Information AboutSpy Hunter |
''Spy Hunter'' is a 1983 Arcade Game developed and released by Bally Midway . It was incredibly successful initially, and it has remained popular for many years. The game's novel gameplay and addictive theme music are largely responsible for its success. It has also been ported to various home Computer s and Video Game Systems . As a cabinet-style arcade came, ''Spy Hunter'' was produced in both sit-down and standard upright versions with the latter being more common. The game's controls consist of a Steering Wheel with several special-purpose buttons, a two-position Stick Shift (offering 'low' and 'high' gears), and a pedal used for acceleration. It is a single player game. GAME DESCRIPTION ''Spy Hunter'' is an Action / Driving game with the player in the role of a Spy driving an armed sportscar. The object of the game is to travel the Freeway destroying as many enemy vehicles as possible while protecting civilian vehicles. The game is a top-down vertical scroller with a vantage point similar to that of a news Helicopter . Early versions of the game used a James Bond musical theme, but the inability to obtain the rights to use the music forced Midway to change this theme. As a result, an arrangement of the '' Peter Gunn '' theme plays throughout as background music. The usage of this background music became a large part of the game's appeal. The game begins with the player driving the fictitious G-6155 Interceptor modelled on a 1983 Z28 . The car's name derives from the date of birth of Game Designer George Gomez . Enemy vehicles try to destroy the player's car or at least to force it off the road. Each enemy vehicle has its own special feature (discussed below). Points are scored for distance traveled (a counter increments the score while the car is moving) and for destroying enemy vehicles. There is an initial lead-in time during which the player has an unlimited supply of cars. After the lead-in time expires the player must earn extra cars by obtaining high scores. The first extra car is generally earned at a default value of 30,000 points, but this value can vary depending on settings for a given machine. Up to 3 additional cars are awarded at similar increments. The player's starts the game with two front-mounted Machine Gun s with an endless supply of ammunition. The machine guns and the player's driving skill - opponents can be sideswiped off the road - are the only means of defense against the enemy vehicles in the beginning stages of the game. The player can add additional weapons to the vehicle by entering a red tractor trailer — the Weapons Van — which the player will see parked on the shoulder of the road at regular intervals. The van will accelerate until it reaches a point directly in front of the player's vehicle at which point it will drop a ramp allowing the player to drive in. The type of weapon provided is indicated by the insignia on the van's roof. The van will subsequently stop briefly at the side of the road for the player's vehicle to exit. The weapons van appears twice in each sequence or 'territory'. Territories are marked by forks in the road where the player must bear either to the right or to the left. The player must be careful to avoid harming innocent civilian vehicles. There are three types of such vehicles — two automobiles (one pink in color, the other light blue) and a motorcycle. Destroying these vehicles causes the score meter to halt for a few seconds (in effect subtracting points from the player's score) and will result in the weapons Van arriving only once instead of twice in that sequence. It is also possible to inadvertently destroy the weapons van itself. Doing so produces the same consequences as destroying a civilian vehicle. A very hard, direct crash with a civilian vehicle can result in the player losing a car. There are three special weapons and they can all be equipped simultaneously (although this state of play is difficult to achieve): an Oil Slick generator, a Smokescreen generator, and a Missile launcher. Each special weapon has a limited number of uses. For example, the smokescreen can be used only four times (three times in some game versions). The special weapons are activated via dedicated buttons on the steering wheel. In most game versions entering the weapons van twice in the same area will refill the player's ammunition supply. If the car is destroyed, either by being forced off the road or shot, it will reappear with only machine guns. There are four enemy vehicles in all, each dark blue in color and possessing its own special characteristic:
The Mad Bomber is the only opponent who can only be destroyed with missiles. Missed bombs can destroy other cars or the player in most game versions. It is possible for the player to convert his car into a Cigarette Boat by voluntarily driving through a special boathouse which appears infrequently at the side of the road. At certain intervals the words "Bridge Out" will appear on the screen, and the player will be forced to enter the boathouse. The boat sequence is very similar to the normal driving sequence, but it provides a break from the regular action. When in the water the three road-based enemies are replaced by two others:
