth hasn’t aged as well as the rest of the game but it’s still good fun nonetheless. It features a blend of first-person shooter action and stealth with a stylistic presentation and excellent music, making for a very cinematic experience that pays homage to classic spy films and television series. It was followed up by a sequel that once again follows UNITY operative, Cate Archer, as she goes up against the criminal organization H.A.R.M. Developed by Monolith Productions and published by Vivendi Universal Games and Sierra Entertainment, No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.’s Way was released for PC in October, 2002. As of this review, the game can be downloaded for free from the No One Lives Forever revival website.
Set during the 1960’s after the events of the first game, the story opens with operative Cate Archer investigating a rumored crime convention in Japan where she ends up stabbed and left for dead. She does survive and learns of H.A.R.M.’s plan to invade the strategic Isle of Khios. That’s the basic gist of the plot without spoiling too much and I think the story is nowhere near as compelling as that of the previous game. While No One Lives Forever features a good balance of humor and drama, the sequel feels like it’s aiming for more humor. I would so go so far to say it feels more like a cartoon than anything else and it doesn’t touch on as many interesting themes and/or subjects as that of its predecessor. It’s not the worst story ever told but it is very silly. I’d be lying if I said certain cut scenes and interactions didn’t make me chuckle but I can’t say I was super engaged in the narrative.
Right off the bat, I want to say I do prefer the gameplay in No One Lives Forever 2 to that of its predecessor. That’s not to say it’s flawless but, overall, I think the changes and new additions are all for the better. The environments are more open-ended, stealth is more flexible, the HUD features a compass that will also show where certain things are located, the game is faster-paced, and a skill point system is implemented. That said, there’s also things I miss from the first game like being able to select your weapons and equipment before jumping into missions and the option to select responses during certain interactions. No One Lives Forever 2 does come with a multiplayer component and even features cooperative missions but, unfortunately, I was unable to get any online games going so this review will only focus on the single player.
No One Lives Forever 2 is very much a story-driven experience and I do feel it’s faster-paced than its predecessor. And for a few reasons. The first being the game doesn’t have as many long cut scenes. The second reason is because you’re not brought back to UNITY headquarters or the training area in between missions which leads me to the third reason. Santa uses a Mechanized Bird to communicate with Cate in the field, giving her tips, and he will leave equipment lying around for her to find. What this means is Cate starts each mission with certain weapons and equipment and can find more in the environments. The downside is that you don’t get to choose what to bring with you anymore.
One of the biggest new additions is the Skill Point system. Instead of unlocking upgrades by collecting all intelligence items in a mission, you can now spend Skill Points. The points are acquired by completing certain tasks and objectives and by collecting intelligence items. You can upgrade your stealth abilities, stamina or health, armor, carrying capacity, and weapon efficiency among other things. It feels like it was designed in a way that allows the player to focus on skills that fit their playstyle whether that be sneaking or shooting. I’ve seen some players describe the game as a first-person shooter with RPG elements but I don’t think that’s accurate. Or I guess I should say I don’t like that description. The skill point system feels a little too basic to fit that description in my opinion. Nevertheless, I do prefer this system to upgrades being tied to intel. Now you might be thinking the first game places a bigger focus on exploration because of that – having to find all the intel items in a mission to unlock upgrades. That and finding gear hidden in the environments. Well I’m happy to say No One Lives Forever 2 gives you plenty of reasons to explore.
One of my favorite things about No One Lives Forever 2 is the more open-ended level design. Every level gives you multiple ways to progress. For example, you can enter buildings through doors or windows or maybe even find another way. There are typically multiple paths or routes that lead to the same destination. The environments are also much more – let’s call it interactive – than those in the last game. You can interact with all kinds of things and open drawers and cabinets to search for Intelligence Items. Intelligence Items are once again hidden in the environments and finding certain items will unlock bonus objectives to complete. These are typically things like find more information, plant explosives, and kill a specific enemy. These will require you to explore to find what you need and completing them awards you skill points. Basically, exploration leads to skill points and skill points leads to improved abilities and improved abilities leads to easier, faster, and more efficient ways to get things done. There is an addictive quality to it.
Stealth is a lot more enjoyable in No One Lives Forever 2 mainly because it feels more flexible and forgiving. Most of the mechanics from the first game have been carried over and there are a few levels that force you to be stealthy but most of the time you’re given the option to sneak or shoot. And even if you mess up, like set off an alarm for example, you’re not completely fucked, assuming the level isn’t forcing stealth. I was detected multiple times resulting in alarms going off so I would shoot everyone that came after me and eventually the alarm would turn off. One of the best new features is leaning. You can lean left and right now which I prefer to the moving in and out of cover mechanic in the last game. Cate can also hide in specific spots and pick up and move bodies. Not only that, she can search bodies for weapons, ammo, items, and intel. The game also comes with more items to help you stay hidden and undetected. There are multiple grenade types including sleeping gas grenades, you can use a Mascara Stun Gun to incapacitate foes, and the Utility Launcher can fire multiple types of ammo including tranquilizer darts, camera disablers, and even tracking darts which, when they hit enemies, will show their locations on the compass.
