Spy Hunter 2 Preview

It didn't come as much of a surprise to anyone in 2001 when Midway announced that it would remake Spy Hunter, its classic espionage-themed arcade game. Midway had already made a name for itself with previous remakes of many of its other original franchises, like Mortal Kombat, and it had also made some long-running series out of established games, like NBA Jam. When Spy Hunter was released on the PlayStation 2, critics and gamers alike were shocked at how well it turned out. Not only was it a great stand-alone driving action game, but it also kept many of the conventions of the original game without seeming too hokey or forced. Subsequent Xbox, GameCube, and, eventually, PC ports followed, though some technical problems kept them from being as good as the PS2 version. Later this year, Midway will release Spy Hunter 2 on all three console platforms. We recently sat down with an early PlayStation 2 version of the game to see what the sequel is all about.

Though little has been revealed about Spy Hunter 2's plot up to this point, you will definitely reprise the role of Alec Sects, the man behind the wheel of the game's franchise vehicle: the G-8155 Interceptor. Also back for round two is Nostra, the insidious organization hell-bent on world domination. Nostra has upgraded its forces, and it's more powerful now than ever before--but, thankfully, so are you. You'll drive a brand-new version of the Interceptor in the new game, complete with all the standard weapons and transformation modes of its predecessor. It's also been bulked up with some new upgrades. You'll be able to take your Interceptor across land and sea, as well as through the snow and off-road. You'll also have a bevy of weapons at your disposal, like Gatling guns, missiles, cannons, cluster rockets, oil slicks, mines, smoke screens, and an indestructible (though temporary) energy shield. Before each mission, you'll select a primary weapon, a secondary weapon, a defensive weapon, and an armor type, effectively letting you customize your weapon loadout. Alec won't be alone on his journey, since he'll be working with a mysterious woman, known only as Agent Duvelle, on a number of missions. Her exact role is still rather uncertain at this point, but it appears she will play a major part in the game's storyline.

Spy Hunter 2 will feature 16 different levels in four different world locations, including Switzerland, Russia, Asia, and the US. The game's missions appear to stick very much to the formulas introduced in the previous game. These tasks seem to rely on a lot of explosive action, along with primary and secondary objectives. Many of the missions we played seemed reminiscent of those found in the original game. They included escort duties that required Alec to keep friendly vehicles safe, seek-and-destroy missions that called upon Alec to eliminate rogue Interceptors, and timer-based missions where Alec needed to escape a particular area or had to reach a specific rendezvous point before the clock expired. One especially cool aspect of the new game is the ability to climb aboard the various allied weapons trucks and planes that appear during missions. In certain situations, Alec could fire Gatling guns and rocket launchers from inside the trucks as they drove or flew along while repairing our Interceptor. We found this to be a lot of fun, and it presented a nice way to add some variety to the otherwise straightforward driving action. The game also includes a new 360-degree radar map that gives you an idea of where enemies are in relation to you.

Spy Hunter 2's levels contain all of the different interactive elements found in the previous game. You're able to shoot out the back of a boat to make it sink. Then you can drive through the hole and get to the other side. You can shoot down a crate, which hangs from a crane, to land on a patch of mines you wouldn't otherwise be able to get around. Numerous destructible objects, like walls, stacks of oil drums, outdoor furniture, and the like, appear as well, so you have plenty of stuff to smash through as you drive. You're also able to take multiple paths to complete different levels, so you have a nice array of options in terms of how you want to finish a mission.

Visually, Spy Hunter 2 definitely seems like it builds off of the stylish look of the previous title. The Interceptor looks a lot different this time around, with more obvious gun barrels and a slightly more futuristic design. Even vehicles, like the weapons truck and some of the more familiar enemy transports, have been given the same sort of treatment. The different levels we saw looked nicely detailed and seemed to have unique settings and environments based on their respective regional locations. Though we noticed a few broken textures and missing cutscenes in the early version of the game, it's likely that the developer will work these out before the game's release. The game also ran surprisingly smoothly, with nary a frame rate issue to be found--even with copious amounts of action onscreen. Spy Hunter 2 will also feature an all-new theme song from recording artist Vanessa Carlton, entitled "Dark Carnival." Unfortunately, this track didn't seem to be part of the version of the game we played. We also didn't hear any version of the infamous "Theme From Peter Gunn," which was prominently featured in the original Spy Hunter. While a new Vanessa Carlton track seems interesting, we do hope that the original theme hasn't been done away with altogether.

From what we've seen so far, Spy Hunter 2 is shaping up to be a solid sequel. It maintains all the core elements of the previous game, and it appears to be building on them nicely. Spy Hunter 2 is set for release in November. Expect more on the game in the coming weeks.