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The Operative: No One Lives ForeverPreviewed By: Kirk Hiner Preview Date: July 29, 2002
It's on rare occasion that I walk with envy through the PC section of a computer game store. People cry all the time about how the Mac never gets the best games, or that we get them late, but I couldn't care less. We do get most of the best games, and I couldn't care less if we get them a few months or even a few years after their PC release. I mean, great movies are great movies whether they're seen opening weekend or purchased from the used video aisle at the local Hollywood. Great books are great books whether they picked up from New York Times Bestseller section of Barnes & Noble or from the classics aisle at the library.
Regardless, were not too far away from the Macintosh release of No One Lives Forever (or NOLF, from this point on). In this game, you play Kate Archer, an operative for the secret organization UNITY. UNITY, it would seem, has been created for the sole purpose of ridding the world of H.A.R.M. I have to wonder, at this point, why evil organizations always seem to have names conducive to evil acronyms, and why the opposite applies to the good guys. Just once, I'd like to see a secret, evil society pick a happier sounding name like F.L.O.W.E.R., L.O.V.E., or B.O.O.B. In real life, after all, evil societies don't pick evil names. Take the Masons, Harvard Business School Alumni Association, and Delta Zetas, for example. Anyway, Kate is pretty much a new recruit, kept down because of her sex and of her inexperience. However, because many operatives are being systematically eliminated, she quickly gets her chance to prove herself. Woven into the action are intelligence bits and cut scenes that reveal not only who Kate's up against, but also her mysterious past. Quite a bit of this is predictable, but it doesn't matter here. It only adds to the fun.
Kate is pretty cool, I should point out up front. This game has drawn many comparisons to Austin Powers, but I didn't find that to be the case (beyond the 60s chic and the comedy, of course). In actuality, Kate owes much more to Emma Peel from The Avengers. And why not? Aside from perhaps Elizabeth Hurley, Diana Rigg (who played Emma), was much sexier than any of the women to appear in the Austin Powers movies. Kate's missions are quite diverse, and can be handled in a variety of ways. Quite a few require stealth, but I found that using stealth tactics in stealth missions wasn't always the best way to go. Knowing when (and where) to hide and when (and where) to fight is key to finishing NOLF, so many restarts will be required. To facilitate this, the game has Quick Save and Quick Load features that allow you save and load your game without actually leaving the action; two function keys will take care of everything. NOLF contains fifteen single player missions comprising sixty levels, plus--since we're getting the "Game of the Year" edition, an additional mission with four more levels. These missions will take you across the globe to some of the most stereotypically exotic locales in which megalomaniacal villains would base their operations. Morocco, the French Alps, Russian space stations...you get the picture. And, of course, what spy game/movie would be complete with snowmobiles, motorcycles and such? You can't have a sexy spy without giving her something sexy to ride. Ahem.
Most of the fun in NOLF comes from the design. Monolith remains faithful to the tone throughout, giving this FPS--in which many, many people are killed--a bright, lighthearted feel. The ESRB wasn't fooled, though. The game still gets a mature rating for mild language, animated violence and comic mischief. Man, if the ESRB were in charge, ET and Alf would've been for adults only. Anyway, NOLF's design is what separates the game from the myriad others in the FPS genre. Even better, the design is carried through well beyond the game itself, perhaps the best example of which is the "In the Lounge" audio CD that ships with the game. This CD features ten original tracks of lounge music to put you in that 60s groove, and six dance remixes to yank you right back out of it again. I have yet to figure out if all of the ten original tracks are featured in the game, but hey, it's not like movie soundtracks actually contain music from the movies these days. You do get what appears to be the No One Lives Forever theme, which features some of the dumbest lyrics ever set to music. "She draws her gun like a bow and arrow." Okay, does she also throw a baseball like she throws a softball? "You're caught in the cross fire of love, and believe me, the girl can aim." If she's such a good shot, why is there so much cross fire? Of course, no one really cares about this. Not even me, actually. Track two on the CD is so cool that I never get past it, anyway.
NOLF also contains multiplayer capabilities, but I'll wait and test those out once the game has been released and there are some Mac gamers out there with whom I can play. The Game of the Year edition also includes a map editor for those interested in that sort of thing (and I hope many are, so you can make me more maps) and a bonus strategy guide from Prima. This wasn't included with my preview copy, so I'm not sure if it'll be an actual printed book or simply a PDF on the CD. Regardless, The Operative: No One Lives Forever, offers a fresh take on the stagnating first-person shooter (or third-person if you prefer) genre. It's light, bright, and colorful, yet still quite intense...like Bugdom crossed with Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Kate is confident without being bitchy (something Lara Croft never really pulled off), the missions are diverse, the villains are diabolical, and the weapons are unique. Some have claimed it's also funny, but...well, I'll save that for the full review. Instead, I'll close by pointing out that this is the first game my wife told me to hurry and finish so she could play it. I'll make her wait a bit, though. I mean, I had to wait two years for this game, she can wait two weeks.
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Cool Mac Gear• iPod 1G-2G • iPod 3G • iPod 4G • iPod Mini • PowerBook-iBook • Keyboard Skins • Garageband
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And hey, if a game's never released for the Mac, big deal. It's not like there's nothing else to play. Yet there was always one game that had me pining for a Mac release. Obviously, the game was The Operative: No One Lives Forever. I mean, it would be pretty dumb of speak of another game in this preview, right? The thing is, I can't really explain why I wanted it to come to the Mac. I'm not huge into first-person shooters, I'm not huge into spy movies, and I'm not huge into "sexy" computer game heroines. I am, however, huge into stylized games and, I guess, the color orange, so perhaps that's it.
Of course, sexy spies also have to have sexy weapons. With most computer games, I'm both stymied and saddened by the attention spent to the weapons. Game boxes boast of the variety of ways you can kill people, and gamers go crazy when games don't offer anything new. My brother-in-law even belongs to an Unreal Tournament multiplayer group that forbids the use of all but one type of gun. Ridiculous. In NOLF, however, the weapons are a good portion of the personality. Aside from the typical guns, Kate can also use lipstick bombs, acid perfume, and even a "robotic pheromone poodle." Now, why aren't these available in UT? You're assigned only certain weapons for each mission. You can change these if you so desire, but you're limited in the amount of weapons you can take.