A little while back, a truly excellent game called No One Lives Forever came out, followed by its big sister No One Lives Forever 2, which was twice as good. From the same game maker now comes Contract JACK (Just Another Contract Killer), using the Nolf 2 engine. This FPS is pretty good, occupying the time between the two NOLF games.
The game is slightly cartoonish, but in a good way. The colors and textures are made to look smooth and slick, and the faces are among the best animated I’ve ever seen. Its not Half-Life 2, but the graphics will please. Animations are smooth and fluid on character models.
Contract JACK tells the story of John JACK. The game opens with you about to be murdered by some goons hired by a rival. AT the last moment you break your ropes and kill the bastards (seems your pal hired a small army of mafia thugs to do you in… he’d better hope their contract paid after the job was done). Soon, however, you’re contacted by an agent of H.A.R.M., seeking your services for a new job.
Looks like you don’t get a choice in the matter either. Time to kick some Evil-Italian-With-A-Testicles-Fixation butt!
Along the way you’ll collect many weapons, but most of them are fairly standard for FPS games. Sub-machine guns, AK’s, exposives, a shotgun, and a laser gun make appearances. Still, like in NOLF they are well done and fun to use, and each one has its own uses in different circumstances.
The core of the game is action. This is not NOLF! There will be no sneaking around! (OK, you can but it doesn’t help much). The object here is to kill everyone in sight and it’s really, really fun. There are puzzles to solve but mostly they aren’t too hard. Additionally, there are two vehicles you can commandeer in the game - a snowmobile with an RPG launcher on the front, and a pink italian motorscooter with twin machine guns. Its not the most innovative game, but it is fairly inventive and the level design is top-notch. Sadly, the world isn’t very interactive.
What really makes the game is the humor. Now and then John Jack gives a little internal spiel, wich are often dryly comic. There’s a mini-game involving electro-shock-torture that’s wildly fun.
All in all, I give this game a B+. Its a fun diversion for a few hours that always challenges but never overwhelms, and keeps you coming back for more. Hopefully, we’ll see a little more of John JACK in the future…
