There was this place I loved to go to when I was a child. Al's Candy Store, just around the corner from where I lived would be the place to go to for my comic books, my candy, my drinks and video games. It was there where I discovered Mr. Do, Kung-Fu and Spy Hunter. You remember Spy Hunter, right? It was that pseudo-racing game where your car came equipped with smokescreen devices, oil slicks, machine guns and missiles as you fought cars with armor, cars with spinning blades coming out if its tires, helicopters firing missiles at you and little motorcycles that were just too much fun to knock off the road.
Has any of this triggered your memory yet? How about the James Bond-like theme that went like this den den deneh den den deneh, den den deneh, den den deheh, daahnah daahdaninah. It was the theme that made the game so popular. In 1983, a game like this was unheard of, and the graphics were phenomenal as you take your small car and weaved around innocent cars in search of enemies who were out to kill you. Now, the game didn't really have nay other objective, but to destroy as many bad guys as you could and get through various looking boards, including one where your car turns into a ship. There wasn't even an ending, but it was just so much fun to play that when it came out for the Nintendo, I played it again and eventually purchased it once more for a special Nintendo 64 retro-pack. Now, there was a sequel sometime later, but I heard it sucked and I never played it.
However, I am very glad to have been given a chance to play the new version for the PS2. This game is pretty much the same as the original. Midway has blown the dust off the original game and supped it up with better graphics, a better sound and much better gameplay than we were used to back then. Unlike other games that seem to be missing something when redone, Spy Hunter seems to be the perfect choice for an updated title, allowing the game to reach its true objective of being a spy adventure with really cool vehicles to play with.
Your objective in this game is to take down Nostra, a small elite group of evil businessmen who are set to take over the world. Your job is to take your G-6155 Interceptor and stop them by completing a number of objectives throughout the game. Yes, now the game has meaning and you must complete training exercises to get to the first mission and complete that one to go on to the next one and so on. The action is very intense and you have to avoid killing innocents as a barrage of bullets, missiles and other harmful weaponry comes your way. You use the original car, a motorcycle, a speed boat and other vehicles later in the game to battle better looking versions of those enemies that gave us so many problems in the past. It's just one hell of a ride. You must move fast and complete your primary objectives of blowing up certain satellite stations and if you want, complete the secondary mission of putting tracking devices on certain vehicles so the good guys know where they are going at all time.
I just can't talk enough about the game. Yes, there just doesn't seem to be enough here, but that's because I just wanted to keep playing. Fourteen levels weren't good enough for me. I wanted more. I wanted to keep on playing and I did, trying to perfect each mission until I got it 100% correct. Even the training mission was a challenge to me that I wanted to pass with perfection. Explosives, high adrenaline chases and a battle against the clock really make this game an intense hit. My only complaint is that they didn't include the original or the rare second part, but I can deal with that. I have the original and the second part sucked so I am content playing this new version on the PS2.
The theme song is still there and a new version from Saliva is on this DVD, along with a video of theirs and more importantly, the weapons van that everyone loves is also back to supply you with your usual bag of goodies that you can upgrade as you play. A simple machine gun can be made more powerful and you can now get a flamethrower and more. OK, I am going to shut up now. I just love this game so much. There is just so much here to love that I give it a 10 out of 10 in all categories and call it a bigger rush of adrenaline than Gran Turismo 3. And when Spy Hunter 2 comes out, I know that this time, it will rule. Now go get your spy on.
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