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Spy Hunter

RetrobrothersRetrobrothers
edited October 2010 in Games
Been playing Spy Hunter again and added it to my site.

I did quite like it back then - and it's still fairly playable these days I reckon.

Not a bad conversion at all - US Gold could be fairly hit or miss. I though that this, Raid over Moscow and Tapper were good games. Beach Head was enjoyable too.

Thoughts on Spy Hunter?
Post edited by Retrobrothers on
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Comments

  • spiderspider
    edited October 2010
    I played this a fair bit when it was new, although I did actually play it about a month ago (but on another platform) , I did not enjoy that :D

    I'll retry our version later now I think on :)
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  • PegazPegaz
    edited October 2010
    Great loading screen.. :)
    Good conversion, but after a while it becomes a bit boring..
    I prefer Stainless Steel smooth animation. ;)

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  • GrazGraz
    edited October 2010
    It's one of the earliest cases of, 'better than the arcade version!' Speccy Spy Hunter is the absolute best. Makes all the rest seem like poor copies, even the coin-op it's based on. Great fun.
  • SpectorSpector
    edited October 2010
    They reduced all the actions to one fire button, which you have to do really for an 8 bit micro, as you don't want to be pushing a space bar while holding a joystick. Pretty good, and still playable, though not the most difficult game in the world. I certainly think it's more playable than the Colecovision version from a year before.
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  • Matt_BMatt_B
    edited October 2010
    I thought it was another excellent effort from Denton Designs and well up with the best arcade conversions of the time. Sure, it's a bit simple, but so was the arcade game. However, they've done a fair bit to make it more playable and make the graphics more Spectrum-friendly whilst still generally remaining faithful to the spirit of the original.

    Stainless Steel might have smoother graphics, but at the price of making things mono. I don't think it plays any the better for them, and those screechy sound effects don't do anything for me either.
  • RetrobrothersRetrobrothers
    edited October 2010
    Matt_B wrote: »
    I thought it was another excellent effort from Denton Designs and well up with the best arcade conversions of the time. Sure, it's a bit simple, but so was the arcade game. However, they've done a fair bit to make it more playable and make the graphics more Spectrum-friendly whilst still generally remaining faithful to the spirit of the original.

    Stainless Steel might have smoother graphics, but at the price of making things mono. I don't think it plays any the better for them, and those screechy sound effects don't do anything for me either.

    Agree Matt - Stainless Steel had the capacity to be an utter classic - but it was let down by the awful sound effect every time you were killed and also being sent back to the start of the level. The radar scanner wasn't quite good enough either. :mad:

    Spy Hunter wins it for me!
  • LCDLCD
    edited October 2010
    Spectrum "Spy Hunter" is absolutly TOP! I just played "Major Motion" on my Atari ST, and it absolutly sux...
  • ewgfewgf
    edited October 2010
    I liked Spy Hunter on the Speccy - not really my sort of game, but I liked it as much as I liked any game of that genre, and I thought it made good use of the Speccy's capabilities.
  • 1980-20..1980-20..
    edited October 2010
    One of me faves, although i didnt realise until 2 years ago that your not suposed to crash into/machine gun all the cars and motorbikes you actualy get points for driving round em.
  • jdanddietjdanddiet
    edited October 2010
    yeah loved Spy Hunter but it does go absolutely nowhere (fast!)
    still great fun. Always ended up missing the bit where you have to turn off and get into the boat!
  • JuanF. RamirezJuanF. Ramirez
    edited October 2010
    I also think the speccy version is better than the original arcade. The scrolling speed is excellent. River phases are more difficult than the road ones, what gives the game a touch of excellent gameplay.

    Only a sh*t feature: Once you have loaded the game and defined keys, you can't go back to change keys... I remember loading the game, defining keys O,P,Q,A, Space and then realizing that Space key stops the game and couldn't go back to change it, so I had to reset the spectrum and load the game again. But obviously it's a minor problem... great game!
  • Dwayne DibleyDwayne Dibley
    edited October 2010
    Good game , but too repetitive too quickly to be considered a classic.

    No way was it better than the arcade though (or even the C64 version!)
  • RetrobrothersRetrobrothers
    edited October 2010
    Dwayne Dibley wrote: »
    Good game , but too repetitive too quickly to be considered a classic.

    No way was it better than the arcade though (or even the C64 version!)

    Sacrelige! :lol:
  • jammajupjammajup
    edited October 2010
    Good version on the speccy to be honest and i have to agree i also did not realise that you got points for driving through the traffic instead of gunning it lol
    Things are just happening a little too quick especially in the arcade one
  • Rebelstar without a causeRebelstar without a cause
    edited October 2010
    jammajup wrote: »
    Good version on the speccy to be honest and i have to agree i also did not realise that you got points for driving through the traffic instead of gunning it lol
    Things are just happening a little too quick especially in the arcade one

    Was this the one where you got weapons by driving onto the back of a lorry?
  • DunnyDunny
    edited October 2010
    Rebelstar without a cause wrote: »
    Was this the one where you got weapons by driving onto the back of a lorry?

    Yes.

    D.
  • stefrobbstefrobb
    edited October 2010
    Rebelstar without a cause wrote: »
    Was this the one where you got weapons by driving onto the back of a lorry?
    And then promptly blasted the lorry to buggery to get out.
  • deadpan666deadpan666
    edited October 2010
    Dwayne Dibley wrote: »
    Good game , but too repetitive too quickly to be considered a classic.

