In Spy Hunter – an action game produced by Midway in 1983, with coin-op machines in mind – you play the role of a secret agent and sit behind the wheel of a futuristic G-6155 vehicle. A very fast and well-armed car will help you fight the ruthless villains that reign on the American roads.
In fact, the fight against enemies is of secondary importance in Spy Hunter. The extermination of hostile vehicle agents only helps to fulfil the main goal of the struggle, i.e. to stay alive for as long as possible. You don’t have to destroy the opponents you meet – you can run away as well, which is not so difficult given that your car has a afterburner that allows you to escape even the fastest enemy machines. Staying on the road is much more of a problem than your enemies, especially at maximum speed. Any departure from the route is equivalent to a breakdown of G-6155.
At the beginning of the game, a counter is activated, which allows for stress-free driving for several dozen seconds. This is a protection period during which you can destroy your vehicle as many times as you like – a company truck will always deliver another car to you. After a limited period of time, you are left to yourself, and any destruction of the G-6155 is equivalent to the loss of additional “life”. As is usually the case in arcade games, the use of all opportunities causes the end of the struggle.
The G-6155 is equipped with a machine gun that allows you to attack cars in front of you. While driving, the targets should be carefully selected, as the destruction of civilian vehicles does not increase the score. You can also try to push all road users to the side of the road – if any car falls out of the route, it will be permanently out of traffic. Travelling the next kilometers of an endless road, you’ll encounter not only enemies, but also allies in the form of trucks. Having parked the caravans in the latter, you will receive various bonuses, such as oil containers or rockets. The last interesting feature of Spy Hunter is the ability to leave the route at certain points and modify the G-6155 into a boat. In such situations, the action takes place in water areas, where there is also no shortage of opponents.
Although Midway is responsible for the creation of the PeCet conversion, it did not perform very well. The action is as dynamic as in the original, but the execution of the game leaves a lot to be desired. The visual setting is very poor. Not much good can also be said about the sound, traditionally played through the PC Speaker.
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