No One Lives Forever is a port of the PC FPS that came out a few years ago. You play at the operative Cate Archer in a fleshed-out world that takes heavily from both James Bond and Austin Powers, playing up a hip '60's motif. Heavily story-based, this first person shooter involves as much stealth as it does shooting various thugs.

Graphically, No One Lives Forever shows it's age. While the levels are nicely designed and laid out, they seem to be built with a low polygon count and some of the texture maps are fairly average. The character models are rough and under-detailed. While the graphics won't win any awards, they also don't make the game unplayable. The cutscenes are often laughable - the characters move and act like the game was made with puppets. Fortunately, the script and voice acting is campy enough to make the scenes worth watching.

Gameplay-wise, there is a good variety of things to do outside of the FPS standard. Your mission objectives can range from protection an Ambassador with your carbine to gathering clues to sneaking into or out of areas. This is not to say you won't be walking through halls shooting enemies. There is enough of that, but with the inclusion of varied missions, you won't grow tired of the game too soon. And, much like James Bond, you'll find yourself using a variety of spy gadgets to unlock doors or take photos.

The audio portion of the game is where it's at its best. The sound effects are well done. You can listen in on guards or even cameras as audio cues while you're sneaking around. Voice acting is pretty good in conveying the stylized and campy script. If you enjoy British humor, this game will have you rolling on the floor. Even though there seems to be a limited number of tracks, the music is well done and helps captivate the mood of each level.

No One Lives Forever suffers some flaws that make it more frustrating than it needs to be. First of all, the save system is flawed. While you can save at anytime during the game, if you fail a mission or get killed, you will have to start over at the beginning of the level, after a lengthy load, of course. Even worse, during the stealth portions, you'll find yourself sneaking along, only to alert a guard for no reason whatsoever, often blowing your mission.

Despite the aged look of the game, No One Lives Forever's gameplay flaws and a lack of multiplayer mode really hold the game back. If you can ignore the flaws in the gameplay, No One Lives Forever is, at the very least, a good rental. There are better FPSs out there, but if you're hard up for one, you might check this one out.

- - Kinderfeld