No One Lives Forever 2 - A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way Demo

Spies are revered in movies and video games, due to their impressive skill sets, coercive and intriguing personalities, coupled with the arsenal of deadly weapons and the mandatory good looks. However, spies like James Bond sort of ignore the most fundamental rule of the job, which is to be invisible and remain practically unknown, unless their goal is to pose as someone else and infiltrate an organization.

No One Lives Forever 2 – A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way is a first-person shooter that adheres to these rules and allows you to be the one striking from the shadows, while gathering important intelligence and keeping your identity a secret. Moreover, by making use of a hefty arsenal of deadly gadgets, you can recur to violence only when it is mandatory, but avoid making a big fuss out of it and simply take out the enemies without leaving a trace.

Since this is a sequel, the story picks up from where the original release left it and you get to play as the charismatic Cate Archer once more, as well as explore a variety of new locations around the world. UNITY and H.A.R.M. are still the two main camps that go head-to-head against each other, although a lot of other governments and organizations get involved along the way. Hence, from Siberia to Japan, the local gangs and politicians are constantly trying to take out Cate, along with UNITY and everything it has accomplished.

The prospect of using powerful shotguns on a regular basis is hard to resist in a video game, considering the fact that a well-placed shot can work wonders almost every time. On the other hand, it becomes less helpful when the blast attracts the attention of the entire village you are trying to infiltrate, which usually means game over and a reset to the last saved checkpoint. Hence, Cate possesses a marvelous collection of deadly, but silent weapons and gadgets, all of which are far better suited for the job than anything that uses gun powder to cause a wound.

Sneaking around should theoretically be your prime activity throughout the game, although you are sort of free to choose how to approach each mission. Staying in the shadows and avoiding direct contact with the enemy is always rewarded, though, especially since you are more or less helpless when you happen to face more than one individual at once. On the other hand, running is also an option and very often encouraged, because it is possible to hide and lose the tail after a while.

While many have come close to emulating the same mechanics, such as the Hitman and the Splinter Cell series, No One Lives Forever 2 – A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way has also integrated a captivating story and plenty of humor in the formula, thus making the entire experience worthwhile and engaging. Thus, albeit the graphics may have gotten a bit old at this point, the game is definitely a cornerstone of the genre, thanks to the many brilliant mechanics it introduced and perfected.