The Operative: No One Lives Forever

 PC
User Score
8.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 253 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 222 out of 253
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 253
  3. Negative: 11 out of 253
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  1. AdamW.
    Oct 24, 2002
    10
    Quake 3 was released, then game Unreal Tournament. Then, for a long time there was a BIG lull in the genre, nothing original and nother interesting was released. That is, until this little gem was released. Its a classic and now its cheap too, so there really is no excuse to not have it in your collection.
  2. SlyFox
    Nov 9, 2005
    10
    Great story. NOLF's overall performance was 2 thumbs up. I'd play it over and over again!
  3. SarahineS.
    Jan 30, 2007
    10
    This game is really amazing and incredible, because she look pretty and intelligent.
  4. Tjeu
    Jan 24, 2002
    10
    Extremely funny, tense, diverse, and the music is sublime! Highly addictive. No crashes on my P600/128MB/Rage Mobility 8MB system.
  5. SalvatorM.
    Jun 27, 2002
    10
    First-class ego-shooter like DEUS EX. Really great!
  6. JamesS.
    Oct 25, 2003
    10
    Best game I've ever played.
  7. Jack
    Nov 22, 2004
    10
    A good game is the one U'll be happy to speak about with ur freinds. NOLF is one of these games!
  8. Lev
    Jan 15, 2002
    10
    I enjoyed this game. I don't enjoy many, so you can take this as high praise from me. Btw, play chronotrigger :D
  9. AndrewE.
    Apr 14, 2002
    10
    One of the best shooters I've ever played.
  10. rygu
    Mar 5, 2014
    10
    I'm writing this review in 2014. Besides the outdated graphics (which is unavoidable) this game absolutely slaughters any FPS in the last 5 years in terms of storyline, fun, and humor. This game is a perfect example of why graphics aren't everything in a game. They don't make games like NOLF anymore, now it's dumbed down crap like CoD and Halo with boring stories and zero recoil guns etcI'm writing this review in 2014. Besides the outdated graphics (which is unavoidable) this game absolutely slaughters any FPS in the last 5 years in terms of storyline, fun, and humor. This game is a perfect example of why graphics aren't everything in a game. They don't make games like NOLF anymore, now it's dumbed down crap like CoD and Halo with boring stories and zero recoil guns etc etc yawn. Yes, a 14 year old game in terms of creativity wipes the floor with almost any FPS released since. If you haven't played it yet you really should.… Expand
  11. BSim500
    Dec 8, 2013
    10
    "You look like you need a monkey"

    "'How is the goat, over?' 'The goat is nervous. How do you think the goat is?'" An "oldie" but very definitely a goodie. Great level design, good weapons feel, fantastic swinging 60's soundtrack, and just epic gadgets ("horny pheromone robot dog" that distracts any pursuing Alsatians, anyone?) They just don't make games like this anymore. NOLF is one    "You look like you need a monkey"

    "'How is the goat, over?' 'The goat is nervous. How do you think the goat is?'"

    An "oldie" but very definitely a goodie. Great level design, good weapons feel, fantastic swinging 60's soundtrack, and just epic gadgets ("horny pheromone robot dog" that distracts any pursuing Alsatians, anyone?) They just don't make games like this anymore. NOLF is one of the greats from the Golden Era of PC gaming, with a great sense of humor (something a lot of modern games that take themselves way too seriously could learn from).    … Expand
  12. jackuars
    Dec 1, 2013
    10
    This is one of the games that cannot be made today, because of it's international scale and that it would be too long and requires an enormous volume of content hence requires far too many assets (probably might cost even as much as GTA). The campaign itself had a play time of around 20 hours, mind you there are no RPG elements.

    NOLF is widely known for it's overheard conversations    This is one of the games that cannot be made today, because of it's international scale and that it would be too long and requires an enormous volume of content hence requires far too many assets (probably might cost even as much as GTA). The campaign itself had a play time of around 20 hours, mind you there are no RPG elements.

    NOLF is widely known for it's overheard conversations among the enemies, exceptional AI, incredible storyline, amazing cut-scenes, effective all round humor, and so on. The best in NOLF is that, is it's wide variety of locations, for instance there are scenes where Cate Archer (protagonist), rides a motorbike, levels in moving train, airplanes with scenes involving free fall, submarines and under water scenes, zero gravity and in outer space, snowy Alps riding a snowmobile, etc. The level design is incredibly smart, and there's a lot of variety in it's game-play, from stealth to attacking modes, access to a wide number of gadgets, this is the best FPS ever.

