NOLF2 is very balanced game, your enemies are clever, and you never have a large advantage over them, you need skill and a brain to do well. Your weapons are mostly tools, but If you know your way round, they can be implements of hilarity, including various slapstick weapons, some of which are so good, I won't spoil them. A downside to the game are the levels where you need to be stealthy, most incorporate stealth, but there are the few where you need to be to survive (on harder settings). The game is set in every 60's cliché, with a few female :ninja:s thrown in.
The voice acting is great, taking inspiration from the good Lucas arts point and click games, like grim fandango and Sam n' Max, the characters created are hilarious stereotypical people, including drunk soviet Russians, crazy Indians and dozy, Soviet hating Americans. The game itself is quite long, taking me 9 hours to complete on medium settings. ( I took 10 hours for HL2) But I like to soak up the game, showing off that you go fast in a game is like showing off that you are fast in bed, It's just plain wrong.
NOLF2 is a pretty excellent looking game, for it's age, but quite outdated these days, a big disappointment is the native resolutions, you can only get 1024*768 maxed out, so you're going to need to edit some files if you want wide-screen. Textures are OK, but objects are Flintstones style repeated, but the developers get away with this because you are fighting one large corporation, and they used up all the disk space on spoken dialog.
Multiplayer is fun, but 1 active server is the norm, Co-Op levels with a friend is great, and should be relished by the 5punk community.
Bottom line
NOLF 2 is a witty, 60's spy based shooter/sneaker (with a little RPG, for taste), full of innuendo, stereotypes and pure silliness. Not as good as the first, but still rather good.
?
