NOLF....not real impressed (so far)...but it is improving with age

[JellyBaby]

I'm dissapointed with this game. The gameplay is really simple (basic shooter + view some cutscenes). The levels are rather linear. You get new mission objectives from out of no where. The graphics engine is ok but not great. The plot is predictable. You find armor in every other room just laying around but no medical kits. Stealth tactics never work for long. Running and walking must be toggled (damnit, make these mappable to two keys once and for all).

On the plus side the enemy ai is pretty good and some of the music is groovy. A few missions where you get verbal directives on-the-fly are refreshing. Cars blow up really, really well. Some gadgets are fun to employ. You can map mouse buttons 4 and 5.

overall though after so many reviews gave this one high marks i must say I'm let down. Hope it gets better.

 

[BenSkywalker]

How far in the game are you?

"You find armor in every other room just laying around"

That makes it sound like you are very early in the game.

 

[Killer Ape]

Yeah JB, give it a little time. I didn't warm up to it until about the 4th or 5th level. Yeah, they are linear, but some of the later levels are really fun and beautiful. I actually liked the no health, just armor thing. Forced me to be a little less Chow Yun Fat than usual .

The stealth IS a little flaky sometimes, but you are "rewarded" with some good AI displays once you get spotted :Q. Some of the guards conversations are downright hilarious as well. I found the weapons a little redundant and most of the gadgets pretty useless; if you don't have something you need its laying around nearby.

I think I warned you it was a little like Deus Ex Lite on Goofballs .

Speaking of stealth, I'm about halfway through Thief II and LOVING IT. Good recommendation on your part, JB.

 

[dcpsoguy]

NOFL...WHat is the game called?? I mean, what does NOFL stand for?

 

[Killer Ape]

It should really be "NOLF" for No One Lives Forever. Oops.

 

[UberNeuman]

No One Lives Forever or NOLF - for short. This is one of the best FPS I played in ages! If you don't have it, then buy it! Nuff sed...

And FPS is short for First Person Shooter

 

[Pocatello]

Another vote for NOLF, this game is the best FPS since Half-Life. The conversions between the guards are pretty funny.

 

[Killer Ape]

What "conversions" between the guards, Pocatello? I don't remember any of them changing the other's religion during the game . That would have been pretty amusing though...

This is turning into the Thread of a Thousand Typos .

 

[JellyBaby]

I'm not far into it...just started using the ak-47. Hey if it gets better, great! I'd rather go through that than HL's "great to piss-poor" ending.

The guard conversations have been funny. Too bad I'm forced to kill all the comedians.

I guess my biggest problem is that there's just nothing to do in the game world other than move, shoot, click on "intelligence items". btw I don't even both to read these anymore. Should I? In Thief for instance you really did need to read and study some of the books and scrolls.

Ape, good to hear you're enjoying Thief 2. It's really amazing, isn't it? I still have it installed. Download DarkLoader if you haven't and try some of the home-brew missions. Great stuff.

 

[DefRef]

I like it so far (except the Update #2 patch hosing my game:|), but have a question. Did anyone need to change ammo types at all, esp. the phosphorous rounds?

 

[Killer Ape]

Hang in JB. It gets better. The AK is especially nice for shooting through walls, doors, cars, people...The "deformable" environment is a really nice gameplay feature once you get used to it. I really enjoyed luring guards to a closed door, waiting a moment and then opening up on them through the door. Much more satisfying as a legitimate kill then the 'ol Thief clipping-error door kill/KO .

Yeah, the intelligence items are really only stat builders in the RPG sense, but occaisonally they do point out an alternate route or location of some item. I actually find the scrolls more tedious to read in Thief 1/2, but they do convey more important info. The cutscenes in NOLF are more what made me want to pound the spacebar into plastic dust. Everyone wobbles like they're either drunk or desperately need to relieve themselves.

I certainly will try some of the Thief fan missions when I'm done. Know of any decent SS2 fan missions yet?

 

[Killer Ape]

DefRef: Yeah, I feel your pain. Luckily I patched about half way through the second mission so I wasn't too pissed :|.

The different ammo types do matter. Cyanide kills quicker than standard FMJ, and the phosphorous and dum dums also bring 'em down faster. I think the cyanide and phosphorous directly lower the health stat while the dum dums and FMJ have to chew through the armor first. At least that's what I remember happening to Ms. Archer .

