Spy Hunter
Spy Hunter?s latest mission? Infiltrate the Game Boy Advance and see what happens.
As handheld companions to console hits go, Spy Hunter looks and feels quite a bit like its big brother. Usually, it?s a bait-and-switch, but not this time?just as in the next-gen versions, you?ll drive the sleek, transforming Interceptor from a rear chase view as you blow up enemy motorcycles, sedans, missile launchers, helicopters, boats, and more. The similarities work for and against it, though, because the linear gameplay can get extremely frustrating. Most missions are defeated through trial-and-error patterns?finding a path to the mission targets, blowing them sky-high, and surviving until the finish is the key to the game. That also means that you could memorize a level?s structure inside and out and still not get past that level for days.
The game relies heavily on Mode 7?type scaling effects, which make things look pixilated but keep the action moving at a brisk pace. The controls are quite good and the lock-on system proves very helpful. And of course, it wouldn?t by Spy Hunter without a cool version of the Peter Gunn theme, though the sound effects could use help. In the end, though, it?s the linear gameplay that makes Spy Hunter merely mediocre.
