SpyHunter 2

Is it a boat or is it a car? It's SpyHunter. The classic eight-bit franchise returns for its second next-gen outing. Has Midway managed to capture the magic of that first arcade classic that stole so many of our 10 pence pieces?

My first impressions after I played SpyHunter 2 were that they tried too hard to get people to like it. The overall feel for the game was extremely different than the first one, and to me it just didn't feel right. The start of the game was kind of nice; their intro sequence offered some great shots of the new car, the G-8155, and some of its capabilities in regards to weapons and overall performance.



In the first SpyHunter, the only times I had to re-start a mission was when I didn't achieve all of the mission objectives on time. In SpyHunter 2, I was re-starting because my Interceptor was getting blown away less than 2 minutes in the game. In the old Spy, the car could take a beating and still get past the missions, even without the weapons van. This time, you're lucky if you can get through the mission at all on the first try and keep the vehicle in one piece. Now, it could just be that there are a lot more enemies to take down, or the bad guys stocked up on ammunition since the last encounter and decide to fire a lot more missiles and bullets at you, but come on guys, let me breath for a second.

Some things changed on the Interceptor. It still has the clean body panels with some that open to reveal who-knows-what, but the weapons are more external now and just "sit" on the car until you exhaust the supply of ammo. One weapon is the guided missile launcher, which rests on top of the vehicle and targets various enemies at random. The Interceptor can only hold so many weapons, so you have to choose one primary weapon (either machine guns or small rockets that aren't too effective) one secondary weapon (rockets, rail guns, etc), a rear weapon (mines), and a defence (this can either be armour or a shielding system. Either one runs out). The primary weapons are nice, because they can re-load/re-charge so you don't run out. However, the one thing I found lacking was a weapons van when you needed it, and this royally blows if you run out of mines or missiles. Your defensive selection is your own choice, however I went with shields as soon as I got them. Armour doesn't seem very useful, and shields last you until they run out.

Here's another thing that I found slightly disappointing: there is a turbo feature, however unlike its predecessor this turbo is limited, and when you run out of it, you run out. The old Interceptor had a recharge ability, so it was nice to know that you always had a little bit or a lot. The new one can fire off boosts repeatedly so it doesn't need to recharge, but when it's gone you better start driving like your life depended on it.

Other features would include the new off-road mode, which I found slightly annoying. In off-road terrain, the Interceptor slows down considerably, and to remember an off-road feature on top of everything else is a bit frustrating, but it's a must if you want to get through some missions.



The handling of the car can seem touchy at times, but I was used to it by the time I got to the end of the first mission. It gets around the corners and handles almost like the old car does, even when it changes into the boat mode or the ski/bike mode.

The new boat mode of the car is nice, however it lacks something that the older one has: detail. The new Interceptor, when it converts to the watercraft, now has two tapered points that jut out from the front of the craft, the wheel wells seal up and you're off. Here's the thing: those tapered points come out from nowhere, whereas the older car seemed to have pieces that would fold and connect and shrink and so on and so on, and still keep details. Granted the new mode looks like you could just as easily spear your enemies than shoot them, and the lines are smoother and makes the vehicle look sleeker.

The alternate modes, such as the bike and the jet-ski mode, seem to have more movement to them, meaning that there is a lot more externally, not internally. The front wheels (or skis, or whatever) stick out the front, and in my opinion looks kind of funny and fragile.

The graphics aren't what you'd expect. They do appear a bit low quality, but when you're moving around a lot at high speeds, you don't really care. I did like the effects from different weapons, such as the guns on the Interceptor, and the explosions were damn near apocalyptic and great to see when you blew something up.



This new one did stir things up a bit. You don't drive the car all of the time. During the second mission, you get a taste of a new perspective when you're inside the weapons van trying to fend off the baddies. The new weapons van has a rotating gun turret with two types of weapons: primary machine guns and secondary explosives. This was pretty fun, because the explosives can make you a bit trigger-happy…which isn't a bad thing in this game. To unload as much as you can against your enemies and watch them catapult in the air and explode is probably one of the best things about this game.

Since I wasn't making a lot of progress in the missions, I didn't exactly delve into the story with the mysterious new female agent, but you get a great new look at her at the start of the game when she gets out of the Interceptor. You have to save her a couple times towards the start of some of the new missions, after that who knows what happens.



Overall, I have to say that this game should have been better. SpyHunter has a lot to live up to, and I'm slightly reluctant to say that the latest instalment didn't do the franchise justice. There are some pros to it, and some cons. I did do a lot of contrast and comparing with SpyHunter One, simply because that is what got me hooked and anxiously waiting for the next one. If I didn't have that to compare with, I'd still stick with my original comments. Beef up the car, load it with everything from a slingshot to an ICBM launcher, strap a few more boosters to it, and let it roll. Well, maybe next time.