    If only more people knew about the game     … Expand
  13. roarinelk
    Dec 3, 2013
    10
    Even now, over 10 years after its release, this is still the best shooter.
    Great story, funny dialogue, great locations, great leveldesign which can be beat by both stealth and raw gunpower, never boring.
    Sure the graphics are dated by now, but the game itself is still far more interesting than all battlefield and call of duty and all other military shooters combined (which are no    Even now, over 10 years after its release, this is still the best shooter.
    Great story, funny dialogue, great locations, great leveldesign which can be beat by both stealth and raw gunpower, never boring.
    Sure the graphics are dated by now, but the game itself is still far more interesting than all battlefield and call of duty and all other military shooters combined (which are no "games" by any definition)
    Too bad that I can't give it more than "10", because the 10 doesn't do it justice. This is truly one of the last masterpieces of the shooter GAME genre.    … Expand
  14. Bubsy3D
    Nov 5, 2014
    10
    A true masterpiece, full of funny and great moments, fantastic character development, a very inspired plot, stylish art direction and top notch voice acting.

    From the start to the very end, it only gets better and the experience grows exciting as very few games in history managed to do. The main character, Cate Archer, is full of personality. Actually she is the definition of a "    A true masterpiece, full of funny and great moments, fantastic character development, a very inspired plot, stylish art direction and top notch voice acting.

    From the start to the very end, it only gets better and the experience grows exciting as very few games in history managed to do.

    The main character, Cate Archer, is full of personality. Actually she is the definition of a " true hero".
    The support characters are also very well developed, which is rare.

    No One Lives Forever has a plot, and an incredible funny one, full of twists.
    The level design is brilliant, and everything combined make you really feel into a 60's spy thriller.

    The graphics are a bit dated because the game is old (even if the games cartoon look does help a lot), but every other aspect of the game holds really well today, specially art direction, sound effects, music and voice acting.

    The plot is just fantastic and thats the main reason to play it.

    Just play this game, not only because its an award winning classic (it won many game of the year awards), and one of the best shooters ever.

    Play it because Im sure the whole experience will remain with you for years to come as this game is one to be remembered as one of the most special games ever made.

    I played it in 2001 and I still havent found a game of the same level.

