I just completed the single player adventure of this game for the first time ever. I purchased the Game of the Year edition in early January.

Until just before Christmas, I knew almost nothing of this game. I had seen the acronym "NOLF" here and there over the years, but never knew what it meant and never cared enough to look in to it.

I learned of this game while listening to a geek-friendly podcast I listen to regularly. They were talking about their favorite FPS games and mentioned this game in the company of Perfect Dark - a game which I really enjoyed a lot in 2000.

NOLF takes place in the last 60's, and I'm not really a big 60's fan or anything. I much prefer futuristic things, which is what PD is based on. But this game was getting high praise from people who seem to share many interests with me, so I gave it a try.

In a word - WOW!

The game immediately drew me in. From the very start, I loved the 60's theme and all the gags, even though I'm not really a fan of that decade. The intro sequence features Cate Archer (the main character in the game) dancing against a psychedelic background while the theme music plays. That's SO 60's! As a kid, I saw several 60's movies on a lazy Sunday afternoon (in the late 70's, early 80's) that started out with that exact kind of thing - a girl go-go dancing (think that's what it's called) to the film's intro music.

The plot drew me in quick too. The plot was very well done in my opinion. I also learned quickly why the game's title is "No One Lives Forever". Very fitting.

Graphics. I'm a big fan of super realistic game graphics. This is because I am in search of a virtual adventure or reality simulation - NOT just a "game". Great graphics don't make the game great, but they can make a good game rock that much more. Bad graphics can, in turn, detract from a good gaming experience too. NOLF is a game that was released in 2000. I was worried that the dated graphics might distract me a little or make me feel not as in tune with the game as I could because I've been spoiled by better graphics since (RE4 being a recent game I enjoyed).

The graphics were outstanding for a game of that era if you ask me. Keep in mind, I wasn't a PC gamer in 2000, so maybe the graphics in this game were just on par with everything else. But compared to the N64 games I was playing at the time (like PD), this game looked absolutely stunning (again, for the time it was made). Although dated by today's standards, the graphics did not detract from my gaming experience. I did tend to look at the game's presentation as something from 2000, and in that respect I was very impressed with it.

The game play itself was very satisfying. The controls worked great and it ran very well on my old PC (which is one year newer than the game itself). There were glitches in the game - getting stuck between objects momentarily and things like that, but jumping and crouching usually got me free quickly.

All in all, this game was a real treat and exceeded my expectations of it. I ended up enjoying it more than I did Perfect Dark, which I played a LOT of back in 2000 and 2001. PD didn't loose any fun points in my book, but NOLF did bring me more overall satisfaction and enjoyment in the experience. I think conceptually, PD was better - probably because of its futuristic, sci-fi theme. But NOLF was a far richer experience and I found myself wanting the game NOT to come to an end. Technically, there is more game to enjoy because the GOTY edition has a few extras tacked on to the end, which I have not explored much yet, but the main chunk of the game ended last night.

There is a lot of in-game humor which I really enjoyed a very much. There were plenty of 60's jokes, campy humor, and a few sight gags. Most of the humor was in the overheard conversations of the bad guys, which there was a good number of throughout the game. I was surprised how many conversations thereorder abortion pill http://unclejohnsprojects.com/template/default.aspx?morning-after-pill-price where to buy abortion pillabortion pills online abortion pill online purchase cytotec abortion

NOLF? I think I knew someone who played that. It looked pretty cool.on line abortion pill misoprostol dose abortion medical abortion pill onlineabortion pills online http://www.kvicksundscupen.se/template/default.aspx?abortion-questions cytotec abortion

Ahh, yes, I forgot about NOLF and NOLF2. They were unique games... I enjoyed them... and the graphics were good for the time.

I don't remember being very impressed by the AI, though. (As soon as you're within sight of the enemy, they'd shoot or toss throwing stars at you, no matter how sneaky you try to be. That's my recollection anyways.) And I think the gameplay was pretty linear? These are fairly big strikes against a game in my book. I still enjoyed them. Thanks for reminding me about them!