As much as I prefer the stealth here to that of the previous game, not everything about it is great. For one thing, enemies do respawn. You can drop everyone in an area and then leave or look around for a while and come back and all of a sudden an enemy or two shows up out of nowhere. Honestly, it never became a huge problem for me but I can see how some players may perceive this as annoying. In my experience, it does take some time for them to respawn and the game doesn’t spawn in dozens at a time, at least not on the Normal difficulty level. My biggest issue with the stealth is certain levels that force you to be stealthy. There are some areas in India in particular that require you not to kill anyone and you have to evade police and it can be a little tedious. It’s not really hard but compared to the rest of the game, these are the levels I disliked the most.
As expected, No One Lives Forever 2 gives you plenty of weapons and gadgets to experiment with and I do feel the gunplay is good. Weapons have good audiovisual feedback, enemies bleed when shot, blood will splatter on surfaces, and the enemy death animations look pretty good. Furthermore, the cast of foes is interesting. You’ll come up against typical guards and goons but also ninjas, robots, super soldiers, mimes, and man-crates. Gadgets and equipment can help you get around and even dispatch enemies like bear traps for example. Some items from the previous game return like the coin and body remover powder and once again certain gadgets are disguised as normal items like the nail clippers which is a lock pick and hairspray which is actually a welder for breaking through certain locks.
No One Lives Forever 2 will take you a good variety of locations around the world including Japan, Siberia, India, Antarctica, and Akron, Ohio. Missions are Chapters and often consist of multiple levels or areas separated by load points and you will often have to return to previously explored areas every so often. You will get to ride a snowmobile in one mission and there are some decent set pieces. One has you fighting a boss in a mobile home caught in a tornado and another has you riding on the back of a tricycle shooting at foes. I did get stuck a few times and it was usually because I missed an item I needed. Many levels will require you to find specific items, things you’ll need later on so you can progress, and they can be easy to miss if you’re not really paying attention.
You will have to complete objectives like plant bugs and explosives and rescue NPCs among some other stuff and some levels feature objectives or tasks that end up feeling more like busy work than fun. For example, one level has you rescuing civilians by putting out fires. To do this, you need to find a bucket and fill it with water and then run to a fire and put it out. You’ll have to fill the bucket multiple times so it’s just a lot of running back and forth. Plus, you have to watch out for the super soldiers walking around. There’s another level where you have to interact with a super computer and you’ll have to scour the area to find the specific items you need to accomplish what needs to be done so you may find yourself moving back and forth or around in circles until you find what you need or need to do. Luckily, there’s not too much of this in the game. Objectives or tasks that simply result in a lot of moving back and forth that is. At least I don’t think so. There is some general backtracking here and there but the two example I gave stand out to me as just busy work.
I should mention that the game is a bit buggy. In one mission, you have to enter a vault and the door just wouldn’t open for me. I restarted the level numerous times and watched multiple videos to see if I was doing something wrong and as far as I could tell, I wasn’t. I didn’t miss anything. The door just wouldn’t open. The game also crashed on me numerous times and at one point it seemed to hang on a loading screen.
I did download the game from the revival website and did not experience any issues with installation or getting it to run. No One Lives Forever 2 is another entry with a colorful presentation. It also showcases good visual variety, detailed environments, cool visual effects, and nice looking character and weapon models. As for the audio, the music is great but I don’t think the soundtrack is quite as good as that of the first game. Regardless, the tunes here still manage to drive home the cinematic feel the game is aiming for. On the technical side, the game ran smooth but it did crash on me numerous times as I mentioned earlier.
I had a great time with No One Lives Forever 2. It doesn’t feel quite as polished as the first game and the story isn’t as good but I do feel the gameplay is an overall improvement. The new features and refinements make it more enjoyable to me. It’s not perfect but it is a lot of fun. I absolutely love to the more open-ended levels. They, along with the new equipment and some of the new mechanics make stealth a lot more fun in my opinion. The stealth is more flexible and less trial and error. Just like the first game, the game is at its best when it gives you the freedom to sneak or shoot. I think it’s the fact that you’re given more options is what makes it better. More tools to help you stay undetected and more ways to approach situations. I do think the first game does a better job at immersing the player into the whole spy thing and I think that’s because of the better story and the way it’s presented. Regardless, I found this game to be more fun to play.
I would absolutely recommend No One Lives Forever 2. As of this review, you can get it for free so if you’re at all interested in playing it, there’s really no reason not to. As a sequel, I think the story goes a little overboard with the silliness but the gameplay has been improved making for a more enjoyable experience in my opinion. Definitely check it out.