Customer Reviews

Spy Hunter

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Just got this game yesterday... I loved the arcade game Spy Hunter when I was a kid, I spent many quarters playing it...

When I heard that they were gonna give it the PS2 treatment, I was thrilled...Altho a little bit skeptical that they werent going to make true to the original...

I neednt have worried...This game has captured the feel of the original game with the plot and gameplay.. AND it has some of the most awesome graphics I have ever seen in a videogame.. This game is a cross between Gran Turismo 3 (which I hate, but i think the graphics are awesome) and the original Spy Hunter...

Controls are excellent, movie sequences make sense, and missions are manageable (not too easy, not too difficult (like Twisted Metal for PS2 - Sheesh!))

Awesome remake of an awesome game!

I bought this game after reading the raving reviews and found that I enjoyed it as much as the other reviewers. I expected this to be a fun and unique game, as I was an owner of the original Spy Hunter, made for the original Nintendo. I was addicted and happy with the original, as I am with its successor, Spy Hunter for PS2.

The game puts you in the driver's seat of a high-tech, gun-shooting, missile launching, smoke and oil spraying [and more] car/boat. This game is unique in that you control a high-tech car/boat, and in that is an original type of game.

The story line for the game is that you are a secret spy single handedly trying to stop an evil man, who is trying to steal the earth's energy. To me, the story is odd and unrealistic, but it is the graphics and gameplay that makes this game.

PROS:
·Good graphics.
·Unique, yet very fun and addictive game.
·Non-stopping fun.

CONS:
·Odd, unrealistic story

RATING:
Graphics: *****
Gameplay: *****
Fun: *****
Sound: *****
Story: **
Versatility: ****
Overall: *****

ALSO:
·No glitches, slow downs, or graphic errors

-Esckie-

Just got this game yesterday... I loved the arcade game Spy Hunter when I was a kid, I spent many quarters playing it...

When I heard that they were gonna give it the PS2 treatment, I was thrilled...Altho a little bit skeptical that they werent going to make true to the original...

I neednt have worried...This game has captured the feel of the original game with the plot and gameplay.. AND it has some of the most awesome graphics I have ever seen in a videogame.. This game is a cross between Gran Turismo 3 (which I hate, but i think the graphics are awesome) and the original Spy Hunter...

Controls are excellent, movie sequences make sense, and missions are manageable (not too easy, not too difficult (like Twisted Metal for PS2 - Sheesh!))

Awesome remake of an awesome game!

Man, where to begin?? First, let's talk graphics. Everything about this game looks fantastic. The cars, the cities, the roads, the boats, water etc.. SMOOTH. Seriously, imagine Twisted Metal Black, only with a plot and objectives. The transformation of the car is great, feels like you're James Bond. The sound... awesome. The title music you'll instantly recognize. I really can't find one thing I don't like about this game. It's fast, and with a LOT of hidden routes to let you explore. One second you'll be in the boat, next you're hopping on the sidewalk in Venice running down people. This game is for racing and action fans alike. I can't recommend this game enough. I loved the first Spy Hunter in the 80's, but this one blows it away. Finally, a game that's not too hard, but not too easy either. Get it now!!

I recently ran out to rent Spy Hunter for PS2 because I fondly remembered the arcade classic and read the rave reviews on the Amazon site. While I do not disagree in general with the 5-star support listed elsewhere, I thought I'd share a few of my own thoughts:

- I found the game extremely easy and fun to play, almost addictively so. The controls, graphics, music, action all rock.

- Each mission had distinct objectives, and none were impossible, particularly after repeated playing. (The only really annoying part is driving the crappy car through the warehouse.) In fact, I almost think the game was a bit too easy -- I am no expert gamer, but I didn't have difficulty hitting all the objectives and moving rapidly through the game. This was good and bad -- I'm not sure how much long-term value the game has.

- I thought the scenario locations were cleverly repeated: you go through each site twice, with the second time being more difficult, having new objectives, and using a different section of the track. So, the harder levels felt vaguely and pleasantly familiar yet remained fresh and challenging.

- What I miss most from the arcade classic is the ability to ram into the enemy and see him veer off the road in a ball of flame -- that seemed to be the main attack, and in my opinion, the most fun. While you can run into enemy guards and motorcycles, I couldn't do that to any other vehicles.

- In the end, the game comes off feeling more like a racing game with weapons, than the true heir to Spy Hunter. That said, I had fun and my money's worth.

I Just played the demo of this game. It is included with the October Issue of Playstation magazine (at newstands)so dont just take my word for it, go and get it! It was great! The graphics are excellent with great firey explosions etc.! Game play and controls are fairly easy to learn. The AI can be tough but hey if it was too easy it would be boring! If you are into the car racing type of games or are an old arcade Spyhunter player and want a new twist then this is the game for you! CHECK IT OUT!

