No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way


 * This article is on the video game. For the mission called by the same name, see: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way

No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way (commonly shortened to No One Lives Forever 2, abbreviated NOLF2), is a video game developed by Monolith Productions and published by Sierra Entertainment. It was released on September 30, 2002.

It is the second game in the No One Lives Forever series. It is a sequel to The Operative: No One Lives Forever. The third game, Contract J.A.C.K., is a prequel to No One Lives Forever 2 and takes place prior to the events of this game.

Gameplay
No One Lives Forever 2 is a first-person shooter game with stealth mechanics. There is a wide variety of weapons and gadgets available to the player as they work their way through the missions of the game. There are some returning weapons and gadgets from the first game, as well as many new ones.

The player is no longer able to choose what equipment to bring with them at the start of each mission. Instead, they are given a default arsenal and can pick up new equipment along the way.

Like the first game, many of the missions can be approached in different ways. The player may choose to be stealthy and avoid enemies as much as possible, or they may go in loud with guns blazing. Enemies will investigate any suspicious activity and will become alert if they discover the player. Cameras and spotlights may also detect the player. If a camera or an enemy spots the player, there is a chance they will sound an alarm and cause more enemies to arrive for backup.

One of the major features of stealth is being able to hide in dark places. This is indicated by an icon on the screen. While in hiding, enemies are less likely to see the player. Moving too much or shooting will break the hiding. Another feature helpful when sneaking is the ability to lean. This makes it easier to peek around corners to gather information and see enemy positions without being as easily spotted.

The player's health and armor are represented at the bottom-left corner of the screen. Picking up First Aid Kits or Bandaids will restore health. Picking up Body Armor will restore armor. Searching enemies' corpses will occasionally yield health, armor, and ammo.

Many new gadgets come to Archer's aid, such as the Mascara Stun Gun, CT-180 Utility Launcher, Banana, and various types of grenades. Using the Utility Launcher, enemies can be shot with a Tracking Dart which will mark their position on the radar, a Tranquilizer Dart to put them to sleep, and a Glue Bomb to immobilize them. The Banana, Sleeping Gas Grenade and the Laughing Gas Grenade can also be used to immobilize enemies. These gadgets are also a reliable way to incapacitate enemies and innocent bystanders without killing them. This is helpful in some missions where taking lethal action is discouraged and will cause the mission to fail. This may not always be the best way to deal with them, however, as enemies will eventually wake up and be able to recover their weapons. In some cases, new enemies will spawn in areas to replace missing patrols.

Many different types of ammo and equipment may be found throughout the game as well, such as cyanide ammo for the handgun or explosive bolts for the crossbow.

As the player gathers Intelligence items and completes mission objectives, they will earn Skill Points. These points can be used to improve Archer's abilities within the game. Improved abilities will decrease the amount of time to hide in darkness, increase your armor and health effectiveness, handle gadgets and firearms more efficiently, make you carry bodies faster to catch an open in guard patrol or increase the likelihood that a search will result in a useful item before your enemies' body vanishes into nothingness.

Opening Credits
Fox Interactive and Sierra Entertainment presents a game by Monolith Productions

No One Lives Forever 2

Cate Archer is A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way

Starring

Jen Taylor

Ken Boynton

David Scully

Jock Blaney

Todd Licea

Deena Burke

Andre Sogliuzzo

John Armstrong

John Patrick Lowrie

Jeff Steitzer

Gary Schwartz

and introducing

Terrance Sloggins

Closing Credits

 * No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way End Credits

Allies

 * Cate Archer - UNITY Secret Agent
 * Magnus Armstrong - Agent Archer's friend
 * Bruno Lawrie - Temporary Director of UNITY
 * Dr. Schenker - UNITY Scientist
 * Santa - UNITY Gadget Maker
 * Isaac Barnes - US Government representative
 * Morgan Hawkins - US Army General
 * Isamu Hatori - UNITY Agent
 * Yamata - UNITY Agent
 * Kamal Khubchandani - Disillusioned H.A.R.M. employee
 * Mischa - Archer's pilot
 * Mr. Jones - Director of UNITY
 * Crazy Harij - Crazy old man in Calcutta

