User Reviews (11 - 21 of 89)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Solid game, but could be better

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: October 05, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Everything about this new Spy Hunter looks great, and almost all of it feels right. The car drives well and is clearly focused on arcade action rather than strict racing simulation, making the game very fun to play. But missions usually end just a bit before it feels like they should, especially given the old never-ending nature of the original game. The graphics are beautiful, but it's often easy to lose track of enemies or confuse them with the scenery, and effectively using the rear view mirror and defensive weapons is much difficult enough that most drivers will just stick to the guns. My only other compalint is that the multiplayer mode is locked out until you complete all of the single-player missions, which is a completely unjustifiable mistake. Don't get me wrong, it's a very fun game, but it leaves you with the impression that it's not as much as it could have been.

A remake of a classic that is actually good!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: February 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

In this day and age, game companies are trying to make money by reviving some of their classic game franchises and placing them into the era of 3D graphics. More often than not, these revivals fall into mediocrity and blandness; examples of failed attempts include "Pac-Man" and "Frogger". But then Midway came along with a revival of its undisputed classic arcade game "Spy Hunter", and the end result is a remake that is both good enough to carry the "Spy Hunter" name and good enough to stand out on its own.

There is very little plot in "Spy Hunter"; story is told through one cutscene after the first mission and through mission objectives. But with games like "Spy Hunter", a story really isn't needed. It's the gameplay that counts, and boy, does it deliver. Virtually everything from the original arcade classic has returned. The player drives the ultra-cool Interceptor car in various missions that include collecting Sat-Coms, destroying radio towers, and disabling bombs. Weapons are limited at the beginning to machine guns, but the selection grows bigger with missiles, EMP, guided missiles, and so on. The car also has defensive weapons: oil slick, smoke-screen, and the ever popular flame-thrower. The vehicle can also change between a car on land and a boat on water, and the vehicle also sheds into a motorbike or jetski if a lot of damage is taken. There are even civilian casualties, making this game a justified remake, indeed.

The game play is fast and furious, giving what the original game lacked: a sense of speed. The graphics, while not the best the PS2 has seen, are clean and very well created. The Interceptor itself is a work of art that could contend with some of the cars of "Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec". Enemy AI isn't too challenging, but the Nostra enemies are enough to make sure you can't simply ignore them. Soundwise, it's phenomenal. Everything from the car engine to the weapons being fired to things blowing up simply add to the experience, and fans of the original "Peter Gunn Theme" will be pleased to know that there are several awesome variations in the game. The version on the last level is particularly sweet.

Unfortunately, the game does suffer from a few small problems. The biggest is that it's very short. There are only 14 missions in the game, and each one lasts about five to eight minutes. A patient and dedicated player can breeze through this game in several hours. Also, the game isn't balanced between its offensive and defensive weaponry. The car is viewed from directly behind and not from above like in the original classic, and thus defensive weaponry is rarely used, which can be a little disappointing to some players.

Overall, "Spy Hunter" is one of those few worthy remakes of a classic game. Its greatest shortcoming is that it's a little short, but players who can look beyond this defect will have a blast. If not to own, it's undoubtedly worth a rental.

Spy Hunter is one of those games that gets it just right

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: June 29, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Any regular gamer will agree with me in saying that when it comes to car-oriented games, the only true motivation factor is upgrading your car, winning races, lather rinse and repeat. There are so few titles out there that ignore this formula and still sell well. In fact, this lies true for blockbuster titles such as GT3 and Nascar 2002... most of the time, your play value is progress over fun. You can't tell me you'd have more fun driving your Beetle 2.0 as opposed to an Esperante GTR-1. In other words, in most car titles, it takes time before you can start having fun.

But Spy Hunter is different. Spy Hunter skips all that Sprinter Trueno and Beetle 2.0 boredom and heads straight for the F1 league. *This game is fun, fast and insane. Period.*

The Interceptor, your car, can be equipped from a range of weapons varying from machine guns, missiles and EMP cannons to oil slicks and smoke screens. In other words, you're driving a James Bondmobile. Now, who hasn't wanted to do THAT before? Haven't you always wanted to play a game where you can spin out a dozen pursuing cars by simply blinding them with a thick smoke and watching them helplessly whirl about as black fluid sprays out of what seemed to be your muffler? Yeah, you have. How about completely annihilating a road block by means of popping a rack of missiles out of a hidden compartment on your roof, then firing away? Yeah, me too. And in Spy Hunter, that's nothing. That's all just stuff you do on the run.

Oh yeah, and the Interceptor can turn into a small jet-boat type of thing. And oh yeah, it has a giant afterburner that pops out of the trunk. 'Nuff said on that.

The only true downside to this game that probably roots from my greed is that it's just too darn short. Although those missions go by like a herd of snails, it's over before you know it. Don't despair, though. There's a ton of extra stuff you can accomplish aside from the missions. Two-player, for example. The two-player levels can only be played if you've completed all the objectives on that level in the regular game. Even better, if you complete a mission within a certain amount of time, you'll unlock a cheat. In other words, there's a lot in this package that keeps you coming back for more. It's worth every cent it's listed for. Don't rent it, don't borrow it, don't steal it. Buy it. Buy it now.

Great evolution of an arcade game... but it's too short

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Spy Hunter is a great game: it's a combination of a nice driving game with a shooter, in which you seek to complete all objectives within a time limit.
But it's even more: it comes packed with many features, from Saliva's remake of the Peter Gunn theme and two videos of the rock group, to an early animatic test and a "Making of..." featurettes. These special treats, however, must be "unlocked".

