Cate Archer

Catherine Ann Archer, better known as Cate Archer, is a player character and the protagonist in the No One Lives Forever video game series by Monolith Productions. Cate, a covert operative for British-based counter-terrorism organization UNITY, is the main character in The Operative: No One Lives Forever (2000) and No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way (2002), and is also featured in Contract J.A.C.K., an official prequel to the second game.

Character biography
Cate Archer was born in Scotland in 1942 to (at first) a privileged family. Prior to joining UNITY, Archer used to follow a career in thievery due to troublesome childhood and early death of her parents (her mother's death soon after she was born and her father's suicide in 1956). She was discovered by agent Bruno Lawrie, when Archer stole his watch that had a tracking device, and by the time she arrived at her flat, Lawrie was waiting there. Admiring her talent and bravery, he decided to give her a future as an operative for UNITY - an international agency charged with combating terrorism around the globe.

Before the First H.A.R.M Incident (The Operative), Archer mainly dealt with minor unnoted assignments. She wasn't completely satisfied with her сareer at UNITY, since she thought that there was no real value in her daily work. In September 1967, seven active UNITY field operatives were killed by a mysterious assassin, who always left a red lily upon his victim. This situation has forced the organization to call Archer in for her first major assignment due to lack of competent workforce. She and Bruno Lawrie were the only available well-trained agents at the time. By the time the incident was resolved, she gained respect as an operative, and became one of the top field agents.

Character design


The in-game model of Cate Archer was styled after model and actress Mitzi Martin. This was a marketing decision made by the publisher, Fox Interactive, which used its feature film casting department to look for an appropriate model internationally. Archer's voice was provided by American voice actress Kit Harris, who also did the voice of the Inge Wagner character. Originally, Harris recorded the Scottish protagonist's voice in a stronger Scottish accent. This was changed after a Scottish producer of the game felt that the particular accent used was too lower class, and an inappropriate choice; Harris re-recorded her lines with a "British bent" instead.

In the game's sequel, the face was changed to more closely resemble English model and actress Jean Shrimpton. Voice acting was done by American Jen Taylor.

Gameplay
Archer is the only playable character in the series main games, The Operative: No One Lives Forever and No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way. In the latter, there is a cooperative multiplayer level in which one needs to rescue Archer while she is unconscious, playing as a UNITY agent. She also makes a short appearance (as non-playable character) and is a playable multiplayer character in the official interquel game Contract J.A.C.K.

Reception
In 2007, Cate was included by Tom's Games on the list of the 50 greatest female characters in video game history ("As a delightfully retro 1960s British agent, Archer is the female equivalent of James Bond. She's irresistibly sexy, stubbornly headstrong and proficient with all sorts of Bond-like gadgets"), and was ranked ninth in the GamePro's list of the "top asses in gaming" ("Flat, yet appetizing. Cate's such a tease"). In 2008, Play listed her as one of their favorite female characters in their sixth "Girls of Gaming" issue, stating she's "as badass as Bourne and as suave as Bond," while noting their desire to see her return in another title. That same year, she was ranked as 25th on GameDaily's list of "hottest game babes" list, cited as attractive despite her conservative attire compared to other female characters, and third in UGO.com's list of "girls of gaming", compared to Emma Peel and called a female counterpart to Bond in terms of appeal. She was also one of the characters featured in UGO's 2008 list of top 11 spies in all media, stating she "perfectly captures the swinging spy style". In 2009, this "smart, tough heroine" was one of the 64 characters chosen for the GameSpot's poll All Time Greatest Game Hero, but lost in the first round against Strider Hiryu.