SpyHunter

Prepare to be Hunted

The original Spy Hunter took the concept of James Bond games and made a fun arcae game about it, which got it’s own sequel. This version, SpyHunter (no space this time) is kind of a reboot, but does mention that the person inside the car is the same as the original arcade game.

However, in the previous few years, James Bond games had ramped up, including its own vehicle based game in 007 Racing. Can the homage do a better job than the original?

Well, sort of, as 007 Racing was abysmal and SpyHunter is just bad. The biggest problems by far is that there’s no sense of speed and that there’s no spectacle. Destroying enemies doesn’t feel satisfying. If those things had been done right, then you can kind of forgive a game for shallow gameplay, but the shallow gameplay is all there is.

The 12 levels (plus two training levels) are all linear affairs where you have to complete a main objective (usually blowing up stuff) and some side objectives (blow up more stuff or collect stuff). None of them are much fun to complete, and and it’s very easy to completely miss an object as everything in a level just merges together. I also discovered a handy trick for the few escort sections: rush forward and completely ignore them, as enemies will only attack them when you’re close.

The GameCube version also has awkward controls. The game was designed around two shoulder buttons and they were adjusted to the GameCube’s three without much thought. Originally the bottom shoulder buttons fire offensive (right) and defensive (left) weapons, which matches the HUD, and the top shoulder buttons swap between the different offensive/defensive weapons. For the GameCube, R is to fire offensive weapons, L is to change offensive weapons and you need to hold Z to do the same for defensive weapons, which feels very awkward. I think it would have been slightly better to have L and R to fire, then holding Z to change.

SpyHunter also faced an additional problem on GameCube: it came out after Agent Under Fire, which featured a few Bond vehicle sections that are far better than anything offered by SpyHunter.

Overall, SpyHunter is a fairly dull but fictional driving game with a bit of shooting involved. The levels all feel the same, and even all the music is similar throughout the game – oddly, almost every bit of music is based on the theme tune of an American detective show called Peter Gunn, which ran from 1958 to 1961. The GameCube never got the two sequels to this SpyHunter (the third of which lets you play as Dwayne Johnson).

Poor

The definition of the objects and the surrounding environment is so poor that mission-critical targets and sliproads only become visible a split-second before you pass them despite being ringed in red and orange circles. Furthermore, the game is so unfair that it’s near impossible to not take any damage or kill civilians. This results in a level structure so poorly focused, all you can do is memorise the mission and prey that you manage to fulfil all the objectives before you inevitably get blown into pieces.

Geraint Evans, NGC Magazine #68

Remake or remaster?

A complete collection of the Spy Hunter games wouldn’t be bad.

Official Ways to get the game

There is no official way to get SpyHunter

GameCube Games by Date

2001: Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

2002: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

2003: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

2004: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

2005: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

2006: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

2007: Mar, Jun, Aug

midway paradigm point of view racing vehicular combat