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I'll always remember the OMM review: http://www.oldmanmurray.com/longreviews/751.html For those not in the know (good lord I'm old) Old Man Murray was an early satirical gaming news site that was differentiated from others of the era because they were actually clever and would call out specific industry figures. That and they had no interest in actually providing news instead just goofing on things. It was pretty uneven, and got pretty monkeycheese before the phenomenon really existed, but since it was such a small pool of readers at the time they had a real influence. For years they would mercilessly crap on anything that Monolith put out, and the failings of the LithTech engine. And then NOLF came out. In their words: quote:Speaking of not living forever, when DeForest Kelley dropped dead after his brave struggle against being incredibly old for a really long time, Erik heard the Hans Grüber voice that lives in the hole in his head and that we're both pretty sure is God say "eventually, I'll get around to killing someone you do care about." Both of us assumed God meant Freddie Prinze, Jr. Little did we know he was talking about the guy at Monolith who was apparently responsible for them making nothing but terrible games. Our condolences go out to that guy's wife and kids. Your daddy was good at his job, honey. He was the best friend a guy who writes a derisive website about video games could ever ask for. The authors went to to work at Valve, and I believe wrote the majority of Portal 2.
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Nov 16, 2015 09:16
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I think I've heard of Old Man Murray but it was before my time. I can't speak to the getting extra health or moving quietly as you get more intel but I can say that being nice to Smithy gets you additional intel for that mission. Obviously being nice to Smithy is objectively the wrong choice so I don't feel bad about missing out on it. I'd say part of the reason this game stands up is that even though the stealth portions are doable and rarely required, they're still just an option. If at some point things go to hell you're perfectly capable of whipping guns out and finishing up. The real reward for stealth, though is much more intangible. You might get a little text award from some society or other, after blowing up something in the first mission I got an award for collateral damage, after finishing a mission with a sliver of health I got an award for reciprocal damage. No, the award you get for stealth is enemy dialogue. And some of this poo poo gets deep and it's really the reason the game still stands out. I'll be doing my best to show off the best of the enemy dialogue.
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Nov 16, 2015 09:48
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How would you compare this game with, say, the original Deus Ex?
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Nov 16, 2015 10:13
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Tasteful Dickpic posted:How would you compare this game with, say, the original Deus Ex? I probably can't make a fair comparison because I never got very far into Deus Ex and I got into it late, hopefully someone with more experience on both fronts can jump in. Deus Ex gives you a lot more options that change things, whereas NOLF is a linear story. Each mission will always play out the same way aside from some randomization in enemy and intel placement. Activities in previous missions won't come back to haunt you.
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Nov 16, 2015 10:34
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dscruffy1 posted:stealth portions are doable and rarely required That one mission, though. gently caress that mission.
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Nov 16, 2015 10:48
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Yeah, there's a couple obligatory stealth sections and they are pretty annoying. Anyway, Deus Ex comparison - doesn't really work, this is still a shooter at heart and very rarely offers you multiple ways of approaching a problem. You start most of the levels undetected and you can make the stealth last but it's nowhere near the amount options of DX gives you.
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Nov 16, 2015 11:02
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dscruffy1 posted:I think I've heard of Old Man Murray but it was before my time. I can't speak to the getting extra health or moving quietly as you get more intel but I can say that being nice to Smithy gets you additional intel for that mission. Obviously being nice to Smithy is objectively the wrong choice so I don't feel bad about missing out on it. Because of this I'm hoping you do as much as you can in stealth. The dialogue in this game is really what makes it so amazing. In regards to the whole Deus Ex comparison, honestly you can't really compare them. Both are fantastic in their own respects but this is a comedy done insanely well. Deus Ex is much more intellectual and plays as such.
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Nov 16, 2015 15:07
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Scaramouche posted:I'll always remember the OMM review: Oh hey, these were the guys behind Tron 2.0, a game that had some really fun mechanics and weapons, but some really terrible first person platforming sections.
