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There’s one thing that I’ve learned from watching movies, reading novels or playing games: You can’t keep a good spy down. No matter the farfetched plot, the impossible odds or diminished time, they always manage to find some way to foil the bad guys and save the world. Take Cate Archer, for example. Granted, she may not have been a hero as often as James Bond, and she may not be as flamboyant as her (pseudo) contemporary Austin Powers, but she managed to get the job done rather well in her first adventure, No One Lives Forever. Full of humor, action and involving plot points, NOLF managed to capture Game of the Year honors. However, Monolith has not rested on its laurels, spending the past two years working on and polishing Cate’s latest adventures. Fortunately, my fellow Archer fans, NOLF 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.’s Way has gone gold, and should be on shelves within the next week or so. If anything, consider this preview to be more of an appetizer for your soon to be fulfilled spy Jones.
 
In the original game, players shepherded Cate, a fledgling agent for the top secret organization U.N.I.T.Y. through her first taste of action against H.A.R.M., an group dedicated to the promotion of evil and chaos throughout the world. Initially dispatched to discover the assassin of fellow agents, Cate’s search for answers leads her through a web of hidden intelligence items, faked deaths and snappy one-liners. During this first mission, Cate’s inexperience was rather obvious; as a matter of fact, she failed more objectives and missions than she passed. In the sequel, however, Cate’s grown into one of U.N.I.T.Y.’s most valuable agents, rising quickly through the ranks. Apparently, her advancement has also raised H.A.R.M.’s ire, prompting one of its villains to declare “Cate Archer Must Die!” This happens to be the title of the first mission, which also serves as a training mission of sorts to acclimate you to the controls. Cate is sent to a small Japanese town called Inotakimura to both make contact with a deep cover agent and photograph a criminal convention. Kiss the tutorials in Santa’s Workshop goodbye, because everything you need to know you’ll learn out in the field. Fortunately, she’s not totally unarmed for her infiltration mission. Her trusty crossbow from the first title makes a return as a silent, but deadly weapon. Plus, Cate is outfitted with a few spy gadgets: A Stun gun mascara, lipstick camera and keychain flashlight.
 
Other items from the Workshop are strewn throughout each level, yet because of their ingenious design, their immediate use might not be clear at first glance. For example, Cate’s compact doubles as a translator for encoded messages. Thankfully, explanations or hints for new items, weapons, or tactics are liberally scattered around from U.N.I.T.Y. HQ in the form of notes and mechanical birds. These clues also give directions to potential secondary objectives, tasks, or side missions that Cate can complete on assignment. Carrying out these minor assignments earns you skill points, which can be assigned to any one of eight categories. This feature provides an RPG-lite feel to the NOLF 2, allowing you to augment Cate once you’ve acquired the prerequisite points. For example, you can make her stronger to carry more ammunition and items, increase her accuracy to make her a crack shot, or make her sneakier to avoid enemies. Boosting these skills come in handy when facing the newly augmented enemy AI in NOLF 2. Enemies in the first game would actively search their surroundings if there was a sound or distraction made in their vicinity. If players were creative enough, they could easily evade detection and escape. Not so in NOLF 2. Enemies actively patrol for any potential threats, scanning the surroundings for Cate or any U.N.I.T.Y. agents. Hearing footsteps, missed shots or seeing dead bodies will alert guards, who are smart enough to call for backup before taking you on. Plus, their tactics are much better than the average bull rush towards an armed assailant, combining ranged and hand to hand combat from multiple directions.
 
Graphically, NOLF 2 is jaw dropping. Lithtech’s Jupiter engine bends the polygons produced into photo-realistic works of art. For example, large, individual blades of grass can be detected blowing independently in the breeze. The water displayed is some of the best ever shown in any video game to date. Plus, the character models are much more realistic, sporting a much higher poly count to render each individual on screen. Even on the lightest graphical setting, this game will definitely make you drool by its eye candy. Aurally, NOLF 2 builds on its strengths, augmenting its now-classic ‘60s soundtrack with dynamic music. During stealthy operations, it plays in a very mellow, laidback fashion, but when Cate is engaged in combat, it picks up dramatically, with flaring horns and drums. It’s safe to say that the music will produce a great backdrop to the action that’s happening onscreen. And yes, the witty dialogue is back. While ‘Would you like to buy a monkey?’ wasn’t repeated, its successors are just as funny. For example, hearing two female ninjas talk about poisoning boyfriends will make you roll on the floor.
 
Like I said earlier, this is just an appetizer for the true review, which will be up in a week. But let me put it this way: I haven’t even gone over a twentieth of this game, or just how amazing it will be. Those of you who have downloaded the demo have a definite idea of what I’m talking about. The four levels provided offer just a little taste of Monolith’s latest offering, and the way it’s progressing, NOLF 2 has Game of the Year status written all over it.
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