    Thanks Monolith for such great classic, and I hope to live enough to play part 3!!! Do it Monolith, we need Kitt Harris in the role of our great hero Cate Archer again!    … Expand
  15. montcomery
    Jan 20, 2015
    10
    I played this game when I was a child.When I found it yesterday,my memories pumped.It is one of the best games I've ever played and I really want to see NOLF 3 or something.They can't make a game like that now(most likely).Nothing can make me happy but seeing the third game of this series(not counting J.A.C.K)
    We want Cate Archer !
  16. adu101992
    May 31, 2016
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Wonderful game! Funny conversations which are a delight to listen to. A great story that keeps the player engaged! Shows the issues girls faced in careers and how the other peers and managers looked down upon her. True to its 60s setting. An enjoyable and worth playing experience.… Expand
  17. mr-NachoMen
    Jan 22, 2020
    10
    Having a favorite video game is not easy in a world that have seen lots of great games... for me The Operative No one lives forever is my favorite game of all time.
    this game is unique in every aspect , back in it's day and even today video games sadly don't do this kind of projects any more and sadly NOLF has been forgotten by a lot of gamers.
    The game's plot follows Cate Archer, a spy    Having a favorite video game is not easy in a world that have seen lots of great games... for me The Operative No one lives forever is my favorite game of all time.
    this game is unique in every aspect , back in it's day and even today video games sadly don't do this kind of projects any more and sadly NOLF has been forgotten by a lot of gamers.
    The game's plot follows Cate Archer, a spy who works with a counter terrorism organization called UNITY, in a race against time to stop HARM from destroying the world.
    NOLF is a First person shooter with stealth elements taking place in a stylish 1960s era that has heavy influence from tv shows and movies like "Get smart" and "The Avengers (the 60s spy series not the super hero movies)" and "Austin Powers"... so... what makes this game so special? well... the story is not very serious but is not ridiculous either, offering comedic moments and dialog with colorful and stylish characters, the game's gadgets that Archer will use through the game are disguised as cosmetics that gives a different air to a shooter game so it doesn't look like any other game from that time and even today.
    Missions takes place in different locals with a bast variety in levels and structures to keep being unique, now... missions even that sometimes could have the same objective, the way you can handle them makes them different each time, like, going totally stealth or going gun blasting like a maniac... well... not all of those missions, some will be strictly require total stealth.
    NOLF is a fun and awesome game, you will not get bored, but... it's not exactly an easy game, the more you progress enemies will be more aware of your presence and they will get each time tougher. Something to keep in mind... there are no health pack in the game, so... be carefuller if you die in the mission you either start from the beginning or from the last check point, and they are a bit far from each other.
    NOLF has the "must play" seal on it and it's true... this is a must play game that will totally worth your time... sadly... it's not available in digital stores like STEAM OR GOG due some legal IP issues with the game's rights, but you can either get if on ebay or by the NOLF revival team (for free)    … Expand
  18. Bloodnes
    Sep 26, 2020
    10
    Шикарная игра, проходил в свое время залпом, крутой сюжет, неплохая графика на те года, звук, да все в этой игре радовало, вообщем топ, обязательна к ознакомлению! 10/10
  19. RefinedInsights
    Aug 16, 2023
    10
    A great and memorable game, with an interesting story, cool characters, witty dialogue, fantastic action sequences and much more. I wish they made games like this in 2023.
  20. Keith
    Mar 9, 2002
    9
    Its fun, plenty of guns and unique weapons code: mpasscam (check this out).
  21. ShawnH.
    Jun 30, 2005
    9
    Clever dialogue and plenty of gameplay kept me interested all the way through the game. Graphics are good, especially for the period of time it was released.
  22. Soul_it
    Sep 27, 2011
    9
    A truly masterpiece... I really loved everything of this game from the strange spy gadgets that Cate can use to the musics of the game. The AI of the bots is way better of the one used in nowdays games (just look at deus ex human revolution AI of bots... )
    What else to say? It's one of the few games (like deus ex, system shock 2, planescape torment) that you have to play before you die.
  23. Budget_Security
    Apr 18, 2012
    9
    The best music, story and humour ever implemented in a PC game (in my not so humble opinion!). This is the funniest game I have ever played, and still worth playing 12 years on, if you have not already. It can be difficult to find a copy these days though.
  24. hwanin
    Jan 3, 2017
    9
    I played it (GOTY Edition) through few days ago on an old PC (from the era of this game).

    1) The graphics are obviously outdated even if compared to year 2000-2001 standards, but the graphics were scalable and played smooth on the old PC. 2) The opponents were not clever at all, but they fire with awesome accuracy from extreme distant (wow). 3) I especially loved the eavesdropped    I played it (GOTY Edition) through few days ago on an old PC (from the era of this game).

    1) The graphics are obviously outdated even if compared to year 2000-2001 standards, but the graphics were scalable and played smooth on the old PC.
    2) The opponents were not clever at all, but they fire with awesome accuracy from extreme distant (wow).
    3) I especially loved the eavesdropped dialogues (try to catch all of them before taking care of guards!!) and the possibility to choose from the main character's dialogues is also a strong advantage of an FPS game. I choosed mainly the sarcastic ones :)
    4) The story was not outstanding, but twisted enough to make me like it.
    5) The last boss fight was ridiculous, but short enough to not care about it much :D
    6) The weapons and gadgets are all nice, though I did not use half of them due to my playing 'style'.
    7) Tons of humour in the game, mainly regarding the dialogues, but not just that :)

    The game itself had few bugs, but they don't ruin the game-play.    … Expand
  25. Skylolo
    Nov 1, 2012
    9
    The game is unrealistic, very funny, spy - like shooter, but stealth component work not so well...also enemies are always same, and that is in late game little bit boring...good game anyway, even if released 12 years ago...
  26. wishanem
    Apr 19, 2016
    9
    Fun, funny, and novel in tone! The graphics hold up better than its contemporaries due to being stylized, but it still looks rough to modern eyes.

