Hilarious and thrilling from beginning to end, No One Lives Forever 2 is the definition of a truly amazing game.
NOLF 2 continues the story arc introduced in the first game, where the evil H.A.R.M. organization was hellbent on wreaking havoc across the world. In the first outing, Cate Archer, the games' protagonist, managed to temporarily stop H.A.R.M., but they weren't completely defeated. Now they're back with more evil plans; this time the plans involve something called Project Omega, which without spoiling much, involves the development of a strong force that could give H.A.R.M. the edge they need to achieve their plans. Of course, Cate and her fellow spy organization UNITY won't sit idly by, so it's up to Cate to find out more information on Project Omega, the consequences that could unfold if H.A.R.M. are successful, and the means to stop their plans. In doing so, Cate will travel to all sorts of exotic locations, some truly exotic as far as game settings are concerned. First there's a trip to Japan (which serves as the games' tutorial sequence), then there's a long and memorable outing in Siberia, then you'll get the opportunity to visit Akron, Ohio (!) and find some curious facts about a certain character in the first game, later you'll venture into places like India and Antarctica, and eventually you'll infiltrate into H.A.R.M.'s headquarters. The story in NOLF 2 is just as good as the one in the first game, it's gripping, funny, full of intrigues, and succeeds at being the driving element of the game.
Sprinkled across all the levels is the game's trademark sense of humor, which is what really gives the NOLF series it's unique feel. Be it a funny conversation between two guards (conversations that can honestly make you feel bad about killing the poor saps...), a cheeky cutscene, hilarious letters in the form of intelligence items (which sometimes poke fun at the game itself), or just something plain bizarre (be prepared for when the true identity of the french assassin is revealed, you may end up wetting your pants). NOLF 2 is a game that doesn't bother taking itself too seriously, so the good nature of the game is present everywhere. Even firefights manage to be funny due to the outrageous comments made by your enemies as well as their comical death animations.
The core gameplay of NOLF 2 remains very similar compared to the one from the first game, which means you'll carefully infiltrate locations trying to remain undetected, making smart use of your available arsenal and inventory. You'll certainly favor silenced weapons since alarming a group of enemies can result in a hairy situation (at least on the higher difficulty levels). You will also scourge places for important intelligence items (which serve for both humor and storytelling). This time around however, the intelligence items become a much more important part of the gameplay since you're awarded skill points for every piece of intel that you collect. Skill points can be used to customize certain traits of Cate, such as stamina, stealth, armor, gadget use, etc. While earning skill points to increase Cates' abilities isn't mandatory, it's certainly rewarding and gives you a nice incentive to try to find every available piece of intelligence on the levels. Another great new addition is that you can now search enemy bodies for both ammo and intel items. This means that you will hardly ever run out of ammo. You also have the ability to carry bodies to take them out of enemy sight, which greatly helps you in keeping a low profile. There's also a cover element where you will remain invisible provided you remain behind proper cover and don't move. And thankfully, enemy alarms no longer alert every single guard in the level, only those in nearby areas. All this additions make a stealthy approach much more satisfying and less frustrating.
One thing that has changed quite a bit is the matter in which the story is presented. Essentially, cutscenes have become much shorter and gone are the interactive sections where you could alter some of the dialog. While the lack of interactive dialog isn't a terrible loss (though I wished it would've stayed), the shorter cutscenes rob us of the great interaction between Cate and the rest of the characters. There are times in the early sections where it's easy to forget you're playing as Cate Archer. In the latter levels cutscenes become more frequent, but they're still very short. I understand that one of the main criticisms of the first game were the somewhat interminable cutscenes, but I for one loved them since the acting was terrific. But what little there is, is certainly memorable and top notch. Once again the voice acting is phenomenal, and the facial expressions from the characters makes them truly come to life.
Aside from the shorter cutscenes, the only other criticism I can think of for NOLF 2 is that on many levels, the game relies on infinitely respawning enemies to keep things challenging. I've always said that this one cliche games need to eradicate as soon as possible because it seriously hurts the immersion. There are also a few areas that can be a bit frustrating, but they're very rare and certainly not impossible to overcome.
Honestly though, whatever criticisms one could come up with for this game are tossed out the window for the simple fact that every other aspect of the game is totally superb. NOLF 2 is a game that successfully blends a great story with genuine humor and exciting gameplay, as well as many, many memorable moments. In short, this is the kind of game that you just love to play and can't get enough of it. Just like the original, No One Lives Forever 2 is the definition of a truly amazing game. Now, can someone please tell Monolith that we are dying for a third outing?