Skip to content
Dom Robinson reviews
Midway 
- Price: £29.99
- Players: 1
Spy Hunter was one of my favourite mid-80s arcadeclassicsand after its debut on the PS2 last year in its new form, it makes a worthytransition to the Gameboy Advance.
In my early teens the arcade game was a top-down driving game which saw youracing along in your car, shooting down enemy vehicles, knocking othercars and bikes into the side of the road, all in order to score points.As you progressed along the terrain you passed over water, at which pointyour vehicle would transform itself into a boat, while other means of transporton land included your motorbike.
When you’re running out of puff, the IES van will appear for you to drive intoand get all items of ammo etc. recharged. Miss this and it’ll soon be “gameover”.
Level after level, wave after wave of bad guys and no let-up in the enjoymentstakes. Those who wish to remain in the 80s can find MAME (Multi ArcadeMachine Emulator) and the ROM for the original game and stop reading here, butthose who want to see what the new century has got planned should read on.
Feeling more James Bond-style than before, Midway’s 21st centuryupdate turns the game into a third-person into-the-screen driving game, butstill with the same essential action and relentless pace.
So, the question is, how can the GBA version compete with thePS2 version?Well, yes, the graphics are a little on the rough side, but nothing more thanyou’d expect for a typical GBA game given the screen size and resolution,but as you twist and turn it does create a realistic representation on thehandheld and still keeps things ticking along nicely.
Musically, the sound effects in games like Spy Hunter won’t win any prizesfor originality. The car engine revs, the gunfire rat-tat-tats, the missilesexplode… you know the drill. However, it does include a very nice renditionof the “Peter Gunn” theme.
The handling of the car is fine and if you miss a turning, you don’t have toworry too much about reversing since you can simply turn the car around andhead back for that turn-off. There’s nothing more infuriating in some cargames that simply don’t let you turn 180o and insist that youcan’t travel in that direction.
The first level you’ll play is the training one, which tests your skills butisn’t quite as strict as would have you believe (thankfully).
Overall, the important thing is that this game is fun. After the initiallevel, the second – and first mission proper – tells you that Nostra is testinga new helicopter code-named “Dragonfly”. Destroy it and then rendezvous withyour van in Frankfurt…
As the levels go on, so will your movements around the world and it becomesa very easy game to pick up and play.
Of course, if you already have a PS2 and don’t have either version, thenit’s worth the extra fiver for that one over the GBA.
Now Midway, please can we have more 21st century updates of 80s classics?
SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC
PLAYABILITY
ENJOYMENT
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.