Let's Compare Spy Hunter

Started by TrekMD, March 17, 2013, 21:23:21 PM

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TrekMD

Spy Hunter is a 1983 arcade game developed and released by Bally Midway. It has also been ported to various home computers and video game systems.

As a cabinet-style arcade game, Spy Hunter was produced in both sit-down and standard upright versions with the latter being more common.[citation needed] The game's controls consist of a steering wheel in the form of a futuristic aircraft-style yoke with several special-purpose buttons, a two-position stick shift (offering 'low' and 'high' gears), and a pedal used for acceleration. It is a single-player game.

Gameplay

Spy Hunter is an vertical scrolling action/driving game with the player in the role of a spy driving an armed sportscar. The object of the game is to travel the freeway destroying as many enemy vehicles as possible while protecting civilian vehicles. The game uses top-down perspective.

The game begins with the player driving the fictitious G-6155 Interceptor. Various enemy vehicles try to destroy the player's car or to force it off the road, including a helicopter that drops bombs that can also leaves holes in the road. A counter increments the score while the car is moving. Additional points are earned destroying enemy vehicles using weapons or by forcing them off the road. After an initial lead-in time during which the player has an unlimited supply of cars, the player must earn extra cars by obtaining high scores. Destroying non-enemy cars halts the score counter for a short while and hard collisions with cars can also destroy the player's vehicle.

Following periodic forks in the road, players can enter a new 'territory' with different terrain and/or weather conditions. Players can also upgrade the car's standard machine guns by adding other weapons by enterting the Weapons Van, which appears in each new territory and can be periodically summoned by pressing the blinking "Weapons Van" button. Three special weapons are available: oil slicks, smoke screens, and surface-to-air missiles. Each has limited ammo and are lost if the player's car is destroyed. The game's dashboard shows which weapons are available, when lit.

It is possible for the player to convert the car into a cigarette boat for brief periods by driving through a special boathouse which appears infrequently at the side of the road after which the player is attacked by two different enemy boats.

Source:  Wikipedia


Going to the final frontier, gaming...


onthinice

Great Game, some really good conversions. The Coleco version is the most faithful that I have played. The Nes really was lacking. GameBoy Advance looks really close as well.

TL

I absolutely love Spy Hunter but don't actually own a single home version of it!  :o

I used to play the crap out of the BBC Micro version at school when I should have been working and remember it well from the arcades too.

The Atari XL/XE version is excellent, I play it from time to time via emulation if I need a fix.

onthinice

I wondered how the Atari XL/XE version was as I'm not sure I spent much time playing the C64 game.

TrekMD

I've never played this, even on the 2600.  It does look like a fun game, though.

Going to the final frontier, gaming...


TL

Quote from: "TrekMD"I've never played this, even on the 2600.  It does look like a fun game, though.

WOW! I can't believe that! Can't be many classic you haven't played Trek?

I really must hunt down (pun intended!) the 2600 version myself.

TrekMD

Quote from: "The Laird"
Quote from: "TrekMD"I've never played this, even on the 2600.  It does look like a fun game, though.

WOW! I can't believe that! Can't be many classic you haven't played Trek?

I really must hunt down (pun intended!) the 2600 version myself.

I don't even remember seeing this in the arcade back then!  I need to track down the 2600 version or at least a ROM to play using the Harmony Cart.

Going to the final frontier, gaming...


Rogue Trooper

Hammered this as an A8 owner and did the same again when i moved to the C64.Probably why i never bothered to put much time to it on the Midway comp.on Xbox.

2600+BBC versions look impressive for the hardware, not keen on Speccy ver.Sprites look too big.

Picked up the reboot on PS2, full price, day 1 release........yes, welllmoving swiftly on.

TL

For an absolutely excellent Spy Hunter clone for the Atari ST and Amiga then look no further than Major Motion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpwme4k1N6Q

TrekMD


Going to the final frontier, gaming...


Cryptic33

There was also a version included in MS Excel as an Easter Egg lol. I played the arcade version but there are a few up there that would give the arcade machine a run for its money such as the Apple 2, Atari 800XL and Coleco versions but I must say the Gameboy Advanced version looked very impressive :)
For the record, Alien verses Predator on the Atari Jaguar holds a Guinness World Record!

To remove any awkwardness, I have mesothelioma. I don’t seek sympathy, just acceptance. Thanks

TL

I played Spy Hunter 2 recently on the new Midway collection for Xbox 360. It's a rubbish game and not a patch on the original.

Sorry about the crap video, only one I could find.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xkvi1ekXLsk

onthinice

I have Spyhunter II for the Nes. It plays better then the first one on the Nes.

TL

Quote from: "onthinice"I have Spyhunter II for the Nes. It plays better then the first one on the Nes.

Would that be this game?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqZKLNaYIiw

onthinice

Yep, I knew Spy Hunter II did not sound right. It was late last night when I was typing. At least Super Spy Hunter lets you play longer.  Spy Hunter on the Nes has such cheap gameplay. You can't hit anything without crashing. Bump a car and you crash.