Is anyone playing this great game yet? Overall: I got it the other day, and I'm very impressed with it. This is coming from someone who doesn't really like FPS games, so that's saying something. NOLF2 has a certain completeness to it that I enjoy in a game no matter the genre. Everything from the music to the visual style to the menus, everything immerses you into the swinging 60's spy scene. Polished would be a good word to describe this game; I have yet to hit on a little niggling point where I'd say "This game would be perfect except for this one little thing..." Great sense of humor, colorful graphics with excellent textures, and overall great fit and finish, this game might be the one that finally turns me on to FPS. Gameplay: It's great so far. It's an FPS and it plays like one. The AI, however, puts it a notch above. It nice to see computer controlled enemies acting realistically rather than standing around while they're comrades drop like flies around them or run around bumping into walls. These AI controlled enemies will be surprised if they see a body you left out in the open. They'll say things like "Hey, are you alright?" and take a closer look. As they notice the blood, they'll yell "What happened here?!", stand upright and start scanning around, just like I imagine I would if I found someone who was just shot. They'll turn in all directions yelling "Where are you? Come out here and face me, I know you're there!" or "I can see you! You can't hide!" When the computer does find you, they act pretty intelligently. Waves and waves of brain-dead enemies don't rush out toward you from some spawn point in the middle of the street. They'll try to flank you. They'll yell at you and distract you while a few of them break off and try to come at you from side streets. The missions and storyline are also good. It's not thought provoking fare which would cause you to re-examine life while sitting on the toilet. It is enough to keep one motivated, though, and is entertaining and funny. I'll have more to add here once I've gone farther into the game. Graphics: Excellent. I'd put them just under Mafia in texture quality. The only quibble is the outside foliage. This game has that "flat piece of paper with leaves and branches painted on" that alot of games seem to have. No matter, it's a minor thing and only really noticeable when you're running through trees. Everything else looks beautiful @ 1280x960 with all the candy turned on. Sound: Eh, it works. I'm not a huge sound guy, anyway. The sound is directional which helps when you're sneaking around. It's easy to tell where people are. The voices are very well done (at least so far) and the conversations between NPCs that you overhear when creeping up on them provide for some of the funniest moments in the game.
Seems like yet another game I'll have to ask my fps-maniac friend about. Milo if you'll be looking for another good fps afterwards get Jedi Knight 2. Beginning is awfully dull but once you get the lightsaber and jedi powers it's all the fun you can get. Plus there's a code for cutting off body parts :evil:
NOLF2 does seem to be pretty popular...almost as popular as UT2003. I may or may not pick it up, but I'm doubtful about it. If my friend gets it, I'll try get it off him, and if I enjoy it sufficiently, my bank account shall be drained just that little bit more.
I've played Jedi Knight 2, Dragoon, and I can honestly say that I like NOLF2 better in every way. JK2 was fun, don't get me wrong, but it got annoying after a while. The first couple of levels before the you get the saber were horrible. And even after that, they just didn't suit me. I spent more time wandering around wondering where the next insanely hard jumping puzzle was than any game I can remember. The saber combat along with the force powers were fun, though, and it's one of the reason's that I stuck it out until the end. Oh, and Sheriff, it doesn't have an online manual. It does have a very good pseudo-tutorial mission in the beginning and you can always pause the game and look at the controls menu if you happen to have lost your paper manual.
I remember a mission in the original NOLF where the plane you were in exploded and you had to jump out without a parachute. A few hundred meters below you was this baddie with a parachute. The objective of the mission was to try and catch up with the guy below while shooting at a group of paratroopers jumping out of another plane. When Cate catches up she says something like "Excuse me, can I borrow your parachute?" Man, that was cool. Only thing is my accuracy was rated 10% for that mission (Hey, try shooting at parachutists while in freefall, it ain't easy).
I LOVE those types of missions - outside of the regular fare being offered (or spewed, if you will) up on a constant basis these days. Those are the types of missions I play games for. An FPS should make you feel like you are in action movie or something, a real part of what's happening, not just shooting people for the hell of it.
