by k. roo » Thu Jan 23, 2003 11:31 pm
Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:Should I buy NOLF2? I bought the first one when it hit the bargain bins and liked it well enough. I didn't finish it, though, and I can't recall why. (Possibly a HD crash.)
The reason I ended up buying both was my feeble attempt at drowning out the Russian Family Feud that was keeping everyone excited over the holidays at home, where I plopped down in front of the screen and consulted Gamespy. Since in my normal life, I have no clue what's hot and what's not, I perused the "holiday buyer's guide" and downloaded every demo on the fucking site. See, about a year ago I had gotten me RTCW, and over the course of several months grown seriously addicted to the team based multiplayer mode. Since this did a good job at distracting me from, well, life, I figured the mindnumbingly shagadelic FPSiness of NOLF2, and later NOLF might allow me to keep the faith in humankind that otherwise would have been sacrificed to arrogantly-repressed Russian ignoramuses.
Yeah, and I'm usually the one that regrets seeing their 12-y/o spend day and night doing nothing but turning into a twitching hunchback in front of the PC (unless "Dad" has just roughed him up, in which case he would get his fix from "Even Stevens" and "Pepper Ann".) Guess that little fucker is way ahead of me after all.
Er, where was I.
Reviews of either NOLF and NOLF2 are a dime a dozen, and most don't have much to say. I've found one reviewof NOLF2, however, over at
fourfatchicks which takes a well-intentioned yet critical angle that I can comfortably identify with.
If you look at NOLF2 as just another FPS, it will probably convince, even considering different folks' different standards. By my standards, the graphical eye candy is well above average. Sound and music are seamlessly integrated in the gameplay and, like a movie score, reflect any tension that the player might experience at any given time pretty well. NOLF did that too, and I liked the effect. The downside of that is rather stiff system requirements - load times of 5 min and more between levels are not unusual - but I wouldn't hold that seriously against it. Interface is standard WASD. Gloomy sequences are nicely balanced against comic relief; the same goes for required sneakiness vs. BFG mode. The AIs are generally more on teh funney side, which never hurts, and require a variety of tactics to beat. As in NOLF, their inane conversations are quite worth eavesdropping on. Some have the nerve to repop in regular intervals which in my experience is unusual for FPS, and actually quite annoying. Then again, what can you say against a game that lets you grab an AK47 and mow down Russians by the boatload.
Otlychno!
All in all not too challenging, but good entertainment.
Now, if you however look for the plot and character development that enamored the masses to NOLF, you won't find it here. The story is not just linear (which I don't have a problem with,) but downright trite. No surprises, no intrigue, no plot twists that make you go 'whoa, neat.' At one point you face off against the "Man Handler" (appliance used to produce "Manhattan Style Man Chowder,") and just when you get ready for the challenge, not knowing what exactly to expect, the thing has a mechanical failure, and you've already beat it without as much as blink of an eye. You'll have to get used to these kinds of letdowns. The PC's chest is the only thing not flat about her. Apparently she doesn't have to struggle any more for acceptance in the intelligence business' old boys club, and therefore whatever she does as a character just comes across as tedious chores. Some of NOLF's characters get their cameo appearance in NOLF2, but they too are mere shadows of their former selves.
While one can definitely tell that NOLF is two years older than NOLF2, and the tech has noticeably matured since then, playing NOLF is an almost cerebral experience (as far as FPS go) compared to NOLF2. I can't say it better than that fourfatchicks guy:
The original No One Lives Forever expanded the narrative capacity of the medium. The sequel ... the sequel is just a game.
So, should you go buy it? After it drops to the price of 2-3 movie tickets, sure.
[quote="Ice Cream Jonsey"]Should I buy NOLF2? I bought the first one when it hit the bargain bins and liked it well enough. I didn't finish it, though, and I can't recall why. (Possibly a HD crash.)[/quote]
The reason I ended up buying both was my feeble attempt at drowning out the Russian Family Feud that was keeping everyone excited over the holidays at home, where I plopped down in front of the screen and consulted Gamespy. Since in my normal life, I have no clue what's hot and what's not, I perused the "holiday buyer's guide" and downloaded every demo on the fucking site. See, about a year ago I had gotten me RTCW, and over the course of several months grown seriously addicted to the team based multiplayer mode. Since this did a good job at distracting me from, well, life, I figured the mindnumbingly shagadelic FPSiness of NOLF2, and later NOLF might allow me to keep the faith in humankind that otherwise would have been sacrificed to arrogantly-repressed Russian ignoramuses.
Yeah, and I'm usually the one that regrets seeing their 12-y/o spend day and night doing nothing but turning into a twitching hunchback in front of the PC (unless "Dad" has just roughed him up, in which case he would get his fix from "Even Stevens" and "Pepper Ann".) Guess that little fucker is way ahead of me after all.
Er, where was I.
Reviews of either NOLF and NOLF2 are a dime a dozen, and most don't have much to say. I've found one reviewof NOLF2, however, over at [url=http://fourfatchicks.com/Reviews/NOLF2/NOLF2.shtml]fourfatchicks[/url] which takes a well-intentioned yet critical angle that I can comfortably identify with.
If you look at NOLF2 as just another FPS, it will probably convince, even considering different folks' different standards. By my standards, the graphical eye candy is well above average. Sound and music are seamlessly integrated in the gameplay and, like a movie score, reflect any tension that the player might experience at any given time pretty well. NOLF did that too, and I liked the effect. The downside of that is rather stiff system requirements - load times of 5 min and more between levels are not unusual - but I wouldn't hold that seriously against it. Interface is standard WASD. Gloomy sequences are nicely balanced against comic relief; the same goes for required sneakiness vs. BFG mode. The AIs are generally more on teh funney side, which never hurts, and require a variety of tactics to beat. As in NOLF, their inane conversations are quite worth eavesdropping on. Some have the nerve to repop in regular intervals which in my experience is unusual for FPS, and actually quite annoying. Then again, what can you say against a game that lets you grab an AK47 and mow down Russians by the boatload. [i]Otlychno![/i]
All in all not too challenging, but good entertainment.
Now, if you however look for the plot and character development that enamored the masses to NOLF, you won't find it here. The story is not just linear (which I don't have a problem with,) but downright trite. No surprises, no intrigue, no plot twists that make you go 'whoa, neat.' At one point you face off against the "Man Handler" (appliance used to produce "Manhattan Style Man Chowder,") and just when you get ready for the challenge, not knowing what exactly to expect, the thing has a mechanical failure, and you've already beat it without as much as blink of an eye. You'll have to get used to these kinds of letdowns. The PC's chest is the only thing not flat about her. Apparently she doesn't have to struggle any more for acceptance in the intelligence business' old boys club, and therefore whatever she does as a character just comes across as tedious chores. Some of NOLF's characters get their cameo appearance in NOLF2, but they too are mere shadows of their former selves.
While one can definitely tell that NOLF is two years older than NOLF2, and the tech has noticeably matured since then, playing NOLF is an almost cerebral experience (as far as FPS go) compared to NOLF2. I can't say it better than that fourfatchicks guy:
[quote]The original No One Lives Forever expanded the narrative capacity of the medium. The sequel ... the sequel is just a game.[/quote]
So, should you go buy it? After it drops to the price of 2-3 movie tickets, sure.