TGS 2003 Spy Fiction Updated Impressions

Sammy showed off its newly announced stealth action game Spy Fiction for the PlayStation 2 at this year's Tokyo Game Show. The game is currently in development in Japan at Access Games, a fledgling studio whose roster includes veterans from Konami's Metal Gear team. The game should offer some unique additions to the stealth action genre.

Spy Fiction's story chronicles the activity of an underground espionage agency called S.E.A.. The game's begins when the agency receives a videotape with an ominous message from an international terrorist organization. The agency sends out Phantom, one of its best strike teams, to infiltrate the terrorist hideout. However, once the agents are in, they uncover a diabolical plot that goes beyond anything the messages on the tape alluded to. The agents who have infiltrated the organization are left with little choice but to move quickly to stop the threat posed by the terrorists. This translates into a series of missions that take them to diverse places around the world such as biotechnology labs in the U.S. Northwest and the mountains of Austria.

You take on the role of the two Phantom agents who are racing to stop the impending disaster. You can apparently select which agent to play as at the start of each level. Each of them will make use of a variety of different gadgets. While some of these items seem to be the sort of thing you'd expect from a stealth-based game, there are some truly unique gadgets as well. The most notable of the items is the chameleon suit, which features two very distinct uses. When you're in a pinch, you can turn the suit on--this lets you blend in with your surroundings, effectively making you invisible so long as you stay still. A second use for the suit is its ability to project holograms around you. When you use this feature with a camera gadget, you can actually mimic the appearance of one of your enemies. The catch is that you'll have to snap a shot of them first, and the quality of this photo determines how convincing the suit's illusion will be. Perfect shots of an enemy will let you mimic everything from their physical appearance to their voice and retina prints. As you snap shots of your foes to mimic them, you'll be able to store the information and take on their appearance whenever you reach the specific areas in the game that will let you use the feature. The chameleon suit also has other cool features, such as the spider grip, which lets you stick to the walls, and a cable that lets you pull yourself up to ceilings or rappel down from high perches.

Spy Fiction's gameplay uses many of the basic mechanics you'd expect from a stealth game. However, Access is attempting to separate it from the pack by including the aforementioned gadgets, which seem like they can radically change how you choose to go through the game. In addition, the developer is throwing in some mini-games that will keep you on your toes. For example, at the start of some missions, your agent must glide down to a location by parachute. While this sequence might normally be part of a cutscene, Spy Fiction turns it into a mini-game whose freefall gameplay (which requires you to dodge mines while descending) seems reminiscent of some of the hang-gliding sequences of Bioware's MDK 2. However, you need to make sure your timing is perfect when deploying your chameleon suit, because fiddling with it too much while you're in freefall could mean that you'll end up as a cleverly camouflaged splotch on the ground.

The game's control seems solid and accessible, thanks to a fairly intuitive control scheme. This is a good thing, since many AI enemies are intelligent and will often shoot first and ask questions later--especially if one happens to bump into you while you're using the chameleon suit. Spy Fiction's graphics seem quite good, not only because of the game's powerful engine, but also because of its slick character design, provided by famed Japanese illustrator Renji Murata, best known for his design work on the popular anime Blue Submarine No. 6 and games such as Groove On Fight for the Saturn. The environments themselves also have a nice amount of detail and feature some interactive elements, like breakable objects. The special effects used for the chameleon suit's cloak are also subtle and seem well done. Spy Fiction appears to be getting off to a solid start. The game is currently scheduled to ship this December in Japan with a US release to follow next spring.