When I first bought this game, I liked it, because of it's excellent graphics and cool weapons. But by the time I got to level 10, out of a dissapointing 14, It was too easy! Sure, if you like games where you blow up everything, playing without a plot, and Playing levels in less than three minutes, THIS IS YOUR GAME! If you like plot, buy something else.
However, it has reasonable movies, shoot-em-up gameplay, for you action freaks out there, and some awesome weapons, such as swarmer missles, rail gun, 25mm machine guns, etc... It also has an awesome fast car, that can go excess of 200 mph, while doing hair-pin skid-outs, and firing 20 missles all at once.
In summary, if you like action games, with killer cars and weapons, buy Spy Hunter. If you want a plot and long levels, don't.

The new Spy Hunter builds on the original game while being faithful to its game play at the same time. So, if you liked the original, you'll like its reincarnation. The graphics are clean, maybe not what the PS2 is fully capable of, but they are very good, you won't be disappointed.

The only downside this game has is it's a bit short. There are 14 missions and it will probably take a few runs at each one to achieve all the objectives and also to beat it in a certain amount of time (that's how you open the secrets), but once you get it, each level only takes 3 -4 minutes. And if you've just come off of a long jag of playing GT3, you'll catch on pretty quickly to this game. So bottom line, this game may not take the above average gamer terribly long to beat, and the replay value may decrease fairy rapidly.

But fear not, because this game does have some good two-player action. There are 14 two-player levels (you get them by beating the one player levels) and you get to race against/shoot and blow up your opponent. So if the computer bad guys get too easy, start playing a friend. You get all the goodies weapon-wise that you get in the regular game. You also have objectives, my favorite being on a couple of the levels where to win you have to kill the most chickens. Yes, you heard me right - chickens. It's called chicken hunter, and its really fun.

So overall, this game is worth getting. It may be a bit short, but I think you'll get the money's worth with the two-player side.

To put is short and sweet....this game ROCKS!
Just played the demo and eventhough it wasn't what I expected, I played it for hours. If you like the speed of GT3 and the arsenal of Twisted Metal, you will not be disappointed. The graphics in the levels are tight, the car transition is very cool, the control...dead on, and it is actually challenging! You MUST check this one out

In this day and age, game companies are trying to make money by reviving some of their classic game franchises and placing them into the era of 3D graphics. More often than not, these revivals fall into mediocrity and blandness; examples of failed attempts include "Pac-Man" and "Frogger". But then Midway came along with a revival of its undisputed classic arcade game "Spy Hunter", and the end result is a remake that is both good enough to carry the "Spy Hunter" name and good enough to stand out on its own.

There is very little plot in "Spy Hunter"; story is told through one cutscene after the first mission and through mission objectives. But with games like "Spy Hunter", a story really isn't needed. It's the gameplay that counts, and boy, does it deliver. Virtually everything from the original arcade classic has returned. The player drives the ultra-cool Interceptor car in various missions that include collecting Sat-Coms, destroying radio towers, and disabling bombs. Weapons are limited at the beginning to machine guns, but the selection grows bigger with missiles, EMP, guided missiles, and so on. The car also has defensive weapons: oil slick, smoke-screen, and the ever popular flame-thrower. The vehicle can also change between a car on land and a boat on water, and the vehicle also sheds into a motorbike or jetski if a lot of damage is taken. There are even civilian casualties, making this game a justified remake, indeed.

The game play is fast and furious, giving what the original game lacked: a sense of speed. The graphics, while not the best the PS2 has seen, are clean and very well created. The Interceptor itself is a work of art that could contend with some of the cars of "Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec". Enemy AI isn't too challenging, but the Nostra enemies are enough to make sure you can't simply ignore them. Soundwise, it's phenomenal. Everything from the car engine to the weapons being fired to things blowing up simply add to the experience, and fans of the original "Peter Gunn Theme" will be pleased to know that there are several awesome variations in the game. The version on the last level is particularly sweet.

Unfortunately, the game does suffer from a few small problems. The biggest is that it's very short. There are only 14 missions in the game, and each one lasts about five to eight minutes. A patient and dedicated player can breeze through this game in several hours. Also, the game isn't balanced between its offensive and defensive weaponry. The car is viewed from directly behind and not from above like in the original classic, and thus defensive weaponry is rarely used, which can be a little disappointing to some players.

Overall, "Spy Hunter" is one of those few worthy remakes of a classic game. Its greatest shortcoming is that it's a little short, but players who can look beyond this defect will have a blast. If not to own, it's undoubtedly worth a rental.