Well. Come. Back.
The C64 version of Spy Hunter kept me coming back for more for years and
years. A lot of this was due to a) the theme tune (Peter Gunn Theme), b) the
short load time and c) that I would have to play it at least until I got to the
desert section, or at best until I got the missile launcher and shot a
helicopter. What was imperative though, was docking with the lorry and/or
driving down the embankment and morphing into a boat. Genius.
It was fast, it was buggy, it was slick, it was cu-chuck, cu-chuck,
cu-chuck, it was basic – it was 1985 and the games being made near and around
it that were anyway near as good, were few and far between. But most of all,
the feeling when you managed to dock with the articulated lorry was, well, it
made you feel like a shadowy flank into a dangerous world of a man that doesn't
exist…
Most C64 owners had Spy Hunter and to be honest, if and when they played the arcade original, they were mightily disappointed. It just didn’t ‘feel’ right – the car was too big, the colours too varied and the graphics too good – it also reminded you of Rush ‘n’ Crash (which was quite an interesting arcade game in itself…). But it wasn’t our Spy Hunter. It wasn’t us trying to sneak off onto the grass verge to cheese your way up the side of the screen, hoping not to explode. It just wasn’t Spy Hunter.
If you’ve never played the Commodore 64 version of Spy Hunter, you are really missing out, as frankly – it is just simple, addictive, bloody good fun.
Bridge Out Ahead.
YouTube: LogrusUK
Download: Spy Hunter