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Nov 16, 2015 16:01
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Kurieg posted:Oh hey, these were the guys behind Tron 2.0, a game that had some really fun mechanics and weapons, but some really terrible first person platforming sections.
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Nov 16, 2015 16:10
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I played a lot of NOLF lan with friends way back in the windows 98 days. We always played the snow map and spent all the time running over each other with snowmobiles. Good times.
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Nov 16, 2015 16:33
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The PS2 actually adds obligatory stealth sections, which were a big reason why I could never beat the game as a kid. If Scruffy isn't planning on showing anything of those, I can find videos done by other people and link to them when we reach the necessary points in the game to show just what's being missed.
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Nov 16, 2015 16:45
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chitoryu12 posted:The PS2 actually adds obligatory stealth sections, which were a big reason why I could never beat the game as a kid. If Scruffy isn't planning on showing anything of those, I can find videos done by other people and link to them when we reach the necessary points in the game to show just what's being missed. Eww eww eww gross. As I recall there's one, maybe two levels in this game that are mandatory which y'know every game has one mandatory bad level. But drat. I'm not planning on doing anything with the PS2 version. That being said good news! The mandatory sewer level pops up early in the game!
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Nov 16, 2015 18:18
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dscruffy1 posted:Eww eww eww gross. As I recall there's one, maybe two levels in this game that are mandatory which y'know every game has one mandatory bad level. But drat. I'm not planning on doing anything with the PS2 version. In that case, when we reach the requisite parts of the game I'll try and find a video of the level that someone else did. Being an old PS2 game, all of them are likely to be really lovely 360p video but OH WELL. When we go through the next video or two, I'll talk about some of the experimentation I did with my copy on weapon damage. chitoryu12 fucked around with this message at 18:26 on Nov 16, 2015 |
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Nov 16, 2015 18:22
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God I love this game  I still have my disc but it got hosed up and I can't play it. I also have the official guide, so if you need help with a section Scruffy I got your back!
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Nov 17, 2015 08:17
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SubponticatePoster posted:God I love this game This is my situation exactly.
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Nov 17, 2015 09:05
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Well that took off quickly  expect an update probably every other day unless I get burnt out otherwise. Also I think the snark has definitely won, so there's a bonus video with some sarcastic responses to Smithy. But let's head out on our first mission!Misfortune In Morocco Scene 1/Polsy Bonus! Agent Cate Snarker
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Nov 17, 2015 17:52
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If you know the guy is there, you can shoot through that closed window. Of course, then shooting through the walls later is another nice reminder about that mechanic.
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Nov 17, 2015 18:08
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That mook cartwheel is amazing (and a surprisingly effective dodge). More games should do silly things like that.
double nine fucked around with this message at 18:17 on Nov 17, 2015 |
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Nov 17, 2015 18:13
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There's a lot of fairly soft humor in these intel files: the HARM directive to steal another CT180 and this time get a manual so we know what the hell it does is really nice. I'm kinda sad the Moroccan mooks didn't use their best warcry this time around: "Please do not be apprehensive about this apprehension!"
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Nov 17, 2015 18:25
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This game and No One Lives Forever 2 are the best James Bond games.
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Nov 17, 2015 18:40
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double nine posted:That mook cartwheel is amazing (and a surprisingly effective dodge). More games should do silly things like that. Rolling helps. I just looked it up, and the release dates do match up for the NOLF dodge to be a reference (although if so, they're a reference to a reference). EDIT: Actually, in case anyone's unfortunate enough not to have seen the best movie ever and thinks "that's not the same thing", the proper one is probably clearer. Both references to Shatner's glorious 60s action scenes. WFGuy fucked around with this message at 19:02 on Nov 17, 2015 |
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Nov 17, 2015 18:47
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#Gunnutthings: The sniper rifle is apparently bolt-action, yet ejects a spent casing automatically before the bolt is operated. The spent round also looks like its ejecting from the end of the barrel too 
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Nov 17, 2015 19:27
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Fanzay posted:This game and No One Lives Forever 2 are the best James Bond games.