Antagonists

 * The Director - Head of H.A.R.M.
 * Dmitrij Volkov - H.A.R.M. Director of Executive Action
 * Isako - Head of the Katakuri Ninja Clan
 * Pierre the Mime King - Leader of the mime assassins
 * Anoop Banerjee - Head of the H.A.R.M. branch in India
 * Super Soldiers - Modified soldiers
 * H.A.R.M. Thugs
 * Man Crates
 * H.A.R.M. Bots
 * Soviet Army Soldiers
 * Evil Alliance Thugs
 * Calcutta Police

Plot Summary
For a list of all single-player levels, see No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way Missions

The Return of H.A.R.M.
Main article: Cate Archer Must Die ; Goodbye Spy

In 1968, UNITY sends Cate Archer to Inotakimura, Japan to photograph the participants at an international crime convention. Unbeknownst to her, The Director of H.A.R.M. and Volkov (now wheelchair-bound and covered in bandages following his skiing accident) have assigned Isako and her Ninjas to kill their uninvited guest. Archer meets her Japanese contact Isamu Hatori in the town, while Yamata-san waits for her by the car outside. After photographing the meeting, the alarm is sounding and Cate must fight her way back to the car. Yamata is killed by a shuriken just as she gets back. After a short standoff, Isako stabs Archer with her Katana leaving her for dead. Luckily a UNITY Intercept Team is able to rescue Archer just in time and get her back to Tokyo to recover.

The Records Building in Siberia
Main articles: Project Omega ; A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way ; Night Flight

Two weeks later, Archer has fully recovered under the care of Dr. Schenker (now in the employ of UNITY) and joins Bruno Lawrie (now the temporary director of UNITY) in the War Room. She is introduced to United States government representative Isaac Barnes and U.S. Army General Morgan Hawkins who have come to UNITY to request their help in uncovering information about a secret Soviet weapons project called Project: Omega. Lawrie agrees to help and Archer is sent to a remote Soviet Army military base in Siberia. After spending the first day preparing for her escape by sabotaging the base's communications tower and power generators, she enters the compound under cover of night. Working her way through the heavily guarded compound, Archer reaches the Main Records Building which contains the M-9 Data Processing Unit. A memo from 1965 stored in the computer's database reveals that Project: Omega is the brainchild of H.A.R.M. who first contacted General Zhukov in the hopes of gaining his support. Soviet soldiers and H.A.R.M. agents swarm the building and Cate snowmobiles back to the cabin, rescues her pilot and escapes the Soviet Union. Following Archer's escape, UNITY agents destroy the Main Records Building for good.

Ninjas and Tornadoes in Ohio
Main article: Diary of a Double Agent

With no further leads to go on, Archer heads to the abandoned home of Melvin Blitzny in Akron, Ohio to see if she can find any more clues about Project: Omega. Having learned that Archer is still alive, Isako and her ninjas are also sent to Ohio to apprehend her. After Archer locates some relevant documentation in Blitzny's basement, she must fight off the ninjas while a heavy storm approaches. Archer and Isako face off at a nearby trailer park, but are interrupted by a huge tornado that sweeps up everything in its path. Continuing their fight in the trailer swept up by the tornado, Isako eventually jumps out and Cate also (rather astonishingly) survives.

Joining H.A.R.M. in India
Main articles: Double Cross ; The Art of Murder

The documents in Blitzny's basement mention Magnus Armstrong, prompting Archer to find him and get some answers from him. She finds the former H.A.R.M. employee at The Drunken Scotsman (in the middle of a barroom brawl) and brings him to HQ. He reluctantly agrees to help Archer infiltrate H.A.R.M.'s Indian Headquarters contacts his friend, Kamal Khubchandani who works there.