    No way was it better than the arcade though (or even the C64 version!)

    Yeah, I first played it on my mate's C64, and I have to agree that that version is a bit better than the Speccy one....the Speccy one is still pretty funky too though! :)
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  • Rebelstar without a causeRebelstar without a cause
    edited October 2010
    deadpan666 wrote: »
    Yeah, I first played it on my mate's C64, and I have to agree that that version is a bit better than the Speccy one....the Speccy one is still pretty funky too though! :)

    That's tantamount to treason!
  • GrunakiGrunaki
    edited October 2010
    The C64 was more colourful and had "Peter Gunn" playing in the background, like the arcade version. I also found it much better than the Speccy version. (But the Speccy was pretty good too.)
  • MorkinMorkin
    edited October 2010
    Quite enjoyed it, never played the arcade version so didn't have anything to compare it to.

    For me it was quite playable but didn't hold lasting value. Also I recall I played it in a period during which some real innovation and depth seemed to be emerging in speccy titles so maybe it seemed a bit simplistic to me.

    Hmmm, this is another interesting one looking at the magazine reviews - Crash 89% (Smash), SU 4/5 and then YS reviewers 1/5, 1/5 and 2/5..
  • chop983chop983
    edited October 2010
    Had always thought you needed 90% for a smash, I used to play this a lot at the time but now the small viewing area makes it too tricky to play.
  • deadpan666deadpan666
    edited October 2010
    Rebelstar without a cause wrote: »
    That's tantamount to treason!

    Well it was better!! But not as much better as Chase HQ was on the Speccy compared to the C64 version...


    There..does that save me from being locked in the tower?? :lol:
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  • Matt_BMatt_B
    edited October 2010
    Morkin wrote: »
    Quite enjoyed it, never played the arcade version so didn't have anything to compare it to.

    For me it was quite playable but didn't hold lasting value. Also I recall I played it in a period during which some real innovation and depth seemed to be emerging in speccy titles so maybe it seemed a bit simplistic to me.

    Hmmm, this is another interesting one looking at the magazine reviews - Crash 89% (Smash), SU 4/5 and then YS reviewers 1/5, 1/5 and 2/5..

    YS reviewers could sometimes just be a little bit too cynical and let a good game slip by them. Still, I'd think that it's a low 80s game rather than a Smash; what's there is great, but it's ultimately just too insubstantial to play for a long period of time.
  • mermanmerman
    edited October 2010
    chop983 wrote: »
    Had always thought you needed 90% for a smash, I used to play this a lot at the time but now the small viewing area makes it too tricky to play.

    In early issues of Crash (and ZZAP) it was 85% or higher to get the award.

    It does play well on the Speccy, but having the music on the C64 version gives it the edge.
  • MorkinMorkin
    edited October 2010
    merman wrote: »
    It does play well on the Speccy, but having the music on the C64 version gives it the edge.
    Grunaki wrote: »
    The C64 was more colourful and had "Peter Gunn" playing in the background, like the arcade version. I also found it much better than the Speccy version. (But the Speccy was pretty good too.)
    deadpan666 wrote: »
    Yeah, I first played it on my mate's C64, and I have to agree that that version is a bit better than the Speccy one....
    Dwayne Dibley wrote: »
    No way was it better than the arcade though (or even the C64 version!)

    Lock the thread!!! :p

    One thing I remember about this game is that trick with the helicopter where you could completely slow down to a stop, and amass loads of points as it kept dropping bombs just ahead of you.. Was surprised this wasn't noticed during play testing really - never needed to consult tips to figure it out.
  • sekretssekrets
    edited October 2010
    I used to love spy hunter!

    I played a version on the ps2 not so long ago, but was dissapointed. grrrr.
  • takapatakapa
    edited October 2010
    Spy Hunter is one of my best loved games. I continued to play it on the Sam Coupe well into the 90s. There are plenty of alternative action games, but I loved the oil and machine guns and the scary red trucks with spinny wheels.

    I actually prefer the conversion to the Arcade game (that I played many years later via mame).
  • fogfog
    edited October 2010
    I remember playing the REAL one in my local Chinese takeaway .. it was beside green beret and mr do :)
    BUT the atari 8 bit version is nice like the 64 version... BUT the port was good..

    I was surprised to know it was denton, it was never made really obvious.. or I missed that. Only sussed it recently.
    the atari / c64 one.. IRC needed 2 joysticks.. 1 for the weapons..

    the arcade version I have in emulation, midway classics IRC (?1-2 in tesco :D) and well it's not the same without the steering wheel.

    again like other games it comes down to vertical setup of the screen.. much like things like mr do etc..
    there is a game, errm river rescue or something , I have on atari... on speccy IRC it's very different because of the res

    if spy hunter is your sorta game, you might like 5th gear on c64 (by rack it) .. when I saw action fighter / LED storm. reminds me of it.. and that other game where you jump cars in the arcade.

    the problem with some driving games ... the look ahead aspect.. not being big enough
  • GrazGraz
    edited October 2010
    Morkin wrote: »
    Lock the thread!!! :p

    Well I thought the C64 one was really rubbish. Bores me to tears. Speccy one certainly wins on all battlefronts there.

    Peter Gunn? Is that the music? Always hated that too. :D
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