No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way

No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way
Developer(s)	Monolith Productions
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Windows NA Sierra Entertainment EU Sierra Entertainment JP Imagineer Mac OS X NA MacPlay
Engine	Lithtech Jupiter
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
Release date(s)	Microsoft Windows NA September 30, 2002 EU October 18, 2002 JP March 7, 2003 Mac OS X NA October 1, 2003
Genre(s)	First-person shooter, Stealth
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way (abbreviated NOLF2) is a computer game developed by Monolith Productions, and published by Sierra Entertainment. It was released on September 30, 2002. It is the second game in the No One Lives Forever series, an official sequel to the 2000 game The Operative: No One Lives Forever.

The story follows super-spy Cate Archer as she once again takes up arms against the international criminal organization H.A.R.M. This second game features even more exotic locales, such as a ninja village, a secret submarine base, and a trailer park in Ohio during a tornado. A whole new range of outlandish gadgets and weapons are also introduced, including a blowtorch disguised as a can of hair spray and a robotic bomb disguised as an adorable kitten. A spin off to the game, entitled Contract J.A.C.K., was released in 2003.

Gameplay

As in the first game, missions can be completed by pure action, by using pure stealth, by using gadgets, or a combination of all methods. In many cases, the missions are more open ended. While the original game contained several missions that required you not to be detected or to avoid setting off alarms, the sequel contained only a few objectives that required complete stealth (i.e. do not set off any alarms while in the proximity of a certain objective.) However, to counter this, NOLF2 utilizes re-spawning enemies more often than the original to encourage the player to complete the missions in a surreptitious manner. The enemies logic is determined through the use of a Goal Oriented Action Planning (GOAP) architecture, by where the enemies themselves have more control over the actions they perform.

Plot

A year after the first No One Lives Forever, tensions are rising between United States and Soviet Union over the tiny, but strategic Isle of Khios. Jones, now the sole Commander of U.N.I.T.Y. (after Smithy was discovered to be a H.A.R.M. spy in the first No One Lives Forever), is taking a vacation and leaves Temporary Director Lawrie in charge.

Cate is sent on a mission in Japan to investigate a rumored international crime convention expected to take place in the pastoral village of Inotakimura. Her first task will be to locate agent Isamu Hatori, who will provide further information on her assignment and it is revealed that her task is to photograph the Director (who now operates H.A.R.M.). After completing her mission, she is stabbed by the ninja woman Isako, and left for dead.

Fortunately, she returns to England and is restored back to health by Dr. Otto Schenker, now working as the staff physician for U.N.I.T.Y. Upon recovery, the U.S. military advisers inform her and Lawrie of the Soviets' plan for the small island of Khios. It is also revealed that Volkov (one of the first game's antagonists) is still alive, though immobilized in a full-body cast and using a wheelchair.

Cate is then sent in to Siberia to uncover information and to sabotage a radio tower and a power plant. After discovering that the Soviets and H.A.R.M. plan to turn the island into the world's first Communist vacation spot with a five-star hotel, she then travels to Akron, Ohio, where Melvin Blitzny (a vacuum salesman who in the first game was groomed by H.A.R.M. to impersonate and replace U.N.I.T.Y agent Tom Goodman) lived in order to recover information about Project: Omega. After doing so, A tornado hits the area and Cate has to escape and evade the ninjas. She then encounters Isako, for a final swordfight that takes place in a trailer home spiraling in the middle of the tornado.

Cate then goes to India with Magnus Armstrong, where she is tasked with applying for and being offered a job with H.A.R.M. so that she can get access to their vaults. Soon after her success, they are both captured by one of H.A.R.M.'s most deadly operatives, Pierre, the self-proclaimed Mime King. Cate and Armstrong escape, and fight their way out of the city. During their escape, Armstrong tries to grab the Mime King but only succeeds in removing his heavy black cloak and mask, revealing the antagonist's true form as a mime midget riding a unicycle. Cate And Armstrong try to chase him riding a tricycle, piloted by Magnus Armstrong, but the Mime King gets away.

Cate is then sent to Antarctica to explore a base there and try to determine just what H.A.R.M. is up to. It is here that she learns the true intent of Project: Omega - turning soldiers into Super-Soldiers, indestructible cyborg-like fighting machines. Cate encounters with the first test subject, Lt. Anders, an ex-military officer who believes Cate is his daughter, Abigail. The Super-Soldier chases Cate and destroys large parts of the base, but Cate manages to escape after Armstrong heroically grabbed it, giving her time to escape before H.A.R.M. reinforcements arrive.

In the meantime, the Director ordered the destruction of H.A.R.M.'s Indian headquarters as punishment for Cate's success in India, also providing H.A.R.M with an ideal field test for the Super-Soldiers before they are sent to Khios, on their primary mission. Cate immediately returns to Calcutta to try and warn everyone, but she is too late. The Super Soldiers are already attacking and all Cate can do is try to get everyone to safety.

Cate then returns to UNITY in order to give Doctor Schenker the technical specifications she recovered from the Antarctic facility, so he devises a means of combating the Super-Soldiers, but it is soon attacked by the Mime King. Cate defends against their attack and then proceeds to rescue Armstrong, who is reportedly still alive and held at a H.A.R.M undersea base. Cate makes her ways to the lower level to rescue Armstrong who is being held in a Super-Solder pod. Cate encounters the Mime King and defeats him, but as she frees Armstrong, the Super-Soldier Lt. Anders destroys parts of the undersea base, causing it to implode. Cate and Armstrong escape the drowning base, but as they reached the Director's private deck they discover that the escape pod is jammed and only Armstrong is powerful enough to release it. Armstrong remains in the drowning undersea base, as the escape pod is captured by a H.A.R.M. submarine on its way back up to the surface.