Using the oil slick on either of these opponents results in their destruction by burning. At the end of this sequence, the player drives through another boathouse and his vehicle is instantly changed back to a car. A helicopter sequence was also planned, but a shortage of memory precluded this feature. Also, at irregular intervals the words "Icy Road Ahead" will appear on the screen. A few seconds later the background will change to a winter setting, and the road surface becomes more slippery which makes driving even more treacherous. The upside of the new terrain is that certain weapons — most particularly the oil slick — become more effective. MYTHS Although the game was rumored to have an end graveyard sequence where the player exits the car for on-foot action, in reality the game has no end and at no time does the player ever leave the car. TRIVIA
LEGACY Following the success of the arcade version of Spy Hunter, a Pinball version of the game was released in 1984 by Bally . It is difficult to locate playable versions of this pinball machine. The original Spy Hunter was followed by an arcade sequel, '' Spy Hunter II '' in 1987 . It retained the Peter Gunn music and incorporated a cooperative two-player mode, but the top-down view was replaced with a more 3D perspective from behind and above the car. Though seemingly more realistic, the different perspective was unpopular. The game achieved little success and remained largely unknown as it never went into large scale production. There is also a Nintendo Entertainment System game called '' Super Spy Hunter ''. ''Spy Hunter'' itself is regarded as one of the "Top 100 Videogames" of all time by the Killer List Of Videogames (KLOV). This game inspired an Enhanced Remake for the PlayStation 2 , Xbox and GameCube , Game Boy Advance and Microsoft Windows . The 2001 / 2002 version of '' Spy Hunter '' was developed by Midway Games . PORTS port]] Because of its success, ''Spy Hunter'' was Ported to several home Video Game Systems and Home Computer s of the early 1980s era. Versions were developed for DOS , the Nintendo Entertainment System , the Atari 2600 , Atari 8-bit Family , ZX Spectrum , Commodore 64 , Apple // and the ColecoVision . In , PlayStation 2 , Xbox , Game Boy Advance , and Nintendo GameCube . Midway released another version of the game in 2003 , specifically for the Windows 2000 , Windows XP , and Mac OS X operating systems. In addition to these consoles, ''Spy Hunter'' was included in '''' for Nintendo 64 , and'' Midway Arcade Treasures ''; a compilation of arcade games available for the GameCube , PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles, released in 2003 . EXCEL 2000 EASTER EGG A version of ''Spy Hunter'' is included as an to work. The procedure to run it is:
Shortly after Excel 2000's release, Microsoft officially banned Easter eggs from its software. FILM ADAPTATION In the summer of 2003 , Universal Pictures acquired the rights to the 1983 arcade game ''Spy Hunter'' from Midway Games . The following September, Universal signed actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to star in the film adaptation based on the game. Screenwriters Michael Brandt and Derek Haas were hired to write the screenplay, though a director had not been decided at the time. ''Spy Hunter'' was slated to begin its budgeted $90 million production in spring 2004 in time for a summer 2005 release.1 In January 2004, screenwriters Mark Swift and Damian Shannon replaced the original writing duo to rewrite the script, with production slated for June.2 By May, Universal Pictures acquired director John Woo to helm the project.3 In the same month, the previous screenwriters were replaced by screenwriter Zak Penn to rewrite the script once more.4 By August 2004, production had been delayed, pushing ''Spy Hunter'' back to be released in summer 2006.5 In April 2005, Penn was replaced by screenwriter Stuart Beattie to rewrite the script.6 By May 2005, however, director John Woo left the project due to scheduling conflicts.7 In August 2005, Dwayne Johnson said the film was still developing without a director. Pre-production work was underway with designs such as the morphing Interceptor vehicle driven by Alec Decker.8 Production was eventually halted for the time being, and Dwayne Johnson was detached from the project.9 In May 2007, Paul W.S. Anderson was hired to replace Woo as the director. He will be writing a new script with another screenwriter. It is yet to be determined if Dwayne Johnson will return to the project. REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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