User Reviews (1 - 11 of 29)

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Where is Archer?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 25
Date: October 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I have only played the demo but am already not wanting to buy this game since Archer is not the lead character....what were they thinking?

LAME

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: November 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Not much of a story line, dull FPS. No new ground here. Took about 4 hrs total...save your money.

Not just another contract killer

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: November 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

For those of use who loved the first two installments of the series (NOLF 1 & 2) this game is not just more of the same. The focus shifted from stealth to action and the only way to get out of any situation is pure violence. Enemies are harder to kill than in NOFL, even if they look similar. They duck and weave in a very realistic manner and they even act together. And you never get just one: Packs of 5 or 6 are the norm. Humor is still there, but sometimes you cannot really pay attention to it over the sound of fire.

The only drawback: It's too short! Only 7 chapters and only one level boss in the single player. I have not played the multiplayer though. In conclusion, a great game, testosterone heavy and full of action. Where else than in the NOLF universe can you be the bad guy and enjoy it so much? I imagine that a showdown with Kate is part of Sierra's plans for the future. I look forward to it

Good Intense Action

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 4
Date: November 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

It is hard to win and that is why it is fun and challenging.
Lots of intense shooting with great effects. The bad
guys shoot and take cover not just stand there and be
shot which makes the game more real to me. I give it
4 stars if you like chaotic intense shooting. Jack's the
man!! Let Archer stay in the kitchen....

Unengaging and pointless

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 11 / 14
Date: November 17, 2003
Author: Amazon User

They probably spent more time coming up with the title than they spent coming up with the game.
The excellent engine that drives the No One Lives Forever (NOLF) series is at the core of this dreck, providing a solid framework for the developer to hang garbage on. The retro hip sensibility and sparkling personality of the NOLF series has been safely lobotomized, leaving a drooling shooter prone to alternating fits of repetition and spastic flailing. It's been claimed that the solo game can be easily finished within 4 hours; I'm here to tell you that it's still 240 minutes too long.
The story feels like a scene that was rightfully excised from a much better movie. The characters and settings provide little for the player to cling to. However, a really good shooter can get by without things like plots and hooks. This is not that shooter. You can coast through large chunks of the game just by leaning around a corner and holding down the fire button while you call your relatives or read a book. Your "enemies" will all come frolicking over to be gunned down, and you only need to remember to reload every now and then. I kept thinking it was part of a euthanasia-related sub-plot, but it never came up.
The game rates a bonus star for the fond memories it sparked whenever I thought of its greatly superior antecedents. On that basis I could give it five stars, since I found myself thinking of other games quite often.

Over-hyped disappointment

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: November 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

As a huge fan of the previous titles in the NOLF franchise, it pains me to have to tell the truth about Contract JACK.

As other posters have noted, the game is exceedingly short. I'm not very good at first-person shooters and it only took me six hours to complete on normal difficulty. I understand that this game was half-priced, but I still expected more than one afternoon of fun. It is doubly irritating that the box claims 10 single-player levels when, in fact, there are only seven.

In interviews, Monolith developers claimed that Cate Archer makes a "brief but memorable appearance." I don't know what counts as memorable at Monolith, but for the rest of us back on planet Earth, half a second of someone standing by the side of the road isn't too exciting.

What's good about this game? Well, it looks like they made some minor improvements to the Jupiter graphics engine. The game seems more stable than NOLF 2 -- Contract JACK didn't crash a single time for me. The AIs are smarter, too.

I hope they redeem themselves at Monolith by giving us a NOLF 3 that is worthy of the name.

an entry into the n.o.l.f. universe, not the series

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 21, 2003
Author: Amazon User

let me start out by stating that this is by no means another entry into the n.o.l.f. series, but a venture into the n.o.l.f. universe. monolith set out to make a fast-paced and action-packed (yet still quirky and humarous) first-person shooter and for that, they succeeded wonderfully.

my only two criticisms about 'contract j.a.c.k.' would be as follows:
-some of the ammo is pretty sparse, i barely recall picking up any ammunition for the cross-bow for the entire game.
-it could have used a few more levels.

beyond that, if you're a huge fan of the n.o.l.f. series and like the thought of mowing down group after group opponents while having a good dose of hearty laughs to compliment they mayhem, i recommend you purcase contract j.a.c.k.

however, if you're new to the series i'd recommend waiting until the price drops to $20. some of the best jokes will quite frankly, go right over your head (as they are direct tie-ins to the previous ventures) but even to a new-comer, it's still a solid title.

make no mistake, this is no n.o.l.f. 3 and it was never intended to be. i urge everyone to rate the game for it's own merits, not for the fact it isn't the 3rd in the 'cate archer series'.

Story & humor not up to NOLF2 standards

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: November 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

My copy was waiting at home for me last night, and I'm currently about half-way through (after 2.5 hours of playing).

It doesn't engage me the way NOLF2 did. The graphics are pretty, gameplay works just fine, and as someone else has stated, it's more stable than NOLF2 was when it first came out. But there's little or no humor, the story is just plodding along, and I'm not really caring about what happens next. I just want to finish it.

After playing through the single-player game, I'll be trying out the multiplayer games. The only new one I see is Demolition. If this isn't radically more fun than Doomsday then I'll just go back to my NOLF2 nightly playtime, and Contract Jack can go to EBay.

[ST] BSR

Haven't seen a prequel this bad since Star Wars Episode One

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: November 30, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game was short. This game had no interesting story, This game was just a shooter. You walk around a corner, you shoot the bad guys. You go across a room you shoot the bad guys, you climb a ladder and you shoot the bad guys...See a pattern. The sad a part is there is not that much variety in what bad guys you can shoot, Ocassionally you had to get stuff and push a button, but mostly you shoot the bad guy. Sure the graphics were spiffy, but gameply bites. The only shining star in this game was some of the dialouge between the bad guys before you show up and.....yes shoot the bad guy.

Is This A Joke? But Still A Decent Joke...I Guess...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: December 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is a bit of a weak first person shooter. But it is on the No One Lives Forever game engine so it is still pretty dang good. It is too short. There are only seven chapters. Not ten. The seven chapters are I guess broke up into ten sections. So you get the idea where this lackluster but fun game is going.

The No One Lives Forever games have good plots and lots of humor and great voice over conversations by the AI's! There is almost none in this. And the missions are all the same. You run around a corner somewhere, shoot some bad guys. Try and survive. Get ammo and health. Shoot some more bad guys, etc. That is it except for some flipping of switches and driving a snowmobile and scooter. It is just the same thing over and over. It gets repetitve, big time.

And you know almost NOTHING about the main character Jack! No characterization! And Cate Archer had tons of voice over. Jack has none. The game is very buggy in places and runs very slow at times. The final ending is decent. And there is a space level that is fun. It is still a good game. But it needed to be longer. And it needed more voice over, more story, and more characterization! Even the old Turok games had more characterization!!!

A mixed bag. It shoulda been SO much better from the NOLF team though! Ciao!

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