Spy Hunter (2001 game)
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| Spy Hunter | |
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| Developer(s) | Paradigm Entertainment, Sidhe Interactive |
| Publisher(s) | Midway Games |
| Release date(s) | September 24, 2001 (PS2), 2002 (for Gamecube, Xbox), 2003 (Windows), 2004 (Zodiac) |
| Genre(s) | Vehicular combat |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Platform(s) | PS2, Xbox, GameCube, PC, GBA, Zodiac |
| Input | wheel; shifter; pedal |
Spy Hunter is an enhanced remake of the 1983 arcade game of the same name for the PS2, GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, and Microsoft Windows. In 2004, a version of the game was released on the Tapwave Zodiac.
- For other uses, see Spy Hunter (disambiguation).
In the original Spy Hunter, a popular arcade game, the player drives a suped-up spy car with Bond fittings. While the original was viewed from high above, Midway revamped it with next generation graphics and a behind the car view.
Spy Hunter is very much the same as the original but with a new view and updated graphics. The first level is a training level to familiarize the player with the handling and weapons of the vehicle, the Interceptor. The handling is generous and the car drives like an arcade racer. The car has machine guns, oil slicks and can fire tracking devices at first, but the player can soon earn more weapons including a smoke screen, regular and guided missiles and a flamethrower.
The game has Blue Brothers 2000, Art of Noise, and Saliva versions of the Peter Gunn theme.
Each mission, of which there are fourteen, has one primary objective and a number of secondary objectives. There is a range of objectives though the gameplay is similar on every level: they player must drive along shooting the bad guys, avoiding the civilians and destroying set targets. Every mission is against the clock although the player is given a generous amount of time, so that they have time to backtrack and still reach the rendezvous point at the end of the level. Objectives are generally to destroy things like enemy weapons, equipment and communications towers, to avoid civilian casualties, to tag things with tracking devices and so on. Some objectives that are a little different include escaping from a warehouse within a tight time limit, escorting and protecting allied vehicles and even chasing and destroying a stolen Interceptor vehicle. However, the gameplay is very similar despite this variety.
The locations aren't varied either and, whilst the player drives through towns, country lanes, train stations on land and canals, rivers and swamps on water, the levels aren't really different enough to be very distinctive. The graphics don't fully exploit the power of the Xbox.
The game provides a challenging training level and each mission has enough different objectives and things to target that the player must use skill, timing and thought to successfully complete a mission and achieve all secondary objectives. The Interceptor as a boat handles as well on water as it does on land. There is also a two-player mode, where the player and a friend can race through any of the 14 missions (but only after they've fully completed them in single player mode). Some are straight races, others require the players to kill chickens or drive through icons along the way. The players can also destroy each other, after which they "respawn". That adds an extra element as the player in front must use his defensive weapons effectively if he is to stay alive as his opponent slams volleys of rockets into him.
[edit] Cheat Codes
Saliva: Spy Hunter Theme FMV sequence
Choose an agent at the start of the game and select an empty slot. Enter "GUNN" as a name. If you entered the code correctly, the name will disappear and you will hear a clucking sound. After this is done, enter your own name and start the game. Select "System Options", then "Extras", then "Movie Player" to access the FMV sequence.