In Calcutta, India, a contact of Kamal's approaches Archer and Armstrong. Unfortunately he is killed by a knife thrower from behind before he can reveal Kamal's location. The Calcutta Police mistakenly blame Archer and Armstrong for the murder. Archer has to meet Kamal in secret while avoiding the police now patrolling the area. After obtaining the password to H.A.R.M. Indian headquarters from Balaji Malpani's apartment (either by bugging his phone or looting his safe), Archer's only option to obtain the relevant information is to become a member H.A.R.M. herself. After her appointment with Anoop Banerjee, Archer proves her worth by destroying the Evil Alliance Headquarters located in a nearby run-down movie theater (Evil Alliance is another terrorist organisation and regarded by H.A.R.M. as a rival competitor). After a successful mission, Banerjee hires Archer as his secretary and welcomes her to H.A.R.M.

Now possessing security clearance, Archer has unhindered access around the H.A.R.M. headquarters. She sneaks into the secret vault on the floor below and discovers that the Project: Omega weapons program is being worked on at a secret base in Antarctica. Her cover is blown and she and Armstrong escape through a derelict building where they encounter Pierre the Mime King, another contract killer hired by Volkov, and his mime henchmen. Fighting their way through the streets of Calcutta, Archer and Armstrong escape from the hands of both H.A.R.M. and the murderous Mimes.

Discovering the Super Soldiers
Main article: Ice Station Evil ; The Curse of Kali

Archer and Armstrong head for the secret base in Antarctica but find it abandoned but for a few dying scientists. Archer wanders through the facility and eventually uncovers the true nature of Project: Omega which involves the training of Super Soldiers, who are designed for military combat and currently en route to a "field test" on H.A.R.M.'s Indian Headquarters for their failure to capture Archer. She is promptly ambushed by a rogue Super Soldier (who was responsible for the facility's abandonment). The Super Soldier mistakes Archer for his daughter and gives chase. Archer has to use Explosives to get past some debris, but accidentally traps Armstrong in the process. Archer's pilot warns them that many bad guys in helicopters are coming. Archer reluctantly leaves Archer is forced to leave Armstrong behind.

Archer alerts Bruno and tells him to send an intercept team to rescue Armstrong from Antarctica and to alert the police in Calcutta of the Super Soldiers. She also heads straight for Calcutta to help the police evacuate the area. After rescuing several trapped civilians (including Crazy Harij), Kamal finds Archer and informs her that Armstrong has been captured by H.A.R.M. and remains in their custody.

UNITY under Attack
Main article: The Interlopers

Back at UNITY HQ, Archer gives Dr. Schenker all of the information she found on the Super Soldiers but he cannot read them without his glasses. After Cate finds them in the cafeteria, the alarm is raised and Pierre's mine ambush the headquarters, plant explosives and take hostages. After neutralising the threat, Archer returns to Dr Schenker who takes a look at the documentation and proceeds to develop a weapon against the Super Soldiers. The UNITY intercept team discovered that Armstrong was taken to H.A.R.M.'s secret underwater base in the Aegean Sea to turn him into a Super Soldier. Archer prepares to head there and rescue him.

Rescuing Armstrong
Main articles: Undersea ; Terror in the Deep

Archer infiltrates the underwater base via a Shark Mini-Sub. As she works her way through the base, she discovers the labs where Armstrong is being held. Before she can release him from the machine, Archer is ambushed by Pierre and his Mimes. Following their defeat, Archer releases Armstrong. The rogue Super Soldier is also released in the process and proceeds to destroy the controls which causes the entire base to self-destruct. Archer and Armstrong reached the Director's escape pod and hold the remaining survivors in check. As the escape mechanism is jammed, Armstrong volunteers to swim out and unleash the mechanism manually. While successful, the Super Secret Submarine arrives on the scene and intercepts the escape pod with Archer still inside.

Escaping from the Clutches of H.A.R.M.
Main article: End Game

Now in the clutches of H.A.R.M. the Director has Archer thrown into the Man-Handler. Fortunately, the over-elaborate death trap malfunctions and Archer is able fight her way through the underground headquarters, where she encounters and has another showdown with her archenemy Volkov - this time "over a lake of boiling artificial lava." After defeating her foe, Archer reaches the surface and finds herself back in Inotakimura, Japan. She has one more battle with Isako after which the Director threatens to kill his henchwoman for her persistent failure. Archer disarms the Director but he escapes capture. Isako declares herself in Archer's debt and symbolically cuts her Katana in two. Archer takes her leave saying that she's "late for a war!"

