Secret Agent

The Good
The puzzles and long levels. I also like the gameplay because it is similar to Crystal Caves.

The Bad
The sound effects are extremely annoying and the graphics aren't anything great for its time. Crystal Caves was better.

The Bottom Line
Nothing new or exciting but still a fun game to play.

The Good
The government is working on the top-secret project known as “Red Rock Rover”, a ruby-powered laser that has the ability to pinpoint and fire at any target from Earth’s orbit. Unfortunately, three blueprints were stolen by the Diabolic Villain Society (DVS). The government hired Agent 006 to infiltrate the DVS headquarters on each of the three islands, and recover the blueprints.

There are three episodes to Secret Agent: “The Hunt for Red Rock Rover”, “Kill Again Island”, and “Dr. No Body”. In each episode, you will explore fifteen levels, where you have two tasks: blow up a satellite dish, and get some dynamite that will blow open the exit door. Without completing these tasks, you cannot complete the level. Once you do these tasks for all fifteen levels, the security gate protecting the fortress will open, allowing you to enter and get the blueprint inside. In most levels, some satellite dishes are in an area blocked off by a laser field, and you must de-activate it by inserting a disk in a computer.

Stopping Agent 006 from moving one step closer to the blueprints are numerous enemies, including metal dogs and robots. One of the first enemies you come across in Episode 1 Level 1 are thugs, which when shot, becomes a ninja master. Shoot him again and he becomes a ninja, a sentry, and a guard. Shoot the guard and a tombstone appears, which you can pick up for 1000 points. Accidentally shoot the tombstone, and you only receive 100 points. You should also watch out for hazards including spikes, water, and toxic waste.

You start off with three health points, represented by three Agent 006es. Once you are hit by an enemy, you lose one health point. Lose all three health points, and you have to restart the level. Instant death occurs if you touch laser fields, fall into water, or fall into toxic waste. You also have a limited amount of ammo. You start each episode with five shots. You can get more by picking up a bullet which gives you five more shots. You can save ammo by jumping over enemies.

Some parts of the level may be out of reach without moving a barrel near the out-of-reach place, and jumping from it to reach the platform, getting a pair of glasses that make invisible platforms appear, or by collecting the required keys (colored red, green, and blue) to open doors, corresponding to the key color. Some parts of the level or island cannot be reached by entering a teleporter.

There are goodies in which the ordinary spy can carry, such as toothbrush and toothpaste, wristwatches, money bags, briefcases, computer boards, magnifying glasses, and walkie-talkies. In most levels, collect the letters “S”, “P”, and “Y” in their correct order to also score points. Other points can be gained by finishing the level without no health lost, or touching a few flags.

The graphics are quite detailed than those in Crystal Caves. The only sounds you will hear are those coming out of the PC Speaker.

The Bad
Nothing.

The Bottom Line
Great game that is slightly better than Crystal Caves. 3D Realms still sells Secret Agent, so if you’ve played the shareware version, and want to recover the three blueprints, order it from 3D Realms. Along with Commander Keen, I would love to see a remake of Secret Agent, or remake it myself. ****½

The Good
The graphics and sounds are typical EGA and beeper stuff - not particularly brilliant but good enough not to disturb the gameplay. The gameplay is the same as in Crystal Caverns: the controls are way better than in the first episodes of Commander Keen (no inertia here), and the levels are reasonably sized.

The Bad
It does get VERY frustrating at times, with moving platforms and monsters that require multiple shots to die. There are also levels where one mistake can render you unable to complete the level. This is all in keeping with the tradition of platform games, but after you've played Duke Nukem (thats Duke Nukem, not Duke Nukem II or 3D) this really does seem an "unfriendly" game. Then again, after you've played Super Mario on a Nintendo, your feelings might change. (All right, so I'm lousy at console games, there, I said it!)

The Bottom Line
If you like Crystal Caverns (and why shouldn't you), this might very well be an enjoyable game. I've completed it a couple of times and I never felt like throwing the machine about (unlike when I play Super Mario, but I'm digressing...) or cursing aloud (which I do a lot playing most anything). In short, its a nice little game with nice little graphics and very suitable for playing on your coffee-break.

The Good
Odd, considering it's largely based on the excellent Crystal Caves, but Secret Agent isn't nearly as fun as it's older brother. The only really good thing about this game is the excellent control system, which is only to be expected of a platform game.

The Bad
Horrible graphics, undeniably bad sound effects and overall bad gameplay make this game truely pointless. Also, considering it came out in '92, you'd expect something better than terrible EGA graphics and lousy sidescrolling.

The Bottom Line
A bad plaform game I wouldn't touch, nor should you.

The Good
I just love apogee shooters, this game is more challenging than Duke Nukem (not Duke Nukem 2 & Duke Nukem 3D & the horribly violent Quake/ House of the Dead like sequels to these 3), in Secret Agent you'll need to use your mind more than the fire key to succeed in a level, and there are several points where you have to do the correct thing or you wont be able to finish the level, in this game your bullets are not unlimited like Duke Nukem and you have 3 lives to finish a level, unlike Duke Nukem in which you have unlimited chances.

The Bad
This game's engine isn't good, and the sound is really annoying.

The Bottom Line
Great for apogee fans, horrible for Quake fans. 4 and a 1/2 out of 5.