Stone faced men fire assault rifles at your hood from the back of pickups. Helicopters and Harrier jets swarm above launching rocket after rocket after your speeding car. You catch a smoking shell fired from a tank and slide sideways into cafe tables in front of a restaurant. These are just some of the exciting situations presented in Midway's updated take on the arcade classic, Spyhunter.

This game looks absolutely fantastic in previews and on the box cover. Unfortunately, it is only a decent game when it comes time to playing it.
Spyhunter is a task based racing/destruction game. Each level consists of driving your specially equipped "Interceptor" and blowing things up. This part is quite fun at first, but it gets old after a while. In one level you blow up the missiles. In the next level you blow up some vehicle prototypes. In the next level you blow up... well it doesn't really matter. Each time you just blow something up. The only thing that changes is the look of the thing you need to destroy. There are a few levels that venture off this well beaten path, but no where near enough.
Their are moments of brilliance in this game. The last few levels are marvelous. The levels are expansive and have surprises around every turn. There are breakaway roads and "secret" areas that you must find to achieve the level objectives. If only the whole game were like this. Some of the earlier levels are quite boring and a few of them re-use parts of a level you have already raced through. This would be understandable if the worlds were large and free roaming, but they aren't. The path you must take is almost always segmented off using rails, buildings, and other blockades. This makes the replay value drop like a rock.

So enough discussion, let's break it down...

Graphics
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Spectacular, if you aren't moving. The pace of the game is quick and the graphics begin to get jagged as soon as the car begins to move. The cut scenes at the end are truly amazing however. The rendering of the water has to be seen to be believed.

Controls
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You can get the job done, but I found it hard to switch to the weapon I needed in time to actually use it.

Weapons
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Just like the levels, the weapons don't get good until the end. My favorite weapon, the rail gun, is only available in the last two levels, even though it doesn't have a specific use that would limit it to those levels.
The defensive weapons are absolutely WORTHLESS. Smoke screens and oil slicks should be a lot of fun, but there isn't a rear facing camera, so you can't see them work, and I made it through the game without using them, so what is the point of them?

Sound
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I give the thumbs up to the sound. Each weapon has a distinct sound and are exciting to hear. Engine reving and boat splashes are included as well. You can even hear the helicopters struggling to maintain control after you tag them with a missle. That's pretty cool.

Two player modes
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I was pretty excited with the 2 player modes at first. Three levels into the game and I had 3 different 2 player modes to play. Little did I know they would just repeat from then on :( The two player modes are fun, but they aren't cooperative. You race against each other, do target practice, or attempt to collect more objects than the other player. Call me greedy, but I wanted more than that :)


In all, Spyhunter is a good game, but I'm not sure I would buy it again. If a friend has it, definitely get it and play it through. If not, you may be able to rent it and beat it over a few days. Last resort is to wait until it drops to the $30 price point.

There's a lot of potential here. Midway could make the next version into a truly must have game. Let's hope they do.

Recommended: Yes