Upon awakening, Cate discovers that she is in H.A.R.M.'s secret artificial volcano lair. Cate recovers additional plans for Project: Omega and sabotages the lair and faces Volkov, fully in a cast and in a wheelchair, on her escape. Cate defeats Volkov, who falls into a lava pit. When Cate reaches the surface, she discovers that the lair is built directly beneath the ninja village of Inotakimura, where her mission began. There, Cate faces Isako and her ninjas. After Cate defeats Isako, the Director shows up and tries to kill Isako but Cate saves her.

Cate is then urgently sent back on a plane to Khios, on a mission to stop Project: Omega once and for all. Unfortunately for her, the island is being overrun by H.A.R.M. and Soviet troops with Super Soldiers. The U.S launches a nuclear missile to destroy the Soviet held Khios, starting a Third World War. Cate uses the specially devised Anti Super-Soldier Serum (ASSS) to defeat the Super Soldiers, drowns the H.A.R.M. submarine and successfully repels the invasion. Project: Omega is put to a stop once and for all when the first test case, Lt. Anders, who escaped the submarine, destroyed the missile before it lands and destroys the island. In a short cutscene after the game credits, the Director's mother rebukes his actions and Volkov tells the Director he quits.

It is unknown whether the franchise will be continued, presumably due to uncertainly with franchise rights.^[1] Several plot threads were left unresolved in NOLF2.

Characters

• Cate Archer: A British covert operative recognized as UNITY's top agent, formerly a cat-burglar, sent on a mission to prevent a world-wide catastrophe to be caused by the notorious terrorist organization called HARM. She is modeled after Jean Shrimpton and was voiced by Jen Taylor.
• Bruno Lawrie: Former UNITY field agent, now temporary director of the agency as the sole primary director, Mr. Jones, was gone on a vacation. Lawrie always represents himself as unsure on whether he could lead the agency on his own, but ends up being successful at it. He is voiced by John Patrick Lowrie.
• Dmitrij Volkov: HARM's most famous assassin, a bald Russian with an eye-patch, with his body completely covered in bandage resulted by a ski-problem caused by his former employee John Jack. Volkov, however, is determined to send as many men as he can to witness the death of Cate Archer as he orders her head to be brought on a platter. He is voiced by Jock Blaney.
• The Director: Addressed as Eustace by his mother, often seen talking to her through a telephone, to which he is never pleased. He is the leader of HARM, in charge of the operations overall, who also appears to have promoted himself to 'Sensei' over the years, with little of what is seen of him bearing the skills of a master. Often amused by the surroundings around him, and rarely gets angry with something that bothers him. He is voiced by John Armstrong.
• Isako: A female assassin with the moral codes of a ninja, is often sent to kill Cate Archer but fails miserably due to the latter's strong competence. She appears to have a long story short past with The Director whom she addresses as her Sensei. She also leads a group of female ninjas like herself, on HARM's account. She is voiced by Jen Taylor (who also voices Cate Archer).
• Magnus Armstrong: A Scottish brawler, muscleman, retired military man, and formerly a HARM operative, often seen wearing a kilt to show his devotion to his heritage and speaks heavily in Scottish accent. Recruited by Cate Archer to UNITY in order to help her stop HARM's notorious plans to start a World War III. He is voiced by André Sogliuzzo.
• Gen. Morgan Hawkins: A US Military General and a patriotic American, accompanied with a colleague to settle in England for a short while as he witnesses involvement with UNITY's operations which matters to the US Government, as well. He is also seen to be obsessed with smoking a large cigar, and doesn't really mind to see his country fall out with the Soviet Union. He is voiced by Ken Boynton.
• Isaac Barnes: An American Intelligence officer, who accompanies with General Hawkins to come into UNITY and report their latest discovery with HARM's plans to start a World War III, requesting the former's help. He is voiced by David Scully.
• Dr. Otto Schenker: A high-ranking scientist, once worked for the Soviet Union in Berlin, defected to England with the aid of Cate Archer, and was eventually employed by UNITY. He submits a major and tiresome research about the Super-soldiers HARM created for their, with the blueprints provided to him by Cate herself. Subsequently he succeeds in developing a serum that could disable the super-soldiers. He is voiced by Jeff Steitzer.
• Santa: The head of advanced field tactics within UNITY, is never seen in person, nor referred to by his real name, although contacts Cate through a robotic bird, and supplies her with all the information she needs, along with the development of her gadgets and their usage in the field. He is voiced by Ken Boynton.
• Pierre: Refers to himself as The Mime King, employed by HARM to terminate Cate Archer at all costs. Like Isako, he leads his own group of mimes who are very muscly and dangerous in spite of being light-hearted humorists. He is, once again, voiced by Ken Boynton.
• Mr. Jones: The primary director of UNITY, who puts Bruno Lawrie in charge of the agency, and departs onto a vacation throughout the game, but returns in the end. He is voiced by Nigel Neale.

Release

The source code for the game engine was released by Monolith Productions and Sierra Entertainment as part of the No One Lives Forever 2 Toolkit for "allowing you to create your own levels, models, music, sounds, and more, for MonoLith's FPS."^[2] It is available for download.^[3] Visual C++ 6.0 is needed for compilation.

Reception

No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way received critical acclaim upon its release with an aggregate score of 90.67% on GameRankings^[4] and 91/100 on Metacritic.^[5] It also won several awards, including Game of the Year from Gamespy.^[6] The game also received a nomination for the prestigious Excellence in Writing Game Developers Choice Award, but lost to Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell.^[7]

See also

• The Operative: No One Lives Forever
• Contract J.A.C.K.

References

External links

• Official website (archived version)
• No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way at the Internet Movie Database