Saving the World from H.A.R.M... Again!
Main article: Preemptive Strike

Despite the Soviet General's order to call off the operation, the Director proceeds with his plans. Bearing the Soviet flag, H.A.R.M.'s Super Soldier invasion of Khios begins and Archer is airlifted onto the battle scene where she joins Armstrong who had updated UNITY on everything. Tensions between NATO and the Soviet Union are at an all time high, threatening another world war. Dr. Schenker was able to develop an Anti-Super Soldier Serum which is dropped onto the island and helps Archer to fight off the invasion. Unfortunately, the Soviet Flag is raised over Khios, prompting General Hawkins to launch a Missile at Russia. The Russians threaten to launch a full retaliatory attack unless the missile is destroyed. Just then, after crossing all the way from the Aegean to the Sea of Marmara, the rogue Super Soldier arrives and, still believing he is rescuing his daughter, puts on the the Lieutenant Soldier's equipment and destroys the missile in flight. The world is saved and the story ends with Archer and Armstrong taking friendly jives at each other.

Multiplayer Levels
The game's multiplayer option features five cooperative missions wherein the UNITY Intercept Team fulfills a set of objectives that take place before or after certain single-player levels. Gameplay and available equipment remains the same, while skill upgrades are chosen before beginning the game. Players can contact each other via messages on-screen. As with standard multiplayer games, players who die will respawn in a nearby location.

Mission 1 - The Rescue
Takes place immediately after the events of Goodbye, Spy. After being wounded by Isako in Inotakimura, Archer must be extracted to safety.

Mission 2 - The Super Computer
Takes place just after Night Flight. Having obtained the documentation she came for, Archer returns to HQ, while the Intercept Team is instructed to destroy the Main Records Building and its super computer once and for all.

Mission 3 - The Setup
Takes place just before Double Cross. The Intercept Team must track down and photograph Balaji Malpani in Calcutta to prepare an intelligence item for Archer who is due to arrive shortly thereafter.

Mission 4 - Sweep and Clear
Following the events of Ice Station Evil, the UNITY Intercept Team is sent to H.A.R.M.'s secret base in Antarctica to rescue Armstrong (or find out where he was taken) and destroy the base for good.

Mission 5 - Mime to Kill
Takes place immediately after The Interlopers. With Archer en route to rescue Armstrong, there is a renewed attack on UNITY Headquarters by Pierre's mimes. The UNITY Intercept Team are instructed to clear out the Mimes and rescue any hostages.

Trivia

 * Mission: Save the World from H.A.R.M. was a fictional letter (in the form of a press release) asking Cate Archer to save the world once again.
 * In NOLF1, the player could select their weapons and equipment before each mission. This is no longer an option in NOLF2.
 * End of the level score don't mean anything in NOLF2 as much as first game where you get graded based on detection count, accuracy and see how many intelligence item you missed. NOLF2 rewards player in an instant where NOLF1 requires you to find all the intelligence in the whole multi-scene levels to get rewarded.
 * Archer's new signature pistol is McAllister .32 Automatic Handgun. She seem to lost her legacy Petri .38 Airweight Revolver and other pistol variants from the first game.
 * Most high grade weapons come as they are, in a compact state and they have no options to unlock upgrades for a scope and silencer by finding them in the levels like previous game.
 * Unlike NOLF1, there is no setting to toggle the fading of bodies in the Game section of the Options menu, as it is now possible to move bodies to concealed locations. Both Archer and her opponents make use of Body Remover.
 * Some feminine deadly cosmetic equipment such as Lipstick Explosives and Barrette, not completely removed from the game but replaced by plain Frag Grenades and Nail Clipper Lock Pick. Cosmetic equipment returned at the form of Mascara Stun Gun and Lipstick Spy Camera.
 * From the first game Bacalov Corrector and M79 Grenade Launcher are removed but as a substitute of Briefcase Rocket Launcher another explosive projectile weapon added to the game named Micromissile Launcher.
 * Archer's new Code Breaker seem to work wireless and not require any such physical contact for brute forcing a code panel or decrypting a message.
 * Archer can search enemies that are knocked out unconscious or killed. She can also search various drawers, cabinets and filing cabinets. These searches can result in intelligence items, weapons and Random items.
 * Archer can now lean right or left to peek through doorways, corners, windows and any opening she sees fit. She can also shoot while in that position.
 * When configuring the game controls, assigning an action to either of the Shift buttons does not specify whether the left or right Shift key is responsible for the action.
 * Some names in voice cast such as Jen Taylor, Gary Schwartz and John Patrick Lowrie also worked with Valve Software and Microsoft Studios to voice video game characters besides doing screenplays.
 * Its plot has characters similiar to the previous one's, albeit remixed. Isako takes roles of female enemy (Inge Wagner) with similiar to Cate's one story (like Felicity Dumas) and anti-villain who doesn't kill Cate (like Magnus Armstrong) and later becomes your ally. Pierre takes roles of a person of culture (like Inge) and a Western European (like Magnus). Terrence Sloggins and the henchman near him resemble Magnus's friend questioning whether to kill Cate or not.

