Game Boy Advance

SpyHunter

In your quest to save the world from Daemon Curry Midway has provided a GBA game that is worthy of purchase. By being able to provide a good blend of graphics and audio that kept me wanting to solve each mission they have turned me into a Spy Hunter.

Short but sweet: put Spy Hunter down as one of life's nice little surprises.

SpyHunter is a decent game, but it could have been better. Graphically, it's solid. And despite the fact that it's now playing permanently in my head 24 / 7, the theme from Peter Gunn makes the soundtrack kick and sets the perfect tone. Unfortunately, the game's particularly ruthless A.I can offset the fun a little. Surviving certain levels is tough enough, but having to do it over and over to complete all the objectives borders on the inhumane. Reviving the SpyHunter name was a cool idea, and the upgraded look is great, but this turbo-boosted, guns-a-blazing ride down memory lane should have delivered more.

This remake of SpyHunter really boils down to a not-quite-as-good version of the Atari arcade game, Road Blaster...another property Midway now owns. As well-produced as SpyHunter is on the GBA, it's just not tight in its mission layouts, and the strategy isn't made very clear the first time around the course. It's also a real shame that the classic version of Spy Hunter didn't make it into the remake...the "Arcade Mode" is a nice try in simulating the game design of the original, but it's just not retro enough. Still, SpyHunter on the GBA shows that Midway actually cares about quality on the handheld now, and it basically gives us gamers hope that their future product for the Game Boy Advance won't suck as bad as they did last year. We're keeping our fingers crossed, guys.

Thankfully, Midway opted to include a battery save method, pleasing the gamers who often play a variety of Game Boy Advance titles. A password save system often annoys us into feeling that going back to the game or writing down the code isn’t even worth it. That same occurrence would surely happen with some of those gamers when playing SpyHunter, however with the battery save, it’s no problem.

Do you like to drive cars that are equipped with missiles and machine guns? Do you like churning gears in prototype cars that can change forms on a dime? If so, you might want to take a look at SpyHunter, Midway's latest release on the GBA platform. You pilot the G-6155 Interceptor, a sleek and elegant car that possesses numerous offensive and defensive mounts. Your weapons armament basically guarantees you'll come across a horde of enemies in the harrying eight missions. SpyHunter is a Janus-like game, on the one hand an action title and on the other, a racing game.

On its own, however, Spy Hunter is an easygoing vehicular combat game with a few unfortunate flaws. But it sure is pretty.

Voilà un jeu somme toute bien moyen, avec un gameplay moyen, une réalisation moyenne et un plaisir de jeu... moyen. Midway surfe sur la vague revival avec une grâce digne d'un membre des Sex Pistols au réveil. Même si le jeu a un côté sympathique, on s'en lasse et sa réalisation graphique, depuis le passage de V-Rally 3 à la rédac, est à la limite de faire honte je vous conseille d'y réfléchir à deux fois avant d'investir. N'oubliez pas F-Zero même si de prime abord les deux titres paraissent différents, ce dernier vous ravira beaucoup plus. Forcément si vous l'avez déjà bouclé...

The game relies heavily on Mode 7 type scaling effects, which make things look pixilated but keep the action moving at a brisk pace. The controls are quite good and the lock-on system proves very helpful. And of course, it wouldn’t by Spy Hunter without a cool version of the Peter Gunn theme, though the sound effects could use help. In the end, though, it’s the linear gameplay that makes Spy Hunter merely mediocre.

The controls are fairly responsive, and gunning down enemy cars and motorcycles is a pleasure. Spy Hunter's graphics are reasonably good, but its flat scenery makes the stages feel repetitive. You sometimes drive a boat, but it feels more like a car sliding around on an oily surface. Spy Hunter is playable but not particularly satisfying. There is one major incentive to play however, and that is to unlock the original Spy Hunter arcade game, which is far better that this one by the way.