Since the beginning, you'll be treated to a whole new Spy Hunter experience. The game's graphics and sound are great -the good ol' Peter Gunn theme's adaptation is more aggressive and fits the new game, and at the end of each level, you'll be awarded a nice little movie that you can replay afterwards.
Everything in each track is beautifully rendered. Even the enemies look great and come in different colours and sizes (you get from gun toting bikers to fully armored tanks!). Locales are beautiful and missions remind of the cold war years.

The story is only decent, but playability is very good -driving is good, not like Gran Turismo, but good; and you even get to drive what looks like a Trabant car. The controls gave me some trouble at first, but are intuitive and they seem like the best translation from the original arcade's cool steering wheel. Levels are short, but packed wih action and lots of speeding.

However, enemies appear always in the same place and lack any intelligence. Primary objectives are straightforward, and the secondary objectives require taking detours that are easy to spot. Also, there are no end-level "bosses", thus making this a relatively easy game to beat.
In fact, too easy: I got half-way through the game in one night, and beat it in three nights. Accomplishing all primary and secondary objectives, that is.

Replay value: good. You have to beat all objectives within a shorter time limit to unlock other views like night-vision (you start with first person and two third person views) and the special features.

Overall it's one of the greatest games and it delivers. I am happy that I bought it, and you will be too.
I would have given it 5 stars were it not for the not-too-bright enemies and the short play time.

Spyhunter rocks

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This one of the best PS2 games ever!! Good graphics and storyline, could be better if it had more levels, but that's the only downside. I've just read a review of one star for this saying "you only get one gun" who ever wrote it apparently only played through the training mission, since after that you get upgrades on the gun (10mm to 25mm to 50mm), missles (start with unguided, then guided, and swarm(four at once)), emp(electromagnetic charge-don't get it either, unguided and guided), and rail gun (really powerful and cool laser thing, guided only), and for defensive you've got oil,smoke, and flamethrower to protect your tail end. The extras are a great bonus compared to spyhunter2 which didn't have hardly any and the ruined the spyhunter theme by saliva (see my review for spyhunter2, "12 year old gamer from Hays KS, USA. Anyone who considers themeselves a serious "game king" must beat this before rightfully proclaiming it, I've beat it 3 times in the past weak.

Midways Spy Hunter

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: September 28, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This is a great game for any gamer, beginner, intermediate, or expert. If any of you know of the Spy Hunter they made for the Atari 2600(r.) this is quite a step into the future. The Car (G-Interceptor) can morph into a Motorcycle when shields are low, when hitting water a Power Boat or Jet Ski. The Car can have A rack of hood mounted missiles, Dual forward machine guns, Black Smoke that comes out the bumper for enemeys to get lost in, and a variety of other weapons. One of the biggest feats I believe Midway overcame was the real time video. There are no video-breaks, tweaks, anything like that it is just fast streaming video. That is excellent with the pixel rate it is running at for the PS2 console. If you?re into anything like racing, 3PS (3rd person shooter), or just action/adv. games this is the game for you. Doesn?t matter where you buy it its going to be 50.00 that?s the penalty of the PS2 console. You can sometimes find it used on eBay(r.) for anywhere between 20-35$. I often have games for sale but not currently check under seller Vipero22. I highly recommend this game to anyone!

A great way to spend an afternoon

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: May 30, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Unlike most remakes of games for the Playstation format, this one is really a great improvement. It's fun and challenging, but not too hard for the "casual gamer" like me. The controls are very easy to adapt to, and the car handles like a dream, responding to the slightest touch of the stick - but not overcompensating so it takes a perfect touch to keep it on the road. The most aggravating thing about the game is the first stage - the training track. Don't think for one minute you can just crank up the car and go blasting through to the finish line in record time and progress. You have to complete the main objective and most of the secondary objectives before you can get to the real missions - but that's good because you have to know how to do all the things in the trainer in the real game! It's not too terribly challenging to finish a mission (just go for the primary objective and choose a secondary one rather than going for all of them), but it IS fun. There are still several areas that I have no idea how you're supposed to get to (some Satcoms are situated in places where your car would have to be able to fly to reach, and I just don't see how that can happen), but it's still a lot of fun. Definitely a good investment, and definitely worth the money.

very very cool!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 15, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Spy Hunter is back!! Peter gunn theme and all. I have been eagerly waiting for this release and finally got to play it for the first time last night. WOW the graphics are flawless. The control over the car is great. The missions are challenging. All in all this is a very very cool PS2 title.

GREAT FUN

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: November 19, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I got this game when i got my playstation 2 and it is great fun.Some levels are too easy but as the game progresses well lets just say good luck.i would give this 4and 1 half stars but i couldent.I dident know spy hunter was an old game but this is perfect for ages 8 and up( not for violence but the controls are kind of hard)I think this should be rated E or e and 1 half but i dont think you can do that either.anyway i REALY enjoyed this game

G-6155 intercepter

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: September 09, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Spy hunter is a great game for gamers around age 10 and up maybe 8 and up. in spy hunter you take control of the mega fast mega cool G-1655 intercepter a car that has guns and can transform into a hover craft and an extreme-G like motorcycle. the missions usually revolve around blowing stuff up and other things like this. the missions as noted above are a little short but this is actually a good thing because in many of the levels you are down to your last breath at the end of the level. so anyway here are my ratings for the 4 main things. on a scale from one to ten

Graphics: 8 the graphics are quite good but its kinda hard to see certain things

Sound: 6 the songs are just kinda techno spy type things that are easily ignored. the SFX are quite good and aren't really annoying

Control: 9 personally I think the controls are great I only give it a 9 because that gives them room to improve for spy hunter 2?

Fun factor: 8 could be funner but its still quite good.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next 

Actions