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Nov 17, 2015 20:21
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So, interesting new weapon in Morocco! The "Hampton Carbine" is actually a De Lisle carbine. This was made during World War II as a commando weapon for killing sentries, dogs, etc. It's made by converting a Lee-Enfield rifle to .45 ACP, shortening the barrel, and fitting a fuckoff huge suppressor over it that actually extends past the end of the barrel. It uses modified magazines from the M1911 pistol. .45 ACP is a subsonic pistol round, so normal loadings naturally don't create a supersonic crack as they fly through the air (higher velocity pistol rounds like 9x19mm Parabellum or rifle rounds are normally supersonic and need special loadings to actually be reasonably quiet in a silenced gun). The sound effect in the game is really close to how a real DeLisle would sound, and it's quiet enough that the other people in the apartments likely wouldn't have heard Cate firing unless they were standing in the hallway outside. It would actually be a pretty awful choice for a sniper rifle. Wikipedia claims a 200 yard effective range, but it's firing a slow and heavy pistol bullet. It's going to drop like crazy over distance. In practice, De Lisles had a bad reputation for accuracy and weren't expected to really be used beyond about 50 yards. Also, you're absolutely right about the mooks you're sniping being weakened. They appear to have whatever the game's equivalent of 1 HP is, so even a shot to their little toe will kill them. I was very thankful for this, as for some reason on my PC copy the Hampton's scope and scrolling through my inventory with the Shift key cause incredible frame rate drop. The main menu also has a dramatic frame rate drop, while the game itself runs just as smoothly as in your video. Curious programming. Either way, when standing still the bullets from the Hampton always land exactly in the center of the crosshair and you can do the whole beginning sniping sequence without needing the scope at all. In terms of differences with the PS2 version, the most dramatic is probably that the PS2 runs much slower (around 30 FPS and dropping during major action sequences like a lot of particle effects from bullet impacts). It also has no blood. On the plus side it does have auto-aim, which makes the sniping trivially easy. On one final note, Bruno is voiced by John Patrick Lowrie. He has a long and accented career, but his most recognizable roles are likely Odessa Cubbage in Half-Life 2 and Sniper in Team Fortress 2. He also voices Sherlock Holmes in The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a radio drama by Jim French Productions, and Wikipedia claims he's beaten Basil Rathbone for the longest ongoing performance of Holmes in history.
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Nov 17, 2015 20:26
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Hey! I've been to Morocco! Nice country, but pretty poor out with the cities. America's oldest ally, to boot.
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Nov 17, 2015 21:14
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This is one of my favorite games, probably the funniest I've ever played. Shame it's so hard to get a hold of these days, Monolith was really on point with this one.
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Nov 17, 2015 21:15
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It's such a shame that this game hasn't been released on any digital retailer by now. I had a lot of fun with it back in the days 
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Nov 17, 2015 22:30
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Tin Tim posted:It's such a shame that this game hasn't been released on any digital retailer by now. I had a lot of fun with it back in the days
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Nov 17, 2015 22:34
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anilEhilated posted:It's stuck in legal hell, it's not going to be released on any digital retailer - likely ever. Now, if there ever was a franchise in dire need of restarting... The sad part is that I remember reading an interview a few years back where a Monolith developer mentioned that they really wanted to make another NOLF game. But the no one knew who had the rights. Yay for legal hell... 
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Nov 18, 2015 00:44
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Somebody should just release it digitally and then when people freak out tell them "well, you figure out who's got rights to it then and they can sue me!"
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Nov 18, 2015 01:51
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I remember owning the first one because you could put the CD in a player and listen to the soundtrack. That was awesome. I think I bought the second one but never played it because I wanted to finish the first one first and never managed it. Never played Contract JACK and from what I've read I didn't miss much. Looking forward to seeing how this game turns out!
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Nov 18, 2015 02:14
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For those who haven't played the game before; Scruffy's choice of 'Let me at them' is what spawned the two letters in the mailbox at the end of the level; If you ask for Bruno's help, he's too busy to pop the locks for you, and if you pick 'no thanks, but I'll take the lesser amount of enemies' only one mailbox is open, suggesting that Bruno was rather busy shooting dorks before they got to Cate's area. Also, the next level has, in my opinion, one of the funniest conversations in Morroco.
