Contract J.A.C.K.: Just Another Contract Killer - Multiplayer Demo

The No One Lives Forever series acquired a decent amount of respect and a sizable fan base over the years, thanks to the fact that it used a different approach to the FPS genre and it emphasized on stealth and technique, rather than brute force and continuous shooting sequences. On the other hand, the latest episode in the franchise almost abandoned this creed and went for something a bit more action-packed, which did not turn out so well in the end.

Contract J.A.C.K.: Just Another Contract Killer is the episode in question and it revolves around another secret agent, who prefers a more direct approach to the missions, unlike Cate Archer's silent and elegant infiltrations. Thus, there's a lot more shooting going around than in the previous titles, although there are plenty of gadgets as well, which can be used to spice up the gameplay a little bit.

As you might expect, the multiplayer component is about as action-packed as the singleplayer campaign, which is yet another disappointment for those who were hoping for a bit of stealthy fun and clever usages of spy gadgets. On the other hand, you can definitely have some fun with it, at least until you try out every weapon and run out of things to do, since there are only two game modes and a rather limited number of maps.

One thing that managed to remain almost untouched is the humor and the funny dialogue, although this is mostly obvious in the singleplayer mode. However, there are subtleties that can be observed regardless of the chosen mode, since the developers maintained their predisposition to witty humor this time around as well. Unfortunately, this is not really very pronounced in multiplayer, which is why there are so few good things to say about it, in the end.

Thankfully, the graphics engine has been nicely reworked to portray much more detailed environments and special effects, as well as better character models and smooth animations. There are glitches from time to time, but things usually work as they should and the visual chapter is on the plus side, for a change. Despite that, good looks were never the center point of the franchise and they certainly does not improve the rest of the game too much.

In the end, Contract J.A.C.K.: Just Another Contract Killer is definitely not the type of game you would want to lose an evening with, especially in the multiplayer mode. The lack of good mechanics, maps and gameplay modes make it very difficult for anyone to enjoy it for more than a few minutes, which is definitely a first in the NOLF franchise.