Thanks to its refined upgrade system and improved mission structure, No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way stands out as both one of the year's best shooters, as well as a remarkable follow up to the original.
After playing through the events of NOLF as a rookie trying to make a name for herself, Cate Archer has come into her own at the start of the game, which has you sneaking into a Japanese ninja base to photograph a meeting. Though this level is horribly glitch ridden (ninjas still raise alarms that aren't there, much like they did in the demo,) things get much better once you make your way to Siberia and beyond: missions are often broken up into several parts, and each part could be at opposite ends of the game area. And though you're most often given free reign over which section to tackle first, you oftentimes have to visit another section of an area to complete an objective you receive somewhere else. It may sound like a lot of boring backtracking and fetch quests, but this is far from the case.
Numerous things keep NOLF2 so interesting, but the standout among them is its skill upgrade system: you actually get stronger, faster, and better at sneaking around as you progress. It's very much reminiscent of Deus Ex's upgrade system, and just as integral to your success. As such, the game almost starts to feel like a first person action/RPG with guns at times, which is in no way a bad thing. In addition to making NOLF2 perhaps the deepest single player FPS on the market, these upgrades also give you an incentive to search for the "intelligence" items scattered about, in case the humor factor wasn't already reason enough.
Speaking of which, all that humor from the first game is still here. NOLF hasn't gone "Serious", unless you mean in the "Sam" way. The conversations, letters, and other various intelligence items you'll stumble across along the way may even make you feel bad when you pop a bullet into an enemy's head. As a result of finding a love letter a soldier wrote to his wife, you begin to think of these characters as people, rather than just cannon fodder, and may even be more inclined to take the silent/non-lethal approach. It's hard enough for most games to make you attached to the main character, but NOLF2 manages to do so with your foes.
In another nice twist that helps add to the immersion factor, much of your ammo, weapons, and armor are procured from the dead, cold bodies of your enemies. This means less "presents" hanging around, unlike the first game. You also can't just walk over the dead bodies of enemies Doom-style, and end up with a clip of ammo: you must manually search the enemy's body, and the length of time you spend doing so will often determine how much loot you find. You can increase the speed and thoroughness of this process through upgrades as the game progresses, making it easier to get the equipment you need while avoiding evasion. Gone too, is the need to always use that pesky body remover, as you can now move bodies to dark spaces ala Splinter Cell. It's less convenient, but it gets the job done. There are so many new mechanics, tweaks, and improvements that make the game a blast to play, but to list them all would require a book length review.
Visually, NOLF2 surpasses the original in such a manner that it's hard to believe they're even in the same series. The new version of the LithTech engine is a sight to behold, and on the highest end systems, it can produce graphical effects to die for. The natural scenery is breathtaking, and you'll probably want to take some time out during a safe moment to view the beauty of the feudal Japanese forest setting, or the lovingly rendered grittiness of the numerous outposts you'll break into during the course of the game.
There's not much left to say: No One Lives Forever 2 is a wonderful game, one of the best shooters of the game, and a great PC single player experience in a time where the emphasis seems to be on strong multiplayer. Any self-respecting shooter fan with a high-end rig would do wise to pick the game up immediately.
-George
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