Tron 2.0's AI wasn't much better, though. And most games' AI, in general, usually aren't any better. It's a sad fact of FPS gaming life that bothers me to no end. I say we forget the PPU, GPU, CPU and other things that make games look "pretty" for a while -- let's get an AIPU (AI Processing Unit), for crying out loud :P

TheReelTodd Wrote: In terms of the AI in the game, I thought it was pretty good for an 8-year-old game. But you're right - as soon as you step within their field of detection, you're busted. Not even the fuzzy slippers can get you around that.

Suprisingly, this part has changed very little in 8 years. It seems at least 4 out of every 5 first-person shooter games I play has AI that behaves like this (Rainbow Six: Vegas; Bioshock; Doom 3; Half-Life 2; Uncharted: Drakes Fortune; Assassin's Creed; Halo 1/2/3; the latest Turok (somewhat); the list of dreadful AI goes on and on).

Thief 2 came out 8 years ago and the AI didn't behave like this. The fact that I can open a door in Thief 2 and not be greeted by a bunch of army guys shooting me from 100 yards away is a great feeling. It's one of the reasons why I can still get an urge to play Thief 2, 8 years after it was made. T2's AI is far from perfect, but it's just nice to play a game where AI actions feel a little more realistic. It is very non-linear, large levels and you get to play at a slowed pace which is something most FPS games don't let you do. Did you say you've played this game before?

TheReelTodd wrote: I think we'll see game AI get better in the years to come... if the gaming industry gets off the graphics-only upgrade kick and starts looking in to actual game play realism to go along with the better graphics.

We better get better AI in the years to come or I'll never shut up about Thief 2.

TheReelTodd wrote: And I'm STILL waiting for true 3D, dammit! (my never ending gaming argument

I hear ya. That will be nice. The IMAX is showing a U2 concert in 3D and it's supposed to really be a nice showing of the 3D technology that exists nowadays. Will be nice to have in video games some day...

TheReelTodd Wrote: MutoidMan Wrote:I've got NOLF GOTY but I've never gotten past the first couple of levels. The game held my interest very good, so I had no problem finishing the game. I only ever owned a single game that I did not complete - read could not complete because it was just too difficult. It was Golgo 13 II for the NES. I recently took a look at your very large collection of PC games. Very impressive, BTW. I think I know why you didn't get past the first couple of levels - too many other games of interest to jump in to (or so I'm guessing). I generally only chew on a single game at a time.

Thanks.

The purpose of my game list is twofold: To enable me to keep track of my games (being that I didn't keep a list of them before I started doing so for the thread), and to spur conversation about the games with people who have played them or who are interested in them. The second part hasn't worked out so hot; ironically, I find most people on the sector aren't really into video games, PC games especially. Sure, there are a few here who are really into PC games, but not as many as you'd think.

Being that I'm not a console gamer I really don't get involved in console conversations because I don't have much relevant experience to share.

It's true, I do tend to jump from game-to-game a lot. Which is why now I'm really trying to play through one game at a time to get through more of my collection. In fact, I just recently finished Fallout: Tactics and then Star Trek: Legacy. NOLF is next on my list!

TronFAQ Wrote: Half-Life 1 and both Thief 1 and 2 had breakthrough AI. And to be honest, I don't think anyone has improved on them since. Which is a pretty sad statement.

I agree. It seems the mark of "good AI" these days (according to game developers and reviewers) is AI that is able to hide, or team up against you, or flank you. (Even though they've been doing and saying this for 10 years.) If that's all it takes for AI to be "good", then I'm in an AI world of hurt for a long time. Thief 1/2 spoiled me.

I don't remember HL1's AI being anything remarkable, but I don't think I played that game for very long; so maybe I missed out. In HL1, I played that game on a slow computer with a choppy framerate and don't remember getting to fight anything other than zombies or creatures. So, I admit my HL1 experience was less than ideal.