Now, I've always had mixed feelings about Monolith games. For every Alien vs. Predator or No One Lives Forever title, you've got Sanity or Blood 2, like some sort of horrible antichrist of quality. However, with one of their more recent titles, specifically Contract J.A.C.K., Monolith was kind enough to combine the successful NOLF franchise with the mind-scarring pain that is this unfortunate red-headed prequel. In all reality, one should consider themselves forewarned when they notice the broken-down acronym title is Contract Just Another Contract Killer.
As previously mentioned, the game is a prequel to NOLF2, and contains a few sporadic references to minor events in the second title of the series. There is, however, a significant faux pas in crafting a prequel to a spy thriller game as a mindless shoot 'em up kill-fest, particularly one with all the endearing qualities of inoperable leprosy. This is something known in the industry as "brand dilution", and there is a reason that marketing types will strongly warn against this sort of activity. Essentially, one might envision that the creation process of this title went along the lines of "set in the NOLF universe, but without all the cool gadgets, memorable characters, or dry humor". Decidedly not to be classified as a winning combination.
The premise of the story is that John Jack, the world's most reputable contract killer, has been forcibly contracted by H.A.R.M., the primary malignant terrorist organization of the series, to investigate and obstruct yet another terrorist organization, known as Danger Danger. Which is sort of like purchasing a sniper rifle for the intention of wiping out a small nation. When the term "contract killer" is bandied about, by and large, a mass murderer isn't the first thing that springs to mind. Perhaps more of a stealthy, innocuous type with a length of piano wire clenched between their gloved hands? Regardless, mass murdering is what John Jack does best, and it's what the player gets to slog through for 10 tedious single player levels in the course of "several" insipid missions.
Rather than a series of assassinations focused on high-profile targets, the player is tasked with the less than enviable duty of slaughtering dozens upon hundreds of identical foot soldiers. Quite literally, the variety of NPC model/skins for your enemies could be counted upon a single hand, though their doppelganger numbers are legion. Endless streams of cloned goons will flow out of doorways or pop out of mid-air, shouting a handful of catchphrases and soaking up bullets like a barrel of flesh-toned sponges.
While not wanting to play down the strategy aspects of the game, the player has little more to do than crouch in a corner, turn the muzzle of their gun on a doorway, and tape down the left mouse button. The learning curve, such as it is, is quite friendly in that respect. Henchman AI boils down to standing and shooting, crouching and shooting, or rolling to the left or right and shooting. They will not react to Jack's fire in any way other than to expire, which seems somewhat unfair in respect to the vision-obscuring and aim-jarring effects of damage experienced by the player. Weaponry ranges from standard pistols and machine guns, crossbows and shotguns, to extremely vexing laser rifles that have the most irritating and blinding visual effect associated with a player-held weapon in some time.
Level design would be best coined as repetitive and bland, often riddled with dead ends, obscure progress goals, or ridiculous back-tracking tasks, driving the gamer to tears of frustration at the best of times. Many occasions one will be relegated to wandering about and looking for infinitesimal visual cues and enigmatic key objects. Potentially interesting vehicle-based missions boil down to the player puttering around sharp corners at low speeds and randomly firing off shots in the hopes that the auto-aim system manages to maintain a reticle lock on a target around that time. When it comes to interacting with higher caliber, stationary weaponry, such as cannons and drilling machines, the experience is forcibly static and uninvolved, leaving one with the sour taste of an unwanted task rather than an engaging battle.
Finally, the multiplayer aspect, perhaps the most telling side to this whole tale. The proud owner of a shiny new copy of Contract JACK may have a hard task exploring the possibilities of online play, as at any given time, there are less than ten multiplayer games to be found, even fewer of which have a population over three players, if in fact any. In that respect, any possible benefits or redeeming features are lost to the ages.
I honestly wanted to enjoy this title, as the NOLF franchise has never failed to entertain in some respect or another, be it colorful personas, creative weaponry, or a wryly turned phrase. Sadly, this particular iteration of the series is a dismal and distant cousin, better known for its lead paint-eating habits than engaging dinner banter. Not to be recommended to series fans, initiates, or those trawling the bargain bin at the software store.