Bugs

 * Mass stack of enemy bodies may cause engine to struggle with rendering and can crash the game in short notice after creating visual texture glitches. Luckily at late levels most of the enemies self-vanish once they die. However most of the early level enemies decide to use a body remover right away once they find a dead body instead of alarming the whole base. This must be a design oversight on developers' side.
 * The door of the vault in Scene 1 of Chapter 8 The Vault may get stuck due to issues unknown, unless you shoot at it in the right angle. This may take a few tries and reloading a previous save states to perform it right.
 * With GPU acceleration of modern systems, Scene 4 The Getaway from Mission 8 become unable to be completed by usual means. When synchronization is an issue, after Armstrong says he got winded up, a few turns ahead he gets stuck in front of the big district gate where scene supposed to end. Also Pierre will slowdown visibly, eventually get stuck or stray away from his usual waypoint based pathfinding instead of leading ahead and taking the last turn at the end.
 * Problem only said to alleviate if you activate Vsync from Display options or somewhat disable video card drivers to be used in NOLF2 so game synchronizes with onboard graphics card if mainboard have one.
 * Multiplayer Co-op missions will not work if the game is run on any operating system other than Windows XP. It's possible to host a session and launch the campaign, but the game will either get stuck on the loading screen or crash soon after.

Publications/Promotions

 * NOLF2 fansite kit
 * Mission: Save the World from H.A.R.M.
 * No One Lives Forever 2 Prima's Official Strategy Guide

Accolades

 * Gamespy named NOLF2 "Game of the Year".
 * The Computer Gaming Magazine editors named NOLF2 best computer game of 2002 (along with Battlefield 1942). This magazine also awarded "Best AI", "Best Writing" and "Best Music" for 2002 games.
 * NOLF2 won a Satellite Award for Interactive Media in 2003 for Outstanding Execution of a Gaming Concept.
 * PC Gamer nominated NOLF2 for "2002 Best Action Game" award.
 * Computer Gaming World nominated NOLF 2 for "Action Game of the Year" award.
 * NOLF2 was nominated for a Game Developers Choice Award for Excellence in Writing.
 * The book, 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die, (October 2010, ISBN 978-0-7893-2090-2, Publisher: Universe Publishing) has NOLF2 listed.

Publication Dates

 * Australia
 * Windows- February 20, 2004
 * Canada
 * Windows- September 30, 2002
 * Denmark
 * Windows- August 12, 2005
 * Finland
 * Windows- August 12, 2005
 * France
 * Windows- December 12, 2002
 * Germany
 * Windows- October 18, 2002
 * Japan
 * Windows- March 7, 2003
 * Norway
 * Windows- August 12, 2005
 * Russia
 * Windows- October, 2002
 * Sweden
 * Windows- August 12, 2005
 * United Kingdom
 * Windows-October 18, 2002
 * United States
 * Windows- September 30, 2002
 * Macintosh- October 2003

Patch Dates

 * Version 1.1 Patch- October 3, 2002
 * Version 1.2 Patch- November 25, 2002
 * Version 1.3 Patch- March 12, 2003