NOLF games are outstanding for no matter how serious a player you are you will have a good time following the game’s humorous sixties' spy-style storyline, and for its characters which are at least as distinctive and funny as those of the Austin Powers movies. The humour is driven by the intelligence notes you have to pick up in every mission to earn skill points. The notes usually develop a little story of their own and call for some twists in the plot which will have you not only smirking but laughing out loud. That you always have fun is insured by difficulty settings that can be adjusted at any time; it enables you to hone out any balancing issues (every game has some) or make the places that seem repetitive or uninteresting pass quicker. The second thing that makes for varied gameplay is the ability to often choose to complete your objectives by stealth instead of killing (although the latter is usually easier and takes less time). Thirdly, in addition to the rather international locations (Japan, Russia, Ohio, India, Antarctica, a Turkish island), funny dialogue you overhear and even funnier enemy intelligence you constantly find, in relation to other FPSs NOLF2 has a number of inventive features : tracking device that enables to attach tracking darts to enemies, four different types of grenades, hiding feature where staying in certain corners for a little you will become almost undetectable, bodies falling down the hill somersaulting, and a wonderfully working character development system. The skill points earned for gathered intelligence let you become better (faster) at many relevant activities: searching bodies, using gadgets, aiming, firepower, shield, health etc. The only negative things to say about NOLF2 are rather long loading times (bother when having difficult shootouts) and about three times in 15 levels having to look for a silly little intelligence note (such as a barely noticable piece of paper on the floor) despite having cleaned out the whole level (this is what made immersion 3 stars). Overall, a superb game though. 19/20 - Based on : 25 HOURS 4/4 PRODUCTION VALUES - Fantastic characters, good voice-acting. 4/4 ACCESSIBILITY - Basic FPS mechanics, gadgets take some getting used to. 3/4 PACING - Not much repetition in NOLF2. If for anything, a point is deserved to be deducted for the fruitless hour spent looking for those stupid notes in cleaned-out levels for three times. 4/4 INNOVATION - How to pull together a game with humor, characters, and a plot. + gadgets and smaller gameplay things. 4/4 IMMERSION - Total.
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