No One Lives Forever 2

Preview - More James Bond-mocking fun from Monolith.

A little more news from Vivendi’s pseudo-ECTS event. This time on Monolith’s upcoming first-person sequel, No Ones Lives Forever 2, the long-awaited return of Kate Archer and this James Bond spoofing action game which doesn’t take itself too seriously.

I was fortunate enough to get to play the game, and I can report it’s come on leaps and bounds from the original which received mixed reviews. Indeed, the Jupiter engine developed by Monolith is looking quite superb delivering a degree of creative freedom, which, I was informed, allowed the developers to do pretty much what they wanted with the game.

The first thing I noticed (being the shallow and aesthetically pre-occupied soul I am), was the detail of the environments. I first watched my commentator play as Kate Archer through a number of Siberian environments, all of which were beautifully designed and rich, complete with falling snow and wind which added to the atmosphere greatly. I watched Kate complete one her numerous Siberian missions, as she detonated a number of targets, including a huge, crumbling bridge, after planting bombs upon them. This kind of mission is typical of what you’ll find in the game, apparently, and its pleasing to note that a little more variety is available than the standard opening-doors, collecting stuff, arrangement.

The artificial intelligence was another high-point, as I watched a Soviet Guard flip a table and use it for cover when Kate disturbed him – this may not be impressive individually but bare in mind that this Guard won’t always react in this way, he may instead dive though the door or run for cover behind a filing cabinet. The enemy behaviour is designed to be unpredictable. Some will fight, other will run for help, and some can be crept passed without the need for action. It all adds to the realism of this impressive title.

On another level, my commentator was proud to show me the team’s favourite locale, the Japanese-inspired locations, which had beautifully realised gardens and temples, and pit Kate Archer against sword-wielding Ninja’s who leap and run with terrifying speed. These were some of the toughest single-player levels, and I soon found myself dead. Rather embarrassingly.