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The Operative: No One Lives Forever
- Windows PC
- 2000
- First-person Shooter
- Monolith Productions
Of the shooters on my list, 'The Operative: No One Lives Forever' is probably the most recognizable, but also the least well known. Taking an obvious inspiration from the 1960's James Bond movies, it follows the mission of Agent Cate Archer in taking down an evil crime lord who wants nothing else than subdue the world using the most complicated schemes possible.
Like any good '60s spy-story, this evil crime lord has a host of henchmen with exaggerated personalities that try to thwart the player every once in a while. Besides cliche characters, every cliche location is present as well. Of course, the private plane and evil lairs, the scuba diving, a space station or alpine chases can't be absent. The game combines all those elements in a lighthearted yet engaging story and it remains conscious of it's choice to be this cliche. It's so bad, it's funny.
I don't remember how, why or when I first played this game, I just know it made a place for itself among the greats. Being a unique game like this can do this easier than a 'safer' game could for me. There was a sequel which boasted impressive graphics for it's time and a continuation of the storyline with new characters and locations just as perfectly cliched as those in this game. It is hard to pick one for the list though, and I didn't want to include both. Like with some other series with a similar dilemma, the novelty factor wins out.
