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Dom Robinson reviews
Midway Games Ltd 
- Price: £39.99
- Players: 1
- Widescreen: No
- Dolby Digital 5.1: No
- 60 Hz: No Spy Hunter 2:
Spy Hunter:
Spy Hunterwas one of my favourite mid-80s arcade classics and on the PS2, the2001 ‘remake’ ensured it was riding high again.
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 other carsand bikes into the side of the road, all in order to score points. As youprogressed along the terrain you passed over water, at which point your vehiclewould transform itself into a boat, while other means of transport on landincluded 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 theenjoyment stakes. Those who wish to remain in the 80s can find MAME (MultiArcade Machine Emulator) and the ROM for the original game and stop reading here,but now it’s on to the second in the new series, but why has it taken almost2½ years to release it, and was it worth the wait?
Well, I can’t answer the first question, but for the second, the answer is rather a no. This isn’tSpy Hunter 2, morelike “Spy Hunter 1a” as it’s more of the same, and since thetreat that was that remake and given the length of time that has passed, the world has moved on buteverything about this hasn’t, which brings it down somewhat.
Graphically, it doesn’t feel as polished as before and is definitely in need of a tune-up. The car alsoseems wider than last time as if it’s owned by Lisa Riley, and there are jaggies aplenty which isinexcuseable for the length of time this has been in development.
On the plus side, though, while the music won’t win any prizes for originality, and there’s standardeffects as the car engine revs, the gunfire rat-tat-tats, and the missiles explode, when it’s alldone in surround sound it does rock with some well-placed SFX about the speakers.
As for the gameplay, I don’t recall the 2001 game being as repetitive as this, and shooting towersat the side of the road in an early level is no more different than shooting the top of the tall towersin the old 1983 Star Wars Arcade game!
To emulate a DVD, this game comes complete with extras such as concept art galleries, a “Then & Now”featurette from the creators which last about 10 minutes and looks at the creation of the 21st centuryversion and how it compares to the original, with chat from those involved now and its original inventor,plus a separate interview from musician Vanessa Carlton and her track, Dark Carnival, the themefrom the game performed live at E3 2003.
Overall, though, you’d be better sticking with the 2001 remake as it’s out on Platinum now, or only givethis sequel a rental at first as it’s not as deserving of your hard-earned cash.
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.