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Nov 18, 2015 07:01
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SubponticatePoster posted:Somebody should just release it digitally and then when people freak out tell them "well, you figure out who's got rights to it then and they can sue me!" Basically the issue is that no one has enough rights to actually say "Yes you can make this game", but at least three companies have enough rights to take them to court if they try and do it. And the cost incurred by fighting off those lawsuits wouldn't cover the money they'd get from porting the game.
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Nov 18, 2015 07:13
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"Yeah, we might have the rights to this title, but we aren't sure and sure as hell aren't going to check" being good enough for a lawsuit is insane. US courts should get some loving standards. 
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Nov 18, 2015 10:55
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HolyDukeNukem posted:The sad part is that I remember reading an interview a few years back where a Monolith developer mentioned that they really wanted to make another NOLF game. But the no one knew who had the rights. Yay for legal hell... The three major players are Warner Brothers (Owns Monolith -- and by extension, the LithTech engine), Activision (Sierra/Vivendi Universal Interactive -- the GOTY Edition Publisher), and 20th Century Fox (Fox Interactive -- The Original Publisher). Night Dive Studios tried. They started with WB, and WB basically said, 'Ask Activision', but Activision couldn't be bothered to haul their paper files out of storage and check them. So Night Drive filed for a trademark on the name in order to demonstrate their interest and see who might challenge it. WB did and said, 'We want some time to look into it', but weren't interested in negotiating any sort of up front deal until they finished. Fox chimed in and said, 'Hell if we know what we'll find if we dig into our archive, but if you give us an up front payment, we'll give it back if it turns out we don't actually have any rights any more'. WB finally follwed up and killed the whole deal by saying, 'If you do this and don't license it with us, we'll sue for infringement. And we aren't going to license to you.' So Night Drive let their trademark lapse. Personally, I hope someone eventually gets fed up enough to make a 3rd party piece of software or a converter that allows the game files to be removed from and played outside of the LithTech environment. See if WB is willing to play ball once that piece is taken out of the equation. Engine? Smengine. Whatcha going to license now?
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Nov 18, 2015 14:55
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Geemer posted:"Yeah, we might have the rights to this title, but we aren't sure and sure as hell aren't going to check" being good enough for a lawsuit is insane. US courts should get some loving standards. The problem isn't that they can sue without rights, they do have rights to their own little corner of the game. (Or maybe they don't but a lawsuit payout is a good incentive to go find out) but no one person has enough rights to let them do the whole game.
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Nov 18, 2015 15:10
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It doesn't need to be specifically NOLF, just a spiritual successor. Don't tell me spy comedy is an outdated genre - in today's mire of serious brown shooters, it'd be more than welcome. And all the crazy gadgets offer insane gameplay potential. Hell, someone should pitch it to Valve - gently caress Half-life 3, there's this awesome game you need to file the serial number off, if they can do Portal, they can do NOLF justice.
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Nov 18, 2015 15:50
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This game is awesome. Except for the german version, where dead enemies turn into backpacks  .Also the soundtrack is amazing. And the James Bond references. And the gadgets. And the story. And the bosses
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Nov 18, 2015 16:10
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anilEhilated posted:You are in for a treat. This series has some of the funniest back-and-forth in the history of stupid guards. Yeah, I played this game back when it first came out, and I still remember some of the funny conversations. Always stop and listen to them, if you can.
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Nov 18, 2015 16:36
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anilEhilated posted:It doesn't need to be specifically NOLF, just a spiritual successor. Don't tell me spy comedy is an outdated genre - in today's mire of serious brown shooters, it'd be more than welcome. And all the crazy gadgets offer insane gameplay potential. I would be completely behind this. I don't know many companies that can pull off humorous games, but Valve definitely has the writing staff to do it. Another bond parody type game would be something I'd pre-order and play the hell out of.
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Nov 18, 2015 16:41
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