Not gonna lie, I have played this at least twice a year since when this came out. Therefore, I can't give a review that has no old-time gamer's nostalgia touch, but I'll just explain why I still, after all this time, think this game is amazing. Back in the year 2000, ragdoll physics weren't too common. IO Interactive's Thomas Jakobsen created the physics engine for this game and, frankly, it's still pretty good today. Obviously, modern machines end up negatively affecting the experience when the physics are somewhat tied to the frame rate. Still, we can't really blame the game for it, because it had no such problem 20 years ago. If you run the game with a ~60 FPS cap, it has no problems. Talking about problems, the biggest negative that people mention is the brutal difficulty level. Yes, I agree on this. It is brutal—even on easy. The good thing is that finishing a mission is incredibly satisfying! Just know that it is quite a challenge. Getting your cover blown is only a survival problem since this game doesn't have the rating system that the newer games have. Having a rating system in a game that has somewhat silly A.I. and no sedatives or real ways to hide bodies would be horrific. Oddly enough, the lack of an in-detail rating system is a positive in this game. The only thing you really get is money, and the amount depends on whom you kill. Stay away from civilians and police officers! Since there are no sedatives, getting punished for killing enemy henchmen would not make sense. I guess an important question is whether or not there is a story. It is there, but you have to find it. Read the mission briefings and every letter you can (or rather might) find. You will find out what you need to know. Not that it matters much in the future games. If you have played the newer games in the series, go for this one as well. It is a great piece of history and an amazing game from a different era. Just remember not to look at the game from a modern gamer's perspective.