I also think the FMJ rounds penetrate through intervening/hard objects better.

 

[Pocatello]

Since the author of this thread mispelled the name of the game, I didn't want him to feel lonesome

 

[Killer Ape]

 

[JellyBaby]

<< The cutscenes in NOLF are more what made me want to pound the spacebar into plastic dust. >>

Amen, Ape. Your pet peeve of being yanked out of the game environment just to view cheesy cutscenes is rearing its ugly head in nolf. Am I playing a game or watching a movie?

<< Know of any decent SS2 fan missions yet? >>

Nope. In fact I never thought to even look. I replayed SS2 last month and had more fun playing as a marine (first time I was a psi guy). DX2, SS32 and T3 will be automatic purchases!

<< Since the author of this thread mispelled the name of the game >>

Yeah that guy is notorious for his misspellings.

 

[Killer Ape]

SS3? I didn't know they were going to make a System Shock 3, if I'm reading your acronyms correctly JB (since you obviously can't be trusted with them )? Who's doing it? Irrational was working on that Super Heroes (I forget what it's called) game last I heard.

I was cruising TTLG.com a while back and there was a minor hubbub about the SS2 development tools being released. Just wondering if any missions had been made yet. Man, what a sweet game that is...

 

[apoppin]

I really like this thread (so far).



I just started Thief 2. As soon as I finish I will get NOLF.

As far as irritating (really really irritating) cut scenes, try Alice. Actually, don't try Alice - it's a waste of gameplay (and the only PC game I have ever finished in less than 4 days).

 

[DefRef]

Weird. I was gonna reinstall it tonight, but decided to try it one last time and it WORKED! Unfortunately, I've gotten killed about 475 times on the current mission.

 

[uncouth]

try NOLF on SuperSpy. That'll be a doozy

 

[JellyBaby]

Ape,

I'm ass-u-meing SS3 will be made. The first 2 sold fairly well and earned rave reviews. And it would tickle me pink if the Doom 3 engine could be employed (not likely). But first things first: DX2 and T3.

apoppin,

I thought you swore by Alice earlier? Now you're swearing at it? I too I'm not at all liking this trend toward very short games. If in a review I read a game is too short I automatically demote it to &quot;bargain bin only&quot; status. Which reminds me I should pickup MechWarrior 3 sometime soon.

Either of you (or anyone) have any &quot;must buy&quot; games on your list for the summer? I can't really think of anything off-hand...very different from this time last year.

 

[gtd2000]

You guys tried IGI yet? Quite a nice shooter
Nolf demo ran horribly - like walking thru water with a Geforce! Put me right off the game

 

[DefRef]

True, the demo sucked and that was a bad mistake for the developer to do. They should've labeled it a &quot;tech demo&quot; more clearly and then replaced it with a proper demo when the game shipped.

I like the funny conversations that you overhear. They serve a tactical purposes in that if you stick around to listen, it may cause guards, etc. to leave you path and along you to sneak by.

Esp. like this part:

&quot;It'd be better if you let me handle it. This requires subtlety.&quot;
&quot;Oh yeah, how do you explain that shirt?&quot;
&quot;What's wrong with this shirt?&quot;

(Something like that.)

 

[apoppin]

Killer Ape, you're right. However, the week after buying it I posted how disappointed I was with it.

Alice was such an excellent demo. The graphics are special, story is good. However, the gameplay is . . . well, boring. The puzzles were just too easy to figure out, the bosses easy to beat.

I buy so few games per year, I figure it was $25 (wasted) for 4 days of entertainment. However, I got Thief 2 packaged with Might &amp; Magic VI for only $15 in Beast Buy's bargin bin, last week. I figure it (more than) evens it out.

Thief is so innovative . . . by the time I finish it, I figure NOLF will be in the bargain bin.

 

[glen]

I maybe going out on a limb, but I think Tribes 2 will be one of the better games this year.

 

[JellyBaby]

I read IGI had no save game feature. So it's out for me.

Alice sounds like a *gulp* console game. :Q

MM6 was pretty good. So long as you don't expect high-end visuals and 3D engine features, and don't mind dispatching hordes (and I mean hordes) of monsters, you'll enjoy it. It has a 3D hardware option but it isn't worth enabling. MM7 was the same way.

Tribes 2 could be fun.