No One Lives Forever, commonly abbreviated NOLF, is the name of a computer game and video game series by Monolith Productions. The game's title should not be confused with the similarly titled James Bond novel, Nobody Lives For Ever (sic).

The Games

As of 2005, there are two games in the series, and one expansion pack interquel.

No One Lives Forever

The Operative: No One Lives Forever was published in 2000, and starred a female protagonist - a rarity in games until that time - superspy Cate Archer. The game is a mixture of a first-person shooter and a first-person sneaker: most (but not all) missions can be solved in multiple ways: using sneaking to avoid danger, using gadgets, or by going in Rambo-style with guns blazing.

The basic plot of the game is that a secret organisation, Unity, watches over world peace, and as a member of that organization Agent Archer has to thwart the scheming minions of H.A.R.M..

The game is set in the 1960s, and includes a lot of humor: it has been described as a mixture of Austin Powers and James Bond with the lead character strongly resembling Emma Peel from The Avengers . The player was able to scuba dive near a shipwreck, freefall from an airplane, and explore a space station in zero gravity, all the while fighting armed villians.

A major feature of the game are its array of gadgets, including a body removing spray, lock picks, and an electronic poodle to distract guard dogs. Additionally, the missions are littered with "intelligence items": textual notes which often provide humourous side-notes to the game. Points awarded from intelligence items could be allocated for improving player's RPG-like skill levels in various competencies.

It is also notable for its use of sound: not only are enemies aware of noise made by the player, but the game features music in the style of the 60s.

The game has won several Game of the Year awards, for example by Computer Games Magazine, Computer Gaming World, PC Gamer, and Gamespy.

No One Lives Forever later appeared in a Game of the Year (GOTY) version, with one additional singleplayer mission which was not made available to those who bought the original.

In 2002, NOLF was ported to the PlayStation 2 video game console, complete with extra missions not available for the PC version. This port also included the extra GOTY mission. One of the other extra missions was a prequel to NOLF, with Cate Archer as a thief in the days before her recruitment by Unity. The port suffered from dated graphics and a confusing control system, and was not so successful.

A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way

No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way, a sequel in which Cate Archer once again takes up arms against H.A.R.M., was released in 2002. This second game featured even more exotic locales, such as a ninja-infested Japanese village, a secret submarine base, and a trailer park in Ohio. A whole new range of outlandish gadgets and weapons was also introduced, including a blowtorch disguised as a can of hairspray and a robotic bomb disguised as an adorable kitten.

No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way ran on a then-new game engine, Lithtech version 2.0, "Jupiter." The new engine introduced a number of enhancements over NOLF's Lithtech 1.0 engine, including higher quality graphics, facial animation, pixel-shaded water, and a rudimentary implementation of rag-doll physics.

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.

NOLF2 also won several Game of the Year awards, for example from Gamespy [1]. It also won a prestigious Excellence in Writing Game Developers Choice Award [2].

No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way was also released on the Macintosh.

Contract J.A.C.K.

In 2003, a prequel to NOLF2, but set after the events in NOLF1, appeared. This game was called Contract J.A.C.K. (Just Another Contract Killer), and instead of featuring Cate Archer, the gamer took the role of Jack, a contract killer in service of H.A.R.M.. The game was much shorter than NOLF1 and 2, and lacked the gadgets and intelligence items that were so present in the NOLF games. Additionally, it lacked the 1960s look-and-feel in places (such as featuring a Desert Eagle handgun, which did not exist in the 60s), and completely lacked the stealth of NOLF 1 and 2.

Contract J.A.C.K. has been described as a standalone expansion pack, rather than a full game; however, it does not require ownership of either of the NOLF titles.

Additional Facts

Cate Archer was modeled after real-life model Mitzi Martin (IMDB).

NOLF 1 was powered by Monolith's homegrown Lithtech graphics engine. NOLF 2 and Contract J.A.C.K. were powered by its succesor, the Lithtech Jupiter engine.

External links

• NOLF1 official site
• NOLF2 and JACK official site
• Nolf Girl: The Ultimate NOLF site — official fan site for all three games
• http://www.Clan-World.co.uk : A gathering place for the online community of all three games.