Friday From the Archives: Spy Hunter (2002)

Every Friday we celebrate the heritage of Code Redd Net by posting a retro-review from our considerable back catalogue of embarrassingly naive, but nonetheless entertaining and heartfelt, movie and game reviews. Please pardon the prose; most of these articles were written in our immediately post-pubescent years. Hopefully you find them as enjoyable as we do.

Now, if I'm not mistaken, our review Spy Hunter was our very first game review. And boy, does it show; but, as I've argued elsewhere, it's charmingly so. I believe we wrote this piece in middle school, and both ChickenMan and I agreed that it was the only suitable candidate to kick-off our games section. Today, of course, my review reads more like a satire of the often hyper-hyperbolic video game press than your usual critical undertaking (I sincerely wish I had that kind of awareness in 2001, but alas), while ChickenMan's prose at least has some life, some enthusiasm, and doesn't sound like a compilation of quotes taken from the back of the cover art (though I would like to see his quotes there at some point). As for the game itself, it holds up remarkably well today. It is way too short still, and the multiplayer options are spare stuff, but it as fluid and crisp as you could possibly hope for. Though the game is not too easy, neither is it frustrating, and that's a pretty difficult balance to maintain. Spy Hunter was the first game we ever gave a perfect score, and that reminds us that the very first Code Redd Net Awards is less than a week away, and Spy Hunter is in the running for the Best Action Game award. Join us on November 8 to celebrate the 10-year history of Code Redd Net.

"Spy Hunter is a great addition to any PS2 owner's library of games and it really shows off the machine's power. The missions mix the right variety of gameplay and none of the missions seem to get boring. One mission you are destroying enemy interceptor prototypes and another you are breaking out of a warehouse using a regular car. The storyline is also great and the beautiful next-gen graphics only contribute to the excellent controls which are intuitive but easy to master. I recommend this game to anyone looking for a great action game. This is one of the best games this year, so make sure to pick this up. And with the success of this game, there is a high chance of a sequel."

ChickenMan had this to say:

"Spy Hunter marks one of PS2's greatest games yet! Its gameplay style is not like many others.It seems like car games that don't have to do with racing make good games. One of the miscues of the game (if you use the analog like me) is that the lightest flick of the down button and your slowin', slowin', goin' backwards! And the other is the rather long load time, but it's all worth it, baby! Going through the missions your interceptor gets upgraded with more ammunition, better ammunition, new weapons and defenses. This game is the bomb! And defuse da bomb with EMP. Can you make vehicle combat games better?! No!! Maybe, but NO!! Chow baby, play some Spy Hunter!"