Spy Hunter Returns For 30th Anniversary

Has it really been 30 years since Spy Hunter graced our beloved Spectrums/ C64s?  Apparently it has.  While we wipe away tears and stuff our maudlin faces with Werther’s Originals, allow us to share the news that Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment are planning to release a reboot of the game, which is being specially developed for the PS Vita and Nintendo 3DS.  The original Spy Hunter was released back in 1983 and saw the player driving a swanky, high-powered car (well, as much as it could look swanky in an eighties game), while avoiding the bad guys who would, rather rudely, try and run you off the road, among other things (probably BMW drivers).

We actually can’t remember if the game had an aim… many didn’t back then… but we poured hours into it anyway.  The ability to drive, Knight Rider style, up a ramp and into the back of a truck, or turn, Bond-like, into a speedboat and cut through the waves was like catnip to easily pleased youngsters… so, how will the reboot stack up?  Bloody well, we’d hope.

Players will once again take on the role of the ‘Agent,’ the driver of a high-tech G-6155 Interceptor supercar, which is armed with an arsenal of advanced weaponry, and steel themselves to take on a global terrorist organisation set on controlling and dominating the world.  No pressure then.  According to Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment: “Spy Hunter’s classic gameplay has been upgraded to give PlayStation Vita and 3DS players a new, adrenaline-charged experience.  Gamers now have more choice in the transformation and customization with greater hand controls, brilliant graphics and enhanced action cameras.”

Thankfully some of the game’s most memorable elements have been retained, as the Interceptor still transforms from car to speedboat, as seen in the trailer, but also morphs into an impressive off-road vehicle too, allowing players to better take on the game’s ‘branching mission tracks’.  Players will be able to outfit and upgrade the Interceptor’s gadgets and hi-tech weaponry, but they certainly aren’t alone this time out.  The Agent will have support in the form of an unmanned aerial support drone, which should come in handy when assaulting enemy strongholds.

While the trailer may not have overwhelmed us as much as we had wanted it to, and the music felt a little cheesy, we’re still looking forward to this one.  While an XBLA release would have been nice, it may just have found the ideal home on the PS Vita and 3DS.

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