Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Groovy!
I ordered this game after completing NOLF2, so I'm kinda going backwards here. I enjoyed the sequal so much, I just had to get the first one as well. I was impressed by the low price, but I had no idea what I would get for it. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box: not only was there a Prima Official Strategy Guide inside, but a NOLF soundtrack CD as well! How is that for a deal?! Of course, then I installed the game, and the game is great as well. I just love Cate Archer; I'm so sick of James Bond that a female spy is more than welcome. The levels are very interesting (a lot of it in the beginning is training), so far my favorite (which is actually quite difficult) is the level where Cate jumps out of a plane without a parachute and must eliminate the shooting enemies falling with her, all the while trying to reach the man below her who DOES have a parachute, then take it. I'd say this level is equivelent with the Ohio level in the sequel. The graphics are great, and the game is very colorful - after all, it does take place in the groovy 60s. If you haven't played this game yet, and are a FPS fan, you've got to get this game. Even when you aren't spying or killing, you are still entertained by the conversations of the surrounding people. So if you want a great deal on a great game, get this one now. You will not be disappointed.
Rating: - One of the most fun games ever made
Usually with first person shooters there comes a point of exasperation where the levels go from challenging to ludicrous, and I struggle forth to finish it just because I've been playing so long. After I finally beat it I put the game away and don't look at it for a long, long, time.NOLF is perhaps the first time I found a game so enjoyable I turned right around and played it again. Whomever made this spent a lot of effort researching the sixties and trying to capture the look and feel of the time. In addition, they put in a serious amount of humor and variety. Unlike standard first person shooters where a good idea is done to death we get constant change; you battle sharks, jump out of an airplane, go to a space station, ride a motorcycle, a snowmobile, and even do an undercover interview. The main character of Cate Archer is three quarters Diana Rigg and one quarter Jacqueline Bisset, and is as tough as she is sexy, and interacts with a host of characters who seem like they came out of an Austin Powers movie. (A certain Scottish character is almost identical) One of the funnest parts of the game is sneaking up on the guards to listen in on their various conversations. That was unexpected. Overall one of the best games I ever played, it's a shame the sequel was so disappointing.
Rating: - Excellent 3D first person shooter with a 60s theme!
I only found out about this game last month. I had no idea it was released last year. Apparently I don't keep up on my games as much as I used to.Anyway, that being said, I found hardly anything with this game that I didn't like. It flat out rocks. To get the requirements out of the way, the box says a Pentium II 450 or above is fine. Perhaps it is. I have a Pentium III 800 with 256 RAM and a 3dfx voodoo3 with 16 megs. I play the game with average performance and normal detail and its just fine. I don't run a bunch of other utilities in the background, I just let the game take over. Load times are usually about 10 seconds (or so) between levels. Not too bad. I don't get any chop, and the frame rate is just fine. Now I exceed all the requirements by far, but everybody I know has at least a Pentium II and a good video card. The Lithtech 2.5 engine is very impressive. The most impressive game I have played to date was Unreal. Even though that game was released 3 years ago, to this day, I am still VERY impressed by the killer graphics engine. Lithtech is VERY close. In my opinion, the Unreal graphics are a perfect 10. Lithtech is a 9. The sky isn't quite a good, and some of the textures for people in the game could use a little improvements, but in the big picture, they did an excellent job. Buildings, cars, water, textiles, clothing, blood, plants, streets, and so much more are just AMAZING. The artificial intelligence is unbelieveable. To give you an idea, on the first mission I was running through some buildings in Morocco at night (I think that's where I was). I ran through a short tunnel, came out, and someone was firing at me. It took me a few minutes to find the person. WAY in the back, on a balcony was an enemy that I could only see with my sniper rifle zoomed in on him. When I stepped back, he quit firing. It gets better. Enemies hear your foot steps, gun fire, and if you kill an enemy and another soldier sees him but not you, he will still come looking for you! I have even hidden in the darkness and been seen by enemies. This game to me looks like a combination of Austin Powers (it has a sense of humor) and James Bond. Very 60's based. The music is 60's and the overall theme fits well with it. I have not yet passed Germany, Caribbean, or The Alps, so I can't comment on game play there. From Morocco and what I have seen in Germany, it is VERY impressive and well thought out. A word of caution: this game takes practice! From defending the ambassador to sneaking around the German military, you need to save often and keep practicing. It's not just run through and shoot everything. Well, you CAN, but that defeats the purpose. In my opinion, the overall textures, layout, maps, graphics, and artificial intelligence are almost as prefect as Unreal. They could use a little spicing up, but not much! If you like first person shooters, GET THIS! I bought the Game of the Year edition which is 2 CD's for the game including bonus levels, 1 CD of 60's music, and the hint book/walkthrough. Well worth the price. The last game I bought that I loved this much was Unreal, and I bought that a few years ago. Monolith did a tremendous job with this game. The cut scenes are pretty cool too. Finally, even if you have an older Pentium II and you don't quite meet the requirements, I would definitely pick this up anyway. The game does take time to get used to, but once you learn about being a spy and using stealth, you will love it. A game like this has been LONG overdue. Excellent job to the programmers and designers at Monolith! Pros - Excellent graphics, good layout, great indoor and outdoor details, smooth rendering engine, good sound, good weapons, great artificial intelligence Cons - Some levels are rather difficult and the learning curve can be a little long
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