(NOT A REAL VIDEO GAME)
Codename: NOIR is a stealth action game developed by ACS Production Studio Tokyo and published by ACS. Released in 2002 for the Nintendo GameCube as an exclusive title.
Released during the height of the genre's popularity, the game combines the stealth-based action of games such as the Metal Gear and Syphon Filter series, with a plot that is heavily inspired by '90s cyberpunk sci-fi anime such as Ghost in the Shell. The game was originally developed for the Sega Dreamcast, but development would later shift to Nintendo's GameCube console following the Dreamcast's discontinuation in 2001.
The arrival of the new millennium saw the rapid evolution of technology, with the rise of the Internet, as well as the many revolutions and breakthroughs in the field of science, technology and robotics bringing forth the age known as the "Techno-Renaissance", an era fueled by the human race's optimism toward the seemingly limitless capabilities of modern technology, and how it can lead to a brighter future for mankind as a whole.
One of these breakthroughs is the invention of cybernetic enhancements, a new step in human evolution that combines man and machine into a single entity, granting the disabled a new lease in life, and allowing everyone to exceed the limits and boundaries of human flesh. Some were quick to sing praise to cybernetics for its benefits, while others viewed it as a violation of human rights, calling its ethics into question. However, there is one major concern that remains unanswered: What if this great power falls into the wrong hands?
January 25, 2021. Only a few days have passed since the inauguration of a new president of the United States of America. The bustling streets of Neo Capitol were shook to its core with the arrival of a terrorist group calling itself "the Novus Ordo Secolorum". With their goals of bringing forth a new world order set in stone, they would eventually make their presence known to everyone, first by destroying and usurping control over the city, and then, by kidnapping the newly-inaguruated President, who had been in Neo Capitol prior for diplomatic reasons, and holding him for ransom. In the mere span of a week, the once-lively streets of Neo Capitol have been turned into a warzone.
Many of the government's forces have tried to eliminate the threat of the Novus Ordo Seclorum, but none were successful. Both the Army and the Air Force have been wiped out with ease, and some of the USA's allies either backed out or were wiped out just as easily. Soon enough, the CIA threw its hat onto the battlefield, with a squad of elite level agents led by Major Duncan "Deuce" Ellis. However, they too were eliminated with ease, with Deuce himself being left injured, with his right hand and left eye being shot by the group's leader, known only as "Father". Whilst recounting his previous experience, Deuce pointed out that the forces of Novus didn't seem human at all. Rather, they felt more like mindless, cold-blooded killing machines.
With no other option left, the CIA turns to its secret weapon, a passion project spearheaded by one of its high-ranking officers, Colonel Marvin Truman, head of the elite task unit known as VESTIGE: a cybernetically-enhanced spy, built with all sorts of body modifications and data injections to turn them into the perfect agent. The magnum opus of the CIA. And so, on February 1st, 2021, this secret weapon is set to be unleashed onto the outside world. Its name? Noir, a one-man army taking the form of a beautiful woman with raven-black hair and ivory skin. Her goal? To eliminate the Novus Ordo Seclorum, not by brute force, but by stealth.