    The humor is also a bit immature, but so are the spy stories that it's mocking. I'd still be happy to play another game in this vein.
  27. gracjanski
    Feb 27, 2016
    9
    Surely a good game: The missions are well done, because they are very different. There is a lot of story, especially the 2nd half of the game is really good (10/10) and the humour is nice, but sometimes it is annyoing.
    Of course the graphics and animations are outdated, a pitty, that there are no texture mods. So I didnt count much that aspect.
    There are some things I didnt enjoy: The    Surely a good game: The missions are well done, because they are very different. There is a lot of story, especially the 2nd half of the game is really good (10/10) and the humour is nice, but sometimes it is annyoing.
    Of course the graphics and animations are outdated, a pitty, that there are no texture mods. So I didnt count much that aspect.
    There are some things I didnt enjoy: The many emancipated dialogs in the beginnings should be cut out. It wouldnt happen, if the main character was male or the writers didnt write such dialogs. And the second is the bad KI, so that you can play the game as a shooter, although a stealth game would fit much better. So yes, the game is very easy and you have to raise the difficulty to have more fun.

    The 2nd half of the game is great, but the beginning could be cut out, so surely this game is not on the same level as Deus Ex, System Shock 2 or Half Life as written here.    … Expand
  28. Alumin88
    Feb 5, 2015
    9
    A real classic that really is on my Top 10 games of all time list.

    The writing, the humor, the unique setup, the gameplay itself everything just blends so perfectly together it's... almost indescribable. What else can be said? Think Perfect Dark meets James Bond and you'll only scratch the surface. The only shame about this great game is I feel that it didn't get the sequel it    A real classic that really is on my Top 10 games of all time list.

    The writing, the humor, the unique setup, the gameplay itself everything just blends so perfectly together it's... almost indescribable.

    What else can be said? Think Perfect Dark meets James Bond and you'll only scratch the surface.

    The only shame about this great game is I feel that it didn't get the sequel it deserved. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the sequel but it just didn't capture the feel/style of the original.

    This game really doesn't get the attention it deserves, it even is an example of a game with a strong independent female protag. that all the hardcore feminists cry about.

    The sad thing is I really don't think they'll ever be a third game, apparently the rights have jumped from company to company without anyone really knowing who owns those rights. lol

    NOLF 1's full source code is freely available and just sits there without any real dedicated modding community. It's so sad.    … Expand
  29. ireviewthings1
    May 19, 2015
    9
    Groovy Baby! The best singleplayer FPS I have ever played.

    A completely unused scenario a la Austin Powers. Wonderfully cliche in regards to spy movies and a beautiful stealth game full of charme and autonomous identity. Lacking modern mechanics of the genre like extra animations for peaking behind corners but that just adds a bit to the challenge. Wonderfully colorful in visuals and    Groovy Baby! The best singleplayer FPS I have ever played.

    A completely unused scenario a la Austin Powers. Wonderfully cliche in regards to spy movies and a beautiful stealth game full of charme and autonomous identity. Lacking modern mechanics of the genre like extra animations for peaking behind corners but that just adds a bit to the challenge.
    Wonderfully colorful in visuals and acoustics, this game will have you chuckle every five minutes because of some humorous dialogue or "intelligence" item.

    One of those sadly kind off forgotten masterpieces in gaming. Definedly deserving of a HD remake.    … Expand
  30. storygamer
    Jan 30, 2021
    9
    The Operative: No One Lives Forever is a must have for every shooter fan! I really love the story, it has great a humour full of movie references. The graphics and sound rule and every James Bond fan will go crazy. Everything from gameplay to atmosphere is great fun!
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Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best PC Game of 2000
12
#12 Most Discussed PC Game of 2000
23
#23 Most Shared PC Game of 2000

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. IGN
    91
    While it's not quite up to the complexity of "Deus Ex," NOLF combines a first-rate plot, grandiose explosions, superb dialogue, and plenty of trigger-happy action to make for one of the best gaming experiences we've had all year.
    Read full review
  2. Gaming Age
    91
    A shining example of bringing together a wide variety of different ideas, executing them with a ever-engaging style, and delivering a polished product that is a thrilling experience from beginning to end.
    Read full review
  3. CNET Gamecenter
    80
    May feel more like a classic Bond Marathon on TBS, rather than the instant-gratification spy movies we have seen in recent years